A little water conservation can go a long way.

And as the second-most visited space in commercial buildings — just behind the lobby — the restroom and its water-saving fixtures can help lead the way when it comes to cutting back consumption.

Over the past decade, society has been evolving. It is constantly rethinking discrimination, with growing social awareness of gender identity, differently-abled individuals and sensory sensitivity. The public restroom is one area that has come under fire during this social evolution.

Have you remodeled a bathroom recently? If so, maybe you’ve noticed problems with the toilet.
To get more specific: Is it rocking noisily when the homeowner takes a seat? Or maybe they've noticed water pooling at the base. Perhaps the flooring surrounding the toilet feels soft. Or water spots have appeared on the ceiling located directly below the toilet.

RainStick Shower co-founders Alisha McFetridge and Sean McFetridge share a longtime passion for water conservation. In 2019, the two began building the North American Market’s first water circulating shower. Supply House Times Chief Editor Natalie Forster sat down with Alisha McFetridge to dive into RainStick Shower’s backstory and plans for the future.

A thriving plumbing business relies on a collaborative team spanning various functions. Facing challenges like labor shortages and limited resources, many contractors struggle to expand into new markets. Adding a franchise can accelerate growth, minimize risk, and unlock fresh opportunities by leveraging established systems and resources.

Joseph Cariola, a licensed plumber and operations manager at Feddon Mechanical, converted his garage into an in-law suite with a bedroom and bathroom to accommodate up to three people.

Andreas Nowak dedicated 19 years of service to both Geberit and the Chicago Faucet Co., leaving a lasting impact through his visionary leadership.

The awarded pizza box uses considerably less material than traditional solutions without compromising rigidity, function or print quality.

Right-sized, on-demand packaging solutions empower companies to optimize their processes, reducing waste and minimizing their carbon footprint.

Paperboard, corrugated and carton solutions have been a key area of focus for manufacturers due to their dependability and ease of use. This focus has resulted in key innovations regarding environmental responsibility and design investments.

PACT has developed a specially designed, corrugated crate that some customers have been able to use over one hundred times.

The investment has allowed the company to expand the size of the production space in La Chevrolière by 4,000 square meters (43,000 square feet) and has been made in response to an increasing demand for sustainable corrugated cardboard by existing and potential DS Smith customers in the region.

Both attractive and sturdy, this eco-designed packaging offers robust protection while opening impactful visual possibilities. Its sleeve openings and high-quality printing area break the mold of the traditional format.

Strategic move underscores Meyers’ commitment to expanding its footprint in the folding cartons sector.

Morrisons wanted to reduce supply chain and material costs and to improve the customer experience, aiding navigation for shoppers in-store and improving on-shelf availability in order to increase sales. 

The Acquisition will expand Mondi’s corrugated footprint in Western Europe and add complementary fiber-based products, focused on eCommerce and FMCG, to enhance its existing customer offering.

The upgrade comprises an extensive rebuild of paper machines PM2 and PM5, a new anaerobic treatment plant including an integrated cooling system, and upgrades to the pulp mill, the recycled fiber line and the energy recovery system.

Once you know your learning style, you can start to create real change within your company.

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.”

"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. 

What is finally going to fix things at your company? 

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

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

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

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.

As natural gas rates increase and the push for more sustainable energy sources intensifies, heat pump water heaters appear poised for massive growth. States such as California and Massachusetts already have regulations prohibiting or disincentivizing gas water heaters in new construction, and New York City recently enacted similar restrictions for new construction. So, are heat pump water heaters the future of the water heating market? Maybe or maybe not — but some industry experts certainly think so.

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.

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 members of Congress debate the very science behind “climate change,” there are a slew of cities — and now one state — taking matters into their own hands and enacting natural gas bans for new construction buildings.

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.

Does anybody else feel like 2022 just flew right by, or is it just me? It seems too early for Christmas decorations and music — just a few short weeks ago, Michigan was still having 70-degree weather! But ‘tis the season!

As the water receded from Lake Mead this past year, all the major news headlines focused on the human remains it revealed. Very rarely did any mention the ecosystem in crisis as trees, fish and other aquatic creatures, birds and other species are dying out as they are left out to dry.

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.

Last month, the Biden-Harris Administration announced it is proposing the first-ever national drinking water standard for six per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The proposal, if finalized, would regulate PFOA and PFOS as individual contaminants, and will regulate four other PFAS — PFNA, PFHxS, PFBS and GenX Chemicals — as a mixture.

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.

Fall is conference and tradeshow season in the plumbing and HVAC world.

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.

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.