Partners in Progress - Vol 13 No 1

PartnersINProgress SMACNA & SMART—Building a Future Together

January 2019

SMACNA and SMART build together with new LEED offerings from USGBC in 2019 Futures Study 2020 PINP Conference Safety Means Success

PartnersINProgress SMACNA & SMART—Building a Future Together

JOSEPH SELLERS, JR. NATHAN DILLS Co-Publishers KAARIN ENGELMANN editor@pinpmagazine.org Editor-in-Chief

10 Photo credit: Johansen Mechanical Inc.

CONTENTS

January 2019 - Volume 13, Number 1

4 USGBC EXPANDS LEED OFFERINGS

SMACNA and SMART build a greener future together with new LEED offerings from USGBC in 2019.

6

EYE ON THE FUTURE

Construction professionals with an eye for technology will make the greatest strides, says New Horizons Futures Study.

8

CONFERENCES FOSTER COMMUNICATION AND TRUST

Labor and management learn from sessions, personal experience, and networking at Partners in Progress Conferences.

10 STILLAGUAMISH ADMINISTRATION BUILDING A work of art, a partnership in workmanship, and a signal of a growing

market in the sheet metal industry.

14 SAFETY MEANS SUCCESS

Safety culture isn’t just a plan on a shelf; it is a way of being benefitting

everyone on the jobsite.

JESSICA KIRBY jkirby@pointonemedia.com Editor POINT ONE MEDIA INC. artdept@pointonemedia.com Creative Services ERIC WESTBROOK Cover Illustrator

Partners in Progress is a publication of the Sheet Metal Industry LaborManagement Cooperation Fund.

All contents ©2019 by the Sheet Metal Industry Labor-Management Cooperation Fund, P.O. Box 221211, Chantilly, VA 20153-1211.

Find Partners in Progress online at pinp.org or at issuu.com/ partnersinprogress. An archive of all issues is available and printed copies may be ordered for a minimal fee.

For comments or questions, email editor@pinpmagazine.org.

S HE E T M E TA L | A I R | R A I L | T R A N S P O R TAT I O N

All In

for a Brighter Future

The Future Belongs to Those Who Prepare for It Today* Technology, business practices, and the economic climate are constantly changing. This is why the joint SMACNA-SMART Best Practices Market Expansion Task Force publishes Partners in Progress—we are here to prepare you to “own” your future.

We want you to see where the industry is headed and the types of training and certification necessary to keep signatory sheet metal ahead of the competition. In this issue, we offer an eye on the future with insight from the most recent HVAC and Sheet Metal Industry Futures Study. Some scenarios have played out the way the study envisioned, and others are diverging. Staying on top of the tangents will help both SMART and SMACNA bill more hours and win more work.

One area where momentum is building is the green sector.

SMACNA and SMART have always been ahead in terms of performing environmentally efficient construction work, working with the United States Green Building Council from the early days. Now more and more building owners and managers are becoming focused on achieving LEED certification. Is your business certified to work on these projects? What about individuals in your Local? And what does LEED certification mean these days, anyway? The standards don’t remain stagnant, and you cannot either.

Another area where the status quo isn’t good enough is safety.

Creating a safety culture within our organizations means each of us—and our friends, brothers, sisters, and co-workers—have the opportunity to do more than bring home a paycheck; we can all return home to our families each day. Safety requirements can’t be cookie cutter for each organization, which is why labor and management both need to buy in and work together for the betterment of all.

This need to work together is why Partners in Progress is always talking about the importance of fostering communication and trust. When we develop meaningful and productive relationships, we can approach the future with more confidence and be assured that the signatory sheet metal industry—and the bottom line for SMART and SMACNA members—will look brighter.

That is the concept behind the upcoming Partners in Progress Conference. We will be demonstrating how it is necessary for both management and labor to be All In when it comes to fostering relationships; developing best practices; recruiting and training an effective workforce; and recovering, maintaining, and expanding marketshare. Partners and Progress is not just about thinking and reading and talking; it is also about doing— taking the knowledge, skills, and abilities that we have available to us and putting them to work in our local areas.

