Contractor - March 2024

Modular Manufacturer Boxabi turns to Saniflo for Solutions

LAS VEGAS, NV — Boxabl is a newly founded, modular home-building system that began in 2017. Created by Galiano Tiramani and Kyle Denman, the company aims to lower the

cost of homeownership and, ultimately, change the way houses are built.

Their prefabricated studio apartments are entirely mobile

➤ Turn to Boxabl, page 10

WASHINGTON, DC — The construction industry will need to attract an estimated 501,000 additional workers on top of the normal pace of hiring in 2024 to meet the demand for labor, according to a proprietary model developed by Associated Builders and Contractors. In 2025, the industry will need to bring in nearly 454,000 new workers on top of normal hiring to meet industry demand, and that’s presuming that construction spending growth slows significantly next year.

“ABC estimates that the US construction industry needs to attract about a half million new workers in 2024 to balance supply and demand,” said Michael Bellaman , ABC

, and Kenneth Sutherland , the owners of Liberty Water & Sewer (Liberty Water), a Brooklyn-based plumbing company which they operate as a partnership, with tax

➤ Turn to ABC, page 37 ➤

Boxabl modular homes are manufactured in Las Vegas, NV.

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Bradford White Donates to Philadelphia Families in Need

AMBLER, PA — Eight low-income Philadelphia families are receiving new energy efficient water heaters, thanks to a generous donation from Bradford White Corporation, an industry-leading American manufacturer of water heaters, boilers and storage tanks.

The donation, which comes during Random Acts of Kindness Week, stems from Bradford White’s signature charitable giving initiative, Industry Forward ® . Eight

Home Service Category Experiences Growth in 2023 Despite Inflation

TORONTO, ONT, CANADA — Jobber, a leading provider of operations management software for home service businesses, today released its latest Home Service Economic Report: 2023 Review and 2024 Outlook. The report features expert insights and proprietary data aggregated from more than 200,000 residential cleaners, landscapers, HVAC technicians, electricians, plumbers, and more, who run their businesses using Jobber.

“The Home Service category continues to

Victaulic® Acquires Utility Coatings & Fabrication, Inc.

EASTON, PA — On February 7, 2024, Victaulic, a leading manufacturer of mechanical pipe joining, fire protection, and flow control solutions, acquired Utility Coatings & Fabrication, Inc. (UCF) located in West Jordan, UT. The acquisition supports the company’s growth in the Infrastructure, Waterworks, Energy, and Commercial construction markets by increasing capacity

for large-diameter piping solutions, fabrication, and coatings and linings capabilities. It is also aligned with the strategy to manufacture these products in the United States.

“This acquisition represents Victaulic’s fourth consecutive investment in the last

sq. ft. facility will increase production. .

16 Forum: Putting the Smarts in Water Management

Our Q&A with Yaron Dycian of WINT Water Intelligence.

18 Feature: AHR Expo Returns to Chicago

The big show welcomed 48,034 attendees and 1,875 exhibitors.

32 Modular Construction and the Housing Crisis

Innovative design (and in-wall carrier systems) offer solutions.

38 Green Products

42 Editorial

The Real Value of In-Person Events

14 Management by Al Schwartz

Take Care of the Little Things in Your Plumbing Business

22 Hydronics by Pat Linhardt

Snow Melt System vs. Potential Snowmageddon

26 Technology by Patti Feldman

Solutions Providing Handy, Helpful Capabilities

28 Best Practices by Randy Pitre

Making Careers in Construction a Popular Path

30 Best Practices by Hunter Wynne

Boost Your Bottom Line with Proper Fall Protection Systems

Editorial Offices

Forte Construction recently held its staff-picked charity contest. This year’s winner was Girl Scout Troop 6000, which serves thousands of young homeless girls living in the NYC shelter system. Forte presented a $10,000 donation during a ceremony at one of the 20 citywide shelters where the Troop holds its meetings.

RESNET® announced that it reached the milestone of four million HERS-Rated Homes. A HERS Index Score allows for a uniform estimate of a home’s energy consumption and provides buyers/owners with a reference point for how energy efficient it is. The four millionth HERS-rated home is an apartment unit in a low-rise multifamily building in Missouri, rated by Erik Henson of Midwest Energy Consultants and built by Cardinal Crest.

NTEA released a new edition of its Commercial Vehicle Certification Guide to capture the latest regulatory information in the US and Canada. The Guide offers a representation of compliance mandates and implications facing work truck industry companies in North America. Content addresses safety certification and labeling requirements vital to conformance with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Transport Canada regulations.

A. O. Smith, a leader in water heating and water treatment, was recognized for design excellence by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies in the 2023 Chicago Athenaeum GOOD DESIGN® Awards for its Voltex® AL Hybrid Electric Heat Pump Water Heater (HPWH).

Duravit has partnered with a new strategic agency representative, HyLine Sales, to support the growth in the British Columbia market. Their team will serve as an important partner for Duravit, helping promote the brand’s premium bathroom solutions in this region.

Voting is now open for Northern Tool + Equipment’s second annual Klutch Welding Helmet Sweepstakes. Two artists are going head-to-head to have their designs sold as a limitededition release in the company’s stores in August 2024. Cast your vote at https://www.northerntool.com/klutchhelmet-sweepstakes.

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Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Invests

$3.2 Million in U.S. Boiler Company’s Expansion

HARRISBURG, PA — Today, Governor Josh Shapiro announced the Commonwealth is investing more than $3.2 million in U.S. Boiler Company to support the residential and light commercial heating product manufacturer’s growth in Pennsylvania. Headquartered in Lancaster for over 30 years, the company’s $5.5 million expansion project will create at least 15 new jobs and retain 117 existing jobs.

U.S. Boiler Company is constructing a new 45,000-square-foot manufacturing facility at 2930 Old Tree Road in Lancaster that will house state of the art production lines, conveyors and storage racking. This expansion will allow the company to increase production of its most popular family of low-emission, high-efficiency boilers, Alta.

Pennsylvania is successfully competing with other states and countries to attract and retain business—like U.S. Boiler Company, which chose the Commonwealth over North Carolina for its latest expansion. Since January 2023, Governor Shapiro has announced more than $1.2 billion in new private sector investment in Pennsylvania as a direct result of his Administration’s work.

Open for Business

“When strong manufacturers like U.S. Boiler Company choose to grow in Pennsylvania, it sends a clear message around the world that we are open for business and we have what companies need to thrive,” said Governor Josh Shapiro. “I’m competitive as hell and my Administration is doubling down

The company will construct a new 45,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Lancaster, PA.

on our efforts to work at the speed of business and make Pennsylvania a leader in job growth and economic development.”

This investment builds on Governor Shapiro’s commitment to growing and strengthening our economy, creating real opportunity and a better future for Pennsylvanians. His 2024-25 budget proposes more than $600 million in total new and expanded economic development investments, including $25 million for the newly proposed Main Street Matters program to support small businesses and commercial corridors, $20 million to support large scale innovation and $500

million in PA Sites funding to bring more commercial and industrial sites online.

Governor Shapiro and Secretary Rick Siger also recently launched the Commonwealth’s first Economic Development Strategy in nearly two decades—building on the Shapiro Administration’s work to make Pennsylvania a leader in innovation and economic development and to create economic opportunity for all Pennsylvanians.

U.S. Boiler Company

U.S. Boiler Company received a funding proposal from the Department of Community and Economic

Schedule Released for Eighth Emerging Water Technology Symposium

ONTARIO, CA — Early-bird registration is now open for the eighth Emerging Water Technology Symposium (EWTS), taking place May 14-15 in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The EWTS provides a unique opportunity to meet well-known experts from across the globe. Participants can discover ideas and approaches about

emerging technologies coming to market and learn about inno vative sustainable plumbing and mechanical concepts.

The EWTS is co-convened by the American Society of Plumbing Engineers (ASPE), the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) and

Plumbing Manufacturers International (PMI), in cooperation with the World Plumbing Council (WPC).

To register, visit https://events. aspe.org/2024EWTS. Information may be found at www.ewts.org . For questions about the EWTS, please contact Maria Bazan at 708/995-3000.

Development (DCED) for a $3 million Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority (PIDA) loan, a $177,000 Pennsylvania First grant, and a $45,000 workforce development grant to train workers.

Established in 1992, U.S. Boiler Company is a manufacturer of residential and light commercial heating products. Headquartered with its sole operations in Lancaster, its products are manufactured for exclusive use in North America. U.S. Boiler Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Burnham Holdings, Inc., also headquartered in Lancaster.

“Burnham Holdings and U.S. Boiler have been committed to Pennsylvania for decades,” said Christopher Drew, President and CEO, Burnham Holdings Inc. “The Commonwealth’s support of this project, which expands USB’s production capacity for its best-selling low emission, high-efficiency boiler product, the Alta, is a win for U.S. Boiler and a win for Pennsylvania.”

“The Commonwealth’s support for our over 200 union and non-union employees is a testament to Governor Shapiro’s desire to see Pennsylvania manufacturing grow and flourish,” said Keith Diller , President, U.S. Boiler Company.

The project was coordinated by the Governor’s Action Team, an experienced group of economic development professionals who report directly to the Governor and work with businesses that are considering locating or expanding in Pennsylvania.

“Manufacturing remains the leading sector of Lancaster County’s economy, contributing 17.2% of our GDP and 16.7% of our total employment,” said John Biemiller , Director of Business Retention and Expansion for EDC Lancaster County. “This investment by U.S. Boiler Company strengthens their local operations and further builds the industrial base in this community.”

For more information on the Shapiro Administration visit governor.pa.gov/ accomplishments.

The Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg.

Bradford White Donates to Philadelphia Families in Need

➤ Continued from page 3

40-gallon water heaters are being provided to very deserving families who have contacted Philadelphia’s Energy Coordinating Agency (ECA) Heater Hotline. ECA is an Industry Forward® partner that has a strong history with Bradford White.

Rich-Tomkins , a manufacturer’s representative for the company, helped coordinate the product delivery and ECA’s trained staff, which helped identify families most in need, will be installing the water heaters.

