OTTAWA — The Thermal Insulation Association of Canada (TIAC), which oversees quality and standards for mechanical insulation in Canada, has partnered with the Midwest Insulation Contractors’ Association (MICA) to bring the North American Commercial and Industrial Insulation Standards (NACIIS) Manual to Canada.
It is the country’s only standards manual for mechanical insulation and it’s now available for purchase.
In 2017, during the initial stages of updating its Best Practices Guide (BPG), TIAC’s Innovators Group realized there were similarities between the BPG and the MICA manual, then called the National Commercial and Industrial Insulation Standards, indicates a release.
In late 2021, TIAC finalized an agreement with MICA to endorse the manual and the ninth edition was renamed the North American Commercial and Industrial Insulation Standards (NACIIS) manual.
It contains updated information related to the design, specification and installation of thermal insulation on piping, fittings, ductwork, equipment and vessels found within commercial heating/ventilating/ cooling and plumbing systems. Industrial power and process systems information on firestopping systems is also included and refrigeration and cryogenic systems have been added.
“Our industry in Canada now has a fully functional and up-to-date standard that they can refer to when they work on complex projects, or if they simply need a refresher on practices around insulation,” said TIAC president Joey Fabing in a statement. “As well, our industry in Canada now has access to combined expertise — this combined initiative elevates the North American industry as a whole and keeps us all up to date on industry standards.”
The manual is published as a service to contractors, engineers, designers, owners and anyone involved in the mechanical insulation industry. Most of the content is applicable and relevant to both Canadian and American markets.
“We are working on developing a cross-reference document for Canadian users of NACIIS for those instances where practices differ,” said Luis Garcia, chair of TIAC’s Innovators Group. “We will be reaching out to members of TIAC to rely on their expertise and experience to help the Innovators group to ‘Canadianize’ the manual.”
The manual is only available in English but the agreement includes having it translated to French. For more information email info@tiac.ca.
