Phc News Blog

The California Building Standards Commission (CBSC) certified the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) on crosslinked polyethylene, or PEX, tubing. In doing so, the CBSC adopted regulations approving PEX water distribution systems into the California Plumbing Code. The new regulations take effect Aug. 1, 2009. Until then, local jurisdictions can adopt a code to use PEX in new and remodel construction before statewide adoption.
         
“The decision represents a victory for the trade and for the consumer in California,” said Rich Houle, Uponor associate product manager, commercial. “Contractors and consumers finally have access to an environmentally superior product that will provide a durable solution to the state’s aggressive water conditions, while meeting California’s high standards for drinking-water quality.”

Watertown, Mass. — A Worcester landmark, the American Sanitary Plumbing Museum, has officially reopened in its new home along the Charles River in Watertown. Carefully presented inside the confines of a 150-year old ice house, the Plumbing Museum combines the craftsmanship of past industry with the luxuries of modern, everyday life. The museum’s collection is comprised of claw-foot bathtubs, ornate water closets, and antique sinks. It also features a large library of turn-of-the-century trade magazines and newspapers, and a circa 1910 plumbing shop with original tools and equipment.
While the museum is entrusted to Plumbing, Heating, Cooling Contractors of Greater Boston (PHCC), it lies on the property of the Watertown-based mechanical contracting firm J.C. Cannistraro, LLC. John C. Cannistraro, Jr., the company President, has worked closely with the collection to create its new look. “The museum tells the story of American industry,” explained Cannistraro. “With the help of the Artists for Humanity, Cambridge Seven Associates, and the PHCC of Greater Boston, this collection will bring a fun, educational, and historical offering to the Watertown community.”

Rockville, Md. — On January 8, a panel of judges selected the four MCAA student chapter teams that will make oral presentations of their bid proposals at MCAA’s 2008–2009 Student Chapter Competition on March 2, 2009, at the MCAA Annual Convention in Scottsdale, AZ. The teams are from:

· Northeastern University,

· Purdue University,

· University of Nebraska – Lincoln, and

· University of Washington.

The judges selected the finalists after reading, discussing, and scoring proposals submitted by 28 MCAA student chapters. In addition to the four finalists, teams that submitted proposals were from:

· California Polytechnic State University at Pomona;

· California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo;

· California State University Chico;

· California State University Sacramento;

· Central Washington University;

· Colorado State University;

· Fairleigh Dickinson University (New Jersey);

· Ferris State University (Michigan);

· Illinois State University;

· Iowa State University;

· Kent State University;

· McMaster University (Canada);

· Milwaukee School of Engineering;

· Northern Kentucky University;

· Oregon State University;

· Pennsylvania State University;

· Pittsburg State University;

· Southern Polytechnic State University (Georgia);

· University of Louisiana – Monroe;

· University of Maryland – College Park;

· University of Nebraska – Omaha;

· University of Wisconsin – Stout;

· Washington State University; and the

· Wentworth Institute of Technology (Massachusetts).

Criteria used for evaluating the proposals considered each written proposal’s overall quality (20 percent), project management and organization (25 percent), feasibility of construction and program schedules (20 percent), quality of the conceptual design (15 percent), and accuracy/feasibility of conceptual costs (20 percent).

Ken Durr (Durr Mechanical Construction, Inc., New York, NY), Richard Perosa (H.T. Lyons, Inc., Allentown, PA) and Bob Portman (Kinetics, Durham, NC) served as the first round judges for this year’s competition.

A different panel of judges will evaluate the oral presentations according to the following criteria: overall quality of the oral presentation (30 percent); feasibility of project management, organization and schedule (30 percent); accuracy and completeness of project costs (30 percent); and answers to the judges’ questions (10 percent).

Each finalist team will have 20 minutes to convince the judges that they are the best qualified to perform the proposed work on the project—15 minutes for a formal oral presentation, and 5 minutes of answering the judges’ questions. Each team’s standing will be determined solely on the basis of their performance on the oral competition.

This year’s project is a build-and-spec project—a 73,000-square-foot, two-story hospital in northern California owned by the Howard family (owners of the world-famous racehorse Sea Biscuit)—a departure from the design-build projects of previous competitions.