To get the most out of Partners in Progress, visit pinp.org. The website will help you keep up-to-date with available programs and tools and find useful resources available to SMART locals, SMACNA contractors and chapters, labor-management cooperation trusts and committees, training centers, and individual members of SMACNA and SMART. Registration is required for full access. It is free but limited to members. You can also find us on Facebook as “sheetmetalpartners”, on Twitter as “smpartners”, and on Instagram as “smpartners”. We encourage you to share via social media or directly to editor@pinpmagazine. org your successes and areas where you would like assistance. *Malcolm X 

MARK YOUR CALENDAR Our next Partners in Progress Conference will be Feb. 25-26, 2020, at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. This meeting will provide an opportunity for both labor and management to be All In as we position ourselves for success in the signatory sheet metal industry. We’ll share success stories and lessons learned from the efforts we are undertaking now to bolster market share and hours, find out the characteristics of high performing areas, build roadmaps to better relationships, and more. There will be financial incentives for local areas that meet a minimum number of labor-management cooperation goals. Use #pinp2020 and #Allin2020 when you post about planning to attend, partnership best practices, and success stories. Watch these pages for additional information during the coming months.

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© Can Stock Photo / alphaspirit

USGBC Expands LEED Offerings New programs announced for 2019

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By / Amanda Sawit ood news: Green building worldwide is poised to grow in the next three years, according to the Dodge Data & Analytics World Green Building Trends 2018 SmartMarket Report, released at the end of 2018. It’s also a good indicator for the continued development of LEED, which for nearly 20 years has helped change the way buildings are designed, constructed, and operated. But while LEED continues to push top performers, it’s equally important for all buildings to get on a path to sustainability and help raise the standard of living for people worldwide.

According to the report, healthier buildings have emerged as an important trigger for global green building trends, and improving occupant health and increasing productivity rank first and third, respectively, among social drivers for green building.

Importantly, two thirds of survey respondents said using a rating system allows them to create better performing buildings, and more than half agree rating systems provide essential third-party verification.

Three years ago, when the landmark Paris Agreement was signed at COP21, United States Green Building Council (USGBC) said it would do its part by committing to reaching 5 billion square feet certified to LEED within five years. More than 1.8 billion square feet have achieved LEED certification since the agreement was put in place, and to date, LEED accounts for more than 7.28 billion square feet of green building worldwide.

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With the release of LEED v4.1 in 2018, the focus shifted from simply designing for performance to maximizing the benefits of high building performance and lowering the barriers to action.

By elevating the world’s existing building stock and prioritizing ongoing verification, building owners, designers, and occupants can be sure their spaces are actually providing the benefits—like improved occupant health and productivity—they desire.

As the global rate of green building grows, rating systems must also adapt. With that in mind, here’s some of the biggest news about LEED to start off 2019: • LEED Zero — LEED projects can achieve LEED Zero certification when they demonstrate any or one of the following: net zero carbon emissions, net zero energy use, net zero water use, or net zero waste. The program is open to all LEED projects certified under BD+C, ID+C, or O+M rating systems, or registered to pursue LEED O+M certification.

Projects pursuing LEED Zero Waste must submit a TRUE Zero Waste Platinum certification. All other LEED Zero projects must provide 12 months of performance data for their desired category.

• LEED Recertification — All LEED projects—past, present, and future—are now eligible for recertification by providing 12 months of data that shows consistent or improved performance using the most recent version of the LEED rating system. This recertification will be valid for three

years and is an important step in ensuring a green building is operating the way it was intended.

• LEED Transit — With LEED Transit, transit owners can reduce their environmental footprints while also educating riders on the importance of sustainability and the opportunity the public transportation sector has in minimizing global greenhouse gas emissions.

• LEED for Cities and Communities fully merges with STAR Communities — The STAR Community Rating System,

which offers certification for sustainable communities, has been fully integrated into USGBC’s LEED for Cities and LEED for Communities programs. All localities previously STAR-certified or pursuing STAR certification will transfer into the family of LEED Cities.

For more information or updates, please visit news.usgbc.org▪ Reprinted with permission from Building Operation Management magazine. Read more at facilitiesnet.com/bom/. Author Amanda Sawit is communications project manager, USGBC.

Green Partnerships

SMACNA and SMART are playing key roles in the ongoing evolution of the green building movement By / Jordan Whitehouse According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, buildings use about 70% of the electricity consumption in the United States and represent almost 50% of total energy usage and carbon dioxide emissions. With numbers like that, it makes sense why sustainable building practices have been a big focus across the construction industry.

