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The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) added the Testing, Adjusting and Balancing Bureau (TABB) as a third certification body for certifying personnel and contractors who perform testing, adjusting and balancing (TAB) on heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC); water balancing; and sound and vibration equipment testing. The addition was effective Nov. 1, 2021.

With endorsements and acceptance/ inclusion from the VA, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors’ National Association (SMACNA) and construction companies nationwide, TABB is the professional’s choice for the testing, adjusting and balancing of HVAC systems.

“Certification provides assurance to building owners that a particular contractor will meet a specified level of quality. The need for highly skilled technicians has increased with the complexity of HVAC systems.”

– From a 2020 white paper released the University of California, Davis, Western Cooling Efficiency Center (WCEC)

The decision was based, in part, on a white paper released in 2020 by the University of California, Davis, Western Cooling Efficiency Center (WCEC) — “Testing, Adjusting and Balancing HVAC Systems: An Overview of Certification Agencies” — which examined the benefits of using certified contractors and favorably positioned TABB as the first and only personnel-certifying body accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) in this field. The paper also stated TABB conforms to ISO/IEC 17024, an internationally recognized standard for personnel certification bodies.

TABB has developed certifications to serve as verification that technicians and supervisors have the knowledge and experience needed to complete the job tasks at hand. A well-balanced HVAC system isn’t just efficient; it’s also safer due to enhanced ventilation rates and overall indoor air quality.

“Certification provides assurance to building owners that a particular contractor will meet a specified level of quality,” the white paper explained. “The need for highly skilled technicians has increased with the complexity of HVAC systems.”

TABB is the first program to gain ANSI accreditation for certification in the testing, adjusting and balancing industry. Certification is a statement that the technician, supervisor and contractor demonstrate the highest level of professional expertise

Last fall, SMART General President Joseph Sellers traveled to UBS Arena, then still in progress, to tour and meet members working on the brand-new, $1.5 billion multipurpose home of the New York Islanders, which opened on November 20, 2021. Watch the video of their trip to see how our entire union – including sheet metal, testing and balancing, sign installation and Transportation Division members – came together to construct UBS Arena, as well as track for a new rail station serving the stadium.

Unique to this project was the presence of SMART members from across our union, including Local 137 sign members who installed the giant center ice board, as well as signage around the arena and in the new train station built to handle swarms of fans from across Long Island and the NY metropolitan area.

SMART-TD members led the way in constructing the Long Island Rail Road track leading to the new station. SMART Local 28 sheet metal workers installed all parts of the HVAC system, including ductwork, rooftop units, fans, fire dampers and smoke purge systems. SMART members also installed architectural features, including roofing and decking, and specialty work such as kitchen equipment, lockers and toilet partitions.

Read more about the project:
Sheet metal and TD members have hands in UBS Arena project

Whether the general public realizes it or not, the heating, ventilation and air conditioning industry has been center stage during the COVID-19 pandemic. Testing, Adjusting and Balancing Bureau (TABB)-certified HVAC contractors in particular have been on the front lines, testing and balancing airow for healthcare facilities so they can treat COVID patients, while also providing for the general health needs of their communities.
Hospitals require constant testing and adjusting of airow to keep patients safe, and their needs have grown exponentially during the pandemic.
Fisher Balancing, a New Jersey-based HVAC company and union signatory contractor helmed by President Matt Sano, has seen its business grow substantially. The company has worked with the healthcare industry for many years to provide testing and balancing, said Sano, but when the pandemic hit, technicians went into overdrive, turning regular patient rooms into COVID-19 isolation rooms.

Union-provided training guarantees Fisher employees have the skills and certifications necessary to provide the same TAB expertise the company has provided for 20 years.

Philadelphia-area testing, adjusting and balancing (TAB) technicians at Fisher Balancing sometimes worked 12- to 24-hour shifts converting entire hospital wings into isolation rooms at local hospitals. Within a few weeks of the initial outbreak of COVID-19, Fisher’s crew had helped convert more than 250 regular rooms to negative airflow rooms at the University of Pennsylvania’s Hospital and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Not all balancing firms could provide the services that Fisher does. All members can earn certifications through training provided through a joint partnership between the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART) and the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors’ National Association (SMACNA).
Union-provided training guarantees Fisher employees have the skills and certifications necessary to provide the same TAB expertise the company has provided for 20 years.
“The training our employees receive as SMART apprentices and journeymen is unparalleled,” Sano said. “The TABB certifications our employees hold also ensure that they have the knowledge and experience needed to do this kind of work.”
To convert individual rooms to isolation rooms, TAB professionals modify the airow, switch standard rooms to negative pressure rooms and verify the number of times the air changes in the room to ensure health and safety.

According to CDC guidelines, a single-patient airborne infection isolation room must have negative pressure relative to other parts of the facility. The negative pressure causes air to ow from the corridors to the isolation room, but air cannot escape to other parts of the facility when the door is closed and the ventilation system is operating properly. Air from the isolation room can be exhausted directly to the outdoors or passed through a special high efficiency air (HEPA) lter that removes most of the droplet nuclei before it is returned to general circulation.
Beyond healthcare facilities, Fisher Balancing has seen an uptick in work for casinos, malls, restaurants and other retail clients. Sano said he expects engineering to change going forward, as building owners will want to be prepared for these types of catastrophic events as well as respond to state mandates regarding airow rule changes in some facilities.
Hidden behind walls or tucked high up in ceilings, HVAC systems are often ignored by the public, but during these unprecedented times, ventilation has become critical to health and safety.