Diversity is a word thrown around quite a bit lately. But, what does it mean? Diversity is “the practice of including and involving people from a range of different social and ethnic backgrounds and of different genders, sexual orientations, etc.” The definition is clear. However, many wonder why diversity is imperative, particularly in a workplace Read more
Guest Blog
Diversity is a word thrown around quite a bit lately. But, what does it mean? Diversity is “the practice of including and involving people from a range of different social and ethnic backgrounds and of different genders, sexual orientations, etc.” The definition is clear. However, many wonder why diversity is imperative, particularly in a workplace.
Well, like their customers, workplaces should be diverse. Diversity in the workplace provides diverse insight on customer wants and needs. It also increases productivity by providing an increase in employee morale and involvement within the business. A diverse workforce also allows for diverse opinions on the products and services that the workplace offers.
How to incorporate diversity into the workplace:
- Policies should reflect diversity and inclusion – Diversity should be worked into the fabric of the organization’s policies and procedures. This indicates a commitment to diversity and inclusion in all aspects of the organization.
- Offer diversity and inclusion training regularly – This is not a one-and-done concept. Training should be offered by top-tier professionals in their fields. Training should be provided at no additional cost to the employees and should occur regularly.
- Marketing and communications should depict a diverse workforce – If your workforce sees themselves in your brand, they are more likely to commit to and promote that brand. It also sends a message to customers that diversity is paramount to the organization and decision makers.
- Offer mentorship, women’s groups, committees, taskforces, and boards within your organization – These groups, with the support of the organization, offer employees the opportunity to relate to others with similar experiences and work together for the betterment of the organization and society. This is particularly important in construction skilled trades where women are underrepresented. Providing these groups are a great way for employees to connect and prosper.
- Work with leadership and management – It starts at the top. If the leadership and management do not see the value and necessity of diversity, it will not work. Employees must see and believe that their leadership understands diversity and inclusion.
- Encourage an environment of safety and communication – If employees fear retaliation for their opinions, they will stop offering them. Creating an atmosphere that welcomes all forms of constructive feedback allows employees to feel like an integral part of the business and its success.
- Constantly evaluate and revise your methods – The work is never done. Creating a plan and then forgetting about it does not serve the employees or the business. The plan should be constantly scrutinized and improved based off feedback from employees and leadership.
Diversity is here to stay. Denying diversity in the workplace creates a stagnation that will likely not survive our ever-evolving world. Employees and customers have acknowledged repeatedly their appreciation for diversity in the workplace and the world.
Guest Blogger – Allie Perez founded Texas Women in Trades in 2013, an organization working to bring more women, minorities, and young people to the trades. She also serves as the VP of Marketing and Operations at George Plumbing Co. in San Antonio and on the National Taskforce for Tradeswomen as the Communications Committee Co-Chair. A graduate of New York University, Allie has contributed to trade periodicals for more than seven years. To contact her directly, texaswomenintrades@gmail.com.
Today, technology is helping to strengthen the bond between homeowners and HVAC contractors. Installing air conditioners that are equipped with intelligent technology means more comfort, less noise, and increased connectivity. As Global demands for HVAC equipment are expected to increase by 6% annually through 2021, the HVAC industry has undergone a lot of innovation, making Read more
Today, technology is helping to strengthen the bond between homeowners and HVAC contractors. Installing air conditioners that are equipped with intelligent technology means more comfort, less noise, and increased connectivity.
As Global demands for HVAC equipment are expected to increase by 6% annually through 2021, the HVAC industry has undergone a lot of innovation, making it more user-friendly. Thanks to the high-end residential HVAC systems, which give a higher SEER and are as compact and unobtrusive as possible. Not just installation, high-end HVAC systems have made Air Conditioning Maintenance and Repair less cumbersome and more accurate. If you’re in Woodbury, MN, and in need of reliable AC repair services, you can count on professional providers like AC Repair in Woodbury, MN to ensure that your HVAC system is functioning optimally and keeping you comfortable throughout the year.
Of course, a high-end piece of equipment can have all of the benefits in the world, but if nobody purchases it, those benefits won’t be realized. As some people might still be unaware of all the benefits of high-end, intelligent HVAC, next time you decide to buy an air conditioner for your home or office, ask your HVAC Contractor questions like:
- What are the advantages of installing air conditioners with high-end comfort technology?
- How high-end HVAC systems have made Air Conditioning Repair easier?
- What steps to follow for Air Conditioning Maintenance?
- What are the benefits of servicing your HVAC periodically?
Due to the dropping price of technology and the increased availability of financing, more consumers can enjoy the benefits of HVAC systems, creating a larger market for HVAC contractors informed about these systems.
In this article, we will be discussing the following questions:
- What is an HVAC system?
- Advantages of having a high-end HVAC system?
- Benefits of servicing your air conditioner periodically?
