technology

Viega solutions are now included in Revit, a design software which provides building information modeling tools for architects, MEP engineers, structural engineers and designers within the construction industry. Viega solutions are also included on AutoCAD® MEP software for drafting, designing and documenting building systems.

Revit and AutoCAD MEP are the most recent building design programs to use Viega solutions. AutoCAD MEP is used by mechanical contractors to design their systems prior to installation and generate material lists. Among many other purposes, Revit can be used to complete 3-D building designs for piping, ducts and other materials. Other uses include creating building performance renderings for sales presentations.

“These programs help determine any potential issues that may arise during installation on a job before they can occur,” said Jason McKinnon, director of technical services, Viega. “This reduces the need for change orders as well as trade interference. Much like Viega’s solutions, these programs are meant to save time and money for jobs in the building design and construction industries.”

Programs like Revit and AutoCAD MEP are a part of Viega’s CAD and BIM download library and provide free drawings and models for a number of applications. Viega’s own Technical Services Department offers training, technical support and design services for nearly any type of plumbing, radiant and fire protection project. Viega also offers solutions such as LoopCAD, a radiant design and drawing software preloaded with Viega components and installation methods, as well as apps which provide supplemental readings and estimators.

For more information on Viega Design Services, visit viega.us and select “services.”

According to the National Equipment Register, construction jobsite theft costs the industry up to $1 billion each year.¹ Professional contractors rely on their tools to get the job done, and without the necessary equipment, it can cost companies significant time and money.

“Simple security measures and practices can help keep jobsites protected,” said Mike Bykowski, Senior Product Manager at KNAACK^®, LLC. “After hours, construction sites can become an easy target for theft and vandalism, but there are measures that professionals can take to ensure expensive tools and equipment are kept safe.”

According to the Great American Insurance Group, “an estimated 90% of equipment thefts take place between 6 p.m. on Friday and 6 a.m. on Monday.”² There are many ways that tools and material goods can be kept safe, from extra lighting around the jobsite to storing tools in a locked storage box.

Safety Tips to Guard Against Theft

One of the most secure measures a company can take includes keeping tools and equipment in a safe and secure location, like a jobsite storage box. Additional tips include:

• Signage: One of the number one and lowest-cost deterrents is adding a simple sign. Consider adding a sign that reads, “24 Hour Video Surveillance”. Another sign offering rewards to those who turn in thieves or provide valuable information on crimes is also a helpful deterrent.
• Security Lighting: Motion-censored lights or extra lighting can deter crime. Darkness often invites crime so the more light, the better the protection.
• Barrier protection: Adding some type of barrier protection, like a fence or guardrail, makes it tougher for thieves to get in and take supplies out. Look for ways to keep the important items properly secured and protected with barriers.
• Controlled access to the jobsite: Having just one entry point in and out of the jobsite will cut down on crime. Geo-Fencing, a virtual barrier using GPS to track behaviors using mobile phones, has proved helpful for both crime prevention and inventory.
• Documentation: Always photograph, document and record the serial numbers for equipment, tools and material goods for insurance purposes in the event that something is stolen. This will be extremely handy if a company or individual wants to claim any stolen items with an insurance company.
• Jobsite Box Protection: Tools and equipment should be kept in a safe and secure location. With the extra security of a jobsite box, like the KNAACK^® 4830-D, criminals do not stand a chance of getting to the most valuable tools on a construction site. The KNAACK^® 4830-D is both weather and theft resistant and features an integrated, three-point locking system and secondary locking drawer.

While these tips will not guarantee important items are always safe, it will strongly deter theft and vandalism. Construction jobsite crime can not only cause financial hardship, but also delay production schedules. If a jobsite does fall victim to theft, having a contingency plan in place can make replacing stolen tools much easier. Both local police numbers and jobsite owner name and number should be on file and accessible to all on the jobsite. In addition, always ensure equipment and tools have the proper warranties and have been registered with the manufacturer.

In support of the International Code Council’s (ICC) Building Safety Month in May and the National Safety Council’s (NSC) National Safety Month in June, KNAACK^® will be kicking off a new campaign entitled Can’t Crack A KNAACK^®. The goal is to promote awareness of jobsite security and the value of protecting tools and equipment. KNAACK^® will be hosting contests on their Facebook page to feature customers and fans who #ShowUsYourScars. KNAACK^® boxes are recognized for their security and durability and users are encouraged to share their stories of how their storage boxes survived damage from attempted theft, automobile accidents or weather. Visit www.facebook.com/knaackstorage to share photos and stories for a chance to win cool KNAACK^® prizes.

