Tag: HVAC

Home>News>HVAC

Communities across the nation are once again facing a dangerous air quality crisis due to smoke emanating from the Canadian wildfires. As people across North America seek refuge indoors, it is crucial to understand that the smoke and pollutants from the wildfires can easily infiltrate indoor spaces through various openings, resulting in higher concentrations of harmful substances.

One such substance, PM2.5, is airborne particulate matter smaller than 1/70th the diameter of a human hair and can contain dangerous levels of heavy metals and other toxins. A study conducted by Stanford University revealed that this type of air pollution may be up to 10 times more hazardous for children than other forms of air pollution.

In light of this alarming situation, SMART and SMACNA have jointly put forth several essential steps for the public during wildfires:

  • Close doors and windows. This helps to limit the intrusion of smoke into indoor spaces.
  • Verify proper operation and maintenance of ventilation systems. Just like electrical wiring and plumbing, HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) systems can cause damage if mishandled. It is advisable to seek the assistance of skilled and trained HVAC professionals to ensure the optimal functioning of your system.
  • Ensure adequate ventilation rates. Your HVAC system should provide the required minimum ventilation rate. Additionally, if applicable, disable the economizer or eco-friendly option on your system. An HVAC professional will be able to guide you through this process.
  • Avoid creating negative air pressure. Do not turn off your ventilation/HVAC system while running exhaust fans in your bathroom or kitchen, as this can create negative air pressure, causing untreated outdoor air to seep in through openings, cracks, etc.
  • Check filters. Regularly inspect and clean the filters in your HVAC system. In most cases, a MERV 13-rated filter or a HEPA filter will provide optimal filtration. It is recommended to consult with an HVAC professional to determine the best filter for your unit.

The hazardous conditions resulting from the wildfires also emphasize the importance of conducting a Ventilation Verification Assessment for commercial, apartment and school buildings. This assessment, carried out by certified technicians, provides essential data to identify any corrective actions required to combat pollutants in both indoor and outdoor air.

Safeguarding our health in times of dangerous air quality relies on the presence of high-quality HVAC and ventilation systems. By following the recommended steps and seeking professional assistance, people across North America can minimize the infiltration of harmful pollutants and create a safer indoor environment for themselves and their families.

SMART Local 265 (DuPage County, Ill.) sheet metal worker Danielle Wilson has always impressed her fellow union members with her expertise and craft as a welder. In February, she also impressed contractor Walsh Construction, which featured Wilson – an employee at GT Mechanical – as part of its ongoing progress newsletter tracking the construction of a new Chicago Jesuit Academy (CJA) school building.  

“Danielle currently lives in Coal City, Ill., and makes the hour-long commute to CJA every day,” Walsh wrote in its newsletter.  

Though Wilson comes from a family of tradespeople – her father and brother are laborers, while her brothers-in-law are sheet metal workers – she originally planned to become a surgeon. After a short stint as a painter, she joined Local 265; since then, Walsh wrote, “she has never looked back,” developing her skills as a welder to such a degree that she is now the go-to stainless steel welder at GT Mechanical.  

Her current job, the new CJA building, will serve as the future home for female students attending the academy. Wilson, a journeyperson, is currently working on installing and connecting ductwork for the building’s HVAC system – a vital task that will ensure the quality of the air that future students breathe. However, Wilson is more than a sheet metal worker to the students at CJA; she’s also a role model. 

“Danielle recently spoke to the first class of 3rd and 4th grade girls to attend the school,” Local 265 shared on Facebook in February. “She did a fantastic job explaining all the ins and outs of the trade and answered a number of great questions from the students.”  

By serving as ambassadors for the sheet metal trade and our union, members like Wilson do more than demonstrate the importance of skilled labor on the job: They pass on knowledge about the fulfilling, life-changing nature of a union sheet metal career. This is vital as SMART works to strengthen the union’s future and lift working families across our two nations.  

“Local 265 is very proud of Danielle Nicole Wilson,” the local’s Facebook post concluded.  

SMART members work to manufacture electric public transportation vehicles at BYD in Los Angeles, an example of the green union jobs SMART is pursuing.
SMART members work on green union jobs across our two nations, including the manufacturing of electric vehicles and transit systems.

