Elyria, Ohio — RIDGID will continue its partnership with the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors Association by supporting the upcoming CONNECT Conference and Trade Show being held October 3-6, 2017, in Milwaukee. RIDGID is providing a variety of tools for the winners of the apprentice competition and scholarship contest, including wrenches, toilet augers, micro CA-100 inspection cameras, IR-100 Read more
Industry News
Elyria, Ohio — RIDGID will continue its partnership with the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors Association by supporting the upcoming CONNECT Conference and Trade Show being held October 3-6, 2017, in Milwaukee.
RIDGID is providing a variety of tools for the winners of the apprentice competition and scholarship contest, including wrenches, toilet augers, micro CA-100 inspection cameras, IR-100 thermometers and more.
Plumbing and HVAC apprentices from across the country will demonstrate their knowledge and skills in their respective specialties through competitions to win the title and prizes. Scholarship entries were also accepted from the across the United States and were filtered through a rigorous selection process.
“The most important thing we can do right now is to attract and train the next generation of tradespersons,” said Christopher Burton, RIDGID Global Director of Brand Management. “The numbers are daunting. For every four Baby Boomers leaving the trades only one Millennial is entering. We believe that it is our responsibility as a guardian of the trades to partner with organizations like PHCC to reverse this trend. We are making great progress and will continue to invest in this mission.”
In 2016, RIDGID made significant investments to turn its schoolhouse into a state-of-the-art training facility. Each year, new tradespersons and industry veterans participate in more than 1,680 hours of classes to hone their skills there. Through its active and engaged social channels and other partnerships, RIDGID continues to advocate and promote the trades as a meaningful career path with high earning and work-life balance potential.
The latest tool innovations to simplify plumbing, heating and cooling jobs will also be on display in the RIDGID booth (#201).
Stop by the RIDGID booth, learn more at RIDGID.com
Members and staff of the Water Environment Federation (WEF) continue to be extremely concerned about residents of Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico and throughout the Caribbean impacted by the series of devastating hurricanes – Harvey, Irma, and Maria. “Our thoughts are with everyone who has been affected by these incredible storms,” said Eileen O’Neill, Executive Director Read more
Members and staff of the Water Environment Federation (WEF) continue to be extremely concerned about residents of Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico and throughout the Caribbean impacted by the series of devastating hurricanes – Harvey, Irma, and Maria.
“Our thoughts are with everyone who has been affected by these incredible storms,” said Eileen O’Neill, Executive Director of WEF, “It is during dire circumstances like these that we see the incredibly tight-knit nature of the water community. WEF and its members are expressing concern and offering support for colleagues who are working to assist their neighbors and recover essential water services in impacted areas.”
The WEF Board has authorized a donation of $10,000 towards hurricane relief efforts and is encouraging members who wish to support hurricane recovery to consider financial donations. Opportunities to donate to hurricane recovery are also being highlighted for attendees of Water Environment Federation Technical Exhibition and Conference (WEFTEC) in Chicago on September 30 to October 4.
As the recovery from the hurricanes continues, WEF will monitor impacts on the water sector, assist any way the organization is able, advocate for needed assistance, and provide information to its membership.
To assist members affected by the recent hurricanes and by the earthquake in Mexico, WEF has extended the membership status for members from affected areas through the end of the year. WEF is also relaxing refund rules for WEFTEC registrants and exhibiting companies who are in the impacted areas.
“This will be a long recovery and rebuilding process. WEF members have developed expertise in disaster recovery and design of resilient systems as a result of Hurricane Katrina, Superstorm Sandy, and other extreme weather events. Moving forward, WEF is committed to sharing this knowledge and experience to assist the affected communities,” O’Neill said.
Hurricane Harvey
WEF encourages donations to the Water Environment Association of Texas (WEAT) Hurricane Harvey relief fund, which is committed to meaningful and tangible support by equipping volunteer crew: Donate to Hurricane Harvey relief.
Hurricane Irma
WEF encourages donations for the relief effort for Hurricane Irma be made through the American Red Cross: Donate to Hurricane Irma relief.
Hurricane Maria
WEF encourages donations for the relief effort for Hurricane Maria to be made through the American Red Cross: Donate to Hurricane Maria relief.
For information on WEF’s ongoing work in water security and emergency response, including preparedness resources and activities for the water sector, visit the Safety and Security web page.
Charlotte, N.C. — Carrier is introducing a suite of digital solutions that will improve engagement and remote management of commercial heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. Customers with Carrier® SMART Service will now have visibility into their system’s performance and energy usage through a new equipment dashboard and mobile application. In addition, they will Read more
Carrier SMART Service Equipment Dashboard
Charlotte, N.C. — Carrier is introducing a suite of digital solutions that will improve engagement and remote management of commercial heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. Customers with Carrier® SMART Service will now have visibility into their system’s performance and energy usage through a new equipment dashboard and mobile application. In addition, they will have access to an online community portal to help them manage the service and maintenance activity on their HVAC assets. With greater connectivity and system insight, building owners and facility managers can be more proactive about increasing the performance, efficiency and uptime of their systems.
