It’s Superbowl Monday as AHR Expo Tackles Chicago Today

The New England Patriots and New York Giants have been crowned NFL conference champions and are now preparing for the Superbowl. The next two weeks will be filled with team meetings, breaking down of game tapes, practices, traveling, and much more. Yup, that’s alot of work that needs to be done prior to the big game.

Now consider the amount of time and resources needed to design, construct, manage and pull off our industries Superbowl, the 2012 AHR Expo. Starting today, McCormick Place will be packed with tens of thousands of professionals looking to boost their knowledge and push the HVAC industry past the goal line and on to new heights.

This show is predicted to be the largest and most impressive trade show in history. There is a reason why the show is three-days long—I’m quite certain it is impossible to absorb what the show has to offer, especially with thousands of exhibits from all around the world.

Sunday night it was lights out early, as I prepare for this historical couple of days. My free time has been filled with plans for the journey that will start Monday, January 23. To some, this may be just another day out of the office. To me and the rest of the HVAC enthusiasts, this is our championship game. Instead of rooting for our football team, we’re rooting for our peers. Day after day we have had to endure the ups, the downs, and the heartaches of the business. And that has brought us this year to Chicago in hopes that the new products soon available will make us champions of the industry.

Going green has proven to be not just another fad. Most of the show seems to be heading in the direction of green energy. Leaders in geothermal, solar heat, and zoning will most likely take the spotlight. On my drive to the show, I have one question that needs to be answered. How can I save myself as well as my customers money? In fact, that same question will be replaying itself in my mind as I walk from exhibit to exhibit. I’m sure that same question will be on the minds of most visitors throughout the show. I’m hoping Wednesday night I will have many answers to this question.

The expectations have been set. Will they live up to all the hype? Having attended the shows in years past I would say they will. AHR has never let me down and hopefully never will. As my knowledge and passion grows for the industry so does everyone else’s, which should be reflected this week. The day is finally here and nothing will stop me and thousands of others from attending but don’t expect any wardrobe malfunctions from Janet Jackson during the halftime show.

Next Steps:

• Sign up to receive a review of the show in your inbox later this week.
• Check out Goodway’s great products at the show.
• Check out our learning center on Industrial Maintenance Cleaning Equipment.
• Stay up to date on facility maintenance tools such as chiller tube cleaners,boiler tube cleaners andhose/pipe cleaners,descaler systems,test instruments,industrial vacuums,commercial pressure washers, and drain cleaners.

Pressure Washer to Boiler Tube Cleaning: Developing a Building Maintenance Checklist

As cold weather continues to cover much of the U.S., buildings will need to rely more heavily on their HVAC system. If you perform routine upkeep on your furnace, heat pump, and filter systems, chances are good you’ll continue to experience a comfortable winter.

Technology and maintenance standards are constantly evolving, and realistically, no one person has the time to just sit at a desk and keep up with all of the changes. Proactive, preventive maintenance requires scheduled tasks to occur at specific time intervals – a little planning can help avoid many of the problems associated with reactive maintenance. Not only can it reduce downtime costs, save energy and eliminate recurring problems but it can also extend the useful life of equipment or a building.

I often speak with facilities maintenance team members and have been surprised by some of what I’ve learned over time. One thing that comes up over and over is that many of these staffers don’t necessarily have facility maintenance backgrounds – they haven’t been formally trained to do the jobs they currently hold. I also heard that maintenance personnel often find themselves working with little guidance or technical support. It could be a recipe for inefficiency or worse.

AHR – Chicago. Like Christmas morning all over again.

January brings us cold weather and hot new products at AHR 2012!

Like a Christmas morning in January, it’s that time again for the AHR/ASHRAE show where you get to see all the new goodies in HVAC. And as usual Goodway has a lot of great products at the show. So let’s see a few of the things that are beneath the AHR tree this year.

First off is a brand new tube cleaner!!

NEW RamPro Tube Cleaner – Built for the contractor or high volume user this lightweight, portable tube cleaner is simply astounding. It offers a completely redesigned chain drive system, virtually indestructible roll cage design and a new, innovative and patented Quick Connect shaft system that saves valuable time on shaft changes. It also includes a bidirectional foot switch for hard to clean spirally enhanced tubes. This product truly makes cleaning tubes fast and easy. You’ve got to see it to believe it. Learn more here.

Now, what else do we have under the tree? Better Indoor Air Quality, that’s what!

If you’ve ever had to deal with mold in your HVAC system you know it’s nasty stuff. There are plenty of ways to clean it, but not many ways to keep it from coming back that are safe to use and EPA registered. Well, we have something for you. CoilShine-BC is just that solution. It is formulated to offer mold control for coils, grills, duct work and more for months at a time. And the best part. Wait for it…you can apply it when the building is occupied and is essentially non-toxic. EPA registered and ready to-to-use.

Couple it with our award winning coil cleaning systems and you have a complete solution for mold and mildew in your coils, pans and duct system. Learn more.

