Looking at the rich and exciting program for our association’s 2020 annual conference in Orlando, I see an extraordinary palette of achievements by IIAR members over the past several years. While this will be my last conference as IIAR president, I am proud of our members’ accomplishments, which form a strong foundation for further growth and continuing efforts that will broaden the applications of natural refrigerants both in the familiar industrial setting and in the expanding retail commercial sector.

Looking back at IIAR’s many accomplishments during my tenure a president, three stand out to define this organization and set the course for our vision and mission for many years to come.

First is ANSI approval of the current IIAR-2 Standard in 2014. Completion of this comprehensive standard for Safe Design set in motion countless design elements to improve the safety of our industry and protect personnel operating the systems and the surrounding community. IIAR-2 defined our advocacy programs with the regulatory community, offered a comprehensive document that building, fire and electric codes could reference around the country and is now a template internationally.

IIAR’s second major accomplishment was the Academy of Natural Refrigerants certificate program. Education is one of the primary goals of our mission and the ANR program enables people working in all sectors of our industry to document their proficiency, expand their knowledge and build their professional credentials.

The third most notable change is IIAR’s move to include all natural refrigerants. Actions we have taken to advocate for ammonia, CO2 and hydrocarbon refrigerants are critical to the growth of our organization, the safety of our industry and protecting our environment.

Also critical to growth and safety is the hard work of our volunteer member committees, the cornerstone of this organization.

Members’ volunteer commitment to the all-important work of our committees have driven the adoption of standards that are having a positive impact both domestically and, increasingly, on an international stage.

The Standards Committee has led IIAR to offer a full suite of ANSIapproved standards, having a significant impact on design and safety guidance, regulatory advocacy and building codes in the U.S. Chairman Bob Czarnecki and the many individuals who contribute their time deserve hearty thanks and congratulations.

Next, the Compliance committee has also made significant advances this year, including a new PSM/RMP Guidelines book that is now available and has updated the soon to be published Ammonia Data Book.

Education has a major focus on developing and managing the Academy of Natural Refrigerants certificate program, introducing four new certificate courses just this year. All of the courses, which may be taken online, offer an IIAR certificate and are accredited.

That’s just scratching the surface. The Safety committee, among other things, has been working through the complicated questions of valve Lock-Out-TagOut and will soon seek bids to draft a new guideline intended to address current regulatory and safety issues. The Marketing committee has completed the 2019 State of The Industry Report and is developing several new-member outreach programs. The Piping Handbook committee completed an extensive review and update of the Handbook with new selection criteria that enable more accurate pipe selection and includes software to assist engineers in both selection and cost analysis.

Meanwhile, Government Relations continued to provide input in our regulatory initiatives with NIOSH and OSHA, and assisting with the OSHA training program produced by the Industrial Refrigeration Consortium. Following reorganization recently, under the guidance of both the IIAR and ARF Board of Directors, the Finance committee is now structured to provide oversight for both organizations. The International committee has continued to move forward with an aggressive chapter program, and IIAR Standards now adopted or being considered for national safety standards in Chile, Costa Rica, Argentina and Columbia, while several new documents have been translated to Spanish.

Once again, I must congratulate the IIAR working committees and volunteer membership for all of these important accomplishments during my tenure as your President. It has been my honor to serve the organization and I have immensely enjoyed the opportunity.

As we kick off 2020’s annual conference, I’d like to welcome you all, whether you’re a longtime IIAR member or just learning about the tremendous work this association does on behalf of our industry. We have an exciting program planned for you that will provide a broad educational experience touching on all of the themes I have referenced in this column. I look forward to seeing you in Orlando!