Leveraging the rapidly expanding capabilities of the internet of things (IoT) and cloud-based applications and data management, Carrier has designed these tools to enable mobile-first, on-demand customer engagement.
“This is an exciting time for Carrier and the HVAC industry as the IoT enables innovative and intuitive tools such as these that can improve the customer experience and keep buildings comfortable and efficient,” said Chris Opie, director, North America Commercial Marketing. “We anticipate technologies to continue to evolve and we will continue collaborating with our customers to ensure we deliver solutions that best serve their needs.”
A new equipment dashboard connects customers with their complete portfolio of Carrier SMART Service-enabled equipment, providing real-time visualization of vital system and component level health measures and deeper insight into operating performance and efficiency. Information can be analyzed remotely, so that service technicians can deliver faster, more accurate diagnosis of equipment issues on site.
Carrier SMART Service Customer Community Portal
Customers can also get connected via the Carrier SMART Service mobile app now available for iOS and Android devices. With its simple and intuitive interface, users can remotely monitor the health of their portfolio of chillers in real-time and have oversight of key operating parameters, recent energy consumption trends, as well as weather forecasts to help predict future usage. Advanced notifications can be setup within the app to alert when equipment is operating outside pre-defined parameters.
An online community portal provides Carrier SMART Service customers with a new way to keep track of service and maintenance history, and improves their asset management capabilities for their complete portfolio of HVAC equipment. Users can request and track service online, as well as automate service requests from smart connected equipment, improving budgeting and scheduling. The system also stores site-based service history and account information to provide greater continuity between service technicians, facility managers and others involved in the HVAC system’s operation and maintenance.
“By enabling a more seamless connection between our customers, their HVAC assets, and our field service organization, Carrier SMART Service is improving system-wide performance and reliability at customer sites as a result of faster, more accurate diagnoses of issues and delivering the right service at the right time,” said Chris Nelson, president, North America HVAC Systems & Service. “We’re intensely focused on delighting our customers by delivering services that make them more productive and can help their bottom line.”
For more information, visit www.carrier.com/smartservice.
New York — Over half of America’s skilled trade employees are nearing retirement age and fewer men and women are being prepared to take their places. To address the shortage of skilled laborers, the Copper Development Association (CDA) sponsored the copper piping portion of the annual the United Association (UA) Competition and Instructor Training Program Read more
New York — Over half of America’s skilled trade employees are nearing retirement age and fewer men and women are being prepared to take their places. To address the shortage of skilled laborers, the Copper Development Association (CDA) sponsored the copper piping portion of the annual the United Association (UA) Competition and Instructor Training Program in Ann Arbor, Michigan on August 13-18.
The annual competition featured apprentices from the UA’s six North American districts and Australia who had won local and state events. The week-long event included a series of tests in each field – plumbing, pipefitting, sprinkler fitting, mechanical service and welding – that required apprentices to apply the on-the-job skills and knowledge they’ve gathered at their local union halls. The four-hour copper component of the competition included nearly every type of joining technique for piping systems.
“This competition has given me the opportunity to work on many different things I’ve never worked on before,” said service technician apprentice Andrew Portelli. “Pushing me to a do a project like this has really forced me to learn.”
CDA donated all copper materials for the competition and was responsible for designing and judging the projects. Awards were presented to the winners representing each of the five field specialties:
Plumber:
Matthew Navarro
LU 78
Los Angeles, CA
Pipefitter:
Russell Schumacher
LU 597
Chicago/Mokena, IL
Sprinkler Fitter:
Christian Pierog
LU 853
Markham, Ontario, Canada
Service Technician:
Andrew Portelli
LU 787
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Welder:
Nicholas Lerma
LU 597
Chicago/Mokena, IL
*LU = Local Union
“It’s always interesting to watch the approach that a thoughtful, skilled mechanic brings to a project with no step-by-step instructions,” said Andy Kireta Jr. vice president of CDA. “They each choose where to start and how to proceed. It’s a good thing for many that copper is so forgiving, easy to work with and join that minor mistakes can be fixed without scrapping the whole system.”
CDA also taught courses as part of the UA’s Instructor Training Program. The courses focused on copper techniques and applications, including standards, soldering and brazing, dissimilar metal joining, alternate no-flame joining, joint analysis, corrosion causes and prevention for long-term performance.
“With fewer young men and women looking to join the industry, it is crucial that instructors properly educate our limited workforce,” said Dale Powell of CDA. “Year after year, I see instructors incorrectly perform basic soldering and brazing techniques. Through the training program, CDA is able to help correct these techniques and ensure that proper skills are passed on to future generations.”
