Industry News

WESTLAKE, Ohio — On June 3, ASSE International will begin operating from its new principal office, located at 18927 Hickory Creek Drive, Suite 220, Mokena, IL 60448. The move to this expanded facility will occur May 30-31, with normal operations resuming on June 3.

Mokena, a south suburb of Chicago, has been home to the Chicago Regional Office of the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO®) since 2007. Currently located on the first floor of the building, IAPMO will join ASSE International in the move to the 12,000-square-foot second floor, leaving room for growth as both organizations expand. The shared ASSE International/IAPMO suite will be divided to establish separate business units and identities, while still in close proximity to promote collaboration and the sharing of resources.

With easy access to all major expressways, two large classrooms featuring state-of-the-art technology, a spacious boardroom and a fully stocked kitchen, this new space is not only a greatly improved location for the day-to-day office work of ASSE International’s staff, but also ideal for any meetings, seminars and training sessions that have previously been outsourced to outside locations. In addition to the many other amenities of this new facility, traveling visitors and meeting attendees who need to work on the road can utilize the office’s 11 work stations located in the main lobby.

“This is a big adjustment for ASSE International staff, but we hope to make the transition as smooth and welcoming as possible,” said Scott Hamilton, executive director of ASSE. “I believe this tremendous new facility and the proximity to IAPMO’s highly professional staff quickly prove extremely beneficial as ASSE further embarks on its new era as an international chapter of IAPMO.”

Visit www.iampo.org

ROSEMONT, Ill. — The American Society of Plumbing Engineers (ASPE) and American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) joined the Licensing That Works coalition to strengthen the push to make the four-year bachelor’s degree the mandatory educational requirement for licensure as a professional engineer in the U.S.

ASPE and ASABE are the most recent technical groups to endorse Mandatory Education Requirements for Engineering Licensure, the ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) position statement that makes the case for the traditional four-year degree as the key requirement for obtaining an engineering license.

According to the members of the Licensing that Works coalition, graduating from a four-year engineering program accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, along with passing the Fundamentals of Engineering and Principles and Practices examinations and successfully completing a four-year internship, provide sufficient skills and aptitude for engineering licensure.

On the other side of the debate are adherents to the “Master’s or Equivalent” (MOE) plan, proposing 30 additional credits or a master’s degree, on top of the bachelor’s, for licensure.

The members of Licensing that Works, now representing more than 315,000 engineers, say there is no evidence suggesting that adding a full academic year of upper-level undergraduate or graduate-level coursework will increase the engineer’s impact on the public’s health and safety.

The coalition also believes that higher educational requirements could impair America’s ability to place an adequate supply of engineers in the industrial workforce, adversely impacting national competitiveness.

Visit www.aspe.org

IRVINE, Calif. — This year marks Navien’s 35th year in business. Navigator, Energy and Environment are the three words from which the company name was created. Chairman Sohn congratulated company members for their contributions and dedication to furthering the corporate mission of providing customers with the ultimate comfortable living environment through energy efficient products by using innovative technology to create a healthier environment for our future generations.

“Navien is proud to be a leading global green company,” said Harrison Kim, CEO of Navien. “2013 has been an outstanding year for Navien, continued Kim. Our NPE series condensing gas water heater won the prestigious International Forum (IF) award for Product Design. The NPE series, with its 2 inches PVC venting capability, utilization of existing ½ inch gas lines, field gas convertibility and the industry’s longest warranty (15 years) for the dual stainless steel heat exchangers, among other features, also won the plumbing Innovation Award at the AHR Expo this year. Additionally, one of our condensing gas water heaters, was selected a ‘Best Buy’ product in Premium Selection by Consumers Digest. Navien’s CH, Combi-Boiler/Water Heater is recognized as the most efficient and economical combination boiler/water heater on the market today.”

Eric Moffroid, vice president of Sales and Marketing, thanked Chairman Sohn for his acknowledgement and added, “We want to recognize, in turn, our partner Reps, Wholesalers and Installing Contractors for their part in Navien’s success to date. I particularly want to honor the Navien Service Specialists (NSS) and Navien Dealers who have attended our training classes and educated themselves, on their own time, in order to understand and participate in the benefits of the Navien product line.”

