​Here are a few brief notes in recap of my experience at the Andrew Ask Building Science Symposium 2023

The main attraction for the Andrew Ask Building Science Symposium was the fourmember panel titled The Pioneers of Building Science. Each of these men has left an indelible imprint in the building sciences as well as in each other's lives. Their enduring relationship is a testament to the power of collaboration with other professionals who have similar zeal.

If I remember correctly, John Tooley shared the presiding vision for their career paths and the event, the question, “What is truth.” While many admire their success, it was refreshing to hear that none of them were overnight success stories. The path to the “top” is paved with trials.

Each member discussed the adversity that they faced in breaking into their industry, developing their skills, and building their businesses. Joe Lstiburek shared that he was broke, black-listed, and living in his mother’s basement.

Lstiburek was the primary speaker for the two-day event. Equal to his ability to comprehend the many elements of building sciences is his ability to distill these concepts into useful information. Attendees of the symposium walked away with a wealth of applicable knowledge.

Organizers of the event brought the pioneers as well as many emerging voices. I particularly enjoyed a presentation from Kimberly Llewellyn and Bryan Orr titled Chasing HVAC Unicorns. The information they shared was applicable to every discipline within the skilled trades.

​Kimberly opened with a quote by Vitruvius, “This knowledge is the child of practice and theory,” going on to explain how both are necessary to develop as a professional. Bryan clarified that rather than making things more complex, aspiring professionals need to master the basics and collaborate with other professionals to innovate creative solutions. He shared a quote, “When we get lost in the complex we fail to be masters of the obvious.” 

• Read more from Cliff Zlotnik
• Listen to the recap show on IAQ Radio 

Project management is an essential function of any organization offering services in the skilled trades industry. Many project managers feel they are overutilized and underappreciated by owners, managers, subcontractors, and customers. Many owners wonder why their teams cannot consistently produce profitable projects with happy customers. Contact The DYOJO about more information to improve this processes and project outcomes. 

The Three P's of Project Management are:

• PM = People Management 
• PM = Project Management 
• PM = Process Management ​

The DYOJO will be releasing more information on the critical tools for each of the Three P's. In the meantime you can purchase a copy of So, You Want To Be A Project Manager? by Jon Isaacson. 

Josh Winton (IAQ JOSH) (remediation) and Michael Symula (assessment) helmed the Remediation Panel for our Lessons Learned from Storm Response Workshop.

They shared how important safety is for all involved as well as setting clear and grounded expectations. Assessors and remediators should work with, not against each other.

Thank you to sponsor AEML, Inc as well as all of our sponsors, presenters, and participants.

Watch the pre-workshop interview with Jeff Cross and Cleanfax magazine

Bob Blochinger (Boca Raton, FL) and Casey Clark, Capital Restoration (Atlanta, GA) teamed up to share their Lessons Learned from Storm Response as our workshop Restoration Panel.
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• Bob is a wealth of knowledge as a flooring expert. He discussed the ways contractors can elevate their knowledge and skills to the level of expertise.
• Casey's team has helped clients recover from hurricane damage. In his experience, one of the most important things a contractor can do when responding to disasters is to be selective in the jobs that they take on.

Thank you to all of the sponsors, presenters, and participants of the first workshop collaboration between Pete Consigil and The DYOJO.

Lessons Learned from Storm Response and Hurricane Recovery
Naples, Florida and online
Thursday, January 26, 2023 

Listen to IAQ Radio for a recap of this event with Joe Hughes and Cliff Zlotnik. 

IN THIS EPISODE:
0:00 The Power of the Postcard
1:46 An Unnamed Adjuster Talks Matching Materials 
8:08 What Are We Working On - Workshop
11:06 Book 5 - Challenge Accepted 
19:10 The Government’s Plan to Save Us From Gas Stoves
29:15 One More Tidbit - 1980’s Prisons
34:26 Cutting Edge Tools - The Sony Mavica
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Jon Isaacson is working on book number five. The working title is Challenge Accepted: An Open Letter To Young People Entering The Workforce. In this episode of The DYOJO Podcast, Jon reads from the Introduction. 

What is this book about? 
I am not the brightest bulb in the bunch. I did pretty well in my school studies but wasn’t a standout in the sense that I had scholarship offers from colleges begging me to continue my scholastic journey with their institution. I enjoyed playing sports but wasn’t the most talented. I did “win” a few best-effort awards. I played mostly B (JV) or C (Intramural) team sports. Once I acquired my license and tasted the freedom that making my own money brought, I committed to working. 

At work, I found that accepting the challenge of doing my best wherever I was employed helped me enjoy the work and achieve better results. Life is difficult and many things can seem impossible, but if things were easy they would not be as exciting to overcome. If making a better life for yourself were easy, everyone would be doing it.  

