AWI Quality Times for 09/03/2020

Like many events this year the 2020 CONSTRUCT AEC Education & Expo, Sept. 30 – Oct. 2, will be a virtual gathering. AWI QCC has embraced this direction and will be an educational session sponsor of “BIM PANEL: What Does the Future Hold?”.

This event, as the name implies, will be a panel discussion with Michael Czap, Project Executive at The Beck Group; Kyhla Pollard, Senior Engineer of Virtual Design at Holder Construction; and Mark Ogg, Senior Project Manager at JLL (Jones Lang Lasalle). With a diverse group of perspectives, this is sure to be a very interesting discussion.

Building Information Modeling (BIM) is changing the way projects are constructed and it is here to stay.  These three leaders from within the architectural and construction communities will talk through where our industry is headed with BIM technology, the impacts it will have in our daily lives, how we collaborate with other disciplines, and how the changes will impact the finished product and owners.

QCC Upgrades Website Functionality & Expands Resources

If you have been involved in the management of an architectural woodwork project requiring both QCP certification and inspection by a QCP Representative, you have probably seen the typical written report summarizing the conformance of the items inspected relative to specifications and/or AWI Standards.  The report also provides reference numbers which enable the reader to find the precise location of the “line-item” specification or standard on which the conformance determination was based.

For those inspections which find at least one nonconforming item, the email which transmits the written report to the woodworker also includes a second attachment referred to as the “10 Day Letter.”  It is understandable that the inspection report might be considered by most project managers to be the email’s “main event.”  However, the Ten Day Letter (TDL) attachment is also a critical document in the project certification process and should not be overlooked.  The TDL reads in part:

“I M P O R T A N T
This letter accompanies the report dated XX/XX/XXXX summarizing our recent inspection of work performed by your company for the project referenced above. Our report notes at least one aspect of the work which does not conform with project specifications and/or AWI Standards. Unless you can demonstrate that you are not responsible for the reported non-conformance(s), published QCP Policies require remedial work to bring those items into compliance. Failure to address the reported issue(s) may preclude certification of the project and may result in revocation from the Quality Certification Program. If the issues are not corrected, but are accepted by the project’s design professional (or other authorized owner’s representative), revocation will be avoided. However, your firm’s status will become (or remain) “probationary”.  (See https://awiqcp.org/qcp-policies and refer to 2.9 and 4.3.5.2).”

Within TEN (10) DAYS of this letter’s date noted above, please forward to the [inspector’s] email address below an outline of the measures your company will take to bring the project into compliance, including a time estimate for completion of the corrective

If the attached report recommends a follow-up inspection, please coordinate scheduling with your local QCP Field Representative. If the report indicates that digital photos or other documentation is acceptable verification of your corrective work, please forward those items as soon as possible to your QCP Field Representative…”

This TDL excerpt illustrates that the project inspection report is only the starting point of the process which potentially will end with certification of your project.  The TDL prompts the woodworker to create a “map” for resolving any reported nonconformances, and requires sharing of that map with the project’s QCP Inspector.  The plan that is submitted in response to the TDL does not need to include detailed technical/logistical information regarding correction of nonconformances, but need only be a summary outline of what will be done to bring the project into conformance, and the estimated time frame in which those actions will be taken.

One important feature of the TDL is its invitation to note in writing any reported nonconformances for which you believe your company is not responsible.  That set of circumstances usually involves field conditions created by others which make it clearly impractical (or perhaps impossible) to meet a particular specification or standard.

For example, a recent QCP-certified project featured a building design which included several in-wall plumbing pipes falling in locations which would conflict with cabinet anchor screws installed per AWI Standards.  The pipes abutted the back face of the in-wall wood blocking provided by the general contractor to receive the anchor screws.  In order to eliminate any risk of the AWI-required 3” (minimum) anchor screws exiting the back of the blocking during installation and damaging the piping, the general contractor mandated those screws to be installed only at specified locations which would avoid those pipes altogether.  The resulting anchor screw positions deviated significantly from those required by AWI Standards.  Upon inspection, the QCP Representative therefore reported those instances of cabinet anchorage as nonconforming.  After reading that report, the woodworker’s Ten Day Letter response to the project inspector included an explanation of the field conditions which caused that variance from the standard.  The woodworker also included some supporting documentation.  The inspector and QCP staff will assess the information presented as a resolution is determined.  While QCP’s acceptance of the woodworker’s argument would not make the anchor screw locations in question conforming per se, it would eliminate this issue as an impediment to certification of the project (assuming all else is conforming).

