January 2019 Metropolitan Washington Association of Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors
Newsleak
On behalf of the MWPHCC, the Board of Directors
wishes you and your families a new year filled with health, happiness and prosperity!
Monthly Meeting January 10, 2019
4:30 Board Meeting
6:00 - T-4 Training
7:30 - Dinner and General Meeting
January T4 Training: Piping Systems with PEX Pipe Sponsors: Taze & Hewitt and Uponor
Inside this issue: January Meeting Information
1
Welcome New Board Members
3
PHCC Focus Flash
4
Secrets to Business Success
From Residential to Commercial applications, PEX pipe is gaining more & more popularity with plumbers! Join our tech session for the latest and greatest features and benefits of “Piping with PEX” Pipe! Register for January 10th Training and Dinner - click here
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OSHA Top 10 Violations
8
Fluidmaster Partners with PCHH for Scholarship
11
PHCC News & Updates
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METROPOLITAN WASHINGTON ASSOCIATION OF PLUMBING-HEATING-COOLING CONTRACTORS Founded in 1873
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PHCC Who's Who Membership Directory 2019 PHCC Who's Who Membership Directory 2019 is available now.
Start reading this issue now!
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MWPHCC Welcomes Our New Board Members! At the December Meeting, generously sponsored by D & B Distributing Co. Inc. the membership recognized out-going President, Al Luke, with a plaque and personal gravel! Al turns the reigns over to Fred Werth to start the new year. Fred, owner and operator of Kensington Plumbing has been a long-standing member of MWPHCC and is ready to take the chapter to its next level. Joining the Board of Directors this year is Luella Greene - Miles of Washington Gas. Luella is a Trade Allies Account Manager with Washington Gas and has given many hours of her time and expertise to our chapter, over the year. (Pictured above, outgoing President Al Luke and in coming President, Fred Werth, December 2018) The MWPHCC Board will swear in the following officers in January: President: Fred Werth, Kensington Plumbing and Heating 1st Vice President: William Warshauer. United Service Specialists 2nd Vice President: Charlie Perkins, Beltsville Heating & Air Conditioning Treasurer: Glenn King, G.R. King Plumbing Co. Inc. Secretary: Steve Heidler, Heidler, Inc. The MWPHCC is proud of our Board and appreciates all the time and energy put forth to bring fellowship, networking, trainings and new business ideas to out membership!
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Thanks to You, We Had a Pretty Awesome 2018! Mix a big batch of hard working volunteers with a heaping helping of generous donors, and you get a fully cooked batch of checked off boxes on our 2018 to-do list. Here's some of what we accomplished together this year •
Partnered with 20 PHCC chapters to offer online plumbing and HVAC apprenticeship courses through our PHCC Academy Learning Management System (LMS). •
Provided 60+ training sessions for PHCC state chapter executives and contractor representatives to guide them through the process of enrolling new apprentices into our online training programs. •
Partnered with University of Central Oklahoma's Institute for Learning Environment Design on online plumbing technician training to be developed in 2019. •
Screened, selected and awarded $105,000 in scholarships to 44 apprentices and students in 2018.
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Sponsored 21 educational seminars for contractors in partnership with PHCC chapters nationwide.
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Updated the Foundation website to help contractors take advantage of our educational offerings.
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Sponsored the HVAC Excellence Instructor Conference.
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Delivered two multi-day boot camps for construction project managers.
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Sponsored the International Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (IWSH) Foundation's International Community Plumbing Challenge, delivering updated water and sanitation systems for the Navajo community in New Mexico.
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Organized and ran the SkillsUSA Plumbing Championship for 50 student competitors.
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Planned and conducted the National Plumbing and HVAC Apprentice Contests at PHCC CONNECT 2018.
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Contributed materials from the Apprentice Contests to Habitat for Humanity.
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Collaborated with PHCC and the PHCC National Auxiliary to deliver 19 educational seminars for contractors at PHCC CONNECT 2018, including a panel discussion at PHCC CONNECT on Workforce Development – a session aimed at teaching contractors how to make connections with local educators and their students.
Congratulations on what we have been able to accomplish together and best wishes for being able to grow our success in 2019!