We also have another surprise up our sleeve for AHR. We’re hosting a little get together on Monday & Tuesday of AHR from 3:30 – 5:30 PM. Come by and join us for a drink (or two) and see the new products up close, talk shop…or fishing or boating – or just hang out and meet some new people. Call me for more information or come by booth #4149.

Facility Disaster Planning Highlighted By Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant

When the massive earthquake and accompanying tsunami hit Japan last year, people around world watched as a potentially history-making crisis unfolded before us. The Fukushima nuclear power plant had been built to withstand just such an event. However, some of the ancillary systems weren’t, resulting in a loss of power to the pumps that helped cool the reactors.

Records show that as early as 2007, an in-house study indicated that the plant was vulnerable to tsunami waves. These concerns were considered “unrealistic” by company officials. They should have used the outcome of this analysis to update their disaster plan. Instead, they were left with a mess that experts have projected will take 40 years to clean up. The manpower and equipment necessary to accomplish this is staggering. Workers with HEPA vacuums will be a familiar sight at the facility for years.  As an aside, did you know that HEPA filters were originally developed in the ’40s for use in the Manhattan Project?

While your disaster plans might not be on that scale, they are becoming more critical with each passing year. As technology improves, more responsibilities are automated, and equipment becomes more complex. That means the potential for system failure becomes greater. The impact on your facility and operations could be financially devastating.

Most facilities have disaster plans, however many are just one-size fits all procedures. That type of plan basically says, “if there’s a disaster this is what we’ll do.” The problem is that not every disaster is the same, nor will it even effect facilities in the same industries the same way. There are many factors such as location, size, resources, and time of year that have to be taken into account.

The first step is to undertake a vulnerability analysis. Make a list of things that could seriously impact your facility. Focus on the the top 10, and develop a plan to deal with each one. When I was a healthcare facility manager, our hospital was less than 10 miles from the coast. Number one on our list of disasters was a hurricane. Our problem was compounded by the fact that we had to have a plan in place that would allow us to stay open and provide services to the community even during a major storm.

Reassess your plans minimally every three years. Focus on a third of them each year so you don’t have a big pile to look at all at once. Review them to see what things have changed and how the changes impact the plan since you last reviewed it.

Finally, conduct a drill, even if it’s just at a table with the key stakeholders. Have someone take notes, and have a discussion afterward, then revisit the plan. Remember in the case of disaster, you should look outside your facility for answers. Community resources and vendors can help you overcome issues that can’t be solved internally.

Here are some additional HVAC tips you may consider in 2012:

• Check out our learning center on how best to maintain all your facility’s existing equipment.
• Subscribe to our blog to get the latest HVAC maintenance news and insight.
• Stay up to date on facility maintenance tools such as chiller tube cleaners,boiler tube cleaners, hose/pipe cleaners,descaler systems,test instruments,industrial vacuums,commercial pressure washers, and drain cleaners.

Top 3 HVAC Industry New Year’s Resolutions

It’s that time of year again—time to finalize resolutions for the new year that some of you probably will not keep. And in most cases that’s OK. It may not be crucial that you hit the gym six days a week or lay off the chocolate. But there are some resolutions that are critical for you and your HVAC career.

Below are three such resolutions and how to act on them now.

1. Establish an emergency-preparedness plan for your facility – Unfortunately 2011 included a number of natural disasters that effected facilities in the US and around the world. Although you should always plan for such disasters, facility emergency-preparedness will become a front burner priority for many facility managers in 2012. Once you have a plan in place, you can manage and resolve emergency situations more effectively. Don’t put off developing an emergency-preparedness plan for “another day.” Do it today and you’ll sleep better tonight.
2. Overhaul your facility’s HVAC maintenance checklist ­– Many facility managers talk about overhauling their buildings’ preventive maintenance plans to achieve maximum effectiveness. However few actually follow through. Here’s a resource to help you rebuild that important document.
3. Advance your HVAC career – There are many online resources to help you advance your HVAC career. But getting that industry certification or extra know-how to advance your career has been just out of reach for whatever reason. To make things easier for you we’ve created a map that centralizes the top career development resources in the industry. The resources are broken out into three categories and home to live links to key resources.

This downloadable map also:

• Offers option to add or update links so you can help maintain and develop the live document.
• Allows you to share it with your colleagues and your boss—maybe he’ll even cover all the costs to get that LEED certification you’ve been putting off.

Don’t wait any longer! Make those 2012 resolutions to create an emergency-preparedness plan, overhaul your facility’s HVAC maintenance checklist and bolster your HVAC career. Once you check these off your list, focus on laying off those chocolates and joining that gym.

Here are some additional steps you can take in 2012:

• Check out our learning center on how best to maintain all your facility’s existing equipment.
• Subscribe to our blog to get the latest HVAC maintenance news and insight.
• Stay up to date on facility maintenance tools such as chiller tube cleaners, boiler tube cleaners, hose/pipe cleaners, descaler systems, test instruments, industrial vacuums, commercial pressure washers, and drain cleaners.