The week concluded with the Instructor Training Program graduation ceremony and the announcement of the winners for the apprenticeship competition for each particular discipline. In addition to a commemorative copper trophy, the winners of the copper portion of the contest each received a $1,000 prize from CDA.
“Becoming a tradesmen is a very, very rewarding career,” said Portelli. “You get to learn something new every day. If you want a job where you’re just going to show up and go home, this is not the job for you. It pushes you to better yourself all the time.”
Atlanta — ASHRAE celebrated the grand opening of its new Global Training Center in Dubai with a ribbon cutting ceremony and reception today. The Global Training Center will serve ASHRAE members and other building systems professionals in the Gulf Region and surrounding areas. “ASHRAE and our members are working tirelessly toward our goal of extending Read more
Atlanta — ASHRAE celebrated the grand opening of its new Global Training Center in Dubai with a ribbon cutting ceremony and reception today. The Global Training Center will serve ASHRAE members and other building systems professionals in the Gulf Region and surrounding areas.
“ASHRAE and our members are working tirelessly toward our goal of extending our global community to better embrace our industry’s shared needs and objectives,” said 2017-2018 ASHRAE President Bjarne W. Olesen, Ph.D. “Dubai was an intentional and obvious location to establish the ASHRAE Global Training Center. In doing so, we hope to ensure the technical guidance we produce for all members continues to strengthen through global diversity. This center will empower our members in the Middle East with the knowledge they need to better serve the needs of their local communities.”
The focus of the ASHRAE Global Training Center is to make curricula-based training conveniently available on a regular schedule. The training offered in the center is customized and scalable based upon climate, culture, suppliers, energy sources, prices, codes and construction practices. The center’s instructors are engineers familiar with the intricacies of the Middle East.
To commemorate the opening, ASHRAE hosted a day of events, including a ribbon cutting ceremony, media tours of the facility, and presentations from key ASHRAE members, including some of the center’s course instructors.
“The education and training ASHRAE provides is critical to advancing sustainable technology for the built environment,” said Walid Chakroun, Ph.D., and former chair of ASHRAE’s Publishing and Education Council. “The ASHRAE Global Training Center will bring the Society’s industry leading resources together with highly respected instructors to the Middle East, where robust economic activity and challenging climatic conditions are creating an ever-increasing demand for ongoing training.”
Also in attendance at the Global Training Center grand opening was Ahmed Alaa Eldin, Ph.D., Assistant Regional Chair, ASHRAE Region-At-Large, and a course instructor at the Global Training Center. Dr. Ahmed spoke about the importance of having the training center located in the Middle East market.
“ASHRAE established this center to be an unparalleled resource for building systems professionals in the Gulf Region and surrounding areas,” said Dr. Ahmed. “The Global Training Center will allow ASHRAE members, engineers, and other professionals to access much needed training and education on the many intricacies required to operate more efficient buildings in the Middle East.”
The Global Training Center held its inaugural training from Sept. 10-12. The course, “HVAC Design Essentials” provided participants with practical skills and knowledge to design and maintain HVAC systems. Participants received real-world examples of HVAC systems based on the renovated ASHRAE Headquarters and on buildings in the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA) region. The training leaders for this course were Walid Chakroun, Ph.D., Fellow ASHRAE, and Donald Brandt, BEAP.
Courses are scheduled through the remainder of 2017 with the next available training opportunities to be held in October.
“Variable Refrigerant Flow Systems: Design and Applications,” on Oct. 15, will provide an overview of variable refrigerant flow (VRF) technology, including equipment and system types, heating/cooling operation, heat recovery, and the benefits of VRF systems. Also described is the VRF design process, including load profile analysis, unit sizing, ventilation air strategy, refrigerant piping design, and system monitoring/controls. Refrigerant safety considerations are explained, including a discussion of ASHRAE Standards 15 and 34. The course concludes with a focus on human comfort and sustainable design featuring example buildings, ventilation systems, and VRF system layouts. It will be taught by Hesham Safwat, Ph.D., Member ASHRAE.
“Air-to-Air Heat Recovery Fundamentals & Applications,” on Oct. 16, will feature guidance on one of the most cost-effective and efficient ways to recycle waste energy and create superior indoor environments. This course reviews real-world examples of where and how air-to-air energy recovery technologies are integrated into some of the most common, commercially available systems. A variety of different dedicated outdoor air systems, neutral air systems, and enhanced dehumidification strategies will be examined in detail, along with the advantages and important considerations for using air-to-air energy recovery in many different applications. Hassan Younes, Member ASHRAE, will provide the training.
All courses are eligible for Professional Development Hours (PDHs). Credits correspond to the hours of instruction. These credits are recognized by the ASHRAE Global Training Center for Building Excellence.
For more information and a complete list of upcoming courses, please visit www.ashrae.org/globaltrainingdubai.