Sprinkler Age A Publication of the American Fire Sprinkler Association

The Next Generation is an Excellent Resource Any great business has at least two of the following goals: to make money and to grow the business as far as they can using whatever tools and resources they have to make it happen. Some of the tools may be equipment, material …

Understand Your Motives, Research the Pitfalls Expanding a fire protection business by opening branch offices is a risky undertaking. If critical elements are not in place, branch offices can become costly disasters. However, if the key areas outlined in this article are adequately addressed, opening branch offices can be a …

Reaching a Consensus on Strategic Direction Among the many issues that confront family businesses in times of generational transition, strategic direction can be crucial. The strategy that has provided direction for the business during the incumbent generation’s watch may be faltering or tired or largely completed. Strategic modifications, reinvigoration or …

The Impact of Group A Plastics One of the most critical variables necessary to define the right design basis for the protection of storage is the commodity classification. In evaluating an individual pallet load, Class III and IV commodities have pretty much always been allowed to have some Group A …

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is part two of a six-part series that will be continued in future issues of Sprinkler Age. Last month we initiated a discussion of how important it is for the fire marshal and members of the fire prevention bureau to understand fire testing and national standards as it …

From the River to the Desert While the American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA) will offer 55 hours of technical and managerial seminars at its 34th Annual Convention & Exhibition, AFSA in Phoenix: Rising to Excellence, there will be plenty of entertainment with optional tours and the ever-popular golf tournament. Mark …

Donations Keep Education Vision Alive Jonah Lund, a Fire Protection & Safety Technology major at Oklahoma State University (OSU), has received the $4,000 2015 Thomas S. Waller Memorial Scholarship from the Center for Life Safety Education (CLSE). Lund will enter his senior year in the fall with a perfect grade …

Changes in Product or Packaging – Plan Now, Save Later A friend and sprinkler industry veteran once told me that the NFPA standards are written so that they are 100 percent clear, concise and understandable; that is, until two people read the same text. Perhaps the best example of this …