The
Northeast Chapter of NOMMA
A
Local Chapter of the National
Ornamental and Miscellaneous Metals Association
Dedicated to the success of our members and industry.
|
The
Northeast Chapter of NOMMA
|
|
|
The Northeast ChapterHistoryA few years ago, a small
core group of NOMMA members started a local chapter in the northeast.
Trying to come up with a title that covered New York, New
Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts was not an easy
task. But the Northeast
Chapter became our moniker. The Northeast Chapter
helped to create the By-Laws for
conducting business as a chapter since our national affiliation's By-Laws for its local
chapters needed to updated. With National’s help, the
Northeast Chapter became incorporated.
The frills came next with the establishment of a mailing
address, logo and letterhead. Volunteers
were required to be nominated for the first Officers for the Chapter
followed by the Chapter casting their voted approval. “Dedicated to the success of our members and industry” is
not only the slogan of NOMMA but also the Heart of the Northeast
Chapter. From the beginning, the Northeast Chapter wanted to make an
impact in our work environment. Our
first major meeting in the formulation of the Chapter was held on a
frigid day in upstate New York appropriately in an ancient icehouse
converted into a forging metal shop. As the initial meeting of over 30
members progressed, we had a heated discussion on how to hammer out
our ideas and meld them into a strong substantial platform.
The current membership of close to fifty members still follows
the original blueprints. A major goal would be to attain the same stature for the
NOMMA logo that an American Welding Society [AWS] logo or an
Underwriters Laboratory [UL] listing bring to their certified members.
By making our fellow NOMMA members better fabricators, “name
brand” recognition could start coming our way.
Someday the NOMMA logo appearing in a company’s Yellow Page
ad would set them above the competition.
The quest for success had begun. In order to improve our work environment, education became
our primary focus. By
holding workshop meetings to share our knowledge with other NOMMA
members we would be bringing the skill level of NOMMA members to a
higher level than our non-member competition.
Workshop meetings have been held on forming copper, forging
steel and aluminum, water jet cutting, wet coatings and primers,
finishing, working with bronze, new fabricating machinery, welding and
grinding techniques, rolling and forming steel, anodizing, plating and
many other interactive workshops.
The sharing of many guarded secrets did have a price.
Non-members could only attend one meeting without becoming a
NOMMA member. Education didn’t stop with our fellow fabricators.
Almost every member has had experiences with owners,
contractors and architects who just didn’t seem to understand our
“language”, never mind reality checks.
How many phone calls have been made to clear up just how high
of a polish is required, or to what grit, or in which direction, or
why aluminum can not be welded to steel?
The Northeast Chapter decided to put all of our resources –
money, time, and knowledge – on the line.
The creation of a Metalworking Reference Manual would
begin to educate the masses. The pinnacle
reference of metal finishing has always been the National
Association of Architectural Metal Manufacturers [NAAMM].
The NAAMM finishing manuals have been the standard to the
fabricators in the United States, but needed to be updated.
As a Chapter, we contacted NAAMM asking for permission to use
quotes, printed matter and photos or drawings contained in the various
NAAMM Technical Publications. The
understanding was that the material would be used as part of a Chapter
educational binder containing references and accreditation back to
NAAMM. The Finishes section of the Manual is a well-documented
compilation of various sources as well as the major contributions from
NAAMM condensed into 52 pages of knowledge.
Broken down into 3 main segments of Aluminum, Copper Alloys and
Stainless Steel, anyone can find the detailed steps, reasons for the
utilizations and designation specifications required for the various
processes for finishing metals. By reading the section on Aluminum, an
architect could specify a M30 circumference polish on pipe.
An educated fabricator would know that this designation would
mean a directional textured finish of a 180-grit [satin] finish with
the grain going around the piece. The Metalwork Reference Manual contains many NOMMA
publications, such as the Guideline 1: Joint Finishes as well
as Ideas in Ornamental Metal.
The idea was to give an architect or fabricator a wealth of
information and the correct knowledge to facilitate the construction
of it. Space was left in the binder so that updates and additions
could easily be added in the future.
The endeavor took over two years of volunteered time away from
personal business, the bulk of our monetary Chapter assets, as well as
the donations from numerous NOMMA members.