Earth Day represents both an annual celebration of our natural environment and a call to action for our planet, our jobs and our families. Awareness continues to grow regarding the damaging effects of climate catastrophe, and governments are reacting accordingly by shifting towards green economic and energy systems. From offshore wind farms, to public school retrofitting, to electric vehicle battery manufacturing, climate change is requiring new innovations across all sectors of North America’s workforce.

SMART members have been on the forefront of green union jobs for decades. Buildings account for about 40% of total energy use in the United States, with more than 35% of the energy generated in the U.S. used to operate buildings’ HVAC systems. SMART’s manufacturing members produce energy efficient air movement equipment, heating and cooling machinery and insulated duct systems. Across our two nations, these production workers build dedicated outside air systems (DOAS) units, rooftop units, water-source heat pumps, underfloor air distribution systems and chilled beams – all designed to increase energy efficiency and keep our buildings running smoothly. These green, leading-edge technologies are not only designed and manufactured by SMART members; our union sheet metal workers install the products as well.

A SMART production member at work at BYD in Los Angeles.
A SMART member installs HVAC ductwork.

Members of the SMART Transportation Division are also doing their part to reduce harmful pollution, particularly in the transit sector. Whether moving passengers from point A to point B on electric buses in California or bringing citizens to work on commuter rail systems in Chicago, New Jersey and beyond, TD workers are helping accomplish the dual achievement of reducing automobile emissions and efficiently and safely transporting Americans to their destinations. And at BYD in Los Angeles, the sheet metal and transportation sectors combine, as SMART Local 105 members help manufacture electric busses for local communities.  

“Whether schools, hospitals, offices or apartment buildings, SMART workers are helping reduce energy output and keeping our nations working in cleaner, healthier ways,” said SMART General President Joseph Sellers, Jr. “These green union jobs are vital for our countries and our membership.”

SMART Local 0023 bus drivers pose for a picture in front of a bus.
SMART Local 0023 members working for Santa Cruz Metro.

In Canada, meanwhile, the government’s commitment to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 has placed a new emphasis on SMART’s skilled workforce.

“The transition to net-zero is a once-in-a-lifetime economic shift, not seen since the industrial revolution, and it is absolutely vital that this work is performed by union members,” noted SMART Director of Canadian Affairs Chris Paswisty. “Whether retrofitting buildings across Canada to increase energy efficiency, performing indoor air quality work or installing green roofs, the incentives included in the 2023 Federal Budget will put our members’ labour in high demand, creating green union jobs.”

The electric vehicle industry has proven to be fertile ground for SMART, with hundreds of members currently working to build EV battery factories in states like Kentucky and Ohio. But the burgeoning sector also presents a warning – unlike the “Big Three” automakers of old, many electric vehicle manufacturers are extremely nonunion. That’s why SMART members and locals must do more than merely take on the green energy work of today, Sellers added. Labor needs to organize and engage lawmakers to ensure the economy of tomorrow works for future generations.

“There was once a time when green energy goals were at odds with the labor movement. But SMART sheet metal and transportation workers know the importance of ensuring the jobs of the future are good, family-sustaining, green union jobs,” he explained. “Across our two nations, SMART members and local unions must push our communities to adopt green energy policies with strong labor standards attached – from decarbonizing schools in Rhode Island to installing green roofing technology in Canada. We will continue bringing workers into our union to meet these new workforce needs, and work with our elected officials to make this transition to green energy with union labor.”

Local 36 sheet metal worker-owner Rochelle Bonty was recognized by the Missouri Women in Trades (MOWIT) in early April, when she earned an honorable mention in MOWIT’s 2022 Contractor of the Year category. Bonty, the first Black woman in the Local 36 apprenticeship program, started her business – RMB Mechanical, a Local 36 signatory contractor – in 2020.

“I wanted to open my own business for my family, for the industry because the number of MBE/WBE [minority business enterprise/woman business enterprise] businesses are few, and for others who look like me so they can be inspired to do the same,” Bonty told the Labor Tribune. “It’s hard, but others need to see it’s not impossible.” 