Mission and Values

“At Bradford White, giving back to our communities and providing help to those in need, is part of our mission and core values as a company,” said Rebecca Owens , senior manager of communications for Bradford White. “By providing water heaters to several

families in need during Random Acts of Kindness Week we hope to inspire others to show kindness and give back as well so we work together to make

senior citizen homeowners or families who resort to the dangerous practice of heating water on a range for bathing and household cleaning.

In partnership with Pennsylvania’s Energy Coordinating Agency, company donates eight water heaters.

a positive impact on people’s lives. We are truly grateful to partner with ECA and provide essential hot water to families who have been without for far too long.”

ECA’s Heater Hotline team receives numerous calls each week from low-income families who have no hot water because water heater replacement is not covered under other low-income programs. Such calls often come from

The Philadelphia Emergency Water Heater Fund, created by ECA in 2022, has already used its allotted funding for the year and Bradford White stepped up to assist when it heard of the need.

“A True Partner”

“We are deeply appreciative of the continued partnership with Bradford White and their generosity through

their innovative Industry Forward ® program,” said Steve Luxton , ECA chief executive officer. “There are so many families in need of hot water and Bradford White’s continued support to lend a hand and give back to families in need is so important. They are a true partner to Philadelphia families, many of whom are struggling to make ends meet.”

Bradford White has partnered with ECA on several recent projects, including a $50,000 Industry Forward® grant to help ECA launch a pilot internship program for young people and emerging workers from Philadelphia’s disadvantaged communities to receive training on heat pump water heater installation and maintenance.

For more information about Bradford White Corporation’s Industry Forward® initiative, visit https://www.bradfordwhitecorporation.com/giving/

New Modular-Dwelling Manufacturer, Boxabl

➤ Continued from page 1

and delivered via a shipping container. Upon arrival at the site, they can then be readily unfolded and available to take up residence.

Recently, Boxabl opened a large 170,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Las Vegas. enabling the company to produce thousands of prefab structures annually. In 2021, Boxabl released its first product: a 375-squarefoot studio apartment named the Casita. According to Business Insider, Elon Musk is said to own and live in a Casita, which costs $49,500.

With quality, strength and sustainability top of mind, Denman, who serves as Director of Engineering, sought a toilet solution that could be placed anywhere within the studio’s interior, while allowing for easy connection to a nearby sewer system.

After conducting research, Denman concluded a “back-exit toilet”—as opposed to a conventional water closet that drains out the bottom—would provide the installation-easy and ready fit with Boxabl’s designs that he and Tiramani were seeking.

A Plug-and-Play Solution

Denman ultimately chose Saniflo’s Rear Discharge Toilet, a vitreous china, floor-mounted model that is normally coupled with the company’s Saniaccess 2 or Saniaccess 3 macerating pumping systems. The latter provide easy-to-install, above-floor drainage for not only the toilet, but also other fixtures—as tubs, showers or sinks—in residential and commercial applications where below-floor drainage is impractical.

“The Saniflo toilet is the perfect solution for our modular application,” explains Denman. “I can locate the fixture almost anywhere that makes sense in the space. It allows for a plug-and-play setup, making the prep work before the installation a lot simpler and easier.”

Boxabl founder Tiramani adds: “We chose a rear-spigot

Boxabl founders opted for Saniflo’s Rear Discharge Toilet to gain substantial efficiencies in the manufacturing process of their 375-square-foot modular units.

model, so that we could elevate the discharge pipe enough to permit drainage through the side of the house and not the bottom. We didn’t want drainage to exit through the bottom of the house because it would make installation more difficult when deploying the modules on-site.” Tiramani adds, “It’s easier if all connections can exit through the side of the house.”Aligned with Boxabl’s focus on durability and sustainability, the Saniflo Rear Discharge Toilet meets national plumbing codes and is recognized by the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) WaterSense product-labeling program and ADA compliant. Using only 1.28 gallons of water per flush, the complete toilet system comes equipped with everything needed for installation, plus a stylish, soft-close toilet seat. The toilet uses a three-inch drain line to send effluent to a sewer system or a blackwater storage tank.

“In total it takes us about 30 minutes to attach the toilet,” states Denman. “A traditional bottom-exit toilet would require two to three hours.”

Highly Satisfied

Boxabl began the production of its apartment studios in October 2021 and expected to build 20 homes by the end of 2021, according to Tiramani. “We have an initial order from the federal government to ship houses to the Department of Defense for a military base. After that, we’ll expand our product services to Nevada and California.”

Highly satisfied with the Saniflo Rear Discharge Toilet, Denman emphasizes how it makes Boxbl’s studio production more efficient.

“For future models, we’ll use this same toilet for its ease of assembly and installation. In addition, because of the product’s location flexibility, our customers can readily connect them on-site without struggling to line up the toilet with a pipe punch-out in the wall.”

The bathroom includes a full-size shower, a sink and the Saniflo Rear Discharge Toilet.

The Saniflo Rear Discharge Toilet is located on the left side in this Boxabl studio apartment.

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a n d s e r v i c e d b y a f fi l i a t e d a n d t h i r dp a r t y i n s u r e r s

P r o g r e s s i v e C a s u a l t y I n s C o C o v e r a g e p r o v d e d

Home Services Experience Growth in 2023 Despite Inflation

➤ Continued from page 3

demonstrate impressive resilience despite economic challenges impacting consumer spending, commodity prices, and labor shortages,” explained Sam Pillar , CEO & co-founder at Jobber.

Revenue Remains Resilient

Despite a decrease in new jobs being scheduled in 2023, the Home Service category demonstrated an ongoing pattern of stability and strength underscored by continued revenue growth. Service providers have

maintained their pricing power, primarily driven by increasing service costs or offering add-on services. Businesses have demonstrated flexibility, smartly adjusting their prices to grow earnings.

• Contracting: The Contracting

“With Watco, we don’t need test balls or plugs.”

segment, which includes arborists, electricians, handymen, HVAC, plumbers, and other non-construction contractor services, maintained flat revenue growth year-over-year and generated positive growth on a 2-year annualized basis.

• Construction: The Construction segment, which includes residential and commercial construction, remodeling, and related industries, experienced a 5-10% decrease in new work being scheduled throughout 2023. Despite this, businesses were able to slightly grow revenues for the year.

Homeowner Habits

“We’re involved with over 1200 units a year,” said Clay Coones, purchasing manager for Garrison Plumbing of Olathe, Kansas.

Cl purchasing manager for Garrison of Kansas.

The strength of consumers and their ability to spend on home services remains one of the key determinants for the Home Service category.

“Other shower drain membranes wouldn’t hold air. Switching to Watco shower drains eliminated that problem.

“Other wouldn’t hold air. to that

“It makes easy for water.

olds air It works And no more test or That’s what we ut it ”

“It makes things easy for us,” Coones said. “It drains water. It holds air. It works. And no more test balls or plugs. That’s what we like about it.”

● The Innovator® test membrane is testable to 22 P.S.I. or five floors.

● Polycarbonate green cover protects grid finish during construction.

Digital payments continue to increase as the preferred payment option for homeowners. Credit and debit payments, as well as ACH, increased in popularity during the pandemic lockdowns, and that popularity has not reversed. These methods consistently make up approximately 40% of all Home Service transactions.

The Road Forward

Inflation, a weaker housing market, and strong, but slowing, consumer demand resulted in tremendous economic challenges for home services in 2023. Home service businesses have fared well against these challenges and some relief is expected in 2024.

“Home service businesses have proven their resilience time and time again,” said Abheek Dhawan , VP, Business Operations at Jobber. “Last year, revenue growth remained positive due to the aging housing stock in addition to record-high home equity values. Based on the trends we’re seeing today, 2024 is poised to be a strong year for entrepreneurs in Home Service.”

To download the Jobber Home Service Economic Report: 2023 Review and 2024 Outlook, visit: https://jobber.com/ home-service-reports/feb-2024/.

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Take Care of the Little Things in Your Plumbing Business

When you run a business, any business, it sometimes seems like you are being nibbled to death by ducks. We are always on the lookout for the “big things” that will bring us asunder; cash flow, late payment, insurance increases, fuel costs, material cost increases, wages, payroll issues and the like. The reality is that the little things that can go wrong, consistently, are a much greater cause for concern. Why? Because they bleed profit and operating capital at a slow rate and, because they do so at that slow rate, we don’t pay much attention to them.

Aim Small... Miss Small

If you saw the movie American Sniper the actor playing Chris Kyle says the mantra regarding accuracy, “aim small...miss small,” which is an apt description of what I am driving at; while we might be worrying about that $10,000 check that is due on the first of the month, not paying attention to the inventory in your service trucks can cost you that much or more annually.

Have you ever had a service plumber sell an item off his truck at a price less than cost because he didn’t have pricing information for it? How about looking inside one of your trucks and finding hundreds of dollars’ worth of salable materials strewn across the floor or stuffed between the seats? Polished chrome

Keeping control of the little things that siphon your profits and capital is not hard — sometimes making the decision to do it is the hard part.

parts don’t sell well once they have been used as air hockey pucks across the truck bed. Costs incurred from damaged and destroyed service truck inventory (and job site inventory as well) are a big-ticket item wrapped in a small package.

Gaining and keeping control of the little things that siphon your profits and working capital is not hard to do. Sometimes making the decision to do it is the hard part. If you are an organized person, you probably already have some system in place to catch some of the waste, so turning that system up a notch should not be all that difficult. If you are not so organized it might be more difficult. Deciding that it is worthwhile is the first step.

Gaining Inventory Control

One of the easiest things to do, especially using computer technology, is to get control of your inventory. Your entire inventory. You can do it all at once or in small increments, but do it you must.

If you decide to do it all at once, you can designate a specific day(s) and have all your employees on hand to get it done in one fell swoop. If you can’t dedicate your company operation for that concentrated effort, then doing it in small increments, say one truck or location at a time.

