NBBI members gather at the Inspection Training Center for a group photo.
Technical Insights and Leadership Take Center Stage at Members’ Meeting
Collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and a collective commitment to safety took center stage at the October Members’ Meeting at the NBBI’s Training & Conference Center in Columbus, Ohio, as jurisdictional chiefs came together to exchange ideas, explore industry challenges, and strengthen the relationships and expertise that support boiler and pressure vessel safety through technical discussions, presentations, and opportunities to learn from colleagues.
“The best part of the week was the depth of the presentations,” Minnesota Chief Howard Berny said. “We had a great variety of presentations – new technologies plus some of the reminders of things we should be doing. It’s just for everybody to understand that we’re all facing the same problems.”
Oregon Chief Tom Clark, also second vice chair of the Board of Trustees, said the range of presentation topics was particularly valuable.
“We had a good diversity of training and covered a lot of different areas because our different members have different specialties or different focuses,” Clark said. “So, it was really good to have a variety of training.”
The week began Oct. 5 with a Board of Trustees meeting, joined by Advisory Committee members and NBBI leadership. The group reviewed current priorities, exchanged ideas, and discussed issues important to NBBI and the industry.
The following morning, George Galanes, chair of the National Board Inspection Code (NBIC) Main Committee, and Melissa Wadkinson, vice chair, presented updates on all four parts of the NBIC.
Christopher Cantrell, ASME senior executive leader – Standards, Certification, and Membership, then led the ASME Conference Committee meeting. Wadkinson also gave updates on ASME Sections I and IV and the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Technical Oversight Management Committee (TOMC), where she serves as vice chair.
The Members’ Technical Discussion, led by Alaska Chief Aaron Dirks and Florida Chief David Warburton, gave attendees an opportunity to share experiences and discuss several industry topics.
Alaska Chief Aaron Dirks and Florida Chief David Warburton led the Members’ Technical Discussion.
The afternoon Members’ Meeting featured updates from standing and special committees, giving members insight into the organization's initiatives and priorities.
Leadership took center stage Oct. 7 when Donnie Campbell, the coach whose philosophy helped inspire actor Jason Sudeikis in developing the character Ted Lasso, gave a presentation that emphasized that effective leadership extends beyond achieving results. Building strong values, developing people, earning trust, and creating an environment where others can succeed are equally important. He also participated in a question-and-answer session with attendees.
Donnie Campbell gave a presentation on leadership.
Clark said Campbell’s message has prompted him to reconsider his approach to leadership and mentoring.
“Donnie really got me thinking about how I need to engage with my own people and be a better mentor,” Clark said. “I try to be a good leader, but I don’t know that I’ve been a good mentor. So that was a great way to rethink how I can engage with them and encourage accountability and ownership.”
The morning continued with a demonstration of pressure relief valve testing.
Tom Beirne, technical manager of the Pressure Relief Laboratory, compared lift assist and standard pop testing in a classroom session before demonstrating both methods at the Inspection Training Center.
Emerging technologies highlighted the afternoon.
Jacqueline Farnsworth, senior systems engineer at Commonwealth Fusion Systems, discussed the current status of the company’s SPARC and ARC fusion systems. Her presentation explored how advances in materials and electromagnetics are helping move tokamak-designed fusion systems closer to producing more energy than they consume.
Holly Burgess, technical lead for industrial and general safety at the National Fire Protection Association, provided an overview of NFPA 85, addressing new installations, management of change, commissioning and training, fuel-system connections, overpressure protection, and combustion-safety functions.
Holly Burgess of the National Fire Protection Association gave an overview of NFPA 85.
Burgess stressed the importance of proper documentation and testing to ensure safety systems and interlocks operate as intended. Members also shared field experiences and discussed opportunities for additional guidance and checklists to support inspectors and facility personnel.
Milton Washington, credentialing manager, then gave an overview of 2027 credentialing changes, followed by an update from Wendy White, director of communications, on the 95th General Meeting, which is May 9-12, 2027, in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Michael San Antonio, national sales manager for the Americas at Fireye, opened the final day with a presentation on the fundamentals of burner flame-safeguard controls. He compared Fireye, Honeywell, and Siemens controls and reviewed operating sequences, interlocks, pre-purge and ignition timing, flame detection, diagnostics, and control listing requirements.
Attendees also discussed common lockout conditions and the importance of identifying the cause of a problem rather than repeatedly resetting a control. The presentation offered practical information inspectors can apply when evaluating burner controls and troubleshooting issues in the field.
Kimberly Miller, director of training, provided an update on online and instructor-led courses, examinations, the Jurisdictional Inspector Training program, and plans for 2027.
In the afternoon session, Mark Mooney, director of operations-software and services, and Jacques Couvillon, director of project management, outlined revised and new functionality being implemented in the JRS program.
Clark, chair of the Committee on Qualifications for Inspection, closed the day with a preview of changes to the 2027 edition of RCI-1, Rules for Commissioned Inspectors. The changes take effect Jan. 1, 2027, with mandatory compliance beginning July 1, 2027.
Gerry Morris, who became chief of the Northwest Territories in September, said attending his first meeting reinforced the value of belonging to a network of professionals who are willing to share their knowledge and support one another.
“The National Board has done an amazing job to support all its members,” he said. “They go out of their way to ensure that everyone doesn’t feel alone, all their questions are answered, all the training and the information that’s available is absolutely incredible.”
BOT Chair Eben Creaser leads the Members’ Meeting.
Berny said his perspective has changed as he has gained experience and watched new chiefs navigate their responsibilities.
“There was enough time to really allow us to engage a lot of the newer inspectors,” he said. “And now that I'm six years here and one of the middle in the seniority chart, it's just way different to see how I'm viewed and how I view new folks coming in and see their challenges.”
The next Members’ Meeting will be held in conjunction with the 95th General Meeting.