- When to service your cooling unit?
Modern HVAC systems include air cleaning and moisture control. A high-end HVAC is a new and upgraded form of air conditioning system having a 15 SEER rating and higher. These are equipped with a dual-speed compressor, variable speed air handler, and have a zoning system.
High-end HVAC systems might cost you a little more initially, but it compensates for the high cost with lower energy bills and reduced maintenance costs.
A connected system HVAC is easier to check, reducing the chance for installation mistakes. These intelligent cooling systems proved very helpful, especially during the coronavirus lockdowns when consumers were worried about people entering their homes. Manufacturers may not have planned the system with this scenario in mind, but it was a fortunate by-product.
Why High-End HVAC?
When we talk about high-end HVAC, quality is something that is always on our minds. Be it the premium comfort or the smart controls, a high-end HVAC is a compilation of everything you ever desire. Cutting-edge air conditioning systems offer a range of benefits including efficiency, reliability, interconnectivity, and enhanced comfort. However, that’s not it. Here is a list of reasons why high-end HVAC is the first choice for most homeowners.
Eco-Friendly
Energy-efficient HVAC systems are the right step towards going green. These systems have high efficiency that uses less energy and burns less fuel(at least 1/3rd less fuel) than older systems.
Quiet Operation
Homeowners, most of the time, want their HVAC to do its job silently, preserving comfort while being both out of sight and out of mind.
These systems come with advanced noise cancellation technology, sometimes operating as low as 51 dB.
Cost Savings
According to Stanford University, more than a third of Americans are currently working from home, leading to a rise in residential energy consumption by as much as 23%. Thus, homeowners are more interested in buying HVAC systems with high efficiency. Smart and new HVAC systems can help you cut your energy bill by at least 20%. Along with this, you end up having a more effective HVAC system with better cooling and heating.
Better airflow quality
As a result of the pandemic, HVAC contractors are aware of the growing importance of healthy indoor air quality. A high-end HVAC, is thus designed such that with proper cooling and heating it also provides a healthy airflow. Proper airflow brings home a pleasant breathing space and lets you have better health along with impurity-free air.
Smart Connectivity
High-end systems offer app-based controls with customizable functionality that fits their family’s lifestyle.” They can schedule the temperature of their home even before reaching their home.
Servicing High-end HVAC
High-end systems also offer unprecedented ease in instalment, granular system control, and advanced methods for diagnosing and reporting system issues by service technicians. With them, you can not only service your system faster but also more accurately.
As regular Air Conditioning Servicing can increase the life of it by 40%, it becomes a crucial component in HVAC maintenance. Holding such a great place in the HVAC industry, some systems even have inbuild displays that show the details such as the general system condition and refrigerant charger, rather than requiring manifold gauges. On the permission given by the owner, technicians can monitor the system, which can help in better diagnosis of the trouble.
A few of the advantages you are likely to enjoy when you have your system serviced periodically include:
- Enhanced efficiency, thus huge savings on energy bills,
- Less repair work and associated costs.
- Increased life of your HVAC.
- Improved indoor air quality.
The best time to service is generally in the Spring, i.e., in late March or early April. You can also consider servicing it sooner if:
- The AC blowing warm air instead of cold air
- Weak airflow in different spots
- Frequent strange sounds coming from your AC
- Smelly odors or water leaks
- If the system is causing high humidity
Residential cooling overall has become much more focused on energy efficiency and personalized comfort in recent years. It’s no longer enough for cooling units to be durable and high performing, but they must offer smart comfort that matches how homeowners use each zone in their home.
While the list might go on, it becomes a clear case that installing a high-end HVAC system is nothing but an intelligent move towards energy-saving and efficient cooling. Keep yourself updated with the new technologies coming up in the HVAC industry, and contact your HVAC contractor for the best advice.
Guest Author – Michael Gonzalez has over 10 years experience with Arctic Fox Cooling Services, which provides knowledgeable air conditioning repairs and installations service in South Florida.
Life can sometimes get overwhelming. It can be a struggle to multitask and cross out your endless activities while still feeling like you aren’t getting anything done. Organization apps can be lifesaving instead of having scattered information across different email addresses, scribbled words on sticky notes, notebooks and journals. Some of these apps are free Read more
Life can sometimes get overwhelming. It can be a struggle to multitask and cross out your endless activities while still feeling like you aren’t getting anything done. Organization apps can be lifesaving instead of having scattered information across different email addresses, scribbled words on sticky notes, notebooks and journals. Some of these apps are free and can help improve productivity while keeping efficiency levels high as well.
With most of the apps available across several platforms (iPhone, iPad, Android, and web), you will be able to streamline specific niches of your life such as work, relationships, and self-care. While your small business can be hard to organize, apps such as fieldpulse.com are a great management app for service contractors. Want to learn more? Check out other apps you can use to add a little organization in your life.