One last important aspect of the Ten Day Letter:  The woodworker’s response is not optional, and protracted failure to respond may result in suspension of the woodwork subcontractor from the Quality Certification Program, and possible revocation.

Third in a series of profiles about Quality Certification Program Representatives – links in the field between QCP Licensees and the Quality Certification Corporation.

Background and inspiration:
My 48-year career in woodworking took root while spending time in my grandfather’s woodshop in the 60s. Charles O. Manire was an accomplished furniture maker and woodcarver who also taught high school Math and Industrial Arts full-time for over 40 years. I continue to create small wood carving projects using over 40 vintage chisels and gouges used by my grandfather. I proudly carve on a traditional solid hard maple workbench that is one of hundreds made by my granddad’s woodshop students over his tenure. The bench I have was gifted to him upon his retirement from Dallas ISD.

Woodworking Career:
My woodworking career formally began after graduating high school in 1969. I worked my way through night school at the University of Houston as a trim carpenter and cabinetmaker for several Houston firms. Following in my grandfather’s footsteps, I finally obtained a BS in Technology with certification in Secondary Education in 1978. As an Industrial Arts teacher, I taught metalworking, woodworking and mechanical drawing at Cy Fair ISD until 1981 when I became a full-time woodworker after my son Matthew arrived.

My first 15 years in the trade were spent in the shop and field as cabinetmaker, furniture maker and installer. I ended my shop experience as the working foreman at a small but successful Houston shop. When I became a single parent in 1986, I moved into the office at a higher wage, and spent the next 22 years in sales, estimating and project management.

I’m proud to say that I became familiar with the Architectural Woodwork Institute and the AWI Standards very early in my career. Among the editions of the standards I kept is a thin threadbare 1973 issue. I’ve worked on many Premium Grade architectural millwork projects as both a craftsman and a project manager; first in Texas at the Carlton Cook Company, Wood Quest (Columbia Showcase) and the 3V Company, and then in Utah at Wavell-Huber Wood Products and Fetzer Architectural Woodworking.

The experiences at Wavell-Huber and Fetzer proved invaluable to me since both firms specialized in Premium Grade architectural woodwork of all types and manufactured required wood veneer panels in-house. My last major millwork project was the Allice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, NYC while with Fetzer which included flat and curved veneer paneling.

Career with QCP:
At the end of 2007, I left Utah to take a one-year sabbatical to travel the US before returning home to settle in the Texas Hill Country. I joined AWI QCP in 2009 after the retirement of QCP Rep, Ernest Perez. I take pride in the fact that Joe Sorrelli, a longtime AWI member and former AWI president, was among the QCP Reps that took part in my orientation and training. My background in woodworking helped me relate to and effectively communicate with firms during QCP inspections.

Territory: Southwestern United States

Projects Inspected: schools, hospitals, courthouses and offices

Contact Information: 512-815-7512, clroznovak@gmail.com

Personal:
My son and grandson live in Los Angeles, CA, and my daughter and two granddaughters live in Charlotte, NC. I moved to Marion, NC, in March 2020 to be near family and friends. I enjoy drawing in graphite, pen and ink, woodworking, woodcarving, gardening, hiking and reading.

Rozie Roznovak is featured in this edition of Quality Times in the “QCP Rep Spotlight.”  While sharing his industry experience with QT, he passed along his observations about the evolution of AWI Standards and the benefits of education of all parties.

The evolution of the AWI Standards during my woodworking career can be seen comparing the size and content of the various editions: from small leaflet style booklets in the 60s, to 103-page editions in the 70s, to 300 pages in the early 90s, to 500 pages in the late 90s, to 600 pages in the early 2000s, and finally to the current 500-page 2014 AWS 2nd Edition. The ongoing development of AWI Standards under the accredited ANSI process is changing the fabrication, finishing and installation rules.

The rules will be abbreviated, less prescriptive and less restrictive going forward. That said, casework conformance to duty levels might require testing and validation by licensees. I believe the change and evolution of the Standards creates an important secondary task for QCP Reps, namely to help licensees understand and navigate the new ANSI / AWI Standards in their efforts to insure project conformance, quality control and lead to QCP certification.

The tendency of architectural specification writers to copy and paste from out-of-date specification templates or from past projects might raise questions and create conflicts. QCP Reps will continue to play an integral part in promoting inquiry and informing stakeholders—hopefully resulting in trouble free transition from their familiarity with previous AWS Editions to the newer ANSI / AWI editions.

