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.

I was wondering about boiler chemicals and how many contractors (if any) were using them on brand-new systems. Do we need them? 

Have you ever had one of those times when you’re trying to figure out some problem and then suddenly the solution comes to you as if by magic? 

This one goes back a bunch of years. The contractor was a good steam man, but he had run out of ideas with this job. It was a typical, five-story, New York City tenement building. Its one-pipe steam system had served generations of tenants for more than 100 years.

A young guy who was about the size of Bruno Mars came to my seminar once, and we were chatting during a break. I asked him how long he had been in the business. It’s good to see young people getting involved.

In March 2010, a nine-month-old boy rolled off his sister’s bed in Jersey City, New Jersey, and got stuck between the bed and a cast-iron, steam radiator that was as hot as it’s supposed to be. The radiator delivered third-degree burns to the infant and left him with permanent scars.

A homeowner posted a question on The Wall at HeatingHelp.com about a drumroll sound that was coming from his brand-new steam boiler. What could it be? He included a video so all could hear, and sure enough, it sounded like a snare drum.

Frozen steam coils always seem to happen at the worst of times, don’t they? You’re busy because it’s cold enough to freeze coils. The place with the frozen coil contains people who are doing things that are so important they can’t possibly be without that particular coil. Not even for a minute. They’re on the phone, and they’re not being reasonable.

My neighbor, Tony, loves his house. We live in a low-crime neighborhood on Long Island but Tony is always on guard against miscreants. He has a Ring camera on every side of his house, mounted high so they’re protected from spray paint. Some of the cameras turn on klieg lights and alarms if I step outside at night to toss the trash in the can. 

In the city of Worcester, Massachusetts, which snuggles into the center of the state, you will find Mount Saint James, and upon that steep hill, you will find The College of the Holy Cross.

My shop teacher was a wiry man who loved hand tools. We spent a week making a buzzer base. He taught us how to saw, sand and varnish. He introduced me to a Brace & Bit hand drill and went on and on about how this was better than an electric drill. “Can you feel the wood? It’s alive!” he said, and I could.

Some years ago, a wholesaler hired me to do a seminar in a New England hotel for about 100 of his contractor customers. After the seminar, the owner of the company invited me and a bunch of his employees out for a nice dinner. There were about 15 of us.

My iPhone pinged a text: “Hi, Dan. How are you and Marianne, and the family? I’m sorry to bother you. I can’t get my steam heat to go on. I can’t get a plumber to come quickly. I guess they’re busy with the weather. Can I call you later to ask you something about the burner?”

I called the plumber because there’s an immediacy to plumbing; and I’m old enough to know that it’s best for me not to touch pipes. To each his own trade.

I began my career in the HVAC business in 1970 as a truck driver for an AC/refrigeration wholesaler. I stayed there just six weeks because my father — who worked for a manufacturers’ rep — told me there was an opening for a clerk at the rep. It paid $110 a week, which was $10 more than I was getting driving the truck. Plus, I’d get to work with him as my boss.

I love all the advances taking place in the world of hydronics, but I’m still seeing plenty of steam systems out there in our older cities, so knowing about dry steam will help you if you’re replacing a steam boiler. The dryer the steam is, the better you’re going to look to your customers.

People who knew Capt. Montgomery C. Meigs said he was occasionally pompous, but when the job was done to his satisfaction, he said, “This was the most difficult piece of engineering and construction that I have yet to undertake.”

In 1885, when you could still buy a milk cow for $29.70, Albert Butz, a Swiss immigrant living in St. Paul, Minnesota, invented what he called the damper-flapper. He patented it the following year. The flapper opened a damper that allowed outside air to enter a coal-fired home furnace. This increased the oxygen in the furnace and made the fire burn hotter. When the temperature rose to a desired point, the damper closed.

Morris had me on the phone. It was 1974 and he was calling from Brooklyn, New York. I had a waxed handlebar mustache that year, and my workmates at the manufacturers’ rep were calling me Rollie Fingers because he was pitching for the Oakland Athletics in the World Series.

It was one of those days at HeatingHelp.com when the old guys had the floor. One of the regulars, a retired (and understandably crotchety) fella from Canada had this to say:

Not long ago, Ray asked the Wallies who post daily on The Wall at HeatingHelp.com what advice they would give someone just starting out in this business. Here’s some of what they had to say. There’s a lot of street-smart experience here.

I spotted a story in the newspaper last year that made me smile with a memory that was bittersweet. 

Another photo appeared and this one had a woman in it. She was holding a long wrench and the business end was attached to one of the risers to the boiler’s drop-header.

Kids have a way of dragging us old folks back in time. My grandson, Brendan put me back on the road, 40 years ago, when I was spending most of my time teaching tradespeople about the joys of steam and hot-water heating.

Hello, old friend. I’m writing today to say thanks, and to say farewell. This will be my last column.

267
ACCA62 KNHC 131220
TWOSAT

Perspectiva sobre las Condiciones del Tiempo en el Trópico
Centro Nacional de Huracanes del SNM Miami FL
700 AM EST miércoles 13 de noviembre de 2024

Corregido para agregar información sobre los pronósticos de alta mar
y los avisos de tormentas.

