Education Program
The HPBExpo Education program, sponsored by Simpson Dura-Vent Co, Inc., will offer over 40 education programs focused on business management, sales and marketing, technical training and safety/liability issues. The program will gather industry professionals and subject matter experts to deliver focused programming that will impact your business and help chart your future.
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Business Management |
Business Management seminars are designed to provide practical management concepts from the functional areas of business (e.g., marketing, finance and capital resources). Attendees to these sessions will learn effective management skills including decision-making abilities, long-range planning knowledge, human relations expertise and motivational skills. By implementing the appropriate business management tools and making a few smart management moves, you’ll begin building better business management solutions for your company.
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Sales and Marketing |
Robust sales revenues usually go hand-in-hand with a well developed and implemented marketing plan. Sessions in this track cover sales skills, promotion ideas and marketing strategies for small and large business operations. Experts agree that in a tough market, a dedicated marketing plan will make your business standout from the pack.
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Outdoor Living |
Outdoor Living is an exciting segment of the industry that continues to expand. For those looking to build a new or expand an existing outdoor business follow the sunshine icon to inspiring sessions specific to outdoor living and the endless possibilities to your bottom line. Sessions include barbecue and patio topics as well as business diversity ideas for hearth retailers.
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Safety/Health/Liability |
Learn how to make your workplace a safe and healthy environment before an accident happens. Business owners and managers alike will learn the ins-and-outs of OSHA regulations and be schooled in the American Red Cross best practices should injury occur. Assuring a safe working environment and the importance of protecting your employees and your business with a balanced liability approach can also be found in sessions labeled with this icon.
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Technical |
Technical seminars focus on subjects and skills necessary to successfully install and service hearth, patio and barbecue products. From simple practical solutions for everyday problems to advanced troubleshooting techniques, sessions in this track provide important “how-to” and trouble-shooting information by some of the industry’s leading experts. Whether you are an owner, manager or service technician, been in the industry 20 months or 20 years, you will learn ways to solve those nagging problems your customers often experience.
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NFI Certification |
The National Fireplace Institute® is the professional certification division of the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Education Foundation (HPBEF). NFI's objective is to increase public safety by establishing meaningful credentials for professionals involved in planning and installing residential hearth appliances and venting systems.
NFI certifies planners and installers in three hearth product categories based on fuel type:
- NFI Gas Specialist
- NFI Woodburning Specialist
- NFI Pellet Specialist
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Wednesday, March 18, 2009 >
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Thursday, March 19, 2009 >
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Friday, March 20, 2009 >
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Saturday, March 21, 2009 >
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
| 8:30am – 10:00am | |
| 8:30am – 12noon | |
| 8:30am – 3:30pm | |
| 10:30am – 12 Noon | |
| 1:00pm – 2:30pm | |
| 1:00pm – 4:30pm | |
| 3:00pm – 4:30pm | |
| 4:00pm – 7:30pm |
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Wednesday, March 18, 2009 |
| 8:30am – 10:00am | 90 minute sessions |
Green Building Standards
1.5 Elective CEUs
Instructor: TBD
With the importance and prevalence of the green movement, a number of organizations are moving forward and collaborating with each other to define green practices for the development, design and construction of green buildings. The purpose of this session is to hear from organizations instrumental in defining green and how their green definitions and programs relate to the hearth products industry.
What participants will learn:
- The organizations involved in developing green standards
- The different goals of these organizations
- How residential hearth products can be considered “green”
Fireplace Design: A Designer's Perspective & A Retailer's Opportunity
1.5 Elective CEUs
Instructor: Debbie Hannig, Jøtul North America, Inc.
The next horizon for your store may well be the high-end builder market, but how do you make contact? The obvious answer is through the designer. Yet, when a designer comes into your showroom do you shudder? Do you wonder where they get those ideas about colors and styles? This presentation will answer these and other questions we all have about fireplace design and how designers think about fireplaces. Our expert will show you the design styles that made history and how these are influencing the market today. Learn about proportions that make a fireplace "fit" the room and common mistakes in the design of the area around the fireplace that can diminish its effect. The session will include the full history of the fireplace, from the first spark to modern day gas fireplaces.
