The British Columbia Insulation Contractors’ Association (BCICA) has hired Norm Grusnick, P. Eng. as its Quality Assurance Certificate (QAC) technical director, effective January 1, 2019. Grusnick joins the BCICA with the prime objective of creating greater awareness of the QAC among British Columbia’s engineering community.
“Hiring Norm is an investment by BCICA in a long term-growth strategy that focuses on the value that a QAC offers to specifiers of mechanical insulation,” says Brian Hofler, a consultant to BCICA. “The board of directors is eager to see what Norm can do to assist with the program’s development and has confidence he will make important contributions to the program’s success.”
Grusnick will be responsible for promoting the QAC to engineers on all new and retrofit projects that require mechanical insulation. He will present to various engineering firms and professional associations, including the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), outlining the advantages of registering projects with the QAC and of including the program in engineering firms’ general specifications.
“Norm has worked for ECCO Heating Products Ltd. for the past 25 years, and during that time he has developed a strong understanding of the value of mechanical insulation and a significant network to draw from as he promotes the QAC,” says Hofler.
Grusnick will also co-ordinate with the BCICA’s technical committee to review the association’s Quality Standards for Mechanical Insulation Manual – a key component of the QAC – to ensure it is up-to-date and used extensively by engineering firms when developing mechanical insulation specifications.
Grusnick says the QAC is an exciting prospect because it will help restore quality installations and assure clients that the mechanical insulation portion of their projects is done correctly and to spec.
“I have been in an engineering sales function for almost 40 years—assisting engineers with their specifications is a large part of what I have done in my career,” he says. “Engineers have so much on their plates, they need assistance in making sure their specifications reflect their design intent and their needs.”
Grusnick’s main initial objectives will be to study the QAC program and assemble files of all engineers’ existing specifications so he can constructively suggest ways to streamline and improve individual specifications.
“Engineers – like all people – don’t proceed quickly to change the status quo,” says Grusnick. “The challenge will be to point out to their clients the many advantages of the QAC program, because with better installed insulation, the clients can expect more energy savings in the long run.”
The QAC has been in operation since 2014. Under the program, project owners or owners’ representatives register the insulation portion of a commercial, institutional, or industrial job with the BCICA, which in turn assigns a designated third-party insulation inspector to the job to ensure it meets the standards set out in the BCICA’s Quality Standards for Mechanical Insulation Manual.
The QAC grew to 50 projects in 2018 with a contract value of over $5 million.
“Interest is growing as more and more engineering firms specify the QAC on their projects,” says Hofler. “Building owners, government agencies, and energy conservation stakeholders are recognizing the value that the QAC brings to the energy conservation equation. Specification of the QAC assists with lowering greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and delivering a faster ROI to the building owner or investor, as well as lower long-term operational costs for building owners. This is a significant indicator of ‘saving energy for the future’—a motto BCICA is proud to share.”
For more information about the BCICA or the QAC, please visit bcica.org.