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At Ferguson, nobody expects more from us than we do. And why should they? We’re the ones who set the bar. Who expect more than the industry standard. From the warehouse to the job site, whatever it takes, we’ll take you there. Put us to work for you. Visit Ferguson.com. Ferguson proudly stocks
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SECRETS TO BUSINESS SUCCESS By: Louis Hobaica, President and co-owner of Hobaica Services, Phoenix, Arizona
When asked to share his secrets of success, Louis Hobaica Of Hobaica Services gladly responded with the following goldmine of ideas. So please, use these ideas to transform your heating, air conditioning, refrigeration or plumbing business or to make some improvements where needed. Purpose how you plan to get there. Assign Create a purpose for your business, these strategies to individuals who Your employees should always come because just earning a profit is not can help, with a time line for comple- first. Treat them as your #1 customer. enough. Knowing 'who you are' and tion. Your treatment of employees will be how you want to be remembered by reflected in how they will treat customcustomers is imperative. Your compa- Leadership ers, so make it a great experience. ny personality will be established You can lead a horse to water, but you whether you like it or not, so be pur- can’t make it drink. It’s not smart Create regular team interaction to poseful about it. business to do everything yourself. continue developing your team relaThis will limit your growth and profita- tionships. It’s critical to have fun. AlDo you have a mission statement, tag bility. low your team to play outside of their line, motto, promise, mantra? If not, comfort zone. write it out and share it everywhere Therefore, create leaders! And always you can. be on the lookout for new leaders of Provide incentives to your team aside the future. from their regular pay, it is important Plan to create memorable experience Your business is going to go some- Culture Incentives could include: where, so it’s important that YOU be in Your team is your company’s personal- Awards * Advancement opportunities charge where it’s going. Create a ity. They are the greatest ambassa- * Vacation time * Personal days roadmap, a business plan for one-, dors of your company. They can be * Birthday off * Paid vacations for five- and 10-years. Once your plans good ambassadors or bad ambassa- the entire family * Gift cards are in place, incorporate strategies on dors. It’s your choice. (continued on p. 7)
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The PHCC Educational Foundation offers online plumbing and HVACR apprentice courses for apprentices who need a non-classroom based method of receiving their apprenticeship instruction. This program is recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration, Office of Apprenticeship, as a reasonable option for apprentice training. Each course is the equivalent of one year of classroom instruction. The Foundation’s PHCC Academy courses offer a consistent experience for companies training many apprentices over time, with course materials devel-
oped by industry experts. Our training is offered through a professional, education-focused Learning Management System (LMS) that is easy to access and use. For more information contact phccacademy@naphcc.org
SECRETS TO BUSINESS SUCCESS (continued from p.6)
Listen to Your Team Your team has great ideas. However, if you don’t listen, you’ll never hear them Create a process for your team to submit ideas that will allow them a fair opportunity to be heard. At Hobaica, we utilize an “Idea Board”. Team members submit an idea that meet one or more of the following criteria: * It will make money. * It will save money. * It will save time All ideas are placed in the "idea parking lot," which is a large bulletin board for all to see. Individuals are recognized, and successes celebrated at company meetings. Perfecting the Customer Experience Customer expectations are much more demanding than ever before. 24hr service, on-time & taking care of the Page 7
problem at hand just are not enough. The customer relationship is key. • Get on a first name basis. • Be likable. • Listen to their needs. • Utilize pictures. Phone and in-person customer communication should all be consistent with your entire team. Create scripts and examples of your expectations. Video demos of each type of interaction.
Create positive memorable experiences with your customers. The fact is, your customers will quickly forget what you said or did, but will long remember how you made them feel. Try to create customer experiences that are emotionallybased. Do the unexpected, something out of the ordinary. For example, team members might take care of an unrelated task during their service as a favor.
Show the customer that you are looking out for them in their best interest. Team members are recognized for these encounters and awarded bonuses in front of their peers. The Thrill of Exceeding Expectations Dec 27, 2018
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OSHA’S TOP 10 VIOLATIONS OF 2018
By: Staff Writer, PHCC-National Association, December 13, 2018
OSHA has announced a preliminary
6. Ladders
this 2017 list for standards and re-
Top 10 list of its “Most Cited Viola-
7. Powered Industrial Trucks
sources on how to protect your work-
tions of 2018.”
