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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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Facility Management Certifications (FMC, CFM, CHFM) are Valuable Tools
The facility management industry is as competitive as it has ever been and the core competencies for a facility manager have evolved rather quickly. The days of being promoted because you are the guy who knows how the facility or power plant works are over. Employers, including your current one, are looking for engineering degrees, business acumen, tool / equipment know-how and solid personnel management skills to go along with the real world knowledge that used to suffice.
How do I know? Last year I was in job search mode in a market full of qualified applicants. I was confident that my 12 years of facility management experience would be enough to get me hired. However, I discovered that my experience, although critical, was not delivering immediate job offers. Everyone I was competing against also had management skills, on the job experience and worked extensively with tools and equipment like test instruments, descaler systems, industrial vacuums and so forth. I could not differentiate myself on experience alone.
One thing that always came up when I did have an interview was my CHFM (Certified Healthcare Facility Manager) designation. Prospective employers were interested in what went into obtaining it. It was instrumental in my landing my current position at a major pharmaceutical company. So whether you are looking to climb the ladder, or plan to stay put in your current position but want to become better at what you do, certification is a valuable tool.
Certifications like FMC, CFM or the more targeted CHFM are all quality, respected designations that can help you in the following ways:
- It confirms you have the necessary core competencies. Even if you fail the exam, any areas of weakness are exposed, so you know where you need to improve.
- It adds credibility when dealing with management and your staff.
- It shows that you have the drive to improve and grow as a facility manager.
- It instantly gives you a peer group to network with for insight and support. When you have a certification, you are a member of a select club.
- It gives you a leg up on much of the competition when you are looking for a new position internally or with a new employer.
So if you have been considering obtaining a certification, remember that it will not only help you become better at the job you are doing today, but could very well help get the one you want tomorrow.
Next Steps:
- Learn about the Top 10 Steps to LEED Certification for a construction project.
- Check out our learning center to help identify maintenance-related equipment and products every facility maintenance shop should have.
- Subscribe to our blog to stay informed on 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.
John Thompson
Goodway Blogging Team
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How HVAC and LEED Professionals Used Twitter in November
In a previous post we looked at the way HVAC and LEED professionals use Twitter and identified some notable industry professionals and groups whose tweets deserve your attention. Today we look at what this same crowd had to say, what insights, links and other interesting stuff they shared on Twitter during the month of November.
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How HVAC and LEED Professionals Use Twitter
In the span of just a few short years, social media services such as Twitter have established themselves as vital tools in the business world. Twitter is a service for posting 140-character posts about anything and everything: links, thoughts, jokes, advice, whatever. But the use of Twitter for professional purposes by people from all industries and sectors has grown by leaps and bounds. So we thought it would be valuable and interesting to take a look at how HVAC and LEED professionals make use of Twitter, which enables them to stay in constant, real-time contact with their clients and industry peers.
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“The Most Famous HVAC Contractor on the Planet”
Alan Givens shakes hands with President Obama on April 15
Want to hear about “the most famous HVAC contractor on the planet”?
That’s the title Construction Week gave to Alan Givens, CEO of Parrish Services, Inc. in Manassas, Virginia, in passing along the word from a May 11 article at The ACHR News. In “Industry Rep Meets with President Obama,” the News reported that Givens, who is also the Virginia state president of the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors (PHCC) Association, received a call on April 10 from PHCC Executive Director Ike Casey asking if Givens could meet with President Obama on April 15.
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Retro-Greening on a Grand Scale: Big News for the Empire State Building
If this isn’t big news – both literally and figuratively – for the energy efficiency and green building movement, then we don’t know what is.
Monday, April 6 marked the launch of a major $20 million green retrofit project for the Empire State Building in New York City, as part of a wider renovation project with a price tag of $500 million.
The organizations involved in the project sound like a Who’s Who of major players: Johnson Controls (which is performing the retrofit for the Empire State Building Company), Jones Lang LaSalle, Rocky Mountain Institute, and the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI). And yes, that’s “Clinton” as in Bill, the former U.S. President.
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Green Building, Energy Efficiency, and the Economic Crisis
If you’re keeping up with current events, then you know that energy efficiency and the rise of green building practices are vying with economic news for dominance in the public’s field of attention.
The question that naturally arises is quite simple: In the midst of a bad economy, is it still reasonable to be focusing on all of this “green” stuff? And is the bad economy already affecting green projects or will they prove to be “recession proof”?
(Our regular readers will recall that we have given considerable attention to this issue in the past. See, for example, “Federal Economic Recovery Plan Focuses on Green Retrofits, Sustainability, Energy Efficiency,” “Green Business in 2009,” “Hold Onto Your Hats: Recession Drives Major Changes in HVAC,” and “Green Building Remains Strong amid Slumping Commercial Construction Market.”)
Of course we don’t have the answers for you. The fact is, nobody does. But we’ll direct you to seven articles about different aspects of the issue that you can read to help form your own judgment.
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Top Trends for HVAC and Green Building in 2009: Experts Anticipate “The Obama Effect”
Interesting stuff going on and being said right in the wake of Obama’s inauguration:
First, both the bubblingly enthusiastic folks at the green-building oriented online magazine Jetson Green and green building expert Jerry Yudelson have published their lists of top green trends to look for in 2009, and both are expecting the Obama administration to spur major developments.
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President Obama Affirms Commitment to Green Energy Revolution in Inaugural Address
[Updated 1/20/09 at 3:45 p.m. EST with links (at end) to other Web items about the green focus in Obama's speech.]
We offer a sincere congratulations to President Obama for his inauguration today, along with a wish for much success as he assumes the mantle of presidential leadership in the midst of as dramatic and turbulent a time of transition as the U.S. and the rest of the world have seen for many decades.
As has been widely reported in the media, and as we ourselves have talked about here at Just Venting, President Obama has announced a strong commitment to overhauling the nation’s energy use habits by having all sorts of green retrofits performed on federal buildings and residences. This plan figures into both his energy and economic recovery plans, which dovetail in their goal of generating huge numbers of green jobs and stimulating other types of economic recovery and progress.
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Don’t Dis Your HVAC Guy This Christmas!
Have you ever stopped to consider the power you wield as an HVAC professional? Etiquette expert John Bridges certainly has!
A frequent guest on national TV shows and contributor to major magazines, Bridges has come up with a list of potentially embarrassing holiday situations and the best ways to handle them. It’s titled “The 12 Don’ts of Christmas…Or Any Other Holiday” and touches on everything from re-gifting (“Be sure to re-wrap”) to giving cookies to kids (“Do not offer a second sugar cookie to a 5-year-old”) to drinking (“Keep close track of your trips to the punch bowl”) to proper attire (“Never wear anything that involves blinking lights, reindeer antlers, or a Santa with a squeaky nose”).
Check out item 10 on his list:
If you have to cut back on your gift list this year, do not start with the person who handles the HVAC in your building.
Obviously, Bridges knows who he’s dealing with. Like Peter Parker said, “With great power comes great responsibility.”
From us here at Just Venting to you, wherever you are, have a safe and happy holiday season.
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