As in past years, the prizes are as follows: $5,000 to the first place team; $2,500 to the second place team; and $1,000 to each of the other finalists. All finalists also will receive a handsome trophy commemorating their achievement.

Ann Arbor, Mich. — NSF International today announced the development of a new compositional standard for products that come in contact with drinking water, including faucets. The new requirements are incorporated into the NSF/ANSI American National Standard for Drinking Water Products to help protect the public from exposure to lead.

Annex G – Weighted Average Lead Content Evaluation Procedure to a 0.25 Percent Lead Requirement allows manufacturers to demonstrate compliance to recently enacted legislation in California that limits the weighted average of lead content in plumbing products, which come in contact with drinking water, to 0.25 percent.

The annex was recently incorporated into NSF/ANSI Standard 61: Drinking Water System Components — Health Effects, a standard that includes procedures to evaluate products that come in contact with drinking water and to screen out those products that could contribute excessive levels of contaminants into drinking water. Products covered in the standard include: pipes and related products; protective and barrier materials (including cements/coatings); joining and sealing materials (including gaskets, adhesives, lubricants); process media (including carbon, sand, zeolite, ion exchange media); mechanical devices (including water meters, in-line valves, filters, process equipment); mechanical plumbing devices (faucets, drinking fountains, and components); and potable water materials (non-metallic materials).

According to figures released by the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI), residential electric water heater shipments for November totaled 280,019, a 24.2 percent drop from the same month a year ago. Residential gas water heater shipments totaled 260,443, a 26.8 percent decrease compared with shipments for the same month last year. For the year-to-date, about 3.6 million residential gas water heaters have been shipped, a 7.7 percent drop compared with the same period a year ago. For the year-to-date, about 3.9 million residential electric storage water heaters have been shipped, a 4.2 percent drop compared to the same period last year.
Commercial gas water heater shipments for November totaled 4,910, dropping 38.5 percent compared with the same month last year, while commercial electric water heater shipments totaled 4,292, a 26 percent drop compared with the same month a year ago. For the year-to-date, commercial electric water heater shipments (63,842) are 3.3 percent ahead of total shipments of this product during the same period last year (61,800). Commercial gas water heater shipments (82,083) for the year-to-date are up 0.5 percent, compared with the same period a year ago (81,665).

“Today’s employment figures underscore the dramatic job losses throughout the construction industry that are devastating families, undermining communities and dragging our economy downward.  The fact that almost 900,000 construction workers are out of work after almost two years of steady job losses reinforces the vital need for significant new infrastructure investments as part of the planned stimulus package.  Our forecast figures clearly show that without those investments, construction companies will continue to cut jobs, decrease spending and halt orders for new supplies and equipment.  With those investments, construction companies will retain employees, expand their payrolls and order new equipment,” said Stephen Sandherr, chief executive officer of the Associated General Contractors of America.

An estimated two-thirds of the nation’s non-residential construction companies are planning to cut their payrolls, according to new employment and business forecast figures released by the Associated General Contractors of America. All told, those layoffs are forecast to result in a 30 percent decline in the number of people working on construction projects.

“Unless the business climate changes significantly and soon, the construction sector will continue to experience the kind of devastating job losses and crippling declines in business activity that will undermine efforts to end the recession,” Stephen Sandherr, the association’s chief executive officer said.

The forecast results, which are based on a representative survey conducted by the construction association late in 2008, found no relief in sight for construction companies that already have been among the hardest hit by the economic slowdown. Many construction companies experienced significant slowdowns beginning late last year, resulting in a 10 percent decline in the number of construction workers since 2006, Sandherr noted.

At a ceremony today at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors — National Association (PHCC) signed an agreement to be part of a new Water Efficiency Research Coalition.

The coalition will support research projects that will aid or assist in the development of more water efficient and sustainable plumbing products, systems and practices. Sample potential research topics include: Drainline Carry Research on High-Efficiency Toilets; Water Re-use Systems and Safe Applications for Re-use Water; Non-water Consuming Urinals; and Sizing of Water-Efficient Plumbing Systems. The coalition will seek government grants and private party financing to fund the research projects.

