Industry News

Innovative industry leaders collaborate to provide essential skills and insights that drive efficiency and productivity

XOi, a leading provider of technician-focused technology solutions, announces a new partnership with Interplay Learning, the leading provider of online and VR training for the essential skilled trades.

The partnership combines Interplay Learning’s immersive turnkey learning platform, which helps field service technicians acquire and deepen essential skills, with XOi’s suite of AI-powered data collection and analysis solutions. Together, the two solutions accelerate the time it takes to train technicians for the field and provide essential resources to support superior performance and customer service from jobsites.

“The natural and powerful extension of the Interplay Learning platform to the XOi solution positions companies to succeed and also moves our industry forward,” said Interplay Learning CEO Doug Donovan. “Interplay Learning helps techs acquire and deepen foundational knowledge, while XOi delivers the resources that techs need in the field to better serve customers and communicate with the office. Both solutions work anytime and anywhere — convenient for techs and essential for great customer service. Interplay Learning helps techs gain skills faster and reduce ‘time to truck,’ while XOi serves as the essential resource for communications and customer service for those techs once they are out in the field.”

Interplay Learning, the leading provider of online and VR training for the essential skilled trades, has expanded and upgraded its commercial HVAC catalog, enabling commercial HVAC firms and mechanical contractors to reduce training costs and accelerate ramp-up times for their apprentices and technicians.

XOi’s growing suite of cloud-based solutions offers the premier data-cataloging and analytics functionality for field service, giving teams a range of tools for increasing efficiency, accuracy and accountability. Powered by XOi’s standardized workflows, job documentation capabilities, and training and enablement solutions, teams can build deep and easily accessible institutional knowledge bases that support real-time decision-making and data-based continuity. Service teams can apply these extensive data-science capabilities to analyze those foundational elements and strategically respond to evolving data trends and forecasts.

“At XOi, we’re committed to supporting technicians in the field so they do their jobs accurately and effectively,” said Aaron Salow, founder and CEO of XOi. “Interplay Learning’s proven training platform helps get new techs up to speed quickly and keeps experienced techs up to date so they can deliver premium service and performance, allowing contractors to focus on their mission and drive growth.”

Interplay Learning’s award-winning online and VR training for the essential skilled trades is scalable and more effective than traditional training methods. By leveraging its immersive learning platform, SkillMill, Interplay Learning users are able to train and practice hands-on learning from any device or in virtual reality, resulting in highly trained employees who are job-ready in weeks, not years.

For more information about Interplay Learning, visit https://www.interplaylearning.com.

For more information about XOi, visit https://xoi.io.

Fieldpiece to Present $25K in Scholarship Funds to Support Rising Stars in the HVACR Industry 

Fieldpiece Instruments, a leader in tool and test instruments for HVACR professionals for over 30 years, is pleased to announce the second annual #MasteroftheTrade Scholarship. Fieldpiece partnered with SkillsUSA to administer the distribution of more than $25,000 in 2023 scholarship opportunities designed to give back to the HVACR industry it proudly serves. The #MasteroftheTrade Scholarship will support 13 SkillsUSA students studying HVACR in their junior or senior year of high school, or as college or postsecondary students, granting them funds to continue their education in a college or postsecondary HVACR technology program. Seven $2,500 criteria-based postsecondary education scholarships will go to SkillsUSA HVAC students and a total of $10,000 in scholarships will go to the six gold, silver and bronze medal-winning high school and college/postsecondary students who top the leader-boards of the National Leadership & Skills Conference (NLSC).

“As a sincere advocate for the HVACR community, Fieldpiece strives to support both new and seasoned professionals in the HVACR industry,” said Tony Gonzalez, technical training manager at Fieldpiece Instruments. “Our commitment goes beyond simply designing and developing HVACR tools that enhance the way techs work. Fieldpiece is devoted to the future of the industry and is proud to help ensure young up-and-coming professionals are well-equipped with tools, knowledge and resources to support their future success. Whether supporting techs through free online training resources like Fieldpiece University, an online platform designed to keep industry professionals at the top of their game; or supporting the path to an HVACR career with scholarships like #MasteroftheTrade, we want to see our community thrive!” 

Through this continued scholarship offering, Fieldpiece Instruments also sheds light on the shortage of trained labor in the HVACR industry. With more than 110,000 unfilled HVAC technician jobs, Fieldpiece hopes to help spread the word about the positive career opportunities the industry offers.

“There is a critical need for more HVACR technicians,” said Chelle Travis, executive director at SkillsUSA. “We sincerely thank Fieldpiece Instruments for supporting SkillsUSA and our nation’s future workforce. We are rolling up our sleeves every day to support career and technical education as we forge meaningful partnerships with industry. Working together with Fieldpiece Instruments, we can help close the skills gap.”