Count every single item. Don’t lump things together. Make a material list and count off the items

on it one at a time. If you come upon an item that is not on your list, add it as a line item. Once you have accomplished this task you will have done several things; first, you will know within a reasonable cer tainty what material you have on hand. Second, you will be able to see what stock is stale and what moves so that your ordering will be more efficient. Third, by applying values to your inventory, you will have a good idea of the dollars that you have invested in it. Fourth, your accountant will love you, because you will have an accurate dollar figure that he can work with when preparing your financial statements.

Keeping it Consistent

So now you know what you have on hand. How do you keep that information updated and consistent? My suggestion would be to make up a digital price book (a data base) for your service plumbers. One that can then be uploaded to whatever devices you use for such data. You already have the inventory list, so adapting it for use by your field sales force is the next step. It is an easy thing then to generate a “sell” price list and have it in the hands of your employees. By doing that you will eliminate the guesswork when it comes to pricing a service ticket in the field, and you’ll be able to adjust your inventory on hand by deducting the materials used from each truck (or job site) from your master list on a daily basis.

If your service tickets do not have a way to itemize each part on them, you will need to add that to them. Listing materials on the ticket makes everyone’s job easier and gives the customer something he can refer to as well. If you file job tickets daily from your service trucks, it will also be an easy matter to replace the material which was used on those trucks on a daily basis as well. You can have your plumbers restock from the shop at the end of each day based upon the materials shown on their service tickets. It is a matter of a few minutes at the end of the day to do this. In this way your service trucks will always be completely stocked and ready for the next job and your inventory will be current and updated daily.

The headaches you will have eliminated by keeping track of these issues are many and worth the effort in the long term.

The Brooklyn, NY-born author is a retired third generation master plumber. He founded Sunflower Plumbing & Heating in Shirley, NY, in 1975 and A Professional Commercial Plumbing Inc. in Phoenix in 1980. He holds residential, commercial, industrial and solar plumbing licenses and is certified in welding, clean rooms, polypropylene gas fusion and medical gas piping. He can be reached at omeletman01@gmail.com

by John Mesenbrink EDITOR-AT-LARGE

Putting the Smarts into a Water Management Plan

NEW YORK, NY — As CONTRACTOR Magazine celebrates 70 years this September, it’s interesting to think about the evolution of technology in the trades over the decades. But, would you have ever thought that we’d be managing water through an artificial intelligence source?

Well, WINT and its experts recognized that water damage and risk were an ongoing challenge in the construction and operation of large commercial buildings and facilities. By helping stakeholders in those industries mitigate the risk of water damage and prevent water loss—by using AI—they could also help conserve a scarce, essential resource.

Since then, WINT has become the leader in AI-based water management solutions for construction and facilities. The company recently completed a $35 million Series C funding round, demonstrating the confidence investors have in WINT’s effectiveness. In addition, more than 14,000 WINT systems have been installed around the world by 400 enterprises.

Recently, we caught up with Yaron Dycian , Chief Product and Strategy Officer to learn about the water management solution.

CONTRACTOR: We are hearing more and more about AI, for better or for worse. In WINT’s case, for the much better. Explain how AI is integrated into the system.

DYCIAN: WINT’s water management solution is definitely an example

of artificial intelligence being applied for positive impact. AI can help organizations solve highly complex problems by applying deep analytics and continuous learning. WINT’s AI collects and analyzes data from sensors to deploy real-time solutions, mitigate risk, prioritize preventative maintenance and prevent unplanned downtime.

Our systems collect data and continuously learn and adapt to water usage patterns at each individual location. With our advanced analytics and large proprietary database, our technology can identify normal patterns of use, taking into account a building or site’s location, use, variability across hours of operation and other variables. For example, the system will recognize a continuously running toilet or heavier than anticipated use in an office building late at night. In the case of an anomaly, the system will alert management in real time and can shut off the water supply automatically to prevent large losses or potential damage.

CONTRACTOR: Is there any sort of insurance incentive to implement WINT?

DYCIAN: Water damage incidents now make up 30% of construction-related insurance claims every year, resulting in approximately $16 billion in payouts and is the third most common

source of damage in commercial and residential building. As a result, the cost of premiums and deductibles for water damage claims has risen sharply, from tens of thousands of dollars a few years ago up to $1 million or more per incident in some cases.

A comprehensive risk management strategy must address the rising costs faced by contractors and insurers. Many insurers now offer financial incentives and reliefs such as lower deductibles and premiums to customers who implement WINT and other proven technology systems to manage water-related risk. Others require WINT as a prerequisite for insurance coverage.

A recently launched warranty program backed by leading international insurer HSB, a Munich Re company, protects developers and contractors from the impact of steep deductibles by providing up to $250,000 coverage for water damage on construction sites protected by WINT.

CONTRACTOR: How does WINT indirectly cut carbon emissions?

DYCIAN: The treatment and distribution of our water supply requires large expenditures of energy, which result in significant greenhouse gas emissions. Every 1,000 gallons of water consumed generates 85 pounds of carbon that is released into the atmosphere. In addition, approximately 25% of the water that enters buildings and other facilities is ultimately wasted because of leaks and inefficient water management. Reducing those inefficiencies therefore not only saves water but also cuts the carbon associated with the reduced water usage.

As a simple example, a leaking toilet continuously flows at 100-150 gallons per hour, wasting more than one million gallons a year and accounting for some 4.5 tons of greenhouse emissions—identical to the total annual emissions from a passenger car.

In facilities with multiple restrooms such as office buildings, sports stadiums and shopping malls, some 2-3% of toilets typically leak at any point in time, creating significant carbon and water footprints.

CONTRACTOR: Something like this would be ideal in a commercial building’s water management plan. I’m guessing new construction is ideal but how easy/ flexible is WINT in a retrofit or an add-on feature/benefit to an existing BMS?

DYCIAN: WINT is designed to operate throughout the full lifecycle of a building, from construction through operation. We provide solutions for a range of customers in a variety of industries. Installing our systems at the beginning of a construction project ensures continuity, yet they are also straightforward to install as a retrofit through a simple installation of a valve and meter, which can be done by most plumbers.

Moreover, WINT solutions are designed to work with the leading building management systems. It provides an open API and has custom integration with leading BMS platforms such as Schneider Electric.

CONTRACTOR: WINT saved more than 652 million gallons of water and prevented 900 incidents last year through 400 global companies. Those are some impressive numbers. Obviously, you can’t project the water savings, but what is the goal in terms of WINT installs by the end of 2024?

DYCIAN: We’ll continue to help organizations solve critical challenges in 2024 and beyond. Water damage in buildings and construction sites has a very real impact on multiple industries, and rising costs for insurance add to the urgency of the situation. We expect next year’s savings to be somewhere between 1 to 1.5 billion gallons.

While we’re proud of our accomplishments, our success also demonstrates the serious need for lasting, reliable solutions to the world’s water issues.

A simple valve and meter installation is needed to retrofit WINT to an existing water distribution system.

Yaron Dycian.

AHR EXPO Returns to CHICAGO

Attendance was strong with the big show welcoming 48,034 attendees interacting with 1,875 exhibitors.

CHICAGO, IL — The AHR Expo (International Air-Conditioning, Heating, Refrigerating Exposition) returned to Chicago for a lively week of learning, reconnecting, perusing and demoing everything new coming to market in building automation, cooling, heating, indoor air quality, plumbing, refrigeration, tools, instruments, software and more.

Key topics at the Expo included all things decarbonization—from equipment on the floor to discussions in education programming—refrigerant regulation updates, the heat pump resurgence and the unveiling of many new products that are shaping the path forward for the built environment.

“The industry showed up for business in Chicago,” 527,520 square footage of space for booth displays, attendees gained access to all the latest the industry has to offer, including new products, technology, education opportunites and demonstrations.

Additionally, two Podcast Pavilions hosted 20 podcasters covering the latest topics happening across the industry. Podcasts were recorded and will be released by each respective podcaster in the coming weeks.

Inside exhibitor booths industry tradespeople and influencers hosted events, competitions and meetups, opening exciting channels of content creation and networking opportunities.

“The network transformation is resulting in incredible visibility and partnership for professionals,” Nicole Bush, Director of Marketing. “There is a true line of two-way communication between the professionals in the field and the manufacturers creating products and technology. Having an in-person forum like AHR Expo to strengthen the social relationships formed online is proving to be immensely beneficial to our industry.”

Off the show floor, numerous manufacturers sponsored networking events, including pre- and post-show parties, breakfasts, lunches and coffees.

Above: the top floor of the Wit Hotel in Chicago’s Loop was the scene of the Burnham Boilers preshow party. Below: attendees at one of the many panel discussions on offer at AHR.

Industry Learning and Connection

The 2024 Education Program highlighted topics within the industry with the goal of addressing pain points, opportunities and applications to increase efficiencies, business and relationships.

“It’s encouraging to see the growth in our education pro gramming, not only with topic variety but also with the expertise signing on to provide insight,” said Special Projects Manager Kimberly Pires. “There is a deep ened connection between what’s being discussed in sessions and what’s being applied on the show floor and this continues to benefit attendees with a true understanding of current information in the industry.”

In 2024, the education program featured 120 free sessions, 153 new product presen tations in New Product Theaters located in South Hall and seven panels in the AHR Panel Series.

In the 2024 State of the Industry Panel topics included decarboniza tion including gas bans, grid ca pacity, heat pumps, and dual-fuel options; building automation and AI as it relates to energy conserva tion and future planning; refriger ant updates including sell-through periods, EPA regulation, recovery and reclamation, etc.; workforce de velopment, virtual training, bridge programs and more.

In the panel titled, How Do We Ad dress the Workforce Development, Re cruitment and Retention Gap?, represen tatives from Lincoln Tech, a postsecondary vocational institute with locations across the US, joined a discussion featuring Portilla of Rheem Manufacturing, man of Johnson Controls, School & Kalos Services, and of National Comfort Institute, Inc. to delve into creating programming and bridge opportunities to attract professionals to the skilled trades and prepare them for a lifelong career. The group discussed how to promote the industry and build a successful culture to retain, train and onboard to better prepare for fieldwork, supportive technology, as well as identifying weaknesses, gaps and opportunities.