8. Fall Protection – Training Re-
ers.
While the categories are relatively the same as previous years, #10 – Personal Protection and Lifesaving Equipment (Eye and Face Protection) – is new to the Top 10 list: 1. Fall Protection
quirements 9. Machine Guarding – General Requirement 10. Personal Protective and Lifesaving Equipment – Eye and Face Protection
2. Hazard Communication
With the number of violations rising in
3. Scaffolding – General Re-
categories 1-9 this past year, it’s more
quirements
important than ever to find and fix
4. Respiratory Protection
recognized hazards in the workplace.
5. Control of Hazardous Energy
While the 2018 list hasn’t been offi-
– Lockout/Tagout Page 8
cially posted by OSHA, refer to
Newsleak
HOW TO MAKE DECISIONS LIKE A LEADER By: Dan Rockwell, The Leadership Freak Blog, December 28, 2018
Poor decisions are often about human frailty, not logic, situations, and information. You’ll risk making poor decisions until you acknowledge the human-frailtyfactor. More information doesn’t solve decision-fatigue, for example. Decision fatigue: The quality of decisions goes down as the day wears on if you are making many decisions. Research shows a parole board’s decisions dropped from 65% favorable to nearly 0% over a short time span of decision-making. Human frailties impact decisions. 7 decision-making tips for 2019: #1. Decide what you want before reacting to a person or situation. Decide where you want to go, before you begin the race. #2. Don’t give yourself an escape hatch. If you create an escape hatch, you’ll use it. #3. Forget the decision for a few
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minutes. Sigal Barsade, leadership@wharton, demonstrates that a few minutes of meditation enables better decision-making. • Breathe-in for a count of three. • Hold it for a count of one. Breathe-out for a count of five. Do the above for as little as two minutes. Now, make your decision. #4. Be a learner more than a knower. The belief that you’re an expert closes your mind. Read, “Rookie Smarts,” by Liz Wiseman.
#5. Determine the purpose and scope of the decision. • What’s at stake? • Who is impacted? #6. Test your gut because intuition is often wrong. Read, “Thinking, Fast and Slow,”
by Daniel Kahneman. #7. Forget sunk-cost. You tend to continue a losing course of action because you’ve invested time, energy, or money. Sunk-cost should never be the reason you continue a losing course of action. Best decision-making advice: Learn and adapt as you go. Best decision-making book: Thinking, Fast and Slow, by Daniel Kahneman What decision-making tips seem most important?
What decisionmaking suggestions might you add?
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Newsleak
Fluidmaster Announces Scholarship Program for PlumbingnTrade By: Staff Writer, PHCC-National Association, November 16, 2018
Fluidmaster, the #1 toilet repair brand worldwide, has announced a new scholarship program for the plumbing trade. In partnership with the PHCC (Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors) Association, Fluidmaster will match the scholarship recipient with a plumbing job and formal training to become a certified plumber. The scholarship is available to high school seniors or graduates who plan to enroll full-time in the PHCC Association of Orange County, Riverside and San Bernardino (PHCC-ORSB) fouryear Journeyman Plumbing Training Program. The scholarship value is worth approximately $14,000 over four years. The student recipients receive a $3,500 award and up to six awards will be granted annually and can be Page 11
renewed for up to three additional years or until the training program is complete. Applicants to the Fluidmaster PHCC Scholarship Program must be High School Seniors or graduates who have completed the Plumbing-HeatingCoolers Contractors Association Ride and Decide Program, and those who plan to enroll in full-time study in the PHCC-ORSB four-year Journeyman Plumbing Training Program at PHCC.