To apply for the seven #MasteroftheTrade Scholarships, applicants must be SkillsUSA members enrolled in its HVACR or general construction programs who plan to study HVACR at the college or postsecondary level in the class of 2023-24 (high school seniors) or 2024-25 school year (high school juniors). The scholarship application must include a resume and either an essay (300 words or fewer) or a video (1-3 minutes) answering the question: “Why have you chosen a career in HVACR?” The scholarship opened on Dec. 1 and applications must be submitted by April 1, 2023. Scholarship recipients will be announced on May 16, 2023.

Scholarships will be awarded based on the merit of the application including the essay or video and the proficiency of the SkillsUSA Framework skills demonstrated in the application materials. To receive the funds, scholarship recipients must provide an acceptance letter from their postsecondary education program or their first semester tuition invoice. The funds will be distributed directly to the school.

The SkillsUSA Championships is the nation’s largest workforce development event for middle-school, high-school and college/postsecondary students enrolled in public career and technical education programs. The contests are planned by representatives of labor and management and are designed to test the skills needed for successful entry-level performance in given occupational fields. Safety practices and procedures — an area of concern to labor and management alike — are part of each contestant’s score. SkillsUSA represents 130 different occupational areas and adds contests to the SkillsUSA Championships each year to meet the demands of new or expanding careers. In 2023, the SkillsUSA Championships will feature more than 6,000 competitors in 110 hands-on skill and leadership contests. Each contestant is a state gold medalist.

Visit www.fieldpiece.com/Scholarship for more information.

Bradford White Connect™ platform empowers users to monitor and manage the AeroTherm® Heat Pump Water Heater through a convenient mobile app

Bradford White Water Heaters, an industry-leading American manufacturer of water heaters, boilers and storage tanks, introduces Bradford White Connect™, an external adapter providing app-driven monitoring technology for the AeroTherm® heat pump water heater (HPWH) series.

The Bradford White Connect™ platform allows users to monitor the HPWH, adjust settings, and receive alerts all through a convenient mobile app available on Google Play or Apple’s App store.

“The Bradford White Connect™ platform offers homeowners a range of convenient options so they can manage their AeroTherm® unit wherever they are,” said Louise Prader, senior director, product management for Bradford White. “Many families have busy schedules. With Bradford White Connect™, they have a pairing of convenience and performance, all through our IoT connected appliance platform.”

Contractors can use Bradford White Connect™ to monitor in-service Aerotherm HPWHs, analyze their performance, and set alerts for water heater errors. For utility programs, the Bradford White Connect adapter conforms to grid-enabled demand response requirements with its CTA-2045 port.

“Bradford White Connect™ gives contractors an opportunity to meet the growing desire for connected home technology coupled with energy efficiency,” Prader said. “We’re pleased to make this important tool available to them and their customers.”

To learn more about Bradford White Water Heaters, please visit https://www.bradfordwhite.com/connect or call (215) 641-9400.

Just in time for heating season, Weil-McLain^® has updated its ProTools™ App with enhanced features to provide contractors and service technicians with the support they need to streamline customer visits and provide clients with a premium experience. Available for iOS and Android devices, the app now allows heating professionals to work virtually with Weil-McLain’s Tech Support team to problem-solve issues as they occur on the job site.

“Our goal is to continuously optimize this platform by adding additional features that make service technicians’ and installing contractors’ jobs easier – especially during the busy heating season period,” said David DeVries, Director of Product Management with Weil-McLain. “The new Site-Call video assistance opens new opportunities for service technicians to receive instant support from our Tech Support team.”

Service technicians who run into complications while on the job can contact Weil-McLain Tech Support for Site-Call video and receive immediate real-time assistance. After requesting support, they simply accept the call from Tech Support on their smartphone and share a live video of the issue they are experiencing on the job site. Tech Support will then highlight the issue on the service technician’s screen and propose corrective action to solve it.

“This new feature provides heating professionals with immediate access to our support team and also allows them the opportunity to learn new methods for troubleshooting, maintenance and boiler setup,” added DeVries. “As we prepare for what could be another colder than normal winter, we want to ensure service technicians have all the digital tools and knowledge they need to help expedite customer visits while providing homeowners a best-in-class service experience.”

The Weil-McLain ProTools App helps enhance service technicians’ hydronic expertise by putting a variety of Weil-McLain boiler product information at their fingertips. From reviewing fault codes for troubleshooting and accessing how-to videos to viewing product manuals and schematics and quickly finding parts, the app has become a one-stop resource for boiler installation and maintenance.

For more information on the upgraded Weil-McLain ProTools App, visit www.weil-mclain.com or download the app via the App Store or Google Play.