Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors—National Association (PHCC) Educational Foundation

“More Time, More Money and More Peace of Mind” was the theme of the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors—National Association (PHCC) Educational Foundation’s popular Creating Super Foremen class held last week. A packed classroom of twenty-seven attendees engaged in a highly interactive and intense two-day workshop conducted May 3-4. The event was held at the Viega Training Facility in Nashua, New Hampshire, with lead instruction from Purdue University Professor Emeritus Kirk Alter.

Effective time management is a direct strategy for success and Alter gave attendees an insightful introduction to some of technology’s newest offerings that can save time. By showing the class how they could harness artificial intelligence (AI) tools in their day-to-day work, he opened their eyes to the possibilities. Attendees experimented with prompts to use in ChatGPT when starting a budget analysis and saw how the chatbot can save time when gathering project information, writing emails, and even creating a 5-year career plan.

The second part of the theme was captured by a key question asked by Alter: “How do you make money?” His answer: “By solving other people’s problems.” For foremen, that means becoming effective front-line managers. “As the subcontractor business owner, I am handing my wallet to you, my foreman, every single day,” Alter explained. “If you are asking good questions, managing with numbers and making the best decisions you can with the information you have, it will absolutely show in the results for your jobs. What do think that will do to your career path at my company?”

Finally, Alter illustrated how foremen can face fewer surprises and have more peace of mind. This breakthrough came when Alter introduced attendees to the importance of using spreadsheets to analyze the status of a construction project. Groups worked independently one evening on analyzing the numbers. The next day Alter led the class through an activity where they experienced firsthand how to extract details about labor productivity, management decisions, and where things went wrong.

“You get frustrated on your jobs because of surprises, but if you know how to read the numbers, the whole story is there,” he said. “Being able to spot productivity issues or other problems early will help you to solve those issues when you still have time to recover. That is going to make your jobs and your life so much easier.”

Foremen are problem-solvers who can impact a company’s success. After two days of ‘aha’ moments, the PHCC Super Foremen class left equipped with new strategies to achieve three things that drive success: more time, more money and more peace of mind.

Viega sponsored and hosted the foremen class at their New Hampshire Training Facility, providing the training room, A/V, meals for the attendees and more. “We are very grateful for Viega’s support for this class. As in past years, the attendees expressed how great of an experience this class is and how seamless Viega makes it to learn in their classroom space,” said John Zink, Vice President of Development and Communications, PHCC Educational Foundation.

Project managers and foremen who wish to register for future class offerings of the Foundation can add their names to the notification lists at https://phccfoundation.org/essentials.

Falls Church, Va. — This year, the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors—National Association (PHCC) Educational Foundation scholarship program plans to award 56 scholarships totaling over $140,000. Awards are available to plumbing and HVACR apprentices working for PHCC—National Association members, trade school or community college students taking plumbing or HVAC classes and college students pursuing majors directly related to the plumbing-heating-cooling industry.

The Foundation’s scholarship program has been rapidly growing and to better handle that increased demand, a new online application system has been built. The new system will make applying easier for apprentices and students and streamline the evaluation process. The adaptive application form will present only the necessary questions based on the answers provided by the applicant, meaning fewer questions to answer. The platform also will make it easier for applicants to collect letters of recommendation from their supervisors and PHCC business owners.

All applicants are required to answer a few questions about their interest in the trades and career plans, plus provide a letter of recommendation. Apprentices can get that recommendation from their contractor employer, while trade school or college students can have an instructor or guidance counselor write their recommendation. Awards range from $1,500 to $10,000; with the most awards set at $3,000 each. The deadline for all submission materials is May 1^st and the application can be found at https://phccfoundation.org/scholarships.

“The new platform will make it easier for individuals to access these awards and get their start in the plumbing-heating-cooling industry,” said John Zink, Foundation VP of Development and Communications. “Whether the apprentice pays for their own training or their employer does, we still want those apprentices to apply. Union apprentices are welcome to apply as well.” Apprentice applicants must be working for a contractor member of the PHCC—National Association.

The scholarships are funded by contractor donations to the PHCC Educational Foundation and by these corporate sponsors: A. O. Smith, Bradford White Corporation, Delta Faucet Company, InSinkErator, RIDGID, Scorpion Home Services Marketing, State Water Heaters, SupplyHouse.com and Viega.