NBBI Meeting Code of Conduct

APPLICABLE TO ALL NBBI COMMITTEE MEETINGS

The National Board promotes fair, balanced, and professional conduct in all committee meetings, including, but not limited to:

• Board of Trustees
• National Board Inspection Code (NBIC)
• Committee for Qualifications on Inspection (CQI)
• Members

Promoting this conduct achieves an equitable outcome where all members and visitors feel they are heard and the meeting was facilitated in a respectable and productive manner. 

Committee members and visitors who wish to speak must raise their hand and wait until acknowledged by the Chair before addressing the committee. Each person who is called upon by the Chair will be given a reasonable time to make their point. 
Participants should avoid repeating themselves or using an excessive amount of time to dominate the conversation on a particular subject.  All others shall respect the person speaking and not interrupt them until they complete their thought.
Committee Chairs are responsible to take control of a meeting whenever a member or visitor becomes overly enthusiastic during a heated debate on an issue of contention.

Chairs shall note whenever someone speaks out of turn and rule that person: “Out of Order”.  It is important for Chairs to take control of a meeting before a controversial issue can result in heated arguments by tactfully reminding the member or visitor of the proper meeting rules.  Should the disruptive behavior persist, the Chair should “call the member or visitor to order” and ask that person to be seated and refrain from talking.  If the member or visitor refuses to comply, the Chair’s next step is to officially “name the offender” which, on instructions to the secretary, will become part of the meeting minutes.  Should the person refuse, the Chair shall stop the meeting and call for a recess. The Chair will then ask the offending person to leave the meeting. This action should be reserved as a last resort effort, which is the equivalent to pressing charges against the member. NBBI upper management staff should be notified of any meeting disruptions. The disrupter’s behavior and/or words should be documented. 
If the member or visitor cedes control, the committee members may decide to consider the matter closed or whether a penalty should be imposed. Chairs and committees are not authorized to take penal action. NBBI has procedures that cover the steps toward final resolution of these matters. 

Those individuals in leadership positions within the NBBI’s committee structure shall always exercise proper restraint and not misuse their positions to dominate the discussion in any committee meeting. Dominance means a position or exercise of controlling authority, leadership, or influence by reason of superior leverage, strength, or representation to the exclusion of fair and equitable consideration of other viewpoints.
Committee Chairs shall always assess whether one or more persons, organizations, or interest groups are attempting to exclude fair and equitable consideration of other viewpoints. Some methods of exclusion are:

• deliberately acting in a way which precludes others from having the opportunity to express their viewpoints;
• submitting comments that are intended to or always cause a new vote; or
• taking actions to "control" the agenda, the meeting schedule, ballot issuance, membership on the consensus body and/or related work groups.

Committee Chairs have the authority and responsibility to ensure their NBBI Consensus Committees are run in accordance with NBBI and ANSI rules.  It is important to note that disruptive behavior, if not resolved to the satisfaction of the NBIC Committee, may cause the NBBI to lose it’s ANSI accreditation.