Other popular sessions included topics featuring heat pumps, business strategy and growth, emotional intelligence adeptness, building automation, controls and AI, social media and industry growth, smart solutions, A2Ls, compliance, codes and standards, as well as various other niche topics—including one on Hydronic Snow and Ice Melting System Design presented by Lance McNevin, Director of

Engineering at the Plastic Pipe Institute’s Building and Construction Division—provided something for every job role represented in the industry.

AHR 2025

Review a full line up of the education programs at AHRExpo.com.

In 2025 AHR Expo will head south to Orlando to be held February 10-12 at the Orange County Convention Center. Hotel blocks are expected to open for attendees late-Spring and registration will go live early Summer. Sign up for alerts and updates on AHRExpo.com.

“Each year we come away from the show with vigor for what the industry has in store,” continued Stevens. “We are honored to continue to provide the best all-industry meeting place and

An estimated 50,000 people attended the Expo over the course of three days. The show was co-located with the 2024 ASHRAE Winter Conference.

forum to learn, discuss, prepare and calibrate goals for the future of HVACR. We hope to see everyone in Orlando.”

Heard Around the Show...

Heard around the halls throughout the week was excitement for learning and possibility relating to the future of HVACR. Attendees and exhibitors alike were energized by conversation and partnership planning. Following is a roundup of reflections.

“The positive energy at AHR was inspiring, and we are excited about the relationships forged during the expo. As we wrap up, we look forward to continuing these connections and partnerships in the coming months. Cheers to the success of AHR Expo 2024, and here’s to the growth and innovation that lies ahead,” — Kuul Evaporative Technologies.

Feature continued from page 19

“We had the opportunity to visit key manufacturers and industry experts, such as Bell & Gossett, GRUNDFOS, Taco Comfort Solutions , Armstrong Fluid Technology, NIBCO INC., and more, at the AHR Expo last week in Chicago. What a great show!”

— Liberty Supply.

“Last week it was incredibly busy at the AHR Expo in Chicago. This was my first time in a show in the US, and the truth is that it has been a fantastic experience,”

— Adrián P

“We had the best time at AHR Expo 2024 in Chicago!!

Going to trade expos is one of our favorite parts of doing the podcast. We get to interview guests in person, attend speaking events with our trade besties, and (the best part of it all) meet some of our amazing Power Women of the Trades Podcast listeners!”

— Power Women of the Trades Podcast.

“What a show! It was great to connect with our representative partners, HVAC professionals, contractors and engineers who visited the Desert Aire booth to discover our latest dehumidification technology solution (SwimAire), from indoor pools to controlled environment agriculture and a variety of other applications. We hope to see you again soon or at AHR Expo 2025 in Orlando!”

“What an amazing day at the AHR Expo meeting people from around the world and networking with the best HVAC team worldwide,”

— Bruno Friedmann, Germany.

“Great turnout and awesome customer / prospect engagement,”

— James Carpenter, Account Manager, R.W. Beckett Corporation.

— Desert Aire LLC.

“Can’t wait for next year. Great job in Chicago,”

— KCC Companies.

The premier event for wastewater and environmental services professionals was held January 24-27.

INDIANAPOLIS, IN — Water & Wastewater Equipment, Treatment & Transport Show (WWETT) came to the Indianapolis Convention center, with its conference being held Jan. 2426, and the expo hall open Jan. 25-27 (hot on the heels of the 2024 AHR Expo).

The show hosted more than 10,000 attendees and 500 exhibitors. The show floor was packed with the latest materials, tools and equipment in the wastewater treatment industry, with subject matter experts and product demonstrations allowing attendees the chance to get an up-close view.

“Invaluable event! See you in Orlando next year.”

— Klima Control Air Conditioning Supply.

“Enjoyed all the conversations and introductions! Great seeing so many channel partners in this industry.”

— Rich Hargrave, vcita.

Water & Wastewater Equipment, Treatment & Transport Show Held in Indianapolis

The WWETT Show Education Program offered more than 100 sessions on topics ranging from pumps to business services to inspection systems to chemicals. Sessions ranged from expert-led seminars to in-depth training courses. Wastewater professionals from all facets of the industry were able to expand their knowledge and hone their skills all while earning CEUS and Continuing Education Credits.

Networking opportunities were not neglected, with the highlight being the WWETT Show Welcome Party sponsored

Product demos allowed attendees to get hands-on with tools and products.

Networking events were a key part of the show experience.

by Custom Truck One Source and Tornado Global Hydrovacs. Other events included the Spanish Language Happy Hour, Expo Hall Coffee Breaks, and crowd favorite the NOWRA Roe-D-Hoe Backhoe Championship competition. The 2024 Keynote speech was delivered by motivational speaker, Vietnam veteran, and four-time Super Bowl champion Rocky Bleier.Next year the WWETT Show will return to the Indianapolis Convention Center, Feb. 17-20, 2025.

For more information visit www.wwettshow.com.

A view of the show floor at the Indianapolis Convention Center.

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by Patrick Linhardt

HYDRONICS MANAGER AT CORKEN STEEL PRODUCTS CO.

Radiant Snow Melt System vs. a Potential Snowmageddon

The local weatherman did it again. They predicted a snowstorm of Biblical proportion, but we are experiencing blue skies and lots of sunshine. I report that since it is very hard to accurately determine when snow or ice is going to show up. In the ideal world, the snow melt system is in the idle mode, keeping the slab temperature around the melting point. If snow falls unexpectedly, it melts on contact, creating an oasis of clear pavement surrounded by the white stuff.

This job is located near Dayton, Ohio. The contractor sent me this wonderful picture in January, thanking me for my help. The homeowner wanted the system installed so his wife wouldn’t have to shovel the driveway. His health condition would prevent him from doing that chore in the future.

Design Work

Actually, I didn’t do the design work on this project. Like I like to do nowadays, I forwarded the contractor’s request to the Kid. He has a wiz bang computer program that takes all the fun out of figuring up all the details. In the past (or if I have to do a quick estimation) I have my routine of taking the square footage of the area to be conditioned to a material list. Pencils and erasures are required.

Hydronic design work requires a balance between pipe size and pump size. During my hitch in the Air Force as a radar technician, the balance was between wire size and current flow. In this case, it is tube size rather than pipe size. The smaller the tube is, the bigger the pump needs to be to overcome the increased resistance to flow. I like bigger tubing and smaller pumps.

I went over all this in last May’s column, Make Snow to Melt Snow. To update that project, the job was installed and started up this winter without incident, operating at a 23° F water temperature difference. Not far off from the 25° F water temperature difference used in that design procedure.

and a better job of executing the plan. I can’t downplay how much it matters to follow the plan…

Recently I was on another snow melt startup. It didn’t go so well. When this contractor called to arrange the job site visit, I wasn’t aware that the job was sold, much less already installed, or maybe I forgot. That seems to happen a lot also. Anyway, I meet the two techs that installed the boiler, but not the tubing. This project is designed to melt the steps at a church, not too far from that ski resort in southeastern Indiana. I guess I had forgotten about it being sold, because they had a piping sketch of the boiler room only that I roughed out somewhere along the line. Like many

Proving once again that proper system performance begins with good system design.

Obviously, the Kid’s computer design worked for this driveway. If you look closely, you can see the morning paper laying there with snow on top. The newspaper acts as an insulator between the heated driveway and the plastic wrapper, allowing a thin layer of snow to accumulate.

Reviewing this design, the area to be melted was 1,120 sq ft. The computer selected ¾” tubing spaced at 10” on center and split into 6 loops of 250 lineal feet or less. The pump was sized for 17 GPM at 15 feet of head, again based on the 25° F water temperature difference. It’s all good on paper and practice.

Down to Execution

Kudos go out to the contractor. He’s a guy I love to work with. He does a great job of giving us the details required

other projects, I was disappointed in the location of the circulating pump. Installed on the return piping, rather the preferred location on the supply piping, pumping away from the expansion tank connection.

The water circulates with the pump in either location, but creates better air control when pumping away. This job wasn’t circulating well at all because the boiler water temperature was going up rapidly and cycling the boiler off. We purged the air out of the loops more than once.

But let’s go back to pump sizing, since that has the most effect on water circulation. If the pump is too small, the flow rate is low while the temperature rise is high. Exactly like what we were experiencing.

The water/glycol mix was circulating to a two loop manifold. We used

½” tubing to make it easier to make the bends in the steps. At this point I have no idea how long the loop lengths are, I just know it’s acting like there is a major restriction in each one. The flow indicators on the manifold are barely indicating any flow. It was a cold day and had been cold for a while, so the slab is cold and so is the water/glycol mix.

I mention that because a cold fluid is harder to circulate than a warm fluid. In this case, our water temperature at start-up was 36° F, while our design water temperature is 120° F. In ½” tubing at the same flow rate, the head loss is more than double at temperatures of a cold slab compared to the operating temperature.

“Little” Changes –Big Problems

Adjustments were made to the boiler’s firing rate and water temperature to keep it running before I left, but I knew I would be back. I checked the original quote back at the office and saw that I had quoted three loops for the job, however only two were installed. I had increased the number of loops while limiting the loop lengths in the design phase to keep the head loss down.

Unfortunately, whoever installed the tubing decided to decrease the number of loops while increasing the loop lengths. This “little” change increased the head loss dramatically, especially at low fluid temperatures. I guess they thought they were saving time or money, but the cost of installing another pump in series with the existing pump is much greater than the cost of a roll of tubing.

Patrick Linhardt is a forty-year veteran of the wholesale side of the hydronic industry who has been designing and troubleshooting steam and hot water heating systems, pumps and controls on an almost daily basis. An educator and author, he is currently Hydronic Manager at the Corken Steel Products Co.

The homeowner wanted the system installed so his wife wouldn’t have to shovel the driveway.

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Radiant Rescue: Nelson Mechanical Installs a Floating Radiant Floor

By BRIAN NELSON, CO-OWNER, NELSON MECHANICAL DESIGN

MARTHA’S VINEYARD, MA —

We were asked to “rescue” a radiant floor heating system in a large Vineyard home—but this rescue came with a challenge—the new finished floor would be “floating” above the radiant panels.