WASHINGTON — The International Code Council Board of Directors is accepting applications for the position of Chief Executive Officer. Reporting directly to the Board, the CEO is accountable for the leadership, management and success of the association to ensure the realization of strategic goals that are consistent with the long-range interests of ICC.

The duties of the CEO are:

• Leading and managing staff, Member programs, projects, finances, and all other organizational aspects so that ICC’s mission, vision, and strategies are fulfilled within the context of values as approved by the ICC Board and membership.
• Exercising authority over all areas of the association including the subsidiaries.
• Executing policies approved by the ICC Board in the delivery of programs and services.
• Assisting the ICC Board in identifying key emerging issues and establishing the future direction of the association.
• Directing and coordinating the formulation of financial programs to provide funding for new or continuing operations to maximize returns on investments, and to increase productivity.
• Maintaining and enhancing successful relationships with strategic partners while seeking opportunities to develop strong relationships with additional code development industry stakeholders.
• Developing and maintaining a professional staff capable of delivering all elements of the programs and services offered by ICC.
• Fostering a team environment, inclusion, entrepreneurial thinking and implementation of the values of the association.
• The Code Council has a number of emerging issues that candidates must be capable of addressing, including increasing the visibility of the association in a world market; elevating the stature of ICC in political and business circles; expanding the ability of our Members to participate in the important functions of the association through endeavors such as the cdp Access initiative; and moving the association from a static to a digital environment including developing and implementing Next Generation technology.

Candidates must demonstrate experience in Executive Leadership, being Results Driven, having Business Acumen, and building Coalitions. Applications should reflect an overall record of knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to succeed in the CEO position.

Deadline for applications is May 30. Visit www.iccsafe.org

NORTHBROOK, Ill. — Plumbing Engineer is looking for unique and innovative projects for its 2013 Project Awards and encourages readers to submit their favorite project for consideration. The deadline has been extended to May 15.

To be considered, email a brief, three to five paragraph project description, credit list (including the project’s owner, engineer, contractor and any other pertinent team members), and two to three high-resolution project photos. In the project description, explain why the project is innovative, unique or otherwise noteworthy from a plumbing design and engineering standpoint, note any special challenges this project presented and discuss how you solved them.

Selected projects will appear in the June issue of Plumbing Engineer.

To see examples of past Project Award selections, visit www.plumbingengineer.com/june_12/engineering_feature.php.

Please submit your projects to Plumbing Engineer’s Editorial Director, Jim Schneider, at editor@plumbingengineer.com.

TORRANCE, Calif. – Five U.S. cities were honored for residents’ commitment to water-saving choices as part of the second annual National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation. Separated into five population categories, the winning cities are Denver; Tucson, Ariz.; West Palm Beach, Fla.; Bremerton, Wash. and Laguna Beach, Calif.

Residents in all 50 states made more than 44,000 online pledges to save water, use less energy and reduce pollution in four categories – home, yard, community and life – with potential cost savings of more than $30.6 million.

Presented nationally by Wyland Foundation and Toyota, the National Mayor’s Challenge had participation from 70 mayors across the U.S., including Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock; D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray; Columbus, Ohio Mayor Michael B. Coleman; Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn; Tucson, Ariz. Mayor Jonathan Rothschild and Santa Fe, N.M. Mayor David Coss. City leaders encouraged residents to participate in the online challenge, which also provided access to regional water and energy resources along with cost-saving tips.

At a May 10 event in Denver, a grand prize winner will receive a new Prius c from the pool of winning cities’ participants, who are also eligible to win hundreds of water-saving fixtures and gift certificates to Lowe’s stores. The National League of Cities, CH2M Hill WaterMatch, Rain Bird Corporation, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) WaterSense, and the U.S. Forest Service supported the challenge as well. The additional support from well-known comedians through Comics for Conservation, a series of public service announcements, expanded this year’s environmental message. Pete Dominick, longtime SiriusXM host, stand-up comic and CNN contributor, was the official spokesperson.

Toyota’s partnership with the Wyland Foundation and the Mayor’s Challenge included a new element this year – an eight-state U.S. environmental educational tour to schools and communities, reaching 4,000 students. The mobile, 1,000-square foot Wyland Clean Water Mobile Learning Experience featured interactive exhibits to demonstrate the relationships between humans and water.

