GANA wraps up its fall conference

GANA’s Tempering Division met on the third and final day of the association’s fall conference, Sept. 10, in Dallas. Several committees, sub-committees and task groups meetings updated their work.

The Construction Subcommittee had Window Cleaning Industry Update on its agenda, during which the media representatives were asked to leave the room.

During the Optical Distortion Subcommittee meeting, Joel Feingold, president,Strainoptic Technologies Inc., North Wales, Pa., presented a draft on "An Overview of Optical Distortion and Roller Wave Measurement in Glass." Distortion and the debate over how it should be addressed within the industry has been ongoing for nearly 10 years, but the members could not come to a consensus on the details, content or even the question of whether the association should have such a document for industry use. One member questioned the usefulness of such a document given that the ASTM C1048 already addresses these issues, while another said that the ASTM standard was insufficient. Another member said that GANA would be setting a precedent for what everybody should be doing if it publishes the document. Yet another said there were parts in the document that could be construed as specs.

Greg Carney, technical director, GANA,Topeka, Kan., urged the group to first determine the target audience for the document and then discuss revisions. He asked if it wouldbe used only in educational conferences or for other purposes.

“I don't think [the material in the document] is critically necessary, but I do think it would be useful,” said Chris Mammen, president, Mammen Glass & Mirror, Irvington, Texas. “I think the fears of some temperers are unfounded, as the draft includes no measurements that could be used against us. In fact, temperers can point to the statement that roll wave and other distortions are ‘inherent’ and cannot be avoided.” An educated customer is a good customer; otherwise, we have customers with unrealistic expectations, he said. “The document can also be used to train employees, which would raise the overall professionalism of our industry and the quality of our products. For these reasons, this is exactly the type of work that an industry group should be engaged in.”

“In general, educational materials are always useful,” said Valerie Block, senior marketing specialist, DuPont Building Innovations, Wilmington, Del. “But there’s a difference between an educational or training material and a specification. When there are definitions or interpretation of really technical material, it provides clarity; but when you imply levels of conformance or performance levels where none have existed, it’s best done as a consensus based industry standard. “