Drops of Impact: How Do We Create Them?

I’m back from being a panelist on the topic of “Drops of Impact” on the KBIS NEXTstage at Design and Construction Week last week in Las Vegas. Wow, that is a big event. Two co-located trade shows and conferences for residential construction focused on home builders, remodelers, and kitchen & bath dealers/designers.

Our audience on the KBIS side of the house is typically doing higher-end residential projects. Most KBIS displays are all spectacular beauty and design. It’s the function behind those products that bring this audience’s interests together with mine.

Our panel--which was me, a representative from sponsor Moen and a design build firm owner--talked about the homeowner’s desire for specific water experiences at the luxury price point.

My big takeaway came from the experiences shared by my co-panelist Ginger Rabe, MSD of Ginger Rabe Designs in Carlsbad, CA. She’s on the front lines daily with consumers who aren’t always aware of where their water comes from and where it goes.

“People rip (flow) restrictors out; they want a good experience with water,” observed co-panelist Mark-Hans Richer , chief marketing officer and general manager, direct commerce for Moen. “People don’t want to be scolded; they want to be educated.”

“I kinda do scold them,” Ginger replied, as we all laughed. The exchange left me thinking about what we all need to do collectively so Ginger and other residential pros aren’t alone on those front lines educating the general public.

Our moderator, Sara Gutterman , CEO of Green Builder Media, was awesome and asked me questions that teed me up to talk about pipe sizing and water efficiency to this audience. That is always an important first step.

But those of us in the engineering community need to be mindful in our communications to help people who aren’t soaking in our work understand how water works. And then we need to lead with technology that delivers the water experience that consumers seek in a sustainable way.

As my employer, The IAPMO Group, kicks off our annual March4Water observance month this week, we have a social media campaign running between World Plumbing Day and World Water Day called Water: From Point A to YOU to enlighten the public about how their water systems work.

Mark-Hans noted that leading with technology could include awareness about mitigating water waste through leak detection devices. Sara, Ginger and I talked about the need for advanced water standards such as the IAPMO WE-Stand water efficiency standard that helps communities plan for water reuse.

I write these newsletters to the engineering community, so I will continue with the technical focus we all need. To all my fellow plumbing professionals, you all are the unsung heroes ensuring the flow of modern life. Your expertise turns chaos into comfort, making every drop count. We know that there is a lot of science and engineering behind our walls in the plumbing system and that it takes a lot of expertise to simplify the complex.

But I encourage you to follow IAPMO this month and share our educational content far and wide so Ginger and all our business colleagues and associates have our support in encouraging new and better behaviors around water use.

Tips and other notes:

Specification Suggestion #1: Look to include reference to IAPMO/ANSI Z1349 Leak Detection Devices in your design specifications to help promote water conservation.

Book Reference: “Don’t cheng unless you chi.” (Certain to Win by Chet Richards) Look to innovate industry apps (like the Water Demand Calculator) to provide “added value” to clients without sacrificing performance. A good reminder that we can’t sacrifice performance while pursuing sustainability.

Specification Suggestion #2: Get the right filter for the right job: When specifying filters look to third-party certifications like ASSE 1086 (Reverse Osmosis), NSF-42 (micron and contaminant), and NSF-53 (contaminant) to get the water quality you want. Look for the “certified by IAPMO R&T” on your filters and plumbing products.