The NEBB Professional 2024 - Quarter 3

An Underappreciated Benefit: Communication

negative impacts and can communicate their thinking process to you in a way you can readily understand. Think back to the certification process for NEBB TAB Certified Firms. Recall that this process requires the successful completion of exams that not only show practical ability to perform the balancing of a mechan ical system, but also require that the NEBB Certified Professional have a grasp of fundamental engineering principles. They are tested on basic thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, fan and pump laws, and more. Where there are plenty of TAB firms out there that can record readings on air or hydronic systems, one that is NEBB Certified understands the how and why behind the readings. They understand the reasoning used by an engineer in the design process, even if they themselves are not engineers. Thus, they are capable of speaking with an engineer “at eye level,” bringing that same un derstanding to the table along with their procedural expertise. What does all this mean? Simply, it means that a NEBB TAB Certified Firm and its Professional can more read ily identify issues, explain why these are occurring, and work with the mechanical contractor and design en-

Try to imagine working as a mechanical design engi neer. You pour countless hours into designing a system, verifying your calculations, drafting up a sequence of operations to cover all possible scenarios under which the system may be operating. You also have to ensure that your system can operate as required for “design days,” those instances when the temperature and/or humidity in your area skyrocket, or when the next polar vortex envelopes your neighborhood. After complet ing all that—and spending additional time on RFIs and subsequently needed revisions—what do you think would cause you the greatest professional stress? Unfortunately, no one is perfect, and mistakes are made by even the best engineers. That being said, when the time comes to address any operational issues that arise, what would a design engineer appreciate most? In principle, when any of us faces a challenge, one of the most valuable assets to us at that point in time is a teammate, someone who understands the issue and can “speak our language.” Someone who works collab oratively with you to resolve the issue or minimize its

The NEBB Professional | Quarter 3 | 2024

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