Featured Articles

Persistence. The quality of possessing tenacity and the continuance of consistent effort. When reflecting upon the theme for this particular issue of Sprinkler Age magazine, technology in the workplace – “Is Your Jobsite Smart?,” I immediately thought of an American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA) staff member who has embodied the …

As a business owner, I have gone through and witnessed some of the school of hard knocks. Having started a company at a young age with not much more than a hope and a dream, I learned quickly from both the good and the bad experiences. One principle I learned …

Who is Responsible for What? Everyone knows that a water supply test is simply a snapshot of what is available at that moment in time. We also know that the water supply needs to exceed the system demand of the fire protection system. A final fact is that water supplies …

Look to New Hires for Growth and Prosperity Two years ago, we relocated from our office of many years to a much larger building down the street which had space for growth. This move was strategic as we saw opportunity in a strong economy to continue to grow our company’s …

Finger Pointing 101 Well, it happened again! A major fire struck a high-rise building, resulting in fatalities to civilians and injuries to firefighters. Who is to blame? Some wanted to blame the fire service because the building was lacking built-in fire protection equipment. Others wanted to blame the building for …

Associated General Contractors of America Looks at 2018 to be a “Strong Year” Forty states added construction jobs between November 2016 and November 2017, while 39 states added construction jobs between October and November, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of Labor Department data. Association …

Ferguson Fire & Fabrication Celebrates 30 Years in the Industry In 1988, gas was 91 cents a gallon, the Redskins won the Super Bowl, and the most advanced technology for designing a sprinkler system was a blueprint, a pencil and a cup of coffee. Around this time, there were also …

It’s the Biggest Little Trade Show in the West! The Sacramento Valley Chapter of the American Fire Sprinkler Association (AFSA) hosted a hugely successful trade show in 2017 and is gearing up to do it all again in March 2018. These shows have quickly established themselves as the region’s premier …

Look to NFPA Standards for Recommended Practices Industry and nationwide hydrant flow tests can vary greatly. Most people don’t know the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has a “recommended practice” for conducting a flow test: NFPA 291, Recommended Practice for Fire Flow Testing and Marking of Hydrants. The 2017 edition …

Dodge Data & Analytics Predicts Deceleration but Still Growth Dodge Data & Analytics has released its 2018 Dodge Construction Outlook, a mainstay in construction industry forecasting and business planning. The report predicts that total U.S. construction starts for 2018 will climb 3 percent to $765 billion. “The U.S. construction industry …