In addition to making water-saving pledges, challenge participants pledged to reduce their use of single-use plastic water bottles by more than 5.4 million bottles and eliminate 69.9 million pounds of hazardous waste from entering watersheds. By altering daily lifestyle choices, pledges also resulted in potentially 18.3 million fewer pounds in landfills and 2.2 million fewer pounds of fertilizer in the waste stream. Potential savings of 67.8 million gallons of oil and 2.7 billion pounds of carbon dioxide rounded out the final pledge results.

Visit www.mywaterpledge.com

TULSA, Okla. – McElroy, a leading manufacturer of thermoplastic pipe joining products, launched a polypropylene-random (PP-R) website. The new website highlights McElroy equipment and tools for use with the growing PP-R market.

McElroy pipe fusion equipment and productivity tools have long been associated with high-density polyethylene (HDPE) piping and the underground construction industry. Those same tools are growing in popularity for use with PP-R piping that can be used for potable water and food-grade applications, compressed air systems, hydronic heating, chilled water, recycled and reclaimed water applications, rainwater collection and irrigation, industrial applications, chemical transport, in-floor heating systems and fire suppression systems.

“We’re excited about the growth of PP-R use in North America and worldwide,” said Chip McElroy, president of McElroy. “This new site allows customers and industry professionals to quickly find the information and products they need.”

The growth of PP-R use has prompted several new products from McElroy, including the Spider™ 125 socket fusion assembly tool and socket fusion heater kits designed for plumbing and mechanical contractors. McElroy fusion products on the PP-R site are specific to the low interfacial pressures required by polypropylene fusion machines.

Visit www.mcelroy.com/ppr

ROSEMONT, Ill. — In May, ASPE and IAPMO are joining forces to bring two one-day design seminars to the Philadelphia area. The seminars are: “High-Performance Hot Water Design” on May 21 and “Nonpotable Water Reclaim System Design” on May 22.

One- and two-day registrations are available, including breakfast, lunch, and 7.5 PDHs each day.

In addition to the seminars, ASPE will partner with ARCSA in June to host the 200-level Rainwater Harvesting Course in Boston. The course will take place on June 4–5. This course is required for professionals pursuing the ARCSA AP designation. However, anyone seeking to enhance his or her understanding of rainwater catchment system design can also attend.

Attendees will receive the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Rainwater Harvesting: System Planning manual and 15 PDHs for the entire course.

Visit www.aspe.org

WASHINGTON — It was 1973 when smoke alarms were first required in the construction codes known today as the I-Codes, published by the International Code Council (ICC). To salute this life-saving milestone, the Code Council dedicated the first week of the 2013 Building Safety Month, May 6-12, sponsored by the Air Movement and Control Association International, to fire safety and awareness.

Smoke alarms have saved countless numbers of lives by alerting people to fires in homes and other buildings. Carbon monoxide alarms are also a safety requirement in new homes and townhomes with appliances fueled by natural gas, propane, coal, wood, charcoal, oil or kerosene. Affected appliances include furnaces, ranges, water heaters, clothes dryers, room heaters, portable generators and fireplaces.

Most deaths caused by residential fires were in homes that did not have working smoke alarms. Current codes require working smoke alarms on every level of a home, outside each separate sleeping area in the immediate vicinity of bedrooms and in each bedroom.

Since 1980, Building Safety Month has been an annual public safety awareness campaign. Many of the 50,000 ICC members schedule community outreach events and school-based programs across the nation to demonstrate the importance of building to code.

Visit www.buildingsafetymonth.org

WASHINGTON — The International Code Council (ICC) is seeking exemplary individuals and groups whose contributions to building safety, code compliance, fire prevention, sustainability, public service or community service are commendable. Award recipients will be honored and recognized publicly for their accomplishments during the 2013 ICC Annual Conference in Atlantic City, N.J.

The awards are as follows:

• Bobby J. Fowler and  Gerald H. Jones Code Official of the Year awards. Nominations will be accepted until July 1.
• Fire Service, Community Service, Affiliate and Raising the Profile awards. Nominations will be accepted until July 1.
• ICC National Leadership in Sustainability Award. Nominations must be submitted by June 1.
• The Global Membership Award.  Nomination deadline is July 15.

Visit www.iccsafe.org/2013Awards