National Independent Fire Alarm Distributors

Speakers & Abstracts & Presentations!

Chip Hollis, CAE, NICET Vice President
Developing a Qualified Workforce with NICET Certification

Professional Certification is a key component to developing a qualified workforce. Hear about NICET’s role and how industry contributes to content and requirements. Learn how the comprehensive certifica-tion requirements (Exams, Work History, Performance Verification, Personnel Recommendation, Major Project, Continuing Professional Development) provide assurance of competency. Plus get the latest on content updates (Fire Alarm Systems to NFPA 72- 2022 edition) and more!

Presenter: Chip Hollis, CAE, NICET Vice President … At NICET, Mr. Hollis is responsible for implementing the policies and directions established by the NICET Board of Governors and daily operations. He pro-motes the value of NICET certification to technicians, employers, contract specifiers, AHJs and other stakeholders. He strives to create a customer friendly environment and improve processes while preserv-ing the rigor and integrity of NICET certifications. Prior to joining NICET in 2006, Mr. Hollis spent most of his career in marketing and communication in the association sector. Additionally, he spent three years performing financial analysis in the telecom industry. Mr. Hollis holds a B.S. degree in Business Administration: Marketing from California State University, Long Beach. He earned recognition as a Certified Association Executive in January 2023 from the American Society of Association Executives..

Richard Roberts, Senior Industry Affairs Manager, Honeywell Fire Safety
Summary of Key Changes to the 2022 Edition of NFPA 1225

An informative presentation relating to the new requirements for public safety communications inside buildings. The presentation will summarize the key changes to the 2022 edition of the NFPA 1225, Standard for Emergency Services Communications, for in-building emergency responder communications enhancement systems (ERCES) as well as providing the reasons for the changes and how they will improve the performance and reduce the total installation costs of ERCES.

Presentation Agenda: Requirements that eliminate noise and interference to the public safety macro system; Survivability requirements for backbone cables and backbone cable components; Performance requirements that align with various ICC and NFPA model codes; New testing requirements

Presenter: Richard Roberts is Senior Industry Affairs Manager at Honeywell Security and Fire with over 35 years in the fire alarm and life safety markets. His experience spans the installation, sales, and the development of products/systems. Currently, Mr. Roberts is a member of thirteen NFPA Technical Committees, member of several ICC Fire Code Action Committee (FCAC) Working Groups and a member of two Underwriters Laboratories (UL) Standards Technical Panel (STP). He serves on the Board of Directors for the Fire and Life safety Section (FLSS) of the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), Safer Buildings Coalition (SBC), Center for Campus Fire Safety (CCFS) and is the Chair of NEMA’s Building Codes Committee as well as a member of the Model Codes Committee of the National Association of State Fire Marshals (NASFM).

Larry D. Rietz, SET, CFPS, Vice President,
Service Line Leader for Fire Detection and Alarm, Jensen Hughes
Giant Voice Applications & Design

The increase in Emergency Communications and Mass Notification Systems has increased the need for intelligible voice and audio communication, both indoor and outdoor. This presentation will focus on the guiding principles of mass notification design. This includes the design reliability, code and standards re-quirements, identifying the AHJ, and differences between high-power and medium power loudspeaker arrays. It will help the attendees walk through the design criteria, using acoustic models, and determining overall loudspeaker layout. It will help look at different solutions that can provide cost savings based on various design solutions. This presentation will hopefully help you think outside the box and look for the best solutions based on your situation.

Presenter: Larry D. Rietz is Vice President and Service Line Leader for Fire Detection and Alarm for Jen-sen Hughes and works as a designer, instructor, author, and industry advocate. He is a NICET Level IV Cer-tified Fire Alarm designer and Certified Fire Protection Specialist (CFPS) with over 28 years of life safety industry experience. After working for almost 14 years with a large Fire Alarm manufacturer and service provider, he has spent the last 11 years with Jensen Hughes, 7 of those years as Director of the Denver office. Over those years, he directed the talented team of engineers and helped grow the Denver busi-ness over 300% in just four years. At the same time, he has designed and analyzed multiple large fire alarm and emergency communication systems for transportation, entertainment, and higher education campuses and was the Project Manager for the Denver International Airport Public Safety Notification Upgrade and On-Call Life Safety Systems projects. Larry currently serves on the Automatic Fire Alarm As-sociation (AFAA) Board of Directors as Secretary, on the Technical Committee (Principal) for NFPA 1616 Standard on Mass Evacuation, Sheltering and Re-entry, on the Technical Committee (Principal) for NFPA 72 Chapter 24 (SIG-ECS), on the Technical Committee (Alternate) for NFPA 72 Chapters 12, 21, & 23 (SIG-PRO), on the Technical Committee (Alternate) for NFPA 101/5000 Education and Day-Care Occupan-cies (SAF-END), and on the Technical Committee (Principal) for NPFA 909, Code for the Protection of Cul-tural Resource Properties and NFPA 914, Code for the Protection of Historic Structures (CUL-AAA). He also serves on three different UL Standards Technical Panel (UL 864, 464/1480, and 2525). He is a fre-quent presenter at a large variety of industry events, is a Contract Instructor with AFAA, and is a guest lecturer at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and the University of Maryland (UMD) fire protection programs. NIFAD

The Compliance Engine

Nick Immekus, Vice President, Business Development, BRYCER
History and the "why" of BRYCER, the creators of 3rd Party Inspection Reporting.

What is 3rd Party Inspection Reporting? What benefits does 3rd Party Inspection Reporting provide to ITM's? Our presentation will include case studies from AHJ's having success with 3rd Party Inspection Reporting by BRYCER and Case studies from ITM's (Service Providers) using TCE (The Compliance Engine)

Presenter: Nick Immekus, is the Vice President of Business Development at BRYCER, the creators of The Compliance Engine. Nick began his career in the fire and life safety market working with Tyco Integrated Security, now known as Johnson Controls. Prior to beginning his career at both Tyco and BRYCER, Nick graduated and was a Varsity Letter Winner at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has spent the past 8 years educating the industry-wide shift to 3rd Party Inspection Reporting of Fire Protection Systems, Cross Connection Solutions, Conveyance Systems, Boilers and Pressure Vessels. Nick works closely with AHJ's, ITM's (Service Providers) and Fire/Sprinkler Associations throughout the United States.

National Independent Fire Alarm Distributors Association
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Voice: 781-319-8001 | EMail: CathyTabor@nifad.com