NSCA Councils Take Action on Leading the Industry
May 1, 2001 12:00 PM
Productive Meetings at Expo 2001 Regional
NSCA Regional Council
The NSCA Regional Council met at Expo 2001 to address issues concerning NSCA members and explore ways to better serve its membership and lead the industry.
During the meeting, the council was given an update on the NSCA’s push for a Division 17; TACS, Technology and Communication Systems, is the newly proposed name for this division. The council agreed that convincing the Construction Specifications Institute to create a separate section for technology and communications systems will be a huge step in advancing the electronic systems industry. A final proposal will be presented at the CSI convention in Dallas at the end of June. Following these events, the technical committee will review all proposals and make a recommendation to the CSI executive committee, which ultimately makes the final approval on the creation of new divisions.
The Regional Council also discussed the recent announcement of a new standard occupational classification for electronic systems technicians. After many years of lobbying the U.S. Department of Labor, NSCA took time to recognize its major victory. The new code is a big step in the struggle to reclassify ESTs, or installers of integrated electronic communications systems, so that they are no longer a subset of electricians. The next step for the Regional Council and the NSCA is to link an apprenticeship program with the new SOC. The council also reported that the apprenticeship program is currently awaiting approval from the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training.
The Regional Council is a volunteer group of the NSCA, created in the summer of 1997 to further enhance the NSCA’s presence and involvement at both the state and local levels. The Council works to fulfill the overall mission of the NSCA by actively promoting membership recruitment and retention, supporting regional educational training opportunities, serving as a source of knowledge for members, researching the legislation that affects the systems contracting industry, and serving as the primary liaison between the NSCA and local members.
Members of the NSCA Regional Council include James Beckham, Audio-Video Corporation (board liaison); Brad Nelson, Sound Solutions Northwest (Northwest Region); Dan Becker, Advance Sound and Electronics (Southwest alternate); Ken Fussner, Sound Com (North Central Region); Devy Breda, Audiospec Inc. (Canada); Ken Kruse, Technical Support Services (Canada alternate); Larry Reece, RFI Enterprises Inc. (Southwest Region); Keith Jones, Endex of Oklahoma (South Central); Ron Pusey, Communications Specialists of Virginia (Northeast Region); Joe Davidson, Long Communications Group (Southeast Region); and Rick Scharmann, Pro Sound Inc. (Southeast alternate).
Manufacturer’s Council
Three newly created taskforce groups of the NSCA Manufacturers’ Council also met at Expo to address topics critical to NSCA manufacturer members. The newly developed sub-divisions of the council include Research and Trends, Outreach and Image Development, and Workforce Development.
The Research and Trends taskforce discovered that manufacturer members of the NSCA want to see more studies conducted on industry size by product category, and is currently working on a questionnaire to address this issue. Studies on the impact of e-commerce on the electronic systems industry will also be addressed.
The Outreach and Image Development branch of the Manufacturers’ Council discussed ways of upgrading the industry’s image to outside audiences. Various marketing and communication plans were presented to better educate architects and engineers on the importance of getting electronic systems professionals actively involved in the design process to create better environments.
The Workforce Development task team is addressing ways of increasing the pool of skilled labor for the electronic systems industry. This taskforce is assisting the placement of an electronic systems technician curriculum into more technical and 2-year schools, and working to heighten awareness and build excitement for this field.
Members of the Manufacturers’ Council include David Chambers, Bogen Communications Inc.; Randy Klein, Crestron; Mark Lewellyn, IED; Doug MacCallum, AKG Acoustics; Maureen Pajerski, Rauland-Borg Corporation; Jeff Pallin, TOA Electronics Inc.; Mike Pecora, Dukane; Janice Sandri, FSR Inc.; Kirk Schatzle, Pelco; Todd Gustafson, Fire Control Instruments; Lou Valente, West Penn Wire (committee chair); and Bud Waters, H.O.M.E.