The 15,000 square foot home was built 20 years ago with reclaimed hardwood floors (refinished wide barn boards from 1800). The existing radiant system (several zones of PEX embedded in concrete underneath the hardwood floors) was only designed for floor warming. The homeowners disliked how “stiff” the floor felt. They wanted a “softer” and more springy-feeling floor, and they wanted a radiant system that could comfortably heat the home throughout the winter.

Floating Floor Model

After multiple discussions with the architect, the flooring experts, and the engineer, we arrived at a floor assembly that had the “springy-ness” that the homeowners were looking for. Cork pads would sit on Warmboard panels and a lattice of wood strips would sit on the cork pads. Then another lattice

Parts List:

• BAPI wireless sensors

Bell & Gossett ECM circulator pumps

• tekmar controls

Uponor hePEX pipe, fittings, and radiant manifold

Warmboard radiant panels

In this latest story from Nelson Mechanical Design, a unique wood lattice system makes for a “springy” floor with efficient heat transfer.

of wood strips would rest on the lower wood strips and the finish floor would rest on the upper lattice. To make sure

that the “springy-ness” was consistent across the entire floor, all of the original hardwood floorboards from 1800 would be planed down to a ¼” thickness and then glued to spruce aircraft plywood. A 20-foot by 20-foot model of this floor assembly was built and the homeowners loved it.

Radiant Air Gap Challenge

But could we get the radiant assembly to work? And could we get the radiant assembly to heat the home on design day? All radiant assemblies that we could find in any literature involved radiant tubing conducting to a surface, and then the surface radiating heat into the living space. Nice and simple and well modeled and easy to duplicate.

Our challenge was to understand the heat transfer across the air gap between the Warmboard and the underside of the finish floor; the radiant tubing and Warmboard panels would radiate heat up to the underside of the finish floor and then the

finish floor would warm up and radiate heat into the living space.

We found the heat transfer equations to model this process. The calculations showed that 130° F water in the tubing would provide sufficient radiant output across the air gap, warm up the underside of the finish floor, and end with an floor surface temperature of 85° F. To improve radiant heat transfer we planned to paint the Warmboard flat black as well as the underside of the finish floor.

Test of the Radiant Assembly

We built a test assembly of this radiant sandwich to confirm the output, and it worked just as expected… but then the Uponor PEX tubing starting popping out of the Warmboard channels! The Warmboard grooves were designed to hold the PEX tubing until a finish floor was laid on top—they weren’t designed to hold the tubes down in the middle of our air gap. We fixed this problem the plumber way; we ended up installing almost 5000 nail plates to hold the tubing into the Warmboard grooves!

Demo of the Existing System

Once the plan for the new floating radiant floor was solidified, we could move forward with the project. Movers removed all the household effects, carpenters removed all of the baseboard trim, and the flooring gurus labeled every floorboard so they could be planed down, glued to aircraft plywood, and then re-installed in precisely the same way as before. Once the finish floor was removed the contractor broke up the existing concrete pour with the old radiant tubing.

Existing System was Single Temperature Radiant for Floor Warming

The old radiant system was never really successful. There was not enough tubing installed in the floor, it was poorly zoned, and it was built around a fixed water temperature with manual mixing valves. Our new radiant system would

An artist’s rendering of the floating radiant floor.

NMD technicians install Uponor PEX tubing into Warmboard panels.

remove and replace walls, while at the same time potentially reducing both construction cost and shortening lead times. Omega Flex currently has over 100 patents registered worldwide and is a product and engineering driven company committed to meeting our customers’ performance requirements.

Technology

by Patti Feldman

Software Solutions Providing Handy, Helpful Capabilities

ServiceMinder ( www.serviceminder.io , 888/493-9995) is a platform for managing and operating home services brands, designed to support franchise brands and multi-location companies.

Featuring an integrated mobile app to support sales and service agents as well as owners in the field, it supports end-to-end tasks including call handling, targeted email campaigns (including drip email and proposal and expiration reminders), branded proposals including those customized to incorporate codes for discounts and financing options, booking and scheduling a job, and collecting payment accommodating electronic signature.

Owners can track leads using various reporting options such as revenue by lead source and automated royalty reporting. Franchisors can access data at the brand and location level to help make data driven decisions.

The software also facilitates invoicing and accepting online credit card payments. Recurring/Membership based service providers can also set up automatic invoicing after every appointment.

Integrations include AnswerConnect (24/7 live receptionist telephone answering service), WebPunch (online reputation management), Transitiv (data warehousing and collaborative analytics for multi-unit businesses), and QuickBooks.

Pricing: invoiced per month per location; free one-on-one demo available.

Sage Field Operations

Sage Field Operations ( www.sage. com) is a cloud-based platform for service contractors (covered in the October 2017 column) that provides field teams with real-time access to the critical information needed on the go and streamlines communication between the field and office. Sage recently added two new capabilities to help service contractors maximize productivity of technicians in the field: residential workflows and a business intelligence solution.

The residential workflows functionalities enable contractors performing residential as well as commercial jobs the ability to present flat rate, menubased pricing to customers and accept and process payments from the field directly through their smartphone or tablet such that payments go straight to accounts receivable. The new business intelligence solution adds reporting and forecasting capabilities, including technician performance and revenue and labor requirements, to the Sage Field Operations platform.

CompanyCam

CompanyCam ( www.companycam. com , 402/207-9609) is a photo-based documentation/communication tool (for Android, iOS, and desktop) for contractors to use both internally and with clients. Photos taken in CompanyCam are automatically stamped with time and location and sent to the cloud, where they are organized by project location and accessible to approved team members.

Users logged into the app or browser can add annotations to the photos, including arrows, comments, drawings, and apply tags, and can also use the photos in their own documents for sharing with crews and customers. Your office manager can see photos populate on the web in real time.

The app offers several plans, the most popular being Pro and Premium. Pro accounts have access to unlimited projects, unlimited photo capture, five-minute video recording, project

checklists, photo reports, gallery and timeline link sharing, and a suite of over 50 integrations, including QuickBooks Online, Jobber (April 2019 column), HouseCall Pro (September 2019 column), and SumoQuote (May 2020 column).

Premium accounts have all the Pro features, plus access to project, checklist, and report templates, 10-minute video recordings, and video walkthroughs. Pro and Premium plans include the options to invite guest users and to add the ability to collect digital signatures within the app.

Enterprise plans are available for teams with over 50 CompanyCam users. The enterprise level includes all Pro or Premium features, in addition to customized onboarding and priority support.

Pricing: per month or annually. Each plan’s base price includes three users, with additional users at a peruser price. A 14-day free trial is available of all Premium features for up to 10 projects.

Groundwork

Groundwork (www.hellogroundwork. com ) is a lead qualification and sales software suite for specialty residential contractors centering on “virtual selling.” Groundwork uses workflow technology, image and video capture, and automation to give contractors information helpful to engage and convert leads quickly.

Groundwork allows you to connect with potential customers by inserting

personalized and branded videos into the customer flow. You can respond to messages from customers by recording and sending a custom video response to introduce your team, provide ballpark price ranges, and build trust.

Groundwork is available in three tiered versions, Lite, Pro, and Enterprise.

Groundwork Lite: one user; one lead conversion path, custom branding, lead tracking dashboard, standard automated reminder messages.

Groundwork Pro: includes all that plus: up to three users; unlimited lead conversion flows; in-app messaging, and custom automated messages, marketing tracking features; premium support, direct integrations with Company Cam and other CRMs.

Groundwork Enterprise: Groundwork can build custom packages for multiunit and multi-location companies

Groundwork is integrated with many of the leading software systems used for lead generation and project management: All editions of Groundwork integrate with Zapier, while Pro and Enterprise plans have custom direct integrations with leading systems, including CompanyCam.

Pricing: 14-day free trial; monthly and annual billing options at all tiers.

Update

FieldEdge cloud-based field service management software (www.fieldedge. com , 800/416-0391)—profiled in September 2018 column and formerly featuring two plan options Select and Premier—has introduced a third plan, FieldEdge Elite, for enterprise-level service companies, that includes all the functions of the Select and Premier plans along with the addition of outbound call recording, Marketing Edge, and Proposal Pro, a new integration that helps create customizable proposals with good, better, best and budget customer options.

Patti Feldman writes articles and web content for trade magazines and manufacturers of building products. She can be reached at productpad@yahoo.com

The ServiceMinder scheduling tab.

Randy Pitre VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS FOR SKANSKA USA BUILDING’S NORTH TEXAS AND HOUSTON BUILDING OPERATIONS

Making Construction Careers a More Popular Path for Young People

The state of the labor market depends on the industry, and the construction industry had 438,000 jobs open this September in the US, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Associated Builders and Contractors report the industry needs to attract more than a half million workers, in addition to the normal hiring pace in 2023, to meet the demand for labor. In fact, the need for workers will become progressively more dire as 41% of the construction workforce is set to retire in the next eight years.

The need for workers becomes more urgent as the country continues to grow. Texas, alone, gained more than nine million new residents between 2000 and 2022, and Florida comes in second with a gain of six million new residents (Census Bureau). As the population grows, the need for the appropriate infrastructure escalates, including roads, schools, hospitals, homes, transportation hubs and more.

Encourage Construction Careers

Some young people know they want to go into construction because they have family in the industry. Others are not aware of all the opportunities available. I started cleaning up on construction sites at the age of 12, but I thought I wanted to go into the computer industry. I quickly learned, being inside at a desk all day was not for me. I took a job as a laborer, became a welder, started my own welding business and became a union pipe fitter, learning it all on the job.

Not every person is made for college, but many high school graduates may not realize they can learn what they need on the job through training or apprenticeship programs. Once students realize they get paid while learning how to do a trade, it can be a great motivator to pursue a career in construction. The only prerequisite is a work ethic, the rest can be taught.

Recruit Early

Filling the talent pipeline now is important. Collaborating with schools

Not every person is made for college, but many high school graduates may not realize they can learn what they need on the job through training or apprenticeship programs.

and community organizations, such as FFA, 4-H and Scouts, can introduce young people to the industry and pique their interest. Also, participating in career fairs, job expos and job site tours can highlight the myriad careers and benefits of working in the construction industry.

