Held June 21-22 at the Schaumburg, IL, Doubletree Hotel, the 2007 Technical Workshop of the Plumbing Manufacturers Institute (PMI) placed a strong emphasis on water conservation and the importance of its members to stay informed about codes and standards.

The two-day event drew a total of about 50 people from 19 member companies and 16 non-member companies.

Peter Mayer, P.E. (photo, above right), vice president of Aquacraft, Inc., discussed “Research and Development in Water Conservation” and “Water Budgets and Rate Structures-Innovative Management Tools.”

Complementing these presentations were two others by Bill Gauley, P.E., founder of Veritac Consulting Inc. Gauley first talked about “Product Testing” and then discussed “Municipal Water-Efficiency Programs.”

Day two of the workshop was a half-day and featured a multiple-part, detailed presentation by Tom Palkon, director of product certification for the Water Quality Association, on NSF/ANSI Standard 61. Palkon talked about all aspects of the standard: its history and development, testing procedures to achieve certification and an overview of its current activities.

To begin the event, outgoing technical director Dave Viola condensed a one-day program on the interrelationship of codes/standards and conformity into a half-day presentation. Viola covered a plethora of topics, ranging from a comparison of the code-development process to third-party certifier accreditation.

“There are more than 40,000 jurisdictions in the United States, and each one can have its own code,” Viola reiterated.

Incoming technical director Shawn Martin spoke briefly about the NAHB Green Building Standard, which targets mainstream homebuilders and has a target date of Feb. 2008.

PMI also announced that it is moving from its current offices at 1340 Remington Rd., Suite A, Schaumburg, IL 60173, to 1921 Rohlwing Rd., Unit G, Rolling Meadows, IL 60008. The address change will be effective June 29.

All article text and accompanying photos by Jim Camillo, editor of PM Engineer.