CSA Group, a leading standards development organization and testing and certification services provider, is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2012 Awards for Outstanding Achievement. In its sixth year, CSA Group Awards are presented to individuals, committees and organizations for exceptional service and achievement in the area of standards development. The ceremony was hosted by Ash Sahi, President, CSA Group, and Bonnie Rose, President, Standards, at the University Club atop Symphony Hall in San Diego, CA.

“It is my honor and pleasure to congratulate all of the recipients of this year’s CSA Group Awards for Outstanding Achievement,” said Bonnie Rose. “The contributions made by individuals and organizations, towards standards development helps create a better, safer and more sustainable world. For this, we want to recognize and thank them for their efforts, expertise, and leadership.”

Personal Award of Distinction

In the category of Personal Award of Distinction, individuals are honored for remarkable leadership with the CSA Group standards programs over the tenure of their service. The 2012 recipients are:

Charles Adams has volunteered with CSA Group for more than 20 years, lending his invaluable expertise to the Central Furnaces, Outdoor Cooking and Water Heaters technical advisory groups. He has a thorough understanding of the water heating industry and a recent presentation he gave on high-efficiency water heaters brought some much needed awareness to the impact that future energy-efficiency requirements will have on product design. Mr. Adams presently works as the Director of Government Affairs and Chief Engineer with A.O. Smith Corporation.
Eric Girouard is a recognized industry expert on pressure relief devices for natural gas vehicles. He is also knowledgeable in the areas of component development and component and subsystem integration in vehicle systems. Mr. Girouard is chairperson of the PRD 1/HPRD 1 technical advisory group and a member of other Automotive TAGs and in this role has been key to the advancement of the standards these groups produce. He has also actively promoted the harmonization of technical requirements of the CSA Group standards and ISO documents. Mr. Girouard is currently the President at Emcara Gas Development.

Corporate Award of Merit

The Corporate Award of Merit is given for outstanding achievement by a participating company or organization based on a high level of involvement in CSA Group standards programs and a demonstrated effort supporting CSA Group programs within and outside the organization. The 2012 recipients are:

Selkirk Corporation and its representatives have been invaluable in the development of new definitions used in gas appliance standards that helped support the development of a completely new venting system for gas appliances to enhance safety and reliability. These new standards definitions and testing methodologies have been applied to most major vented gas appliances. These changes also helped pave the way for ever-increasing energy efficiency requirements to gas appliance regulations made by the U.S. Federal Government. Selkirk and its representatives are long-time supporters of the CSA Group standards development process and have consistently provided in-depth technical knowledge to assist in subcommittees and technical advisory groups.
SSP AFV, LLC and its representatives have served on and provided their expertise to various committees since CSA Group’s initiation of the development of requirements for Alternative Energy vehicles. AFV and its representatives have been instrumental with its support of and participation in activities at SAE. AFV’s support was critical in the development of requirements for fittings for use in hydrogen applications (HGV 4.10) and continues to be a strong advocate for the development of alternative fuel vehicle technologies and of CSA Group’s standards program.

Division Medal

The Division Medal is given for outstanding work by a Technical Advisory Group or committee in protecting consumer safety through the advancement of safety technology or practices consistent with sound engineering. The 2012 recipients are:

The Z21/CSA Joint Tag on Standards for Vented Gas-Fired Warm Air Heaters addressed concerns regarding the external temperature of the glass viewing surface of a vented gas fireplace in 2010. Numerous meetings were held over the course of 2011 and the group proposed the option of a barrier on fireplaces under the Z21.50/CSA 2.22 and Z21.88/CSA 2.33 standards. The group also went one step further by making the barrier mandatory on all fireplaces with a glass view surface that exceeds 172oF.
The HGV 4.3 Fueling Parameter Verification Group worked collaboratively and globally to complete this CSA Group standard, with the potential for global application. Prior to formation of this group no seed document or industry consensus standard relating to the safe fueling of hydrogen vehicles existed. Committee members tasked themselves with developing state-of-the-art testing protocols and methodologies. Challenges faced by this group included evolving technology, data based on modeling efforts and multiple OEM vehicle fuel designs which contributed to the complexity of the issue. However, the group researched existing protocols and literature and worked collaboratively to provide a test methodology that is committed to consumer safety.

Service Awards

CSA Group Service Awards were also presented to 35 individuals in recognition and appreciation for their commitment to CSA Group standards programs as voting members of one or more Technical Advisory Groups or Technical Committees for at least five years of uninterrupted service, and with an active participation level.

About CSA Group

CSA Group is an independent, not-for-profit member-based association dedicated to advancing safety, sustainability and social good. We are an internationally-accredited standards development and testing & certification organization. We also provide consumer product evaluation and education & training services. Our broad range of knowledge and expertise includes: industrial equipment, plumbing & construction, electro-medical & healthcare, appliances & gas, alternative energy, lighting and sustainability. The CSA mark appears on billions of products around the world.

Contact

Jennifer Lui
Corporate Communications Officer
CSA Group
416-747-2615
[email protected]