It’s also why, back in 1993, Rick Fedrizzi, David Gottfried, and Mike Italiano decided to establish the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). That April, they and representatives from around 60 firms and several non-profits gathered to start an open and balanced coalition spanning the entire building industry. That eventually led to a green building rating system called Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED. “LEED created a systematic approach to constructing a green building,” says Angie Simon, president of Western Allied Mechanical in Menlo Park, California. “It awards points to a building if certain measures are achieved like minimizing energy usage, indoor pollutants, and the building’s overall impact on the environment.”

Today, LEED is the most widely used green building rating system in the world. It’s in over 165 countries and territories, and every day over 2.4 million square feet of building space gets LEED certified.

The USGBC also has more than 200,000 members worldwide. Perks include exclusive discounts on LEED, Greenbuild, and other green building events, as well as access to educational and credentialing services. One of those members is SMACNA, which joined in 2004. It did so to assist the growing number of members who were working on LEED projects, says Eli Howard, SMACNA’s executive director of technical resources.

SMACNA’s technical department also worked to have aspects of the SMACNA IAQ Guidelines for Occupied Buildings Under Construction included in the LEED rating system. In particular, those related to the control of contaminants during the construction and renovation process.

Additionally, SMACNA worked with the USGBC to ensure that the

appropriate requirements were included regarding the use of duct sealants that could produce volatile organic compounds. “Originally, LEED had duct sealant listed as an architectural sealant with a limit of 250 g/l, which basically mandated the use of only water-based duct sealant,” says Howard. “This posed a problem for anyone working in weather below 38 degrees F in that the duct sealant would freeze before properly setting up.

SMACNA was able to move duct sealant into the ‘Other Category’ with LEED, thereby permitting 420 g/l for applications below 38 degrees F.” Individuals can become LEED certified, as well. They just need to be properly trained and take special exams. Western Allied Mechanical has eight LEED certified engineers, for example. Over 50% of the members at Sheet Metal Workers Local 25, out of Carlstadt, New Jersey, are certified.

Local 25 is also a USGBC member itself, and has been since 2012.

“We’re right across the river from New York City, where they were light years ahead of us on LEED, and I knew this was going to hit us, and it did,” says Joseph Demark, Jr., Local 25’s president and business manager. “In a lot of cases, you cannot get on the bid list unless you’re heavily involved with LEED.” And in the end, adds Demark, the value of LEED in itself makes it all worthwhile. “I know the owners strive for their construction to be elevated to the highest standards, and we want to play a part by helping save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It leads to better indoor air quality, too, and just better buildings overall.” ▪ Jordan Whitehouse is a freelance business journalist from Vancouver, British Columbia, who writes for magazines, newspapers and online publications throughout Canada and the United States.

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EYE

on the Future

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MACNA and SMART professionals with an eye for technology will make the greatest strides, says New Horizons Futures Study. Are you prepared?

The industry’s identity is evolving with new market sectors unfolding and technological leaps changing the way of business.

Just how far will it all go? Many of the industry scenarios – including projections for the next five to 10 years – are outlined in the 2016 HVAC and Sheet Metal Industry Futures Study.

Tom Soles, executive director of both SMACNA’s member services and the New Horizons Foundation, says many of the 2016 study’s projections have been accurate.

SMART’s Director of Craft Services, Charles Mulcahy, agrees and sees this as an important time for members to listen up. “It’s not a time to embrace the good old days,” he says. “Contractors have to look to new technology and work with their local training center and union to make sure they are on top of new market sectors.”

The study is based on research conducted by Continuum Advisory Group (CAG) that included numerous in-depth interviews with sheet metal contractors, HVAC equipment manufacturers, and other industry professionals. New market sectors and technology are highlight findings noted by CAG, which is a multi-national management consulting firm that works around the globe in the building and construction industry.

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© 2019 iStockphoto LP. / lisegagne

By / Don Procter

Among those findings is that the “solutions first” approach to buying construction services is growing. Contractors that take a solutions-first approach to HVAC systems do an assessment of an owner’s total building needs now and over the long term.

Less focus is spent on specific equipment and its upfront costs.

Soles says focus in this area isn’t surprising. Customers traditionally seeking the low bid are paying more heed to contractors solving long-term issues. “It’s a very important piece of business for sophisticated customers,” he says.

Soles expects a rise in medium-sized sub-subcontractors from the HVAC and sheet metal sector to enter the solutions first game. “Among the data centers, the Amazons, the Googles . . . you are starting to see more SMACNA members doing that kind of work.”

