b"PRESIDENT'S LETTER andexpertisewhilelookingoutumentsremaininplacetoday. for their perspective. Many of theHowever,thematerialsweused peopleinvolvedarerepresenta- thenhaveundergonereformula-tivesofvariouslabororganiza- tion and improvements that make tions. Labor organizations attemptthem new products with enhanced toassurethatthestandardsdocapabilities. Add in all of the new not, by accident or by unintendedsettingmaterials,membranes omission,maketheinstallationand specialty tile products, then contractoranymoreliableforthrow in some 5' x 10' porcelain the installations performance thanpanels and you have a giant serv-can be reasonably assumed whening of HIGH-RISK STEW made for properlyusingtheproductsandthe installation contractor. In the following the standards. November TileLetter, I mentioned Iconsidermyselfluckytohavewe are proposing changes to the been involved with methods devel- ANSIdocument.Thebasicsof opment for almost two decades. Tothosechangeswereintroduced somefolks,thisistantamounttototheNTCAReferenceManualwatching paint dry. For me, this hasand TCNA Handbook meetings at provided a window to understand- Total solutions Plus. The purpose ingtheHandbookrecommenda- oftheproposedchangesisto tions(TCNA)andtheinstallationupdate the installation standards standards (ANSI). I began to trulyand keep them fl exible and able appreciate the standards during mytoincorporatethemanynew fi materials and their methods andrst, potentially signifi cant, failure. Irealizedlaterthatknowingtheallow being rapidly introduced to standards would have informed methe industry. Its an effort to make about what I was missing and howthe best possible Acronym Soup. to eliminate or at least lessen my exposure.Atthetime,Iwasjust becoming aware of why the manu-alsweresoimportantorhowtoChris Walkertruly understand their value. ThatsNTCA Presidentwhen I realized that the more com- Vice President, plicatedtheworkwewereget- David Allen Companyting became, the more educated IChairman, ANSI A-108needed to be about how to get itChairman, US TAG ISO TC-189properly installed. The tools wereBoard of Directors ABC-VAinmyoffi ce,IjusthadnotpaidVoting Member TCNA Handbookattention to them. Voting Member Fastforward30years.MuchNTCA Reference Manualof the information in those doc- chriswalker@davidallen.com26 TileLetter | December 2019"