Evernote
This do-it-all app has several organizational features that will help you manage to-do lists, scan business cards, and record voice memos. It can be your digital life cabinet, note-taking tool, recipe-keeper, project management system, and more. It is available on Android and Apple, is free, and offers an optional subscription. A subscription offers more features and storage.
Microsoft To Do
Whether it’s for work, school, or home, To-Do will help you increase your productivity levels while decreasing stress. It is a virtual, Cloud-based app that enables you to track notes, deadlines, tasks, and projects. On iPhone, iPad, and Android, To-Do has unique features, like personalized color-coding, adding reminders and due dates, and taking notes when needed.
Fortunately, Microsoft-To-Do syncs with your phone and computer, so your to-dos are accessible from anywhere in the world and when you’re on the go.
Trello
Trello uses its digital platform to find delight in planning. It has unique designs around the notion of “boards” and “cards.” Think of it like a whiteboard filled with lists of sticky notes, except you can allot due dates, color codes, archive, and set reminders. Collaborate, manage projects and invite teams to work with and reach new productivity peaks as Trello automatically reminds you about anything coming up in the next three days.
You can also use Trello’s intuitive features at home for:
- Booking a vacation
- Party planning
- Home renovation
- Household chores
- Meal planning
It is perfect for collaborating with family and friends too.
Any-Do
It is an award-winning app that helps add tasks, organize them into lists, and add due dates. Available in Android and Apple, it is a part calendar, a part to-do list that integrates nicely with other apps, from note-takers to social networks. It stands out with its daily “Plan my Day” highlight, which forces you to schedule when you’ll accomplish your tasks so that you remember actually to do things. It is free, but a monthly subscription unveils all its features.
Todoist
With over ten million users, Todoist is an excellent app for planning weekly tasks, setting reminders, and turning essential emails into jobs. It is versatile enough to adapt to most workflows but not so complex as to overwhelm. It allows users to mesh their approaches to productivity with well-known methodologies. Todoist is entirely free to use, but when you need additional features like reminders, you can always upgrade to the Pro or Business plan. Paid users can create custom filters and labels, and there are also some basic collaboration features.
Tick-Tick
Whether you need to schedule a plan, make memos, share shopping lists, or collaborate in a team, Ticktick has an excellent interface to keep your life on track. Adding tasks is quick, thanks to natural language processing and a voice input feature. It is available on just about every platform.
Ticktick offers a few features above and beyond what other apps offer, such as a built-in Pomodoro timer, integration with various third-party calendars, and a built-in habit-tracking tool.
The Bottom Line
Depending on what you need, there is a great organizational app for you. Every one of the above-mentioned free apps is pretty great at getting the job done and keeping you productive.
Over the last year, the construction industry like many other industries have faced various impacts from the pandemic. One of the largest hurdles they have had to overcome is the lack of access to job sites. Around the world safety restrictions have been instituted, ranging from international lockdowns to limiting just two people to each Read more
Over the last year, the construction industry like many other industries have faced various impacts from the pandemic. One of the largest hurdles they have had to overcome is the lack of access to job sites. Around the world safety restrictions have been instituted, ranging from international lockdowns to limiting just two people to each freight elevator, which a year ago were shuttling dozens of construction workers in one cabin. This has required construction managers to find innovative solutions to move projects forward without incurring additional risks or delays.
Integrating technology into the construction process has become a necessity for many construction teams to maintain communication with all parties, monitor site progression, and complete various tasks typically done in person. Technology platforms like OpenSpace.ai provide 3D photo documentation capabilities allowing project teams and stakeholders to virtually track and tour job sites they’re not able to visit in person. Other apps offering virtual assistance like advanced calendaring, geo-locating and equipment tracking, have all helped to ensure seamless continuity over the past year.
Outside of on-site challenges, access to commodities have caused issues with project progression. When foreign steel and lumber companies experienced supply chain shortages, many construction firms turned to domestic providers. As a result, understanding the global landscape with local market knowledge has been crucial when looking for and sourcing materials. Having local connections has enabled many construction jobs to continue with limited interruptions.
Maintaining a strong client experience, even while incurring internal and external challenges is important. Just like with their internal teams, construction managers need to make sure their key stakeholders and decision makers are informed, comfortable, and satisfied through the process. Especially if teams are unable to visit site locations, finding work arounds, communicating, and reinforcing commitment is key.
Through an integrated approach blending strategy and design with pre-construction and delivery, issues with access and other hurdles are resolved early on in the project. Combining these services into one process removes the risk of cost overrun, scheduling delays, and other risks. When construction is involved in the beginning, during the planning stages, potential issues can be communicated and minimized with a collaborative plan of attack. This enables teams to deliver projects more quickly without sacrificing quality. Especially during uncertain times, a seamless process and end-to-end experience can establish a long-standing partnership with clients.