Now that the book has been produced it is hoped that it can
be a significant step in the rewriting of the NAAMM Manuals and as a
reference source for NOMMA members and architects.
The Manual will be turned over to the National Office for
distribution and for future re-printings.
The Manual is offered slightly above the printing cost to NOMMA
members, architects [current AIA members] and to specification writers
[current AIA or CSI members] on the Chapter’s website: http://www.nommne.8k.com. While the book was being constructed, and with education
still our primary objective, The Chapter decided to educate architects
directly. Architects who
are members of the American Institute of Architects [AIA] must
continually educate themselves to remain members. Seminars that
fulfill the requirement can only be conducted by Registered Providers
of Continuing Education. Becoming a Registered Provider was the
Chapter’s next step in bettering our work environment. Architects must earn 36 Learning Units every two-year cycle
to retain membership in AIA. Many
states have made the 36 LU’s a mandatory requirement for architects
to be licensed to practice in their state.
Architects generally are licensed in at least 3 states. A Learning Unit
[LU] is determined by the Quality Level times the duration of a
seminar. A Quality Level
One seminar would simply be a lecture. Level Two would be an
interactive lecture and a Level Three would be interactive with a
testing procedure added with a 2hour minimum longevity.
So a lecture combined with question and answer period [Level 2]
that would last for one hour would be worth 2 LU’s [2 x 1 = 2].
If that same seminar lasted only a half hour than the seminar
would be worth One LU [2 x ½ = 1]. Through committee work, we complied two comprehensive
interactive seminars. One Seminar details standard metal finishing
designations. Another seminar compares custom fabrication to working
with normal stock fabrication in relation to time, creativity,
materials and costs. The Chapter received acceptance as a Registered
Provider with the AIA as a regional non-profit organization.
The Chapter’s hour long Seminars are also listed on the AIA
website with a Quality Level of 2.
The listing is under NOMMA – the Northeast Chapter.
Being a Registered Provider, created the need to find a venue
where the Seminar could be conducted.
The joint chapters of AIA in Northern New Jersey, the
Architects League of Northern New Jersey and the Suburban
Newark Chapter of Architects annually hold a table top Trade Show
and Convention. The
Chapter has conducted their Seminar at this event for the last two
years. In addition, the
Chapter put together a booth for the Show.
Only Chapter nametags were allowed, and although no personal
business was conducted; the name of our group along with our knowledge
was displayed. Recognition
of the NOMMA logo has started to grow. The next goal was to make our Chapter more public.
A website was established which can currently be found at http://www.nommane.8k.com.
Here Chapter members can take personal pride in their efforts.
Still with education as our Holy Grail, free downloadable
charts taken from our Metalwork Reference Manual show the
standard designations for metal finishing.
A Gallery of Work shows the diversity of the Chapter members.
Links to individual member websites or e-mail can be found
through the Contact page as well as the complete listing of Northeast
Chapter Members. Members who cannot make meetings can catch up by accessing
the News page. Seminars
can be booked through the website and the Metalwork Reference Manual
can also be ordered on the Downloads section.
Links are provided to NAAMM, AIA, other Chapters of NOMMA, as
well as to the NOMMA websites. A project that is still warming in our forge is an
educational expo that tentatively will be held at an Upstate New York
University. Sharing our
skills and education with fellow fabricators, architects, University
students and building code officials in a seminar – demonstration
atmosphere is our next lofty goal.
The university is eagerly supporting the expo with facilities
ranging from auditorium space to dorm rooms for a two-day show.
NOMMA national members who are Registered Providers with AIA
are lining up for the seminar educational programs.
Well-known blacksmiths are more than willing to make this a
real “Hammer-In”. As
a viable growing force in our region, our Chapter is taking the slow
and steady approach to make this a reality.
Although our original plans had the Expo date for the late
summer of 2002, a more practical date of August of 2003 would be more
realistic and allow more time for a better presentation. The future that was forged in fires that burned bright that
first day in the icehouse continues to invite more members to its warm
glow. As new ideas are
tempered into our foundation our Chapter strengthens.
The sparks from our work are making some heads turn to see just
what is being formed. The
patterns and templates that we have created hopefully will inspire
others to follow in our footsteps and to help hammer out our
differences into a strong and admired success.
|
|
|