ABOUT KNAACK^®

KNAACK^®, a WernerCo brand, is the industry leader of jobsite storage equipment, including storage chests, field stations, rolling work benches and hand tool boxes. KNAACK products are designed and built to the highest standard. Well beyond traditional tool storage and security, KNAACK innovation takes jobsite protection to the next level. KNAACK products are manufactured in Crystal Lake, Illinois. For more information, visit www.knaack.com.

LinkedIn is a virtual networking tool that is currently being used by over 400 million business professionals around the globe. It allows business professionals such as plumbers and contractors to find and be found by other professionals in the plumbing trade. This networking tool is free and can be effective, even in the plumbing industry when used properly. In order to take advantage of the value found on LinkedIn, I will show you how to set it up and use it.

To get started, you will need to create a profile that displays your professional and educational experience, and then you can begin connecting with the people you know. A profile can be as simple as your name. However, if you choose to list little but your name, you will be missing a tremendous opportunity to avail yourself of the two major benefits of a LinkedIn profile—the ability to be found and the opportunity to tell your story.

Plain and simple, profiles should be beefy. For those readers who are old enough, think of the Wendy’s commercial from the ’80s in which the elderly ladies asked “Where’s the beef?” as they looked at a tiny hamburger patty dwarfed by a massive bun. For those of you who are not familiar with the commercial, check it out on YouTube. You’ll find it quite entertaining.

There are four reasons you want your profile to be beefy:

1.Your LinkedIn profile is a place where you can tell your story completely and fully, so that when people are looking at your profile, they will be encouraged to do business with you over your competitors.

They will see the depth and breadth of your experience, your professional recommendations, and the brands you carry, plus your certifications, educational experience, and all the other qualifications you possess that make you the obvious professional to do business with in the marketplace you serve.

I like to refer to a LinkedIn profile as a “resume on steroids.”

In contrast to a traditional resume, which is typically a listing of facts and dates, your LinkedIn profile allows you the opportunity to tell your story.

It should be a narrative of sorts, where you emphasize your experience and high level of credibility. This “resume on steroids” should shout out “I’m the best at this in my market!”

To help tell your story, you can include details about your- self that, while perhaps bordering on personal information, will get across to the viewer who you are as a unique individual. For example, one of my class attendees told me that through the LinkedIn profile of a prospective client, he learned the guy collected wines—and he also found out which one was his favorite. On the day following his proposal presentation, he followed up with a thank you note and included a bottle of—you guessed it—his prospective client’s favorite wine, and the rest is history. He got the order.

2.Every word in your profile is keyword searchable. Thus, having a beefy profile will increase your chances of being found.

As you know from using Google, keyword searching on the Internet is an extremely powerful tool for finding people. Similarly, searching on LinkedIn can produce extremely valuable results. The search function enables you to find people who have certain types of experience, classifications, and/or brands.

In a recent search, I was looking for a person interested in bicycling to join a group of cyclists for a charity event my company was sponsoring.

Discovering a bicycling enthusiast who happens to be an architect or builder would be a home run. I would then be able to advance a professional relationship, help a charitable organization, and enjoy a day of bicycling.

Therefore, I searched the words builder, architect, cycling, and bicycling and instantly had my choice of architects and builders with whom to spend the day. Without those keywords in their profiles, none of these people would have been found.

3. A beefy profile shows that you are not a dinosaur. What do I mean by this? For those of us in the Baby Boomer genera- tion, people tend to appreciate the experience we possess, but they are also interested in knowing whether we are keeping abreast of the latest trends in the business world, including social media.

A beefy profile will demonstrate that you are on top of cur- rent trends in your profession or occupation and that you embrace technology. You are not a dinosaur.

4.You should expect your profile to regularly be compared with those of your competitors. Therefore, in order to gain a competitive advantage, you will want your profile to include a plethora of information, keywords, and details about who you are, what you hope to accomplish, and how you might be able to assist others.

Many savvy LinkedIn users will review a person’s profile before meeting with him or her for the first time. Personally, I always look for common interests or discussion points before I jump into, “So, I hear you are looking for a social media consultant.”

Business professionals use their LinkedIn profiles to tell their stories. As a result, it can be extremely beneficial to review the profile of the potential customer, prospective employee, vendor, or other person with whom you desire a business relationship.

Because of the vast amount of information available on the Internet in general and on LinkedIn in particular, it has become commonplace to “shop” several vendors online before engaging in direct communication.

Do yourself a favor and take a look at the profiles of some of your competitors. Observe what they are saying about themselves—awards they have won, certifications they hold, types of projects they have worked on, etc.—because this may jog your memory and remind you of similar information you could include in your profile.

Based on the information contained in the profiles, would a potential customer be encouraged to do business with you as opposed to one of your competitors? If you think your competitor would get the nod, then start beefing up your profile.