Mulcahy adds the industry will continue to see more work in building enclosures—particularly in architectural sheet metal.

Nate Scott, a principal of CAG, says owners will be the “big driver” for prefabrication and modularization, but growing labor shortage is also pushing the sector. CAG’s research indicates that prefabrication is preferred by some owners geared to lean construction—an approach that could gain ground in years to come.

Soles points out that, depending on the job and location, even smaller and medium-sized contractors will participate

“Contractors have to look to new technology and work with their local training center, JATC, and union to make sure they are on top of new market sectors,” says SMART’s Director of Craft Services, Charles Mulcahy. in prefabrication. Collaboration with various trades—piping contractors, for example—is paramount.

Modularization for mechanical work will grow in the industrial sector, more so than in the commercial world, Mulcahy says.

Training for prefabrication will be aided by new software and BIM. The data is transferred to the field largely through augmented and virtual reality, says Soles. BIM design work in the shop translates smoothly into the field. Even the smallest contractors will see the benefits of taking that technological step.

By 2016 the hold that large sophisticated contractors had on BIM was weakening as the technology gained a wider market.

“We see that continuing,” says Clark Ellis, principal of CAG. Ellis says BIM is used more effectively to help leverage modularization and it is integrated into scheduling and budgeting agendas. “Like any trend, at some point you have to up the ante to continue to ride the advantages as the market catches up,” he says.

Ellis adds that architectural firms slow to adopt BIM are being pushed by young architects educated in BIM and 3D modeling in school. “In order to attract top talent, it’s difficult for a design firm to ask new hires to work in CAD and 2D,” he says.

A similar shift is occurring in construction as young tech graduates choose “technologically-relevant and forwardlooking” contractors. “It is a factor that will even push small companies to change,” Ellis says.

Mulcahy says the use of BIM is important in architectural sheet metal work, a promising growth sector over the coming decade. “We have to master BIM technology,” he says. “We can’t run from it because if we do our open shop competition will certainly take advantage.”

CAG Principal Mona Haggag says from discussions with SMART and SMACNA, software programs that connect builders with subs, engineers, and architects (Bluebeam is an example) are an important focus. Estimating software is a case in point. “Previously, there was a reliance on an internal checklist,” Haggag says.

CAG is conducting a research study for the New Horizons Foundation that covers the Internet of Things. It sees more startup companies offering SMART technology entering the service end of the HVAC supply chain.

Mulcahy points out that sophisticated customers are buying equipment directly from manufacturers who monitor the equipment and provide servicing. That trend is leaving mechanical contractors on the sidelines. “That could be a bit of a sea change for us,” he says. “I don’t know how you overcome it because we don’t build equipment.”

In 2012 when the first version of the HVAC and Sheet Metal Futures Study was released, rising energy costs were projected

to be a major driver of building construction and design change, including the demand for HVAC services. That didn’t happen. Research shows that key drivers for design change are energy codes and a crop of young emerging engineering and specifications professionals focused on building efficiency, Soles says.

Clark adds that while the current federal government has backstepped on energy regulations, energy-efficient designs continue to progress, led by regulations and codes from forwardthinking states and municipalities. “It’s happening but in a less unified way than under the previous federal government,” Clark says.

An example is regulation to improve indoor air quality in schools – primary to grade 12 – driven by state governments.

“It’s a place where our contractors should be very successful,” Mulcahy says.

While economic projections suggest continued construction growth at least for the next two years, that does not include major infrastructure programs (transit hubs, for example) which, when announced, will offer ancillary benefits to the HVAC and sheet metal sector, Soles says.

CAG’s research findings see construction markets over the next decade spreading deeper into the south (Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas, for example) and western states such as Oregon and Washington. Scott adds, however, that some regions in the north have done better than expected since the 2016 study.

Michigan is a case in point.

Mulcahy adds there is a migration of auto-manufacturing plants in the south in right-to-work states where open shop contractors thrive. “We have to market more – particularly in the southeast where the growth is happening – that we are an alternative,” he says.

Soles sees a continued shift away from the design-bid build job to collaborative agreements (design-build integrated project delivery). “It’s going to filter down to more of the mid-sized jobs,” he says, adding straightline sheet metal contractors are seeing more work in design-assist contracts.