Para el Atlántico Norte...Mar Caribe y el Golfo de México:

Mar Caribe Central y Occidental (AL99): Una amplia área de baja
presión sobre el Mar Caribe central continúa produciendo una gran
área de aguaceros y tormentas eléctricas. Las condiciones
ambientales son propicias para el desarrollo, y es probable que se
forme una depresión tropical en los próximos dos días mientras el
sistema se mueve lentamente hacia el oeste hacia el Mar Caribe
occidental. Después, es probable que se desarrolle aún más mientras
la perturbación serpentea sobre el Mar Caribe occidental durante el
fin de semana. Se espera que el sistema gire lentamente hacia el
noroeste a principios de la próxima semana. Los intereses a través
del Mar Caribe occidental y noroeste deben monitorear el progreso de
este sistema. Independientemente del desarrollo, se esperan fuertes
lluvias sobre Jamaica durante el próximo día. Para más información
sobre este sistema, incluidos los avisos de galerna, vea los
pronósticos de alta mar emitidos por el Servicio Nacional de
Meteorología. Un avión de la Fuerza Aérea Huracán Hunter investigará
este sistema más tarde hoy.
* Probabilidad de formación hasta 48 horas...alta...90 por ciento.
* Probabilidad de formación hasta 7 días...alta...90 por ciento.

&&
Los pronósticos de alta mar emitidos por el Servicio Nacional de
Meteorología se pueden encontrar bajo el encabezado de AWIPS
NFDHSFAT1, el encabezado de la OMM FZNT01 KWBC y en línea en
ocean.weather.gov/shtml/NFDHSFAT1.php

$$
Pronosticador Kelly

*** Este producto ha sido procesado automáticamente utilizando un
programa de traducción y puede contener omisiones y errores. El
Servicio Nacional de Meteorología no puede garantizar la precisión
del texto convertido. De haber alguna duda, el texto en inglés es
siempre la versión autorizada. ***

Most readers are familiar with the common phrase, “The errors of our ways.“ So why am I talking about the intention of our ways -- not errors – in this article?

Safety professionals work diligently to engage both leaders and employees. But there is often a challenge: leaders wish their employees would just "be careful" without doing diligence to hazard identification, assessment and control. The result: workers claim leaders are only concerned with productivity and budgets.

Deloitte (2014) describes the modern learner in its infographic, “Meet the Modern Learner.” The infographic shows multiple constraints employees face when developing necessary skills. Many writers and training professionals interpret this to say that people today learn differently. Learning has evolved with the office.

Our company has been roofing/remodeling injury-free since inception in 2004. The behavior of people is the predominant cause of accidents and the variable that is most easily changed. Although this article is based on our roofing experiences, the principles are easily applied to any industry, especially those that involve hard labor, high turnover, or dangerous conditions.

Google “safety culture” and you get about 1,600,000,000 results in 0.95 seconds. Safety and health managers have long known the importance of culture – the organization’s values, beliefs and leadership - on safety, morale, productivity, engagement, presenteeism and absenteeism. Culture has been at the top of safety and health issues for the past ten years at least.

The U.S. Department of Labor has launched a new resource to help employers better understand mental health issues, and obtain guidance on how to cultivate a work environment that supports employees with related conditions.

Nondairy milk may have begun as a lactose-free alternative for vegans or nondairy eaters, but the rise in popularity can be attributed to much more than being a must-have swap. The options are endless: almond milk, soy milk, hemp milk, rice milk, and more.

U.S. Navy Captain Mike Abrashoff was given command of the USS Benfold at age 36, making him the youngest commanding officer in the Pacific fleet. His challenge was daunting: the destroyer with 310 sailors was a notable loser, with low morale and the highest turnover in the Navy. Many safety and health pros early in their careers face the challenge of establishing their credibility.

Today’s workplaces look far different than they have in the past, taking on many shapes, sizes and settings. As a result, more workers from multiple employers are working side-by-side at the same locations, increasing the shared responsibility for worker safety among employers.

Obese teenagers can have certain brain differences from their thinner peers -- changes that might signal damage from inflammation, a new, preliminary study suggests.

People distracted by their cellphones are tripping, falling and hurting their heads and necks more often, with such injuries increasing “steeply” over a 20-year period, a new analysis has found.

This is a voluntary consensus standard. It uses recognized management system principles in order to be compatible with quality and environmental management system standards such as ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001.

Material handling consists of the moving, handling, and storing of materials in a facility using manual force, employee-operated equipment (forklifts), and automated equipment (conveyors). The handling and storing of materials inside a facility includes activities like:

ISHN Magazine sat down with Joe Boyle, CEO of TRUCE, to discuss strategies for eliminating workplace distractions. The following are excerpts from that conversation.

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.

Since mind not on task is bound to happen if you know how to do something well, there is much more “leverage” or efficiency in getting people to put more effort than they are currently making (none) into improving their safety-related habits.

This article is really about putting all of the concepts in the previous articles together to come up with what will hopefully be the most significant change in thinking so far.

What’s that one worksite habit that really grinds your gears? Every safety pro has one pet peeve they hate to see but can’t seem to eliminate. Bad safety habits happen on every job site, but breaking those habits isn’t as easy as slapping workers on the wrist or offering them rewards.

Thousands of Industrial Safety & Hygiene News subscribers jumped online to vote in ISHN’s 2013 Readers’ Choice Awards between March 1 and May 1, 2013. The results are in, and ISHN Publisher Randy Green has released the list of winning entries.

Thousands of ISHN subscribers voted online for today's top safety products in ISHN’s 2014 Readers’ Choice Awards. The results are in and ISHN is proud to share the second-annual list of winning entries.

Thousands of ISHN subscribers voted online March 1 - May 1 in ISHN's 2015 Readers' Choice Awards. The results are in and ISHN is proud to share the third-annual list of winning entries. All 42 category winners will receive recognition in ISHN media as well as a glass award commemorating their category achievement!

Thousands of ISHN subscribers voted online in ISHN's 2016 Readers' Choice Awards and the results are in! All category winners will receive recognition in ISHN media and a commemorative award!