“The plumbers are on the firing line when new technologies come to market,” PHCC’s Green Construction and Water Conservation Task Force Chairman Kevin Tindall, Tindall and Ranson Plumbing & Heating, Princeton, N.J., said at the signing ceremony. “It is in our best interest to make sure they are truly effective, because if they aren’t we will be the ones the customer calls. We are proud to support this important effort to conserve water and energy in our communities.”

As a further example of PHCC’s commitment to water and energy conservation, Tindall announced that beginning in 2009 PHCC—National Association will bring the national GreenPlumbers (www.greenplumbersusa.com) training and accreditation program to PHCC chapters across the country.

Cranston, R.I. — Taco, Inc. has announced that the Cranston, RI company has acquired the assets of Innovex Technologies, a Lewiston, Maine-based manufacturer of Intelligent Building Systems products (IBS), that include stand alone control devices and accessories that offer a complete control solution for both residential and commercial buildings.

Announcement of the acquisition was made by Taco president and CEO, John Hazen White, Jr.

White said, “The addition of the Innovex Technologies product line is consistent with Taco’s strategy to expand its electronics product offering and our continued focus on system selling. This is another way in which Taco will create value for our customers, further diversify the Taco product line and continue to move away from the industry’s tendency of simply selling cast iron by the pound.

“This acquisition will provide Taco with a technology platform that will incorporate our existing line of pumps, hydronic controls and electronic control products along with our unique LoadMatch single pipe heating and cooling system into a networked controls solution that provides comfort in an energy efficient and environmentally friendly manner. This is a huge opportunity for Taco, its employees and the industry as a whole,” added White.

Sarasota, Fla. — Clockwork Home Services, Inc. (Clockwork) announced that Benjamin Franklin Plumbing is ranked among the nation’s top 500 franchises for 2009, according to Entrepreneur’s 30th annual “Franchise 500®.” Benjamin Franklin ranked #140 on the list, which is published in the January 2009 issue of Entrepreneur.

Entrepreneur compiles its list based on companies’ financial strength and stability, growth rate and size of the franchise system. Other considerations include the number of years in business and length of time franchising, startup costs, low employee turnover and whether the company provided financing.

“The Benjamin Franklin ranking by Entrepreneur reflects Clockwork’s leadership in the home services industry and the continued strong appeal that this franchise has to contractors who are seeking to join an organization that is consistently recognized for best practices, outstanding customer service and a solid brand reputation,” said Tab Hunter, president of franchise operations at Clockwork Home Services, Inc. “We are pleased to be recognized by Entrepreneur for Benjamin Franklin’s strong performance and growth year over year, which we believe is inspired by our high business and ethical standards – the ultimate keystones to our future success.”

Manufacturers can turn to ICC Evaluation Service (ICC-ES), a subsidiary of the International Code Council, for federally certified water-efficient products to meet customer demand for green building products. ICC-ES is approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to certify products for the WaterSense Program, which identifies and promotes high performance, water-efficient products.
“Products carrying the WaterSense label are independently tested and certified by ICC-ES to perform 20% more efficiently than traditional products,” said Bernie Soesilo, ICC-ES Director of Listing Programs. “The WaterSense label shows customers that products will not only help save money but also the environment.”
According to the EPA, the program has helped save more than 277 million gallons of water a year and saves millions in energy costs to supply, heat and treat that water. High-efficiency toilets and high-efficiency bathroom sink faucets, both listed under the ICC-ES Plumbing, Mechanical and Fuel Gas (PMG) Program, qualify for the WaterSense Program®.
To earn certification, manufacturers must first enter into a partnership agreement with the EPA. The applicant then submits an application form and independent lab product test reports for ICC-ES review. ICC-ES requires that all products achieve compliance with the International Plumbing Code or Uniform Plumbing Code and standards before they can be evaluated under the WaterSense Program. When a manufacturer achieves compliance with the WaterSense requirements, it also will receive an ICC-ES PMG Listing based on codes and referenced standards. More information is available at icc-es-pmg.org/watersense.