Highlight Career Paths

The popular image of construction is manual labor. This is true for some positions, but it does not encompass the complete array of job possibilities. Underscore the diverse range of job opportunities in construction, from skilled trades like carpentry and plumbing to roles in project management, engineering, technology, marketing, business development, and design. Young talent may not realize the vast amount of creativity and innovation involved in construction projects with tools and emerging technologies like precision cutting equipment, drone piloting, digital twins, BIM, AI, and virtual reality.

Offer Training and Education

Partnering with high schools, vocational-technical schools or organizations like the ACE Mentor Program of America to provide information on available training programs like internships or apprenticeship programs helps prime talent to enter the field.

Emphasize Compensation

A career in construction can provide great earning potential as someone works their way through the ranks. It is also important to emphasize compensation and benefit opportunities as new hires are learning a trade, essentially getting paid for their education. Construction is also a very stable industry, so job security is practically guaranteed as there is an ongoing demand for skilled workers.

Promote Diversity

When working within student organizations, it is important to conduct outreach to underrepresented groups, in-

cluding women and minorities. When future talent sees someone who looks like them in construction, there is a higher likelihood that they can imagine themselves taking the same career path.

Showcase Safety

The construction industry is a place where people can get hurt if they do not follow safety precautions. Emphasizing the safety measures taken every day to ensure worker safety can calm any fears for those considering the profession. And those interested in safety measures can find their career path in this area of concentration.

Highlight Sustainability

Sustainable building practices are becoming more prevalent in every project and increasingly important to workers and clients. Promoting sustainable building practices and how they fit into construction careers can pique the interest of those who are considering careers in environmental conservation. EDGE, LEED and GREEN STAR are all areas where we will see increased concentration and improvements due to the innovations coming from the workforce of the future.

It’s Up to Us

Those currently in the construction industry play a crucial role in filling the skills gap. The proactive measures taken today to attract and retain skilled workers can only help narrow the skills gap and provide a steady flow of workers as we fulfill the building needs of our growing nation. There are viable and fulfilling construction careers at all levels. It is up to the current workforce to help promote and showcase the opportunities within the industry.

Randy Pitre serves as the Vice President of Operations for Skanska USA Building’s North Texas and Houston building operations. Skanska operates as a local Texas builder and developer backed by a strong global brand, financial strength, and a vast network of resources. To learn more visit www.usa.skanska.com

Young students learning the plumbing trade in a classroom setting.

by Hunter Wynne EDUCATIONAL CONTENT SPECIALIST

Boost Your Bottom Line with Proper Fall Protection Systems

One of the fundamental truths about any business operation is the essential role of worker safety. Often overlooked, investment in safety equipment like fall protection systems is not merely a mandatory regulation. It’s a strategic choice that drives economic efficiency, reduces potential legal issues, and boosts employee morale. Today, we’ll explore the economics of safety and why investing in robust fall protection measures is a wise financial move.

Investing in safety doesn’t only save lives but also improves your company’s profitability.

The Direct Economic Impact of Safety Negligence

First, let’s examine the immediate economic consequences of neglecting safety measures in a business:

OSHA Fines: Non-compliance with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards can lead to substantial fines. These can range anywhere from a few thousand to hundreds of thousands of dollars, depending on the severity and recurrence of the violation. Moreover, these numbers only represent the direct costs.

Legal Costs: The potential for worker injuries, particularly from falls, exposes businesses to liability lawsuits. Legal costs, compensation payments, and potential punitive damages can run into millions, not to mention the damage to the company’s reputation.

Increased Insurance Premiums: Following accidents or OSHA violations, businesses often face an increase in insurance premiums, which can add a considerable ongoing expense. This cost is often overlooked but can

affect a company’s bottom line over the long term.

The Indirect Costs of Ignoring Safety

Beyond the direct costs, ignoring safety can have hidden, indirect costs that may have a more profound long-term impact on your business.

Productivity Loss: Injured workers mean lost work hours, disruption in project schedules, and overtime costs for remaining workers to cover the gap. Over time, these losses can add up significantly.

Morale & Retention: Employee morale is directly linked to the workplace’s perceived safety. Companies that under-invest in safety equipment often face higher turnover rates, leading to additional hiring and training expenses.

Loss of Business Opportunities: Particularly for businesses in industries where safety standards are criti -

cal, a poor safety record can disqualify you from lucrative contracts or partnerships, leading to missed business opportunities.

The Cost-Benefit Analysis of Investing in Fall Protection

Having seen the potential costs of ignoring safety, let’s shift our focus to the other side of the coin, the substantial benefits and savings that an investment in fall protection can bring.

Prevention Is Cheaper Than

Cure: The National Safety Council estimates that a medically consulted injury costs about $42,000. On the other hand, a comprehensive fall protection system installation by a professional is usually a fraction of this cost.

Reduced Downtime: With a robust fall protection system, businesses experience fewer interruptions due to accidents, leading to more consistent productivity. Maintained over time, this can translate into significant

savings and higher output.

Improved Company Reputation: Employees, customers, and industry partners view businesses that prioritize safety more favorably. This reputation can result in tangible benefits like improved employee recruitment and customer loyalty.

Competitive Advantage: A strong safety record can offer a significant competitive advantage, especially when bidding for contracts. Many companies prioritize safety records when choosing their partners, making your investment in safety a potential gateway to new business opportunities.

Hunter Wynne is Educational Content Specialist for Diversified Fall Protection. Since 1994, Diversified Fall Protection has installed, inspected, and re-certified thousands of 3M/Capital Safety, MSA/ Latchways, Honeywell/Miller, suspended maintenance anchorage, and rigid fall protection systems.

Modular Construction Combats the Affordable Housing Crisis

The combination of rising demand with a static housing supply that does not support a growing population means the overall cost of living has painfully increased for renters. California has one of the tightest housing markets in the nation, making affordable housing one of the state’s biggest problems, with Oregon and Washington state facing similar concerns.

Impact Housing

Los Angeles-based Impact Housing is producing functionally designed, stackable apartment modules in their Yorba Linda manufacturing facility, which they assemble into a fully functioning residential building. Their manufacturing expertise and efficiency enables them to deliver housing for low-and-moderate income renters across California.

Committed to giving low and moderate-income families attainable housing, Impact at the same time refuses to sacrifice quality for the sake of cost.

To carry this intent into the bathrooms within the units, Impact Housing is installing high-quality/ high-function in-wall concealed tank and carrier systems for wall-hung toilets carriers and flush plates manufactured by the Geberit Group, a leader in sanitary products worldwide to enhance the quality of the interiors.

The rental units Impact Housing produces represent opportunities for families and communities. “They’re for individuals earning low and moderate incomes, so you are talking about a full-time, fully employed 40-houra-week workforce; people a city needs to function,” says Impact Housing’s founder and CEO, Drew Orenstein

A Better Idea for Housing

Founded in 2020, Impact Housing is out to deliver thousands of new units in neighborhoods throughout San Diego.

High-quality designs, amenities, and attainable price points are made possible by their innovative production model. Modular components are man-

Impact Housing uses design expertise— including in-wall carrier systems from Geberit—to deliver thousands of new living units.

ufactured assembly-line style for speed, sustainability, and quality control. Given California’s strict documentation requirements for new construction, building these units in a controlled location makes the process more costeffective and time efficient.

They build modules for each studio; one, two, and three-bedroom apartments. Impact Housing produces the modules for a project while the site is prepared for construction. Once complete, the modules ship off to the construction site on flatbed trucks.

Workers completely install the bathroom with in-wall carriers and wallmounted toilets. Unlike standard floor-mounted toilets, the Geberit tank and piping are installed in the wall, increasing the usable floor area in the bathroom. The workers then mount the floating toilet, connect the water, and the toilet is flushed and tested. In addition, there are water, waste, and vent tests to validate toilet performance before the bathroom module leaves the factory.

A Game of Square Inches

Impact Housing has established relationships with suppliers to ensure the reliability of the products and the supply chain. The Geberit Southwest Sales Manager, Sharon Clair, initially visited Impact Housing in its first year of business when they had only four employees. 125 people work for the company, and Geberit toilets are a key fixture in their units.

Instead of floor-mounted toilets from a big box store, Clair convinced Impact Housing to install in-wall carriers. “I explained to them what this design could do for them by saving them 6-9 inches of floor space and with seamless integration into wall panel assembly construction line,” explained Sharon. “The Geberit in-wall carriers are universal. They accommodate the leading wall-mounted toilet brands.”

Orenstein compares these six-sided modules to Lego blocks. Once construction begins, the trucks arrive in a steady stream, transforming the site from empty to a fully built apartment complex in weeks. When the modules reach the job site, a crane stacks them

in place, going as high as six stories for some of their buildings. These buildings have interior hallways, elevators, staircases, and laundry rooms, everything you’d expect from a modern apartment building.

At the Impact Housing factory, everything is focused on efficient design that maximizes usable space. This is especially true in the case of the bathroom.

The compactness of the in-wall carrier is a significant benefit for these units. “The ten inches of space that the toilet saves makes a big difference in the bathroom for the residents in terms of usable space,” says Impact Housing Chief Development Officer Andrew Ranallo. “We can put more space into the liveable areas beyond the bathroom by eliminating the standard floor-mounted toilet tank. This extra space means a resident can have a longer couch or a queen-sized bed rather than a twin.”

An Impact Housing module being placed on top of a building. An

BUILD BETTER MODULAR BATHROOMS

Build modular bathrooms with Geberit installation systems. Plumbing contractors choose Geberit systems because they offer manufacturing and operational efficiency, installation flexibility, improved aesthetics, and space savings. In-wall installation systems are available for toilets, lavatories, and bidets. See our completed projects at the World of Modular Booth #426.

www.geberit.us

Owners of Brooklyn Plumbing Company Indicted

➤ Continued from page 1

evasion and conspiracy to defraud the United States. Figliolia, Jr., and Sutherland were arrested and their initial appearances are scheduled before United States Magistrate Judge James R. Cho.