Bonty entered the sheet metal trade out of a love for working with her hands and the desire to create something out of nothing; “I enjoy seeing the process of renovation and preserving the history of the city I grew up in,” she said. In 2020, that love for her craft spurred her to become a union signatory sheet metal contractor. She had been working at Ball Park Village for Clay Piping systems when the pandemic started – she was laid off, and although she returned to her previous employer, she began researching the process of starting one’s own business. Given the emphasis the pandemic has placed on indoor air quality, she immediately thought of HVAC duct cleaning.

“For me, that was the simplest thing to start, and I didn’t need as much money as opposed to taking on a major HVAC contract,” she told the Tribune. “I started making calls to businesses and asking if they needed their air ducts cleaned.” 

After contacting the St. Louis Development Corporation, they offered her a grant for air duct cleaning.

“That was my first contract,” she added.

Since then, Bonty’s trailblazing career has moved forward at breakneck speed. She recently became the first Black woman to serve on the board of SMACNA St. Louis, and she has aimed to inspire more women and high school graduates to join the trades via her work as a member of the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) St. Louis chapter and as a St. Louis Building Union Diversity (BUD) program mentor. Such efforts are especially significant as SMART aims to strengthen our union by organizing, recruiting and retaining workers from across all backgrounds.

“I wasn’t sure if I could [have a career in the trades], but I did,” she said. “I hope to be an example for others so they can overcome their doubts and fears and do things uncommonly in the construction industry.”

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) added the Testing, Adjusting and Balancing Bureau (TABB) as a third certification body for certifying personnel and contractors who perform testing, adjusting and balancing (TAB) on heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC); water balancing; and sound and vibration equipment testing. The addition was effective Nov. 1, 2021.

With endorsements and acceptance/ inclusion from the VA, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors’ National Association (SMACNA) and construction companies nationwide, TABB is the professional’s choice for the testing, adjusting and balancing of HVAC systems.

“Certification provides assurance to building owners that a particular contractor will meet a specified level of quality. The need for highly skilled technicians has increased with the complexity of HVAC systems.”

– From a 2020 white paper released the University of California, Davis, Western Cooling Efficiency Center (WCEC)

The decision was based, in part, on a white paper released in 2020 by the University of California, Davis, Western Cooling Efficiency Center (WCEC) — “Testing, Adjusting and Balancing HVAC Systems: An Overview of Certification Agencies” — which examined the benefits of using certified contractors and favorably positioned TABB as the first and only personnel-certifying body accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) in this field. The paper also stated TABB conforms to ISO/IEC 17024, an internationally recognized standard for personnel certification bodies.

TABB has developed certifications to serve as verification that technicians and supervisors have the knowledge and experience needed to complete the job tasks at hand. A well-balanced HVAC system isn’t just efficient; it’s also safer due to enhanced ventilation rates and overall indoor air quality.

“Certification provides assurance to building owners that a particular contractor will meet a specified level of quality,” the white paper explained. “The need for highly skilled technicians has increased with the complexity of HVAC systems.”

TABB is the first program to gain ANSI accreditation for certification in the testing, adjusting and balancing industry. Certification is a statement that the technician, supervisor and contractor demonstrate the highest level of professional expertise

Last fall, SMART General President Joseph Sellers traveled to UBS Arena, then still in progress, to tour and meet members working on the brand-new, $1.5 billion multipurpose home of the New York Islanders, which opened on November 20, 2021. Watch the video of their trip to see how our entire union – including sheet metal, testing and balancing, sign installation and Transportation Division members – came together to construct UBS Arena, as well as track for a new rail station serving the stadium.

Unique to this project was the presence of SMART members from across our union, including Local 137 sign members who installed the giant center ice board, as well as signage around the arena and in the new train station built to handle swarms of fans from across Long Island and the NY metropolitan area.

SMART-TD members led the way in constructing the Long Island Rail Road track leading to the new station. SMART Local 28 sheet metal workers installed all parts of the HVAC system, including ductwork, rooftop units, fans, fire dampers and smoke purge systems. SMART members also installed architectural features, including roofing and decking, and specialty work such as kitchen equipment, lockers and toilet partitions.

Read more about the project:
Sheet metal and TD members have hands in UBS Arena project