More than $10 billion spent in less than a decade on new technologies in construction is helping to push the industry into a new era, Soles says. “The construction industry is tired of seeing that it is has the lowest productivity ratings as opposed to manufacturing, farming, and other industries,” he says. “We are finally waking up.” ▪ A freelance writer based in Toronto, Don Procter covers the building, design and planning industries in Canada and the U.S. Away from the office, his pursuits include the ongoing restoration of his centuries-old home, cooking for family and playing in a blues band.

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Fostering Communication and Trust

Vince Alvarado, Business Manager SMART Local 49.

By / Jessica Kirby

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Richard Riviera, president of Key Air Conditioning Contractors in California and David Zimmerman, former Business Manager for SMART Local 36 at Partners in Progress Conference 2018.

he 2018 Partners in Progress Conference saw hundreds of labor and management delegates from across North America attend to learn more about each other, themselves, and the tools required to foster meaningful and productive relationships. The event was such a success, the next event has been scheduled for February 25 and 26, 2020 in Las Vegas, under the theme, All In. What does that mean, exactly? How can all participants in the sheet metal industry commit to a mandate where they are 100% committed to progress and mutual benefit? Contractors and sheet metal workers in British Columbia see it as a matter of communication and trust, and of taking up learning opportunities together.

SMACNA-BC’s Executive Director Bruce Sychuk says the association makes a concerted effort to draw new contractors and tradespeople to conferences like Partners in Progress— including Sychuk, six SMACNA contractor representatives from the British Columbia chapter and six Local 280 representatives attended the 2018 event.

“We hope all new people in our industry recognize the value in attending these events, and we try to get new people each time,” Sychuk says. “Conferences represent important opportunities to see everyone’s success stories and failures so you can learn from that.”

SMACNA-BC aims to take at least five contractor members and apprentices to these kinds of events and polls participants at the end to see if they felt the experience was valuable. “These

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guys are our future,” says Sychuk. “We want them to get a good look at what is ahead for them in the industry.”

In 2018, most of British Columbia’s delegates were firsttimers to Partners in Progress, including Phil McDonald, coowner of Summit Sheet Metal and Kevin Taylor, owner of City Sheet Metal.

McDonald, who is also a member of Local 280’s Joint Conference Committee, says his primary motivation for attending was interest in how other regions work together.

“I wanted to learn about what we could do better in building relationships between contractors and our labor pool,” he says.

“I was also looking for new, fresh ideas.”

McDonald was set to bring an apprentice along, but family commitments prevented that person from attending at the last minute. McDonald sees contractors attending with members of the workforce an important element of mutual success. “It just makes everything more successful because it helps create a good working environment,” he says. “It is nice to know what we are up against and vice versa.”

McDonald says he came away with a great deal of useful knowledge and tips to put into practice, but he was particularly excited about Kevin Doherty’s talk on “Recruiting Quality Applicants” and Stephane McShane’s “Critical Communication Skills for the 21st Century”.

“The workforce is constantly changing so we have to adapt,” he says. “It isn’t a fact of whether you want to change; you have

to change. We have the aging workforce so we have to work hard at fresh recruitment techniques.”

“With McShane, I always try to catch her presentations because how we communicate between labor and management is so important,” he adds. “Hence part of the motivation behind bringing an apprentice or one of our tradespersons to the event.”

As a member of SMACNA-BC’s board of directors, Taylor felt attending Partners in Progress was a great opportunity to gauge how the association is faring compared with other Locals, understand the problems other regions experience, and stay ahead of the curve to avoid potential problems.

“The thing that was made clear to me is that we are leaders in our industry with how our Local and owners deal with one another,” he says. “I credit a lot of that to the open lines of communication made possible through the Joint Conference Board.”

He says the association and union in British Columbia work together to bring attendees and to ensure new individuals have the opportunity. “Giving more people opportunities to attend functions like this makes our industry strong, our relationship between our Local and owners stronger, and allows for new people to come up with new ideas,” he says. “It is a great reminder why it is important to have open lines of communication with one another and what happen in other Locals that don’t.”

SMACNA-BC and Local 280 have an unprecedented relationship, given they meet nine times per year and address issues openly and with confidence in each other’s ability to solve problems before the arise, Sychuk says.

“If you only meet when you negotiate, how can anyone get to know each other?” he asks. “It’s important to foster these relationships because we all want to share the wealth and focus on training, developing new ideas, and networking, and not on months-long negotiations.”

Tara McDonald is a third-year apprentice sheet metal worker with Quest Metal Works in Vancouver, British Columbia, and a member of Local 280. SMACNA-BC and the union cosponsored Tara to attend Partners in Progress—an experience McDonald says is one that should be extended to apprentices and other tradespersons because it helps explain the “political side” of the industry.