• You do not need to be exceptional to make a difference. 
• You do not have to have your life figured out by the age of 16, 18, or even 21 to be successful. 
• You will need to embrace the challenge of life if you want to define, pursue, and achieve whatever success means to you. 

I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do after high school, other than I had some general ideas which I will explain further in this book. I was fortunate enough during my youth to have been provided some basic ideas about how to work (aka work ethic), exposed to people who made positive career choices and hadn’t made significant mistakes with long-term consequences (see Three Internal Holdbacks). These items helped me land some early jobs, achieve some initial success in those entry-level positions, and build confidence for seizing upon advancement opportunities. 

If the idea of living with the challenge of entering the workforce and advancing your career appeals to you, I believe this book will be helpful. You can read this book all the way through or you can keep in on your bookshelf until you need a small spark when you are facing a challenging scenario. Just in case this introduction is all that you ever read, I would like you to remember these three things. 

The Three Be’s Challenge yourself to build a foundation for life by developing these core character traits, I call them the Three Be’s:

• Be honest 
• Be hardworking 
• Be willing to learn  

I have hired, trained, and promoted numerous young people who came to my businesses with little to no prior skills. It is my ongoing belief that if you are honest, hardworking, and willing to learn, we can teach you to be successful in anything. On the other hand, if you are not willing to be honest, aren’t willing to work hard, and you aren’t willing to learn, there is little that we can do for you.  

• Whatever your goals are, if you bring the Three Be’s to the table you are going to have a fighting chance.   
• If you aren’t sure what you want to do after high school or with your life as a young person entering the workforce, focus on the Three Be’s and you will be building a solid foundation for success. 
• If you start working and you are unsure of your abilities, develop the Three Be’s and you will find that you stand out from the majority of your peers. 

One thing you should consider if you are not exercising these three character traits now, it will be that much more difficult to develop them later in life. What you do now will become a habit. Bad habits are hard to break. So, if you aren’t being honest, you aren’t working hard, and you are not willing to learn, those negative habits will become rooted in your life. The longer you practice these three things, one way or the other, the more natural they become. Good habits take consistency to form. 

Being honest, hardworking, and willing to learn will not guarantee success but they will set you up for greater opportunities.  

This short book was written to encourage young people entering the workforce to keep working hard, recognize your opportunities, and provide you with a few tools that will help you along the way.  

I challenge you to read this book, do you accept? ​

Have you heard about the government’s plan to save us all from the health and environmental hazards of natural gas-burning stoves? 

• Washington State Ban on Natural Gas Heating Is All Cost, No Benefit - https://www.dailysignal.com/2022/11/10/washington-state-ban-on-natural-gas-heating-is-all-cost-no-benefit/ 
• The Great Gas Stove Meltdown - https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/patriotism-unity/the-great-gas-stove-meltdown
• Gas Stove Bans Are Advancing Around The Country - https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/energy-environment/gas-stove-bans-rundown 
• Are Gas Stoves Bad For Our Health? - https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/are-gas-stoves-bad-for-our-health/ 
• Are Gas Stoves More Energy Efficient? - https://www.constellation.com/guides/appliances/energy-efficient-ovens-stoves.html

Are gas stoves bad for our health? According to Scientific American, “Broadly speaking, there are two categories of concerning emissions related to gas stoves. First, there is the unburned natural gas that can escape before the flame ignites or leak from a gas hook-up. This gas is more than 90 percent methane. Second, there are the pollutants created by combustion when a burner is on, most notably nitrogen oxides, which can irritate the lungs.”

Are gas stoves more energy efficient? According to Constellation, “It takes three times as much energy to deliver electricity to your stove than gas, so buying a gas range could save you money in the long run. Your final bill will depend on how much time you spend cooking, but if you have an electric ignition, you can expect to pay less than half as much per month to run a gas range.”​

Mr. Zlotnik says, “In our industry, people look for the highest-tech solution rather than the lowest-tech solution. We should look for the lowest-tech solution that'll work first before we go to any higher-tech solution.”

Cliff Zlotnik, or the Z-Man as he is known by his peers and those who listen to his weekly IAQ Radio show, is one of four key people that industry historian Pete Consigli chisled into Mount Restoration with his March 2007 C&R Magazine article. Of his friend and fellow watchdog, Pete says, “Perhaps Cliff’s greatest lasting legacy is as the pioneer who introduced and popularized the concept of hands-on restoration training. In 1985, he converted a vacant church rectory into a hands-on training site for fire and water damage restoration, a place which became known as the Unhouse training facility.” 

Restorers who enjoy history and want to develop their knowledge of the industry will be happy to see Cliff share training slides from his time at Unhouse in Episode 96 of The DYOJO Podcast. In the clip included with this article, host Jon Isaacson asks: “Say that the new guy coming in really wants to try to learn to do things the right way. Do you have anything that might help that person to decipher when they're being fed a line of bull?” In his storylike fashion, Cliff opens with, “I want to talk about two animals to answer your question.” ​