Planning ahead helps ensure you get the most out of the events you attend.

When I was the last of the three brothers to enter the family business, my dad said to me, “I owe you an opportunity, not a guarantee.”

For more than 17 years, I’ve been helping contractors learn and practice good habits. It has improved their lives, their employees’ lives and even the lives of the customers they serve.

What does getting employees to “released” mean?

I’m lucky enough to work with a lot of good-hearted contractors. What I know is contractors in general, despite the skewed view of the media to the contrary, want to do the right thing for their customers and their community.

I got an email from a client the other day that instantly reminded me of how I once delivered “poop sandwiches” to my own employees.

I’ve been incredibly lucky to work with some great contractors over the years. I shared what I had learned along the way at my own company, and I brought those insights and systems to their companies to help them grow and succeed.

It was still hot and sweaty in the midday sun just a couple of days after Labor Day in New York, and at first glance, you’d think we were out in the yard in the dead of winter.

The old adage goes, “Do something good for someone and they’ll tell 10 people. Do something bad to someone and they’ll tell 100 people.”

A client called me awhile back because he wanted to know what my family did with the scrap metal from jobsites, and he wanted to know what the other companies I work with do on this matter too.

"It’s a drug and we’re hooked!” is what I said to my brother, Richie, about the fix I felt we got from doing the really big monster commercial and residential jobs for what we felt were lots of dollars.

One of the nice things about my job is I’m usually busy. I like when I look up at the end of the day and see that the day has flown by. 

I’ll admit it. I’m not a giant fan of reading financials and management reporting.

Why is it that your staff isn’t quite as excited as you are when you discuss a new project, a new process, new policy or a habit you want to change?

There are only two types of companies I’ve ever worked with in my 18 years of being a consultant to the contracting industry.

It was working when I left!” 

Everything in business is important! Not everything in business is urgent — thank heavens!

“Hire willing people and provide them the skills — as opposed to hiring spoiled, experienced people with skills and behavior problems.” 

What is finally going to fix things at your company? 

One of the most common things I see when I begin my work with a new contracting client is the resistance to train employees. 

Bad attitudes are everywhere, or so it would appear. In most cases, it is based on nothing other than your opinion. 

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

The conversation typically goes like this: The owner tells me, “Al, I don’t know if I can get buy-in here for the operating manuals.”

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. 

You may think you are too small to have a fleet manager, or so big you need a full-time fleet manager, and neither of those things is necessarily true.

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.

There’s an ancient proverb that says, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago.

The Keltech acquisition will also begin a new partnership between Bradford White and Bradley.

The dawning of a new year has PHVAC industry experts cautiously optimistic about new opportunities that lie ahead in 2021. 

No matter who you are, project management can be a challenge. 

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. 

When HVAC work needs to be completed for agriculture applications in Ontario, Canada, Gleeson Plumbing & Heating has a reputation of delivering impressive results time and time again. 

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. 

Uponor North America launched its new Complete Polymer Solution for commercial-piping applications in the U.S. 

E-motors are the ideal solution for better efficiency and reducing energy consumption.

It’s without question that technology has improved the mechanical world around us. From my smartphone, I can instantly see the health of hundreds of our boiler plants across the country. 

Domestic hot water recirculation system design is a hot topic in our industry, for good reason. 

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.

For decades, Janet Armstrong and Lloyd Davies have lived and breathed the sustainable lifestyle. Their way of life has ties to the example set by Janet’s father, who built the first solar house in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, way back in 1978.

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.

Water heater manufacturer Rinnai America Corp. has been working for the last three years with a state department of corrections to upgrade the water heating systems in five prison facilities.

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.

For years, environmental considerations and sustainability have influenced innovation in manufacturing, and in 2021, those factors became the driving force behind new product development.

The owner of a 107-year-old home sought an advanced hydronic heating solution for a major basement finishing project and to alleviate his existing heating woes on the first and second floors of the residence. The installation of an innovative and highly efficient boiler from Weil-McLain helped make the basement remodel a success and the family’s home comfortably warm throughout.