“There is a high demand for plumbers, as many skilled plumbers are retiring, and school programs are no longer widely available. Plumbing is a lucrative career and we’re excited to support an industry who has supported our success.” Robert Anderson Schoepe, Fluidmaster Chairman and CEO
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News and Updates
DOE Petitioned to Rescind Regulations
By Chuck White, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs November 29, 2018
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently received a petition from a group, referred to as the “Gas Industry Petitioners,” asking to issue an interpretive rule stating that DOE’s proposed energy conservation standards for residential furnaces and commercial water heaters would result in the unavailability of “performance characteristics” by setting standards which can only be met by condensing combustion products (90%+ efficient). The rules that
are requested to be withdrawn would preclude the installation of non-condensing combustion products (80% efficient). PHCC believes there is a need for noncondensing equipment particularly in applications where alternate venting routes would be costly, if not impossible, to achieve. DOE will be taking comments on this request through the end of January 2019. PHCC looks forward to expressing the contractors point of view on this topic.
Driving Biggest Risk for Contractors
By Chuck White, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs August 23, 2018
Driving risks were a large topic of discussion at the recent Insurance, Safety, & Risk Management meeting at Federated Insurance in Owatonna, Minnesota. It was reported that driving represents 60% of losses for contractors. Fatalities are up 5 to 6% in 2018 over 2017 and may exceed 40,000 deaths. Incidents in all age categories are up but highest increase is in age 45 to 54 bracket.
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66% of drivers have no violations (3-year window)
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6 violations 4.5 times more likely to have an accident
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20% have one violation 1.8 times more likely to have an accident
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7 violations 5 times more likely to have an accident
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8% have 2 violations 2.36 times more likely to have an accident
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4% have 3 violations 3.0 times more likely to have an accident
Driver’s records are important in that auto claims are the number 1 source of claims.
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2% have 4 violations 3.5 times more likely to have an accident
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1% have 5 violations 4 times more likely to have an accident
Statistics show:
Be Inspired. Page 12
Be the Best.
It is recommend this year that contractors consider some form of electronic video monitoring resources which offer outward and inward monitoring. Inward monitoring allows employers to see what’s going on in the cab and identify opportunities for training and follow-up with employees. There is a huge need to keep hammering the message of distracted driving and instituting safe driver policies.
Join PHCC.
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Contact: Gary Lower Dan Kelly 6250 Chillum Place, NW Washington, DC 20011 Phone: (240) 619-1644 Email gary.lower@tsomerville.com Website: www.tsomerville.com
Washington Winnelson Company Contact: Steve Erickson 3333 Pennsy Drive Hyattsville, MD 20785 Phone: (301) 386-7771 Email: serickson@winnelson.com Website: www.washingtonwinnelson.com
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO ADVERTISE IN OUR MONTHLY NEWSLETTER, PLEASE CONTACT SUE THOMPSON AT SUE@MWPHCC.ORG for more information Page 13
Newsleak President Fred Werth, Owner Kensington Plbg
301-864-1117 mystical.plumber@comcast.net 1st Vice President Bill Warshauer, Owner United Service Specialists 301 924 3500 bill@calluss.com 2nd Vice President Charlie Perkins, Owner Beltsville Heating & AC 301-937-6700 cperkbhac@hotmail.com Secretary Steve Heidler, Owner Heidler Plumbing 410.268.7191 steveh@heidlerplumbing.com
Treasurer Glenn King , G.R. King Plbg 301-982-5373 grkingplumbing@comcast.net Sergeant at Arms Charlie Perkins, Beltsville Heating & AC 301-937-6700 cperkbhac@hotmail.com MWPHCC Auxiliary Marcia Shapiro, President 301-475-6760
Carl Anderson 240-264-3600 John Davis 240-375-1161 Chris Erdle 301-490-9500 Luella Greene-Miles 703-750-4476 Jamey Gray 301-953-9370 Steve Heidler 410-268-7191 Gary Markle 202-421-6195 Dick Rhodes 443-561-1692 Otto Seidel 202-397-7000 Laura Warshauer 301-924-3500
Past President Al Luke, Owner Jiffy Plumbing & Heating Phone: 301-277-9111 allanluke9111@gmail.com Executive Director
Susan Thompson (301) 278.2962
We’re on the web! Visit us at www.mwphcc.org
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Board of Directors
To Contact the National PHCC Office 1-800-533-7694 or on the web at www.phccweb.org