“A lot of sheet metal workers are unaware of that side of our unions, and I think it is very beneficial for us to get the chance to learn why and how our unions work,” McDonald says. “For example, we need to learn how to recruit more workers and why it is important to build relationships to keep our workforce strong. At these conferences we – the unions – learn how to bring back answers to these questions from the presentations and from hearing the experiences of others.”

She says great strides occur when employers trust a sheet metal worker to attend conferences and come back to relay their thoughts and opinions on strengthening the company by sharing knowledge with their coworkers in the shop or field.

Leah Rambo, Local 28 Director of Training, JAC Administrator; Mechelle McNew, business manager Local 464; Angela Simon, president of Western Allied Mechanical and president-elect, SMACNA National.

“It makes a worker feel like they can also have a voice for the brother/sisterhood that work so hard everyday,” she says. “Even just a little voice can go a long way.”

McDonald feels fortunate to have attended a number of conferences besides Partners in Progress and hopes more unions will send workers to learn answers not necessarily found in the shop or on site. “Several other people I know who have had the chance to go have great ideas that need to be heard,” she says. “And we will always have room in our unions for bigger, better ideas.”

Local 280 Business Representative Richard Mangelsdorf agrees and prioritizes extending these opportunities to new attendees. “That is one of the most important things for us—not just having the same few people understand the issues and why the relationship is important,” he says. “We don’t want to keep sending the same three or four; we want to send a half dozen who have never been so they understand and learn why it is important to the industry to have the relationship we do with our contractors.”

Having attended in 2018 for the first time, Mangelsdorf understands how important it is that labor and management get off to a good start. “When it comes down to it, there is a bit of a dance that happens at the beginning where we have to transition from one kind of relationship to another,” he says. “In that transition is trust and being able to trust one another and know the other is not going to go behind your back or pull a fast one.”

If trust is disrupted on one side, it can sour the entire relationship, he says. “I’ve been fortunate in that those who built that relationship here from the beginning have always had trust in mind.”

Phil McDonald says John Foley’s 2018 conference-closing address on high-performance teams was “mind-blowing” and left him with a sense of how important it is for contractors and the workforce to look ahead and have the courage to adapt to the industry’s new reality and the possibilities that come with it.

“Foley’s message was ‘embrace change,’ and that should be a motto for all of us,” McDonald says. “If your not at the table you’re on the menu, which means if you aren’t willing to put in, you won’t get anything out. There is no such thing as one side succeeding and the other not. We all have to succeed together.” ▪ Jessica Kirby is a freelance editor and writer covering construction, architecture, mining, travel, and sustainable living for publications across Canada and the United States.

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SMACNA and SMART Bring Form and Function to Stillaguamish Administration Building By / Jessica Kirby Photos courtesy of Johansen Mechanical Inc.

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he Stillaguamish Administration Building in Arlington, WA. is a work of tribal art. It is a success story in sustainable building, and it is a signal for the future of the sheet metal trade. The construction team brought to life the Stillaguamish Indian Tribe’s vision of combining the functional components of an operational headquarters with culturally appropriate aesthetic elements, while SMACNAWestern Washington contractor Johansen Mechanical, Inc. and tradespersons from Local 66 made important contributions to the building’s green mandate. And although this project was completed in 2017, it stands as an important beacon of the growing market for architectural sheet metal projects and welltrained craftspersons to complete them.

The building was designed to resemble a canoe when viewed from above to recognize the Stillaguamish Tribe’s heritage as River People. This meant many of the interior architectural elements, including the continuous plenum behind the wall created for linear supply air diffusers, had to curve with the shape of the building.

Keith Johansen, owner of Johansen Mechanical, Inc., says this is just one feature that made the project unlike anything the company had done before. “This was both a unique and challenging project,” he says. “The building owners wanted the building to showcase its tribal heritage and the finished product is incredible.”

From the ground, the 57,000-square-foot building combines various natural textures and Indigenous elements throughout the complex. Carved wooden eagles perch on the branches of a manufactured tree situated in an atrium between the first and second floors. A wall in the chamber room features a wooden

“The VRF fulfilled the project’s green objectives for far less than the ground loop system, which would have added about a million dollars to the cost,” says Keith Johansen, owner, Johansen Mechanical. finished canoe with metal figures hand-crafted from aluminum and powder-coated with a black finish.

