COVID-19 UPDATES

The worldwide effort to slow COVID-19 is having an impact not just on lives, but on businesses as well. In our ongoing effort to support the Plumbing, Heating and Air Conditioning industries, Southern PHC is providing coronavirus updates and helpful information that is relevant to these industries.

COVID-19 Updates

AHR Expo Chicago 2021 Cancelled – Focus shifts to AHR Expo 2022 in Las Vegas

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, AHR Expo 2021 has been forced to cancel. The 2021 show had been moved to March, but ongoing challenges, including restrictions for mass gatherings, has forced the decision to cancel the show. AHR Expo plans to return January 31–Feb 2, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. For more information, visit the show update and FAQs page of the AHR Expo website.

Digital Marketing for Small Business – A Free Webinar at the 2020 HEAT Show

This year’s HEAT show is a FREE online event with live webinars, virtual vendor booths and a video summit, happening September 22 & 23. As a partner in the Virtual HEAT Show being held September 22 and 23, Women in Energy will be hosting three new programs. Learn more.

2020 ASPE – A Digital Experience

ASPE, the American Society for Plumbing Engineers, provides education, lasting industry connections and a vibrant marketplace for the plumbing system design industry. Following the cancellation of the 2020 ASPE Convention & Expo in New Orleans, ASPE has announced a new digital experience, to take place December 1-3, 2020. Learn more.

Registration Now Open for WaterSmart Innovations Webinar Series

Registration is now open for the WaterSmart Innovations Webinar Series, happening on Wednesdays from September 23 through October 28. Since an in-person event is not possible this year, the WaterSmart Innovations Conference & Expo is conducting this series of FREE, informative webinars presented by water-efficiency professionals and WSI veterans working in a broad array of disciplines. Learn more.

National Hardware Show Announces Virtual Show Dates

The National Hardware Show (NHS) is excited to announce the 2020 Show will take place virtually October 12-15, 2020. The first ever National Hardware Virtual Show will provide the global hardware and home improvement community with the tools needed to equip customers, empower businesses, and engage with industry leaders from the comfort of their home or office. Learn more.

Covid-19 and the HVAC Industry

How do we make our indoor spaces safer? Improving Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) while also making buildings more energy efficient is an ongoing drive of the HVAC industry. But IAQ has never had a challenge quite like that which Covid-19 presents. Read the article.

Case Study: Covid-19 Outbreak Associated with Air Conditioning in Restaurant

Learn about understanding being gained by the CDC about how air flow relates to the spread of Covid-19. Read the article.

Understanding HEPA Air Filters and Covid-19

The biggest problem that HEPA filters have in capturing COVID-19 particles is not their size. It is the fact that they do not make it to the filter. Read the article.

Virtual Design-Build Conference and Expo Includes Water / Wastewater Track

Design-Build Conference & Expo 2020, which will be held virtually on October 28-30, will include a targeted educational track for Water / Wastewater as well as six other tracks. Learn more.

Sloan Deploys Mobile Restrooms to Support Commuities in Need

Sloan, a manufacturer of commercial plumbing systems, has developed fully-equipped Mobile Restrooms to support communities affected by natural disasters, emergencies, and other catastrophic incidents like the COVID-19 pandemic. Read the article.

Service World Expo Brings Excitement

Service World Expo is making a major pivot. The event will be held virtually, September 22-24, using augmented reality. Learn more, including how to register.

ASPE 2020 CANCELLED

The 2020 ASPE Convention and Expo in New Orleans, originally scheduled for September 11-16, has been cancelled amid concerns related to COVID-19. Read the full announcement.

ASA NETWORK2020 GOES VIRTUAL

The American Supply Association (ASA) is shifting its NETWORK2020 event to a virtual format. Read more about their plans.

IAPMO Free Webinar

The COVID Rollercoaster: Navigating Your Business Through the Ups and Downs of State COVID Responses

IAPMO will host a free webinar, The COVID Rollercoaster: Navigating Your Business Through the Ups and Downs of State COVID Responses, on Wednesday, July 15, at 3:30 p.m. EDT. Learn more.

National Hardware Show Cancels September 2020 Event

The National Hardware Show (NHS) has announced the cancellation of the 2020 in-person event and instead plans to host a virtual trade show later this year. Read more about their plans.

PHCC CONNECT 2020 to offer a virtual experience

PHCC has announced that it will offer its annual conference, PHCCCONNECT2020, in a virtual format. Read more about their plans.

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Bradford White Provides Helpful Information Regarding Updates to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Ahead of Upcoming Deadline

The recently passed Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act gives companies more time and flexibility in spending federal aid related to COVID-19. Bradford White created an overview of the changes for their contractors, provided here. They also remind everyone that the deadline for PPP loan applications remains June 30.

CDC’s Guidance for Building Water Systems

The CDC has published guidelines for businesses on how to ensure the safety of building water systems and devices after a prolonged shutdown. This information includes eight steps to take before a business or building reopens. Business owners and the contractors who serve them should review this information to facilitate safe reopening. This information is available at cdc.gov.

IAPMO Makes Standards Free to Aid Fight Against COVID-19

In order to help plumbing and mechanical professionals perform their essential duty — protecting the public’s health and safety — without incurring unnecessary financial hardship, the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) has made some critical standards available free of charge.

“Because we know the challenges many in our industry now face include financial uncertainty, IAPMO is temporarily providing free remote access to the standards most vital in dealing with such viral threats as COVID-19,” said IAPMO CEO GP Russ Chaney. “IAPMO understands we are all working together to combat COVID-19; access to codes and standards should not represent a roadblock in that battle.”

The standards and codes available support the services essential to responding to COVID-19 and include performance and installation requirements for plumbing and mechanical systems. By granting free access, IAPMO hopes to enhance public understanding of how the proper functioning of these systems protects the health of the people they serve.

They are available at: https://www.iapmo.org/code-standard-development/covid-19-resources.

Copper and COVID-19

Stay up to date on the lastest information by the Copper Development Association on how COVID-19 interacts with copper.

White House Essentials Update Includes Plumbing Supply Chain

The latest update by the White House to the Essential Critical Infrastructure Workers Guidance now includes the entire supply chain for the plumbing industry. Other revisions broaden the scope of tradespeople considered essential by this mandate. Read more about the update.

White House Identifies Plumbers as ‘Essential Critical Infrastructure Workers’ in Guidance for Response to COVID-19

The President and U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have issued a Coronavirus Guidance for America identifying plumbers and other tradespeople as “essential critical infrastructure workers” as our nation responds to the threat of COVID-19. Read more details here.

Emerging Water Technology Symposium Postponed

The 2020 Emerging Water Technology Symposium (EWTS), which was scheduled for May 12-13 in San Antonio, have postponed the event and tentatively rescheduled it for next year, May 11-12, 2021. Co-convened biennially by the American Society of Plumbing Engineers (ASPE), the Alliance for Water Efficiency (AWE), the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO), and Plumbing Manufacturers International (PMI), in cooperation with the World Plumbing Council (WPC), EWTS is designed to provide a portal for the host organizations’ partners in the manufacturing, engineering and trade industries to display and demonstrate their innovative solutions to legislative and regulatory developments that often alter industry landscapes.