Articles Codes & Standards
The IGMAC certification program

The Insulating Glass Manufacturers Association of Canada, part of the
Insulating Glass Manufacturers Alliance, offers a certification program
for products tested to the Canada General Standards Board 12.8 standard
plus gas content certification.

The Insulating Glass Manufacturers Association of Canada, part of the Insulating Glass Manufacturers Alliance, offers a certification program for products tested to the Canada General Standards Board 12.8 standard plus gas content certification. Products certified by IGMAC meet the highest levels of the CGSB 12.8, giving buyers assurance that the products are among the best available anywhere. Lately, the IGMA has made several changes and updates to the program.

Effective immediately, all annual certification program fees will be invoiced in November of the preceding year. All annual certification fees are due in the IGMA office no later than Dec. 31 of the preceding year in order for a program participant to remain in good standing in the IGMAC Certification Program. This year, invoices for the 2013 annual program participants fees were invoiced in November 2012 and must be received at the IGMA offices no later than Dec. 31, 2012, in order for the member to remain in good standing and be included in the Certified Products Directory.

 Since 2010, the U.S. and Canadian Energy Star programs have required that qualified fenestration products use certified insulating glass units. The IGMAC Certification Program is one of the listed programs. In order to maintain the IGMAC Certification Program as a listed program for both NFRC and the Energy Star programs, a new testing protocol has been added. Effective Jan. 1, 2013, all new prototype products and products requiring retesting due to either failure or recertification must provide four samples fabricated with internal components for the volatile fog test procedure. These units will not be required to undergo high humidity or weather cycling testing. Internal components may include, but are not limited to, blinds, films, decorative glass inserts, grills and muntins.

When testing muntins or grills, test samples shall be fabricated by dividing the sample into nine equal areas (three by three). It is recognized that a given company may use numerous internal components in production units and that it is not practical to test all variations regularly. Guidelines are published at www.igmaonline.org that explain how to submit products with internal components for testing.

Based on comments received on the 2010 Bulletin on Equivalencies and Waivers, IGMA formed component task groups to review the comments, policies and procedures of the IGMAC Certification Program. The IGMA Sealant Task Group met online during the 2010 and 2011 fiscal years to review the current sealant component codes, qualification and equivalency procedures and recommendations to simplify the program. The task group’s findings were reported at the IGMA semi-annual membership meetings, in the IGMA electronic newsletter and on the IGMA website.

In order for a sealant to qualify for equivalency, at least one IGMAC certified product must have been tested with this sealant and successfully met all the IGMAC Certification Program requirements.

The IGMA maintains a Certified Products Directory that includes the name and location of each participating manufacturer and a generic description of the product as certified. IGMA maintains a list of component equivalencies grouped by generic component types. Components listed within a generic category are considered equivalent for the IGMAC certification purposes. The Certified Products Directory is made available through the IGMA website to public and private sector architects, specifiers, building code authorities, and other interested parties.

The Task Group identified circumstances under which changes can be made to generic components of a product without triggering a retest or recertification of the product. It also laid out a set of standards for determining equivalency in sealants. Sealant categories have been updated and simplified. Specifics of all these changes are available on the IGMA website.

Margaret Webb is the executive director of the Insulating Glass Manufacturer’s Alliance.