Joe Hryciuk, field foreman for Johansen on the Stillaguamish project, says one of the most important elements was the level of craftsmanship on the artistic finishes, “from the custom made Partners in Progress » January 2019 » 11

“These fans span 12 feet in diameter and efficiently circulate air throughout the large entry way and atrium, operating in different directions depending on the season,” says Joe Hryciuk, field foreman. totem poles to the fabrication and installation of the unique metal pieces exclusive to the northwest, including fish and trees around a flowing river.”

The river reference appears again among shades of blue on the atrium’s bottom floor, and in the middle of this river is an historic dugout canoe recently returned to the tribe by the Stanwood Area Historical Society. Railings showcase metal salmon – worked with such skill the welds are invisible – and the walls are a stunning gallery of art from Northwest Indigenous Tribes.

Warm woodgrain on the exterior complements the hues of the surrounding landscape and the interior material palette.

Gaffney Construction oversaw the design-build project, awarding Johansen Mechanical the HVAC, architectural metal, and controls portions. Johansen won the bid because it was able to create an energy and cost-saving solution for the owners by replacing a proposed ground loop heating and cooling system with a high efficiency LG variable refrigerant flow (VRF) system.

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“The VRF fulfilled the project’s green objectives for far less than the ground loop system, which would have added about a million dollars to the cost,” Johansen says. “We also added a high-efficiency chilled water system for heating and cooling, which is multi-purpose so does not require separate boilers.

These improvements resulted in the client receiving a $21,000 efficiency grant from the utility company.”

The VRF system has six outdoor heat pumps, four energy recovery ventilation (ERV) units, and 60 indoor fan coil units serving offices, conference rooms, and a large archive room, which also has a complex fire rating and fire suppression system so that the Stillaguamish Tribe can safely secure artifacts from its longstanding heritage in the Pacific Northwest.

The building’s art collection, offices, and meeting rooms require various comfort levels in different spaces, which was achieved with multiple fan coils and refrigeration piping running between the VRF system and the central chiller.

Another stand-out element of the finished product was the large airfoil fans installed in the open atrium. “These fans span 12 feet in diameter and efficiently circulate air throughout the large entry way and atrium, operating in different directions depending on the season,” says Hryciuk. “The colors we coordinated to match and resemble many of the other native inspired pieces throughout the facility.”

Between the shop and field, five craftspersons completed the installation and three worked on the fabrication, including some of the architectural work, Johansen says. “We did the controls, too, which comprise a DDC system we can monitor remotely from our office.”

The Stillaguamish building is testament to an important shift in demand for the sheet metal trade. With its unique and complex architectural metal requirements, it draws attention

to the need for skilled tradespersons to complete this type of work. The Western Washington JATC has connected with its contractors for several years to expand classes and cater to infield requirements in the Seattle area, and is working to meet fierce demand in all sectors.

“We have built a 4300-square-foot building inside our training facility in Everett that has multiple types of roof lines to help with our training,” says Executive Administrator for the Western Washington Sheet Metal JATC, Jeff Reinhardt. “We are also currently in discussion with Centria, an architectural panel manufacturer, to set us up to do factory training at our facility.”

One of the JATC trustees heads up the architectural metal department at McKinstry and has been working with Travis Elliott, a Local 66 business agent, “helping the training centre align its training with industry demand,” Reinhardt says. “We are also in design for a smaller architectural mock up to install in our DuPont facility that, if things go right, will be complete by the end of this summer.”

The $13.8 million Stillaguamish Administration Building is built on tribal trust land adjacent to the Stillaguamish Reservation, and brings together previously scattered departments. ▪ Jessica Kirby is a freelance editor and writer covering construction, architecture, mining, travel, and sustainable living for myriad publications across Canada and the United States. She can usually be found among piles of paper in her home office or exploring nature’s bounty in British Columbia’s incredible wilderness.

Partners in Progress » January 2019 » 13

© 2019 iStockphoto LP. / Kuzma

Safety Means Success Labor and management working together towards a culture of safety By / Deb Draper

A

t the 75th annual SMACNA Convention in October 2018, a panel of three safety experts discussed effective strategies to improve workplace health and safety along with organization performance during the session, “Elevating Your Safety Program to a Safety Culture.”

One of the panelists, Donovan Seeber, vice-president of Corporate Safety at ACCO Engineered Systems, talked about how having a company-wide safety vision with safety as a core value is an essential ingredient for success.

