INSIDE INSIDE - Plumbing & HVAC

Industry News
HRAI CONFERENCE REPORT
Clear vision key,
HRAI delegates hear
By Simon Blake
and industry aimed at developing a
highly skilled construction workforce,
recently approved $300,000 in funding
for the project. HRAI will provide another
$150,000 over three years.
But creating an effective program
won’t be easy. “Career awareness is not as
simple as printing
brochures and creating
websites … there’s a lot of
competition for Canada’s
Over 280 delegates enjoyed the 37th equipment) with the goal of preserving
John Murphy, right, passed the
Annual General Meeting of the the original principles of the standard.
chairman’s gavel to Mike Burns.
Heating, Refrigeration and Air Delegates also discussed the difficulties
faced in drawing bright young peo-
youth,” reported CSC exec-
New executive team
Conditioning Institute of Canada Aug.
25-27 at the beautiful Deerhurst Resort ple into the industry. HRAI is active on George utive director George Mike Burns, vice president of sales and
in Huntsville, the heart of Ontario’s several fronts. The group is working with
Gritziotis
Gritziotis.
marketing for CFM Specialty Home
Muskoka region.
Keynote speaker Donald Cooper – of
Cooper hockey equipment fame –
kicked off the opening breakfast with
his “straight goods” approach to human
marketing.
The number one problem that anyone
running a business faces, he said, is
that: “There are just too many people
selling what you are selling. You’re not
selling water in the desert; it’s more like
trying to sell sand.”
He encouraged delegates to develop a
clear vision of what they are trying to
achieve and to focus on the areas where
they can be successful.
That was just the beginning of a busy
three days for delegates with more than
15 business sessions covering topics
such as: business and marketing strategies,
the Ottawa-based Construction Sector
Council (CSC) on a three-year project to
define the needs of the HVACR industry
and build awareness of the opportunities
for young people. The CSC, a national
partnership between government, labour
A key component of the project is to
conduct a national occupational analysis
for the residential HVAC industry
and to build a strategy for developing a
more direct pathway into the industry
for new recruits.
Products, Mississauga, Ont., was appointed
HRAI chair. Also named to the
2005 executive were: Nancy McKeraghan
– vice chair and chair of the Heating,
Refrigeration and Air Conditioning
Please see ‘HRAI’on page 33
energy auditing, relationship
building, zoned heating and cooling,
establishing an effective in-house training
program and synchronizing the
supply chain.
Indoor air quality (IAQ) and ventilation
issues related to today’s tighter
homes were on many delegates’ minds.
“(Homeowners) don’t know who the
experts are and there’s all kinds of conflicting
information …” reported Roger
Grochmal, president of Atlas Air
Climatecare in Mississauga, Ont.
Several contractors said they often
find themselves as baffled as the homeowner
when asked to recommend equipment
to deal with medical issues such as
allergies and asthma. “I think there’s a
real need to know what you are talking
about because of the (potential) liability
issues,” said Mike Latreille, president,
Holmes Heating Inc., Kanata, Ont.
However, IAQ also presents a business
opportunity and HRAI is well placed
to offer training and certification because
of the reputation of its SkillTech
program, noted Grochmal. “The utilities
will take the IAQ market if we don’t.”
IAQ was the key topic in three of four
submissions to the HRAI National
Assembly Aug. 27. Delegates passed resolutions
to pursue, with other industry
stakeholders, a national IAQ standard
and related training program; to create
a position statement on a pending CSA
B149 code requirement that all plastic
piping used for venting must conform
to ULC-636 (which rules out all currently
manufactured ABS); that HRAI
should initiate and financially support a
study of residential ventilation with a
focus on homes built in the past 10
years and take a more aggressive role in
the current review of the CSA F326
code (residential mechanical ventilating
Circle Number 112 for More Information
www.plumbingandhvac.ca November/December 2005 – Plumbing & HVAC Product News 11