The QCP Policies (part 4.6) provide a definition of the QCP Rep and the Rep’s responsibilities, which is narrow, but in reality, is sometimes broader depending on the myriad questions raised by many woodworkers who view the Rep as the link to QCP.

The only time a QCP Inspector might “represent” the licensee is during pre-inspection meetings, project specification review and shop drawing submittal review. One thing I often do during pre- and post-inspection meetings is to ask the licensee’s guide to log on to the AWI QCP website using his/her desk top computer. Walking woodworkers through the available information was very important during past licensee application and inspections.  I give interested woodworkers a quick tutorial to find useful resources by clicking on “Insights” on the horizontal menu bar of the home page of www.awiqcp.org where they can find: Guide to Standards, Blogs, Publications, Video Gallery, Podcasts, and Resources.

Once fabrication and installation inspections begin, however, the Rep performs an independent third-party quality assurance review and evaluation as an inspector, thus “representing” the owner and architect.

As part of the Architectural Woodwork Institute’s (AWI) approved ANSI procedures, the AWI Standards Development Team announces that AWI 1236–Countertops will be submitted to American National Standards Institute (ANSI) for public comment and canvass. AWI’s Standards Development Team, and the AWI Technical Committee advanced the process on Sept. 4, 2020 by establishing a canvass body of industry professionals who are directly and materially affected.

AWI 1236 has been developed to provide standards and tolerances for the quality and fit of countertops. Establishing minimum aesthetic and performance requirements to provide a well-defined degree of control over a project’s quality of materials and workmanship for the manufacture of countertops.

AWI looks forward to completing this process and publishing another ANSI standard. More information on the AWI approved ANSI procedures are available here. For additional information contact AWI Technical Director Hunter Morrisonor AWI Technical Projects Manager Cheri Dermyre.  

The Architectural Woodwork Institute (AWI) has produced and collaborated on the development of standards in accordance with its mission since its founding in 1953 to the present day. AWI is an ANSI-accredited Standards Developer Organization. To continually improve Standards for architectural woodwork and related interior finishes is central to AWI’s mission.

Founded in 1918, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is a private non-profit organization that administers and coordinates the U.S. voluntary standardization and conformity assessment system. The Institute represents the diverse interests of more than 270,000 companies and organizations, and 30 million professionals worldwide.

As part of the Architectural Woodwork Institutes (AWI) approved ANSI procedures, the AWI Standards Development Team announces that AWI / SMA 0643—Wood Stair, Handrail, and Guard Systems standard will be submitted to ANSI to initiate the second round of public comment and the first round of canvass to be conducted concurrently.

The AWI Technical Committee and the Stairbuilders and Manufacturers Association (SMA) Quality Standards Committee made changes in response to the feedback obtained during the first public comment period to improve the draft standard. The committees considered the views of stakeholders and determined that substantive changes to the standard would ultimately result in a better standard for the industry.

Each of these changes to the draft standard have been thoroughly discussed by the AWI Technical Committee and the SMA Quality Standards Committee. The AWI staff has implemented the changes in response to the feedback from the architectural woodwork industry professionals. For more information on the AWI approved ANSI procedures, please click here.

Look for the announcement of the canvass and public comment period soon!

The grade requirements for interior woodwork in the Architectural Woodwork Standards (AWS)—economy, custom, and premium grades— all relate to quality of materials and workmanship. They help architects know what level of quality they’re specifying, and help woodworkers understand the quality standards they should build to.

Having these three different grade requirements facilitates project fabrication and installation, with all stakeholders understanding the chosen grade to which the project should be built.

Learn more here.   And, check out other blogs here where you’ll find many more topics.

INDUSTRY EVENTS
The Quality Certification Program will participate at the following industry events in 2020:

Construction Specifications Institute
VIRTUAL Construct AEC Education & Expo 2020
Sept. 30 – Oct. 2

Architectural Woodwork Institute
VIRTUAL 68th AWI Annual Convention
Sept. 30 – Oct. 2

SOCIAL MEDIA
Architectural woodwork is showcased on the following social media platforms, incorporating woodwork projects illustrated in editions of AWI’s quarterly journal, Design Solutions. See the following:

• Instagram:AWI_QCP

• Twitter: awiqcp

• LinkedIn:AWI Quality Certification Program

• Facebook: Architectural Woodwork Institute- QCP
• YouTube