BNP Media’s Plumbing Group, which includes Plumbing & Mechanical, PM Engineer and Supply House Times, is launching our inaugural Next Gen All Star —Top 20 Under 40 contest.

According to a Gallup study, only one in three workers in the U.S. strongly agree that they received recognition or praise for doing good work in the past seven days. At any given company, it's not uncommon for employees to feel that their best efforts are routinely ignored.

BNP Media’s Plumbing Group is finally settling back in after a whirlwind of travel this past month. We’ve been racking up those frequent flier miles attending NKBA’s Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS), IMARK Plumbing, the AHR Expo and the WWETT show. While there was a ton to see at each event, for the purposes of this column, we’re going to focus on KBIS.

Many of us have heard the term, ‘The Great Resignation,’ in describing the massive amount of employee turnover the last few years. In 2021, federal data shows nearly 50 million workers left their jobs for various reasons — higher pay, new career opportunities and more. With an already strained job market in the skilled trades, employee retention is more important than ever.

A few weeks back I was having a conversation with a plumbing and HVAC contracting business owner. During the beginning of our discussion, he abruptly told me, “I just use ChatGPT to do your job.”

In my years in the workforce, I’ve had jobs with amazing bosses and managers. On the flip side, I’ve also had terrible managers who made me question whether or not I wanted to stay in that organization.

The construction industry is often associated with strength, resilience and tough work. However, there has been an alarming rise in mental health challenges. MCAA is taking that to heart with the first-ever public release of its suicide prevention video.

As a writer covering HVAC and plumbing, I was often the only woman in the room. But that's changing, and more women are finding success in these industries. As Judaline Cassidy said, "Jobs don't have genders."

Embracing new technology can be challenging, but it can boost sales and productivity. Artificial Intelligence (AI) can revolutionize how plumbing contractors operate by enhancing employee capabilities.

I reached out to some of the best coaches in the industry for some perspective on communicating clearly and effectively with customers and each other and best practices for how contractors should handle communication breakdowns.

Housing market, inflation rates and the upcoming midterm election will influence the economy in 2018.

Infrastructure will continue to be an issue in 2018 and beyond.

Meanwhile, the fate of the estate tax could affect small businesses for years to come.

These tips will set you up for success heading into 2018.

All three of these elements must be in place for a business to survive.

Sometimes, love isn’t all you need.

Direct mail hits on the high points that anyone would want from an effective marketing campaign: Print builds trust more easily than digital ads. 

By following the tips below, you can mitigate the negative impact of COVID-19 on your business and lay some groundwork that will make your company more successful in the long run.

Let me clue you in on a poorly kept secret: Traditional advertising is expensive. I know, this isn’t exactly shocking. Depending on your market, a month-long rental of a billboard could cost five figures. A week’s worth of 15-second radio ads can run up to $8,000 — and that doesn’t include the cost of producing them. And television? Forget it.

Thanks, Fred.

From Roman baths to modern water-saving showerheads, plumbing has come a long way.

Thermostatic mixing valves and common sense can help prevent injury and litigation.

Third-party listing helps protect you and your customers.

The code-writing organizations are currently finalizing the 2021 edition of the Plumbing Code, which may be adopted in your state or local jurisdiction by 2023. That is how far in advance hot subjects that are being discussed now wait before becoming law.

As a backpacker, the most important item I carry in my backpack is water. I start each morning of a hike with three liters of water; two in my bladder and one in my bottle. The water bottle looks like any typical water bottle that people carry.

Elegance is the name of the game with modern bathrooms. To keep up with the demands of the public, the plumbing codes and standards have changed regarding modern bathrooms. Some changes are for the good; others, well, we will have to see.

The baby boomer generation is reaching retirement age, and many are planning to age in place. As the body ages, the use of plumbing fixtures changes. The aging body no longer has the strength and flexibility of the younger body.

Most hydronic systems have the boiler running up to 180° F with water returning from the system at 160°. This rarely happens in real life, but it’s the traditional way we do things.

Over the years, I've had many homeowners read my books and then write to tell me they knew more about their system than the contractors that came to their houses. This was particularly true when it came to steam heating.

Accidents happen for millions of reasons, but the truth is, they are all preventable. Three major causes are common in almost all accidents; not using the right tool for the job; using a damaged tool that hasn’t been inspected; and not following the basic safety guideline for that tool.

A management system has a place within how we can operate to eliminate variation from the processes that impact the operations of a business. Many commonly known management systems are implemented by EHS and risk management professionals.

Ergonomics principles can guide employers towards systems that adapt to workers’ needs and decrease the potential for discomfort and harm.

As part of the rulemaking process, the agency will seek and consider input from a ride range of stakeholders and the public at-large as it works to propose and finalize its rule.

A dockworker strike that could affect up to 36 ports along the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts would significantly impact the economy; the roofing industry would not be spared.

Learn about two specific air filtration and dust collection standards set by ASHRAE to guide you in establishing air quality programs.

A new study summarizing exposures to asbestos during the installation and removal of asbestos cement products demonstrates that these construction activities almost always exceed U.S. occupational limits.

Learn about sources of silica dust and best inspection practices to improve indoor air quality and reducing health risk in facilities.

This article describes potential sources of combustible dust and outlines best inspection practices for OSH professionals, certified industrial hygienists and certified remediators to perform the suspect combustible dust inspection.

Engineered to work with materials that create sticky or agglomerative dust, the evolutionary Dalamatic G2 dust collector includes patented Dura-Life^™ bag filters. 

The new Hygienically Clean Certification Portal launched on April 15 as part of the Hygienically Clean Certification Program Enhancement Initiatives. 

While regulations exist to minimize dangers of toxic substances in industrial plants, there are additional methods that can be incorporated to effectively reduce air pollution in these facilities.

The industrial gas safety series will further provide partners and customers with the ability to protect employees and their facilities when working near both toxic and hazardous gases.

It’s a fact of life in every industrial facility: Heavy machinery and a cavernous room are a bad combination. The noise generated in such an environment quickly becomes intolerable, not to mention dangerous for those working there.

OXEA, part of the Oman Oil Company, is a leading chemicals manufacturer with operations around the globe. Its specialist products go towards making high-quality coatings, lubricants, cosmetics, pharmaceutical products, printing inks and plastics.

A physical therapist at Rocky Mountain Human Performance and Pedorthic Specialist at Turnpike Comfort Footwear are both treating lower extremity issues in athletes and other patients with SelectFlex®, the first arch control insole of its kind.

The Orange County Sanitation District in Huntington Beach, California provides wastewater collection, treatment, and disposal services for approximately 2.6 million people. They had a combination of loud industrial equipment, cavernous space, and highly reflective surfaces creating an acoustic nightmare.

Establishing any construction project is a careful balancing act between many legal, financial and social responsibilities. Firms not only have a responsibility to shareholders and business partners, but to their workers, the local authority and site neighbors in the wider community as well.

“Let families decide” is the only reform of the DOL chapter in Project 2025 - a controversial Republican blueprint - specifically referencing job safety. This article is about youth safety, not politics. What do you think?

Exhibitor applications for A+A 2021, International Trade Fair with Congress for Safety, Security and Health at Work, are now available online at www.aplusa-online.com. The deadline for reserving exhibit space at A+A 2021 is December 1, 2020. The event will be held from October 26 – 29, 2021at the fairgrounds in Düsseldorf, Germany.

As the U.S. has begun to reopen with the coronavirus continuing to affect the country six months after many shelter-in-place mandates developed, workers across a multitude of industries — from manufacturing plants to agriculture to meat processing — are getting sick.