Breon Peace , United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Thomas Fattorusso , Special Agent-in-Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, New York (IRS-CI), James Smith, Assistant

Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and Jocelyn E. Strauber, Commissioner, New York City Department of Investigation (DOI), announced the arrests and charges.

What If Water Heaters Had Tinder® Profiles?

Greed and Abuse of Trust

“Business owners like everyone else have an obligation to pay their fair share of taxes,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “As alleged, the defendants made millions of dollars repairing water and sewer lines for New York City residents, but instead of dutifully paying the taxes they owed, they improperly classified more than $10 million of personal expenses as business expenses. Their greed drained the government’s coffers of nearly $4 million in tax revenue.”

Evading Almost $4M in Taxes

As alleged in the indictment and other court filings, between January 2017 and June 2020, the defendants evaded personal income taxes by issuing checks and wiring money from Liberty Water’s bank account to pay for personal expenses. The defendants classified these payments of their personal expenses as business expenses of Liberty Water, thereby reducing Liberty Water’s profits and reducing the defendants’ personal income tax burdens.

For example, Figliolia, Jr., and Sutherland classified more than $1.75 million of personal credit card expenses, including home renovations, a family trip to Disney World, jewelry, clothing and veterinary expenses, as business expenses.

In total, Figliolia, Jr., and Sutherland intentionally diverted approximately $10,225,213 from Liberty Water between tax years 2017 and 2019, resulting in the evasion of approximately $3,933,046 in federal taxes.

The charges in the indictment are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, the defendants each face a maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment on each count.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Public Integrity Section, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Philip Pilmar and Dana Rehnquist.

For more information or to download a copy of the indictment, visit the web site of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.

Modular Construction Combats the Affordable Housing Crisis

➤ Continued from page 32

Typically, Geberit in-wall carriers are the preferred systems for high-rise residential buildings with rents in the tens of thousands of dollars a month and in upscale homes. While these higher-end residences have plenty of room, the inwall space-saving design is ideal for Impact-Housing’s smaller units. Moreover, the wall-mounted toilet design makes it easier to clean. Water evacuates the toilet bowl with a push on the wall-mounted plate, which blends in well with the wall. The flush plate is the only visible element of the carrier system.

In addition, the toilet system offers a built-in dual flush—a full flush for solid waste and a reduced flush for liquids. The Geberit dual flush system meets California’s green building standards for water efficiency and sustainability, saving thousands of gallons of water yearly.

Access to the carrier system is easy and involves no tools. The carrier’s

Victaulic® Acquires Utility Coatings, Inc.

➤ Continued from page 3

four years, highlighting the company’s strategic vision for ongoing growth,” remarked Rick Bucher, President and Chief Executive Officer of Victaulic. He stated, “Victaulic remains dedicated to meeting the demands of our North American customer base through the expansion of manufacturing capacity in the western United States.”

“This marks an exciting new chapter for our company. We are confident that merging the capabilities of UCF with Victaulic, a globally renowned industry leader, will open up new opportunities for growth and innovation for our collective customers,” said Jeff Dahle, CEO of UCF.

A major aspect of Victaulic’s business strategy has always been to manufacture products in close proximity to its customers. The addition of the UCF business includes over 21,000 square feet of manufacturing space and over five acres of land. Since 2011, Victaulic has added over 1.4 million square feet of foundry and manufacturing capacity in North America.

To learn more visit www.victaulic.com.

design minimizes the hassles of toilet maintenance for building managers and tenants.

Better Housing is Possible

The effect of this approach on housing availability can be significant, especially in California. The challenge for a

police officer or a teacher is that decent housing runs around $4,000, beyond their salaries, says Ranallo. “We aim to find a naturally affordable middle point, not apartment buildings that are

50 years old and without amenities like air conditioning.”

Construction of these new homes will help San Diego fulfill its moderate and low-income housing targets for the current Regional Housing Needs Allocation cycle from 2022 to 2030.

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Hydronics & R adiant

Presented in partnership with Radiant Professionals Alliance

Radiant Rescue: Nelson Mechanical Installs a Floating Radiant Floor

feature more than enough radiant tubing, automatic temperature mixing, and an internet portal to view and adjust all zones.

Warmboard Installation

The folks at Warmboard drew up a detailed plan of the twenty-two zones and how to layout the panels. The carpenters installed the panels and routed custom grooves and access holes in the subfloor to help us get the radiant tubing from the first floor down to the basement mechanical rooms.

Uponor Pex Installation

We then installed 6,000 feet of ½” hePEX radiant tubing in the Warmboard radiant panel grooves. The tubing snapped in place and then we installed nail plates at one-foot increments to hold the tubing in place. The panels and tubing were then painted with flat black paint to increase the radiant heat transfer across the air gap between the Warmboard and the underside of the finish floor.

Because of the long tubing runs to get from the Warmboard panels to the remote basement manifolds, we had to run extra loops to keep our tubing lengths reasonable.

Because the basement level below was finished, we had to open up the subfloor at various points across

the first floor level to create access points through which to snake our PEX tubing.

Finding ways to snake the radiant tubing between the 1st floor and the basement finished ceiling was challenging but we managed to get all 6,000 feet successfully routed to three different mechanical rooms in the basement level.

Where we couldn’t get access across in the void above the basement ceiling, we carefully went across the 1st floor level with the radiant tubing— aware of balancing our flows so that we did not create hot spots.

Air and Floor Sensors

We also installed air sensors in the 1st floor rooms to measure the local air temperature—some rooms were already wired for these sensors so we epoxied our new sensors to the backing plate.

We also installed floor sensors in the Warmboard radiant panel and in the finish floor layer above it. This gave us a good sense of how effective our heat transfer was between layers.

For the rooms that did not have wires already run in the walls we had to find an innovative, robust, yet inexpensive solution. We installed BAPI wireless transmitting sensors in the rooms with no control wires and were able to transmit the temperature information from the room to the basement mechanical spaces. Each receiver had a LED indicator to tell us that transmission between the sensor and the basement receivers was successful.

Finish Floor Installation

Once we were done with our tubing, nail plates, painting, and sensors, the flooring contractor laid out the cork pads, the lower lattice of wood strips, the upper lattice of wood strips, and then the hardwood finish floor. Because all of the floorboards had been numbered, they were reinstalled in exactly the same way as they had been before. Careful maps had been drawn of the furniture locations so that wood blocking could be installed where seats and sofas and tables would go. Even the toilets and the piano got wood blocking so they wouldn’t sag or bounce on the new finish floor.

Radiant Zones and Thermostats

Because the homeowner wanted a clean installation, all 22 Tekmar radiant zone thermostats were located adjacent to their particular Uponor radiant manifold in the three mechanical spaces. The thermostats looked at room air temperature and floor temperature to determine when to open and close the correct Taco Sentry zone valve.

We installed new piping from the boiler room to each of the remote mechanical rooms and installed separate closely spaced tees and air separators on each radiant manifold group. This eliminated air purging issues and made the system quiet and low maintenance.

To automate the radiant floor water temperature, we installed motorized mixing valves for each manifold group. This ensured that the radiant floor system would get the correct water temperature no matter what the outside temperature was.

We used the Bell and Gossett variable speed ECM style circulator pumps to make sure that we were only pumping the correct amount of hot water to each radiant zone. This saved money and helped to prevent over and under-heating of the rooms.

Lastly, we installed the internet gateway to permit monitoring of all 22 radiant thermostats and adjustment of setpoints for each room. Now the entire radiant system was under supervision and control via the internet to the homeowner’s iPad or iPhone.

Winter Operation

We ran the new floating floor radiant system through the winter and were happy to find that we could comfortably heat the home with 125° F water on the coldest days. And the homeowners loved the “springy” floors.

Mixing station for radiant zones with remote thermostats.

2024 Construction Workforce Shortage

Tops Half a Million According to ABC

➤ Continued from page 1 between the start of the data series in 2000 and 2020.

President and CEO. “Not addressing the shortage through an all-of-the-above approach to workforce development will slow improvements to our shared built environment, worker productivity, living standards and the places where we heal, learn, play, work and gather.”

About the Model

ABC’s model uses the historical relationship between inflation-adjusted construction spending growth, sourced from the US Census Bureau’s Value of Construction Put in Place Survey, and payroll construction employment, sourced from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, to convert anticipated increases in construction outlays into demand for construction

“Broadly, there are two factors shaping the interaction between construction worker supply and demand,” said ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu “There are structural factors, including outsized retirement levels, megaprojects in several private and public construction segments and cultural factors that encourage too few young people to enter the skilled construction trades. There are also structural factors, including those related to interest rates, consumer sentiment and general economic performance.

“Over the past two years, cyclical influences have helped diminish the gap between construction worker supply and demand,” said Basu. “Though nonresidential construction spending has continued to surge, homebuilding segments have felt the impact of higher borrowing costs more intensely. With interest rates set to decline in 2024 and 2025, the expectation is that construction worker shortfalls will remain elevated. Among other things, that would delay the rebuilding of American infrastructure and the creation of new domestic supply chains.

labor at a rate of approximately 3,550 jobs per billion dollars of additional spending. This increased demand is added to the current level of aboveaverage job openings. Projected industry retirements, shifts to other industries and other forms of anticipated separation are also embodied within the computations.

Based on historical Census Bureau Job-to-Job Flows data, an estimated 1.9 million construction workers will leave their jobs to work in other industries in 2024. This should be offset by an anticipated 2.1 million workers who will leave other industries to work in construction. These frictional interindustry transfers are estimated exogenously and serve as inputs to the model.

Construction Labor Market

The US construction industry unemployment rate averaged 4.6% for the second straight year, matching the second lowest level on record, while job openings remained historically elevated at an average of 377,000 per month through the first 11 months of 2023. As a result of labor shortages, contractors laid off workers at a slower rate than in any year

“Meanwhile, structural influences persist,” said Basu. “More than 1 in 5 construction workers are 55 or older, meaning that retirement will continue to contract the industry’s workforce. These are the most experienced workers, and their departures are especially concerning.”

