With every new consulting client, I begin our work by asking the following: “How are you judging your staff’s performance?”

I’ll admit it. I was skeptical that distance learning could be a worthwhile experience for service contractors. 

By the time you read this, most people’s New Year’s resolutions or goals will be a distant memory, and they’ll be back to doing the same things they said they weren’t going to do. 

When we see a testimonial, we know someone else has already tested the waters for us. Especially in today’s crowded marketplace, you need something that sets your contracting company apart.

The Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal recently announced Uponor North America is the 2020 Manufacturing Sustainability Award honoree recognizing the commitment to conserving water, reducing waste, improving energy efficiency and empowering labor.

Located in Louisville, Kentucky, Zoeller’s state-of-the-art training facility, the Center for Excellence, has been drawing contractors, engineers and distributors in for product training over the past five years. 

The Plastics Pipe Institute (PPI) published a new technical report related to the break resistance of PEX pipe and tubing when fluid inside becomes frozen.

While forklifts were cruising the aisles of a warehouse in Grantsville, Maryland, a crew from BYCO Enterprises had to carefully retrofit that same space with 1,340 feet of gas line. 

Popular high-efficiency boilers tend to be more expensive at installation, but lower utility bills pay customers back over time. 

The demand for energy-efficient commercial appliances continues to grow — especially as government initiatives continue to promote the use of energy-efficient solutions.

The major trend in the commercial boiler market, which will continue in 2021 and beyond, is the predominance of packaged boilers installed in multiple boiler cascade systems. 

There is a revolution happening in today’s plumbing marketplace, specifically when it involves domestic hot water system designs.

Plumbing & Mechanical is proud to present to you the second installment of “Adventures in Plumbing & Heating,” featuring the expert advice of industry veteran Dave Yates.

Time savings, cleanliness and ease of installation — there were many advantages to CRW Mechanical’s use of Viega MegaPressG recently on a large project in Virginia.

Each year, Plumbing & Mechanical editors receive thousands of product releases from industry manufacturers. The 20 products highlighted here have earned the distinction of being PM’s Top Products of 2021 based on the number of page views on pmmag.com. Congratulations to those products on this year’s list.

Every industry in the United States is currently feeling the constraints of the labor shortage. Employers continue to struggle to bring in new workers and keep existing ones. Job openings far outnumber individuals looking for work — in March, there were 11.5 million jobs to fill, and not enough workers to fill them, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary. 

The commercial water heating market has options for building owners and facility managers when it comes to selecting equipment for their facilities — tank or tankless, gas models or electric — even heat pump water heaters are seeing growth in this space. So which is the most popular? Well, it all depends on who you ask.

The week includes classroom instruction, an International Apprentice Contest, certification exams and demonstrations and a graduation ceremony in which 170 will be honored for their completion of the certificate program and an additional 45 will earn associate degrees from WCC.

Plumbing & Mechanical is proud to present to you the third installment of “Adventures in Plumbing & Heating,” featuring the expert advice of industry veteran Dave Yates.

Businesses don’t succeed in a vacuum — and that is true in all industries, including plumbing, HVAC and electrical contracting businesses. Thankfully, contracting business owners are not on their own and don’t have to learn to “reinvent the wheel.” There are a number of industry associations and best practice organizations available to help.

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.

I was lucky enough to be able to take a week off from work at the beginning of July. Though we attended so many family functions and get-togethers, I almost felt I needed another vacation to recover from my first vacation. Ever had one of those?

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.

As I write this month’s column, I’m attending Plumbing Manufacturer’s International annual Manufacturing Success conference in Louisville, Kentucky. PMI has done a great job with its programming content this year, especially with keynote presenter Andrew Winston, a corporate environmental strategist and author, who discussed how today’s companies are now expected to take a stand against the world’s social and environmental problems — and in doing so, earn a profit.

When I first started working for Plumbing & Mechanical’s sister publication, The ACHR NEWS in 2014, I was often the only woman in the room at industry events. Those first few conferences were just a bit intimidating. In fact, it wasn’t until a HARDI annual conference that I first met other women in the industry — shout out to Colleen Keyworth, director of sales and marketing for Online-Access and immediate past president of Women in HVACR, for her immediate friendship then and for all the years since!

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.

According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the number of teenagers who have driver’s licenses have declined. You wouldn’t think this matters to the home service contracting industry, but it does.

Generosity is the new marketing. In this era of social media, charitable companies can earn an enhanced brand reputation as being a “good” company and will make people want to do business with them.

When a plumbing contracting company wants to grow, it can expand its geographic area by opening a new location, adding a new trade, or buying out another business.

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."

There is a growing trend in the skilled trades, with more people turning away from the traditional four-year college path.

Who can be nominated? Any professional working in any aspect of the plumbing industry, including plumbers and pipefitters, contracting business owners, professional engineers and plumbing designers, wholesalers, manufacturers and manufacturers reps.

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.

Energy independence, anti-dumping laws aid slow return to power.

Amazon is doing well, though a volatile political climate threatens small businesses’ growth.

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.

NHC Audio Briefing not available

Don’t make these seven sales mistakes.

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

If I can learn to be a planner, then you can, too.

Are you being proactive about your marketing plan?

Not every ad is for leads, and your message is more important than you think.

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

Contractors are poised to use marketing method previously reserved for billionaires.