But what does having a safety culture really mean?

“To begin, there is a big difference between having a safety program and a safety culture,” says SMACNA’s Director of Market Sectors & Safety, Michael McCullion. “A safety program

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is great, but often it’s just a binder up on a shelf collecting dust,” he says. “It will cover things like all the requirements for OSHA compliance, written programs, getting all the personal protective equipment, and logistics.”

He explains that a safety program will have management or a safety director responsible for implementation, but in a safety culture everyone is responsible. “It’s getting people to believe in themselves and what’s important to them personally,” McCullion says. “It establishes an environment where they can feel comfortable reminding others to be safe.”

That means safety must be a core value of the business.

McCullion advises taking a three-pronged approach from the organizational standpoint when promoting a safety culture

mandate: productivity, quality, and safety. “What does your company believe in?” he asks. “What’s important when it comes to these three criteria?”

McCullion uses the example of a company going over its welding process. “Quality: you want a good weld, one that is strong. Productivity: you want to get x-number of welds done in a day. Safety: you don’t want anyone to get hurt. The answer is to combine the safety manual with the operations manual so that safety becomes a part of how things are done, not a separate entity. It simply becomes what we do, how we all do our jobs; it’s in our thought patterns.”

At SMART Local 105 in Glendora, California, Business Representative Al Hernandez knows that the establishment of a safety culture means success, not only for the workers, but for the company itself.

“One of the contractors in our Local 105 received a national safety award in 2018,” Hernandez says. “That’s because Xcel Mechanical Systems Inc. approaches safety by getting management on board first, and a big part of management buyin has to mean saving money.”

For example, having a low experience modification rate (EMR) can have a strong impact on a business. Lower EMR mean less risk assessment, and that means lower worker compensation insurance premiums.

“These days, some contracts won’t be awarded if the company’s EMR is too high,” Hernandez says. “Sometimes a company won’t even be allowed to bid on a project if that is the case.”

Xcel requires the general foreman or foreman to have OSHA 30 certification. After that, all other journeypersons, apprentices included, must have at minimum OSHA 10 to work on any of the company’s projects.

Hernandez notes that this approach benefits everyone on the job with a stronger safety culture for the employees and a lower EMR for management’s bottom line.

“One safety culture does not fit all,” says Randy Krocka, administrator for the Sheet Metal Occupational Health Institute Trust (SMOHIT). “A safety culture for a large mechanical contractor isn’t going to work for a small company with, let’s say, twelve or fewer employees,” he says. “However, no matter the size, we’re seeing more and more that labor and management are finding ways to get on the same track when it comes to making safety part of doing business.”

© 2019 iStockphoto LP. / RichVintage

“No matter the company size, we’re seeing more and more that labor and management are finding ways to get on the same track when it comes to making safety part of doing business,” says Randy Krocka, administrator for SMOHIT.

SMOHIT holds a yearly Safety Champions Conference (February 24-26, 2019) where it tries to engage both labor and management in the process of creating and promoting an industrywide safety culture. “We have break-out sessions, purposefully mixing things up so we have a balance of management, labor, and safety professionals at the same table working through what they want their safety culture to look like in the future,” Krocka says.

Hernandez agrees that this joint approach to safety is becoming the norm. “I got into the trade in 1986,” he says. “Of course, there was safety in place already—ear plugs, eye protections, and hard hats. You weren’t even cited if you took off your safety glasses, but now you could end up going home for the day.”

This buy-in to a safety culture is happening at the local union level, as well. “In our apprenticeship program, one of the first things you must do is get your OSHA 10 card,” Hernandez explains.

“Also, right now there’s a lot of work around here in the petroleum industry, and anyone who wants to work in the refineries must have OSHA training. So our local JATC just passed a policy to reimburse the cost of taking the OSHA classes if a member completes and passes them. This helps the member get the work, and it benefits the contractor who then doesn’t have to cover the cost.”

Getting a safety culture into place won’t happen overnight.

It takes time to cultivate a company’s business and personal values and then find ways to implement them. But this transition in the approach to safety is definitely happening as labor and management continue to work toward their common goals. ▪ From her desk in Calgary, AB, Canada, Deb Smith writes for trade and business publications across North America, specializing in profiles and stories within the hospitality, food service, mining, recreation, and construction industries.

Partners in Progress » January 2019 » 15

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