An example of leveraging technology and an end-to-end process to overcome significant Covid-19 hurdles is when Unispace managed a project in Canada for an American client, and both the project team and client were unable to cross the border. The team had to get creative to move the project forward while keeping the client informed and satisfied. OpenSpace along with a streamlined communication across internal and external parties allowed Unispace to navigate the project completely remotely, without ever visiting the job site. This type of agile process is expected in the future as firms and their clients continue to navigate the evolving real estate landscape.
Managing large commercial real estate projects nationally and globally requires a seamless approach enabled by workplace intelligence and technology to meet the pace of change. The pandemic has challenged construction and design executives to push the boundaries and expand their horizons to incorporate new tools and processes. By leveraging technology, knowing the local markets, and focusing on the client experience, all within an end-to-end approach, construction managers can complete projects successfully even under difficult circumstances.
Tracy Lea Neff is a highly accomplished workplace design and delivery professional who has oversight of the North America Unispace Delivery team and all construction projects in the Americas. Recipient of the 2017 New England CoreNet Americas Real Estate Executive of the Year Award and a graduate of the 2018 CoreNet New England Leadership 2.0 Program.
Hiring, Inflation, Spending, and Travel will Trend Higher The U.S. will add more than 2 million jobs Between April and June, our great nation will add about 700,000 jobs per month on average. If I’m wrong, I’ll still have a job since I own my business, and I won’t be laying me off. If I’m Read more
Hiring, Inflation, Spending, and Travel will Trend Higher
The U.S. will add more than 2 million jobs
Between April and June, our great nation will add about 700,000 jobs per month on average. If I’m wrong, I’ll still have a job since I own my business, and I won’t be laying me off. If I’m right, America will still be down by more than 7 million jobs since the pandemic began.
Inflation will surpass 2%, with commodity prices surging
Actual inflation has trended well below expected inflation since the pandemic began in early 2020, but we’ll see it pick up in the second quarter of 2021. Supply chains are already unsettled, not just by trade disputes, Brexit, and COVID-19, but by a big boat that was stuck in the middle of the Suez Canal.
With a tsunami of demand coming from global consumers during the months to come, shortages of many inputs will worsen and prices will be pushed higher. Some of this has already happened. Softwood lumber prices are up 80% over the past year,¹ driving up the cost of building the typical single-family home by approximately $24,000.² Iron and steel prices are up 22%, and overall construction input prices are up nearly 8%.³
Consumer discretionary spending will expand dramatically
This one is obvious. With the household savings rate bulked up by stimulus and the suppression of many spending opportunities, consumer spending will take off during the months ahead. Retailers would be wise to invest intensely in their inventories in order to take advantage of surging demand.
Leisure travel will quickly return to pre-pandemic levels
It’s been a long year (365 days). If you didn’t need a vacation before, you need one now, and you aren’t alone. Book your flights now. Make your hotel reservations now. People are itching to travel (itchiness, as far as I know, isn’t a COVID-19 symptom), and you don’t want to be left behind.
From March 14-20, U.S. hotel occupancy rates reached 85% of 2019 levels, which means that many people are already on the move.⁴ You saw the pictures from Miami Beach. In some places in Texas and Florida, where pandemic restrictions have been lifted and have stayed lifted, hotel occupancy is already above 2019 levels. Oh, and make your restaurant reservations, too. While reservations are still down about 25% from the same time in 2019, that will change quickly as more people are fully vaccinated.⁵
Business travel won’t
Leisure travel will likely return to normal levels this summer. Business travel won’t. During the week of March 25, TSA headcount numbers were down 37% from the same week in 2019.⁶ Even as pandemic-related restrictions are lifted, many businesses have learned that Zoom calls are easier and cheaper than flying across the country to meet face-to-face. So while business travel will pick up during the months ahead, it will be a long time before it is fully recovered. That means fewer people on their cellphones as you patiently wait in terminals.
What to Watch
Inflation, inflation, inflation. Whether or not the Federal Reserve or the Treasury Department believes it, the inflation risk is every bit as real as the Dodgers winning another World Series.
Enjoy!
Anirban Basu, Chairman & CEO
Anirban is a study in contradictions. He has been called an economist with a personality, or alternatively, one with a sense of humor. He has twice been recognized as one of Maryland’s 50 most influential people. He has also been named one of the Baltimore region’s 20 most powerful business leaders. In 2014, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan appointed Dr. Basu as Chairman of the Maryland Economic Development Commission. He teaches global strategy at Johns Hopkins University and serves the Chief Economist function for a number of organizations around the country. He has read every one of Agatha Christie’s novels, is an avid fan of James Bond, English football, Indian cricket, all Baltimore teams, and lives with his wife and two daughters, Kimaya and Kohena