PGC International Fall Meeting
Takes Different Format and Produces Results
PGC International’s Fall Meeting, held August 31 and
September 1, 2009 in Kansas City, MO, was a departure from the usual
Symposium format that is typical of the Association’s second meeting of
the year. The schedule focused on continuing the great momentum within
the Marketing & Communications and Technical Resources Committees,
addressing various initiatives currently underway and identifying areas
of future opportunity. In addition, the meeting was co-located with the
Glass Association of North America (GANA) to encourage greater
attendance at the Protective Glazing Manual Task Group meeting, a joint
effort by both organizations.
|
Ron McCann (Viracon) completes his two-year term as PGC
International President, and welcomes Urmilla Sowell
(GANA) into the role. |
The event began with a meeting of the Board of
Directors, followed by a Membership Meeting at which elections for a new
slate of Board of Directors took place. PGC International is pleased to
welcome three new individuals to the Board: Jon Johnson (Arch Aluminum &
Glass Co.), David Kaliser (CPFilms), and Larry Livermore (Architectural
Testing, Inc.). Officer elections were also held, resulting in two new
individuals being elected into leadership roles: Urmilla Sowell (GANA)
as President, and Jim Stewart (Tremco) as Secretary. For a complete
listing of Officers and Board of Directors, please
click here.
The Marketing & Communications Committee was next on
deck, addressing an agenda full of marketing potential and industry
involvement. Most notably, the Committee will be submitting presentation
abstracts for the Building Owners and Managers
Association’s (BOMA) Annual Conference and Every Building Show in 2010.
PGC International exhibited at the 2009 BOMA Every Building Show and
expects to continue its involvement with the organization in the future.
The Committee also discussed the format for PGC International’s 2010 meetings. Currently, members of the Committee
are coordinating with the Explosives Standards Working Group within the
Department of Homeland Security in an attempt to organize a partnership
for the Spring Meeting’s programming. PGC International expects to
present information on what will be the newly-released Protective
Glazing Manual and also reference the Product Selection Guidelines
currently underway in the Technical Resources Committee. In addition, a
presentation on the Interagency Security Committee’s (ISC) new Security Design
Guide is being considered. More details on the Spring 2010 meeting,
including dates and a location, will come soon after the new year.
A meeting of the Protective Glazing Manual Task
Group
concluded Day One of the Fall Meeting. The task group, which is comprised
of both PGC International and GANA
members, has been working diligently to organize and produce a
comprehensive educational manual on protective glazing products.
Task Group members addressed comments and made revisions to multiple
sections all while continuing to keep pace with an anticipated March 2010
release date. “This manual will be an excellent resource to broaden the
industry’s knowledge of this niche market,” said Christopher Carter of Momentive Performance Materials, current chair of the
Task Group. “PGC International members should consider it a
useful tool for themselves and also for their clients or peers who are
less familiar with the industry.”
Day Two of the Fall Meeting focused on the efforts of
the Technical Resources Committee. PGC International members
representing all segments of the industry - ballistics, blast, fire,
forced entry, hurricane, and seismic – have formed subcommittees to
develop Product Selection Guidelines specific to their segment. The
Product Selection Guidelines will be a reference for architects or
specifiers that, given a certain threat level and performance level,
will guide them to the appropriate product choices. The Committee
expects to have a Product Selection Guideline for each industry segment
completed in time for the Spring 2010 meeting.
Three documents will comprise the overall guideline.
First, the Product Selection Guideline itself, which acts as an
introduction to the type of protective glazing and addresses key
questions an architect or specifier should consider when needing to know
the performance requirements of a product (threat levels, performance
criteria, etc.). Second is the Performance Data Sheet. This is a form or
checklist that is intended to provide a clear way for an architect or
specifier to communicate what performance data is important to his/her
project and to have a simplified way for the manufacturer to respond
with appropriate test data. Finally, a Guide to the Performance Data
Sheet is being outlined as an “instruction manual” to assist the
architect or specifier as (s)he completes the Performance Data Sheet.
In addition to the Product Selection Guidelines, the
Technical Committee has chosen to become more involved in the industry
standard review process by joining ASTM as a participating member.
Bhaskar Adusumalli of TRACO, current chair of the Technical Resources committee,
will be acting as PGC International’s voting member. The Committee is
currently seeking information on the standards or issues that are
important to PGC International members. You may share this
information with PGC International by contacting staff so we may best represent the industry
at ASTM International in the future.
Overall, the Fall Meeting was quite productive,
resulting in continued progress and new ideas. With some of the
initiatives underway in PGC International, there were many new faces
present, and members enjoyed having networking time with their peers
in the organization.
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