Industry

HFSC Survey Finds 74 Percent Would Buy a Home With Fire Sprinklers Than Without In a new national Harris Poll survey conducted on behalf of the nonprofit Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition (HFSC), 74 percent of U.S. homeowners said they would be more likely to buy a home with fire sprinklers than …

Henry S. Parmelee Award Call for Nominations The American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA) is accepting nominations for the prestigious Henry S. Parmelee award. The award will be presented during AFSA’s 35th Convention & Exhibition in Nashville, Tennessee, and the recipient will be featured in the 2016 convention issue of Sprinkler …

The Fire Code and NFPA 13 Standard Don’t Match Up The International Fire Code (IFC), 2015 edition and NFPA 13, Standard for the Installation of Sprinkler Systems, 2016 edition have different lists for classifications of commodities. When the two differ, which one do you apply? This could place you in a …

Skilled Labor Shortage Intensifies; Myths Debunked About Misunderstood Workforce FMI Corp., a leading provider of investment banking and management consulting services for the engineering and construction industry, recently released two reports: its “2015 Talent Development Survey in the Construction Industry” and “Millennials in Construction – Learning to Engage a New Workforce.” …

AFSA Recognizes Mr. Sprinkler Fire Protection The American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA) has awarded Quality Contractor recognition to Mr. Sprinkler Fire Protection, Roseville, California. The Quality Contractor (QC) program was launched to publicly recognize and honor fire sprinkler contracting firms that have documented their commitment in four key areas of …

Business Conditions Show Continued Strength in Some Regions As has been the case a few times already in 2015, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) dipped in November 2015. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate nine- to 12-month lead time between architecture billings and construction …

The Outlook for 2016 In 2010 I authored an article for Sprinkler Age regarding international opportunities for American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA) contractors. As you recall, at the beginning of 2010 we were in the midst of the economic crisis that is referred to as the “Great Recession.” I wrote …

Steady Economic Recovery Forecasted Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) forecasts a continued steady economic recovery for the U.S. commercial and industrial construction industries in 2016. Despite a weak global economy, the industry’s solid economic recovery in 2015 should continue in 2016, led by strong consumer spending. “As the mid-phase of …

Informal Interpretations Save Members Time, Money The informal interpretations featured in this issue of Sprinkler Age address obstruction concerns. AFSA’s informal interpretations are provided to AFSA members by Vice President of Engineering & Technical Services Roland Huggins, a P.E. registered in fire protection engineering; Director of Technical Program Development Phill …

Economists, Contractors, Manufacturers and Suppliers Report on 2015 and Forecast 2016 After a year of finally seeing signs of recovery and growth in 2015, the construction and fire protection industries seem to be at the same pace or better for 2016. Dodge Data & Analytics forecasts that overall U.S. construction starts …