160 San Antonio HVAC Contractors Attend Training To Enhance Duct Board Fabrication And Installation Skills

St. Philip’s College Hosts Training As Part of their Outreach Program

Alexandria, VA (October 6, 2008) St. Philip’s College Department of Applied Science and Technology recently hosted a Duct Construct Workshop, a fiber glass duct board fabrication training session for local HVAC contractors, installers, and city inspectors. The workshops were conducted by the North American Insulation Manufacturers Association (NAIMA) and emphasized the basics of good craftsmanship and afforded contractors the opportunity to enhance their fabrication and installation skills of fiber glass duct board systems.

According to Juan Villela, Department Chair of Allied Construction Trades at St. Philip’s, “we offer fibrous glass duct construction as part of the Air Conditioning & Refrigeration curriculum. While fiber glass duct products are accepted as a good performance alternative to traditional sheet metal ducts, their performance relies on proper fabrication and installation techniques just as sheet metal does,” says Villela. “We wanted to reach out to our large HVAC contractor community to provide a ‘refresher’ on duct board fabrication and promote the more advanced continuing education course taught here at St. Philip’s.”

The attendees, more than 160 in all, were treated to a 4-hour session that included hands-on demonstrations on the fabrication of a variety of duct system components. It also focused on the importance of proper closure systems, code compliance, UL ratings, equipment connections and more. “The objective of the workshop,” said Vilella, “is to build a population of properly trained duct board installers in the San Antonio area, and to demonstrate that properly fabricated and installed fiber glass duct systems meet the building codes and deliver virtually airtight and energy efficient performance.” Attendees who completed the workshop received a certificate of completion, and a copy of the NAIMA Fibrous Glass Duct Construction Standard.

About the NAIMA Duct Board Training Program

Over the past four years, NAIMA has partnered with over 55 educational institutions across the country to train more than 4000 students and technicians in duct fabrication and installation techniques. “Improving the installation skills of installers is an important part of the manufacturers’ product stewardship commitment,” said George Phelps, vice president, government and industry affairs at NAIMA. For more information on how to bring a Fiber Glass Duct Board training program to your area call NAIMA at (703) 684-0084 or email us at kkauffman@naima.org.

Pete Hays fabricates a small fitting to demonstrate how to get the most out of each piece of duct board, and how easily it can be done while on a job site.		NAIMA Trainer, Tommy Jackson, fabricates a three piece elbow from a duct board module.
The NAIMA Duct Construct Workshops at St. Philip’s College were conducted by Tommy Jackson and Pete Hays -- NAIMA trainers with more than 70 years of combined fiber glass duct board installation and fabrication experience.		Unplanned obstructions are common on the jobsite. Fiber Glass Duct board can be easily fabricated to manage around obstructions.