Armed with this information, you can begin to create an effective profile—a great first step in maximizing your LinkedIn experience, which can lead to new business opportunities.

About the Author

Wayne Breitbarth

Wayne Breitbarth is the CEO of Power Formula LLC. He is an experienced businessman, speaker, and author and an internationally recognized industry leader in LinkedIn training, marketing, and consulting.

Wayne has shared his expertise with more than 80,000 business professionals through private business consulting, dynamic presentations to worldwide audiences, and his critically acclaimed book The Power Formula for LinkedIn Success (now in its third edition). He has been featured in Forbes, Inc., Wired, and American Express Open Forum and seen on NBC and Fox Business.

Wayne works with companies to develop a comprehensive strategy for using LinkedIn to increase sales, raise brand awareness, recruit employees and reduce recruiting fees, and discover new markets for products and services. He shares his proven five-step process for LinkedIn results with individuals through his online course Explode Your Revenues Using LinkedIn.

He is a CPA, received an accounting degree from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and an MBA from Marquette University, and has received recognition for his public service in the Milwaukee community, where he resides with his wife of 35 years.

As innovative technologies impact almost every sector of today’s market, the construction management industry has dynamically evolved and is implementing solutions that improve both communications and efficiencies on the jobsite. From on the site job management to scheduling and ordering inventory, the plumbing industry is one sector that also has become reliant on real-time data and new innovations that improve connectivity, productivity and mobility needs.

At KNAACK^®, we are able to identify key user insights that help us improve the overall experience and productivity on the jobsite. One challenge we see consistently is the need to bring information, tools and job supplies closer to the work in the field.

In the past year, we’ve introduced two new products that are targeted specifically at specialty trades, like the plumbing industry. Both products help increase efficiencies, productivity and mobility for plumbers.

Products Developed Based on Application Need

Introduced in 2015, the DataVault™ Mobile Solution, Model 118-M, is a fully protected digital plan solution for onsite job management and is ideal for the plumbing industry. When coordinating construction and fabrication drawings and developing accurate and efficient take-offs and estimates, it is important to have your software and tools easily accessible and this all-inclusive storage system facilitates that need.

The DataVault Mobile™ allows for easy integration with Business Information Modeling (BIM), a proven construction management system. Because building codes and application needs are constantly changing, the DataVault Mobile™ offers file and document management to new and existing building information. The portable design connects jobsite professionals to critical, real-time information, while providing the storage needs for tools and job materials.

Working During Temperature Fluctuations

Along with the secure storage needs of a plumbing professional, we also know that it’s critical to keep tools and supplies at an optimal temperature during working hours. Working in cold conditions can cause damage to tools, and keeping chemicals at the right temperature – like PVC glue, flux, duck butter, caulk and firestop or other sealants – is crucial. Because of this need, the KNAACK^® THERMOSTEEL^™ was launched this month at World of Concrete.

The THERMOSTEEL^™ is a heated storage unit that saves money by reducing downtime and preventing damage to tools and materials due to cold temperatures. By simply plugging in the heating element (when the temperature drops below 40-degrees), users can ensure tools are safe from extreme temperatures. With the heating feature, not only will tools stay warm, but also all chemicals and sealants will stay at the desired temperature and alleviate any issues that cold environments can bring to productivity on the jobsite.

More importantly, keeping these products at the right working temperature is necessary in order for the job to be executed correctly. For example, duck butter is needed for lubricating pipe joints and if it is exposed to cold environments, it can become difficult to work with, making the plumber’s job all the more stressful.

Sealants are another product used frequently in the plumbing industry that must stay at an optimal temperature. Many sealant brands recommend that the sealant be stored in no lower than a 40-degree climate. When temperatures drop below 32-degrees, the cold conditions can affect the overall chemical properties and performance of the sealant.

Lastly, flux paste, used for soldering pipes, is a crucial tool in the plumbing industry but can also become ineffective when exposed to extreme cold. When temperatures drop too much, flux can crystallize or even solidify, making it difficult to use.

At KNAACK^®, we will continue to innovate and bring products to the market based on the application need and the feedback we hear from our customers in the field. The plumbing industry is always looking for new solutions to improve work productivity and we are dedicated to that challenge.

Author Bio
Mike Bykowski is a Senior Product Manager at KNAACK, LLC, in Crystal Lake, IL. He is involved in all aspects of the product development life cycle, including strategic planning, business development, marketing, promotions, product pricing, packaging and value stream mapping. Mike has extensive experience in the manufacturing business as well as first-hand customer knowledge from being a professional in the industry that Knaack, LLC targets.