Addressing the Shortage

“While construction employment is growing, it is not growing fast enough to meet the demand to complete the work on the books for 2024,” said Bellaman. “To address this shortage and grow the construction talent pool, ABC has a network of more than 800 apprenticeship, craft, health and safety and management education programs—including more than 450 government-registered apprenticeship programs across 20 different occupations.

To address workforce demand that drives the US economy, Congress must also look toward much-needed reforms to our legal immigration system and provide high-demand industries, like construction, with access to new or expanded visa programs.”

View the methodology of ABC’s 2024 construction workforce shortage model at www.abc.org

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green choice

TOP-MOUNT EXPOSED SENSOR FLUSH VALVES from Zurn Elkay Water Solutions feature ceramic gear technology instead of solenoids. Gear-driven ceramic cartridge operation and the AquaVantage TPE diaphragm provide reliability, precision and efficiency for lowmaintenance flushing. The diaphragm’s GO BLUE gaskets and seals are made of chemicalresistant TPE for reduced maintenance and unexpected downtime. Choose between battery-operated units or hardwired options with battery backup; both work even when electricity goes out. The true mechanical override button allows for manual flushing when on-demand operation is needed.

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▼ UPSE RESIDENTIAL CIRCULATOR PUMP is a highefficiency circulator fitted with an electronically commutated motor. It has been designed for circulating liquids in heating and cooling systems. It features a wide range of controls, including constant pressure, proportional pressure and constant curve, each with three control modules.

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▼ TRIDENT CLOUD-BASED WATER MANAGEMENT SYSTEM provides 24/7/365 monitoring to reduce damages caused by water leaks in commercial buildings. It sends real-time notifications of precise leak location to business owners and managers, and can shut water off when a leak is detected. The platform uses a secure radio frequency-based network. The Detection Group/Watts WWW.THEDETECTIONGROUP.COM

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THE FISHER EASY-DRIVE 200R ELECTRIC ACTUATOR is for Fisher butterfly and ball valves. These actuator/valve assemblies increase uptime, improve performance and reduce the risk of emissions posed by gas-operated systems locations. The unit calibrates itself when a user clicks one button using the free easyDrive configurator software. It operates in temperatures as low as -40° F. Emerson

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CREST COMMERCIAL BOILER WITH HELLCAT COMBUSTION TECHNOLOGY from Lochinvar features RealTime O2 Trim (feed forward, feed back, commissioned trim and learned trim). The oxygen sensor combined with the Smart Touch control allows the unit to adapt to its environment. The control platform records the optimal settings so that the combustion system can adjust automatically. Lochinvar

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CALBALANCE 4-IN-1 HYDRAULIC SEPARATORS from Calefactio separate water, air, dirt and ferrous debris, as well as isolate the primary circuit from the secondary circuit for heating and snowmelting applications. The coalescence process produced by the media allows air and micro-bubbles to fuse and then be evacuated through the Calvent automatic air vent.

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ACQ580 4X VARIABLEFREQUENCY DRIVE is purposebuilt for the water and wastewater industry. It withstands extreme rain, heat, cold, salt spray and dust, making it ideal for use in demanding water and wastewater applications. The variable frequency drive is fully sealed and weather tight, offering corrosion resistance in pump stations, clarifiers, surface aerators, flocculators, dosing and activated sludge removal.

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▼ ADAPT CONDENSING TANKLESS WATER HEATERS include an integrated recirculation pump and patented heat exchanger, installation flexibility and efficient performance. The line offers 2- and 3" dual pipe venting, ½and ¾" gas line options, and universal indoor/outdoor installation. An included kit allow for field conversion from natural gas to LP.

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RTGH SERIES CONDENSING TANKLESS GAS WATER HEATERS offer uncompromised performance while using up to 34% less energy than a standard residential 50gal. tank water heater. Hot-start Programming ensures the unit is in a ready state between backto-back usage, minimizing any cold water bursts. The new design is up to 20% smaller and lighter.

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New Products

editor’s choice

STAINLESS VERTICAL FIRE-TUBE BOILER LINE

from Weil-McLain now includes 500, 600, 725, 850 and 1,000 (pictured) MBH models. Features corrosion resistance; intuitive, userfriendly control systems for advanced diagnostics, troubleshooting and remote monitoring capabilities; and thermal efficiency up to 98%. The line is ideal for new, hybrid and replacement applications. Contractor-friendly design includes integrated roller casters, shipping ramp and 3-in-1 vent adapters for quick installation.

Weil-McLain

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LAKECREST COMMERCIAL

FAUCET LINE from T&S Brass now features a matte black finish. Ideal for commercial bathrooms and kitchen spaces, the matte black finish is available on the BP-2704-MB aesthetic singlehole, single-handle faucet and the BP-2712-MB aesthetic single-handle escutcheon faucet.

IBIZA COLLECTION WORKSTATION SINKS feature a patent-pending design with a built-in glass rinser.

Measuring 22" wide and 20" long with a 10"-deep bowl, the sink brings productivity to compact spaces. Made from 16-gauge stainless steel they will never rust or stain.

Ruvati

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▲ C-RHEX HEX DRIVER LINE from Malco Tools now includes 3/8" and 7/16" hex sizes to install and remove fasteners commonly used on commercial sites quickly and easily. The new models feature a heavy-duty, deep-set magnet that does not contact the screw, so the fasteners spin true and the magnet retains its strength. Malco Tools

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GEORGETOWN PULL-DOWN KITCHEN FAUCET (MODEL PL-KF00004-BN) from Kova is available in a range of standard and custom finishes that include ultra-high resistance to corrosion and tarnishing. The high arch, exposed-spring design and multifunction spray head provide control and flexibility. The high-arc swivel spout is suitable for filling pots.

Kova

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▲ FJM-3055 WATER JET clears grease, sludge, sand, ice and other stubborn stoppages from long, outside 4" to 8" lines. The 3,000 psi, 5.5 GPM pump unleashes high-pressure water streams to pulverize clogs. Vibra-pulse technology helps the hose slide down long runs and around tight bends.

General Pipe Cleaners

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▼ELVARI WASHROOM ACCESSORIES COLLECTION from Bradley is a complete suite of stainlesssteel accessories for commercial applications, available in a palette of modern finishes. With more than 650 individual products, the commercial collection offers grab bars, paper and soap dispensers and much more.

Bradley Corp.

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▲ WOMEN’S WORKWEAR SPRING 2024 COLLECTION features new sweatshirts and enhanced tees made of premium, durable lightweight TENCEL-branded fibers in jersey and French terry. The new women’s collection is built for women looking for durable, high-quality gear with a comfortable fit.

Carhartt

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▲ BANTAM SWITCH REVERSESYSTEM SELF-RETRACTING

LIFELINE connects the housing unit to the anchor point versus the D-ring on the user’s harness. This nearly eliminates the weight users carry and increases comfort and freedom of movement while working at height. Small, simplified back pad allows users to achieve greater range of motion and flexibility for maximum productivity. WernerCo.

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HERCULES SIZZLE DRAIN AND WASTE SYSTEM CLEANER has a tripleaction formula of virgin hydrochloric acid blended with selected corrosion inhibitors and a strong foam suppressant. It removes scale, salts, mineralized deposits, slime and corrosion to clean plumbing equipment and tools. Oatey Co.

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▼ 5000 LUMEN DUAL-POWER FOCUSING FLASHLIGHT from Infinity X1 is durable enough to take abuse in the back of a work truck and has two power options: plug in the flashlight to charge the reusable battery or swap it out for AA batteries. It can also be used as a portable charger to power a cell phone or other devices. It features a safety heat lock.

InfinityX1

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by Steve Spaulding

The Real Value of In-Person Events

Ithink when the historians of the future sit down to write about these times we are living in they might call this the Connection Age. We’ve moved past the Information Age. The new data currency is people, with all their attitudes, preferences, fears and aspirations. And people reveal all those qualities through the connections they make.

There has never been a time when so many people had so many platforms, mediums, and channels through which to make connections—instant, real-time connections—with so many other people. Every call, text, post, reaction, comment, group chat, and tele conference is a connection. Cookies in your browser like bloodhounds on a scent will try to connect you to one advertiser after another based on the sites you visit. There are entire new job categories based on fostering connections (social media managers) or monetizing those connections (influencers).

So why, with all these digital opportunities for connection—on our phones, on our laptops, desktops and pads—do

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people still crave in-person events like the recent AHR Expo (see page 18) and the WWETT Show (see page 20)? Why spend all that time and trouble? Why spend all that money on hotels and airfare and cab rides?

I think also we’ve become wary. Too often what seems like a personal invitation is instead a form, a script, a bot or (more recently) an Artificial Intelligence. Who hasn’t had an experience of texting trying to resolve some issue, and being

the mechanical room, and physically turn the wrenches.

So when it comes to a new piece of equipment, a new tool or system, plumbers don’t just want to read the manual or even watch the video; they want to see it in person, hold it in their hands, fiddle with the settings, take it for a spin. That’s why product demos are always one of the most popular parts of shows like AHR or WWETT.

I think, for one thing, the ubiquity of digital connections has lessened their value. I’m old enough to remember a time when I’d get four or maybe six emails in the course of a day. Each one was something to think over, and usually something worth taking the time to craft a response to. Now? Emails are a plague of locusts that eat time instead of grain. Even with the best filtering software, finding the emails worth responding to is a huge chunk out of my day.

several minutes into the conversation before you understand that you’re not talking to another human being at all.

For the plumbing industry I think there are a couple other factors at play. Plumbing is a very hands-on trade. For all the theory that needs to be learned and all the math that needs to be done (and check out our Hydronics & Radiant section, starting on pg. 22 to see some interesting examples), at some point you’ve got to get under the sink, get into

The other aspect of plumbing is that it’s a service that’s always done for someone. Usually it’s a homeowner, but even when working on a large commercial job a plumber knows there are living, breathing human beings who will be drinking from the taps, flushing the toilets, going barefoot on the radiantly-heated floors. And I think that sense of personal connection bleeds into all facets of a plumbing business.

So, for all the things that digital connections can do for us—and don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of good things—I don’t see in-person events going anywhere.

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