What participants will learn:
- How designers "think" about fireplaces
- The proper way to design around fireplaces for optimum effect
- Design styles influencing the market today
Workplace Safety and Health – Hard Core Fundamentals
1.5 Safety/Health/Liability CEUs
Instructor: Max Muller, Rockhurst University Continuing Education
This fast-paced attorney and OSHA Authorized Outreach Trainer will give you the “must know” fundamentals for workplace safety and health. The session will focus on how to sensitize workers to the particular dangers of their individual jobs and how to engage staff in analysis of their actual jobs to create a more careful, self-aware workforce. In addition, participants will learn how to significantly reduce their legal exposure to negligence lawsuits (e.g., slip-and-fall) and OSHA penalties.
What participants will learn:
- Mandatory employer safety and health responsibilities
- How to avoid liability when interacting with outside contractors and vendors
- Four basic steps of job safety analysis
- Tips for avoiding the most common mistakes organizations make during OSHA inspections
- Bonus: Immediately-useable safety checklists
Gas Valves Used in Today's Hearth Products
1.5 Technical CEUs
Instructor: Terry Brumbaugh, HPD Hearth Products Distributing
In this course, you will learn the many types of gas valves that are currently used in the hearth industry. With so many products now in the industry, it is important to understand what valves can be expected in what appliance, how they operate, and what function they perform. In addition, the session will discuss how to select one gas valve type over another in order to help qualify a customer's needs.
What participants will learn:
- The various types of gas valves that are available
- What valves do what best
- How to choose the right valve for the right appliance and customer needs
| 8:30am – 12 Noon | Half-day sessions |
The HearthCheck System for Home Pressure Testing
3 Technical CEUs
Instructor: Mike O’Rourke, Wilkening Fireplace Company
The session focuses on the dynamics involved with house pressures and how all appliances affect the house as a system. Learn how testing for house pressures can identify problems and learn ways to recommend solutions to the problems. This is an updated and revised course that teaches the effects of house pressures and how to conduct house pressure tests. Materials provided will help attendees add this component to their evaluation of a house prior to installing a new product as well as ways to determine problems with existing products.
What participants will learn:
- The house as a system concept
- The mechanisms and implications of exhaust fan-induced house depressurization
- Tools and techniques for conducting a house pressure test
- How to interpret pressure test results
- Basic strategies for make-up air supplies
Making Your Company a LEAN Machine
3 Elective CEUs
Instructor: David Pomeroy, Dave Pomeroy Signature Training
One of the most dramatic ways to affect your business is to implement a LEAN Thinking culture! Do more with less: less effort, less time, less inventory and even less space. Learn how to do all of this while exceeding your customer’s expectations. This course will teach you how to empower and motivate your people to become a true team that seeks constant improvement.
What participants will learn:
- Identify the eight common wastes in your organization
- Discover the thirteen LEAN Thinking tools needed to banish this waste from your organization
- Gain five practical methods to implement LEAN Thinking once you return to your organization
| 8:30am – 3:30 | Full-day sessions |
NFI Gas Certification Review Course
(lunch on your own)
Instructor: Mike VanBuren, Blazing Design, Inc.
This is the official review course for the NFI Gas Certification exam. The course is based on the official study manual for the exam, the HEARTH Gas Hearth Systems Reference Manual, Third Edition, published Fall 2007.
The course covers core knowledge on combustion, heat transfer, construction and safety principles and installation knowledge specific to gas appliances and venting, including regulations and instructions, fuel characteristics and delivery, appliance requirements, venting and ventilation and troubleshooting. All major gas hearth appliances – fireplaces, gas log sets, inserts and freestanding stoves – and venting methods – conventional Type B-vent, direct-vent, liner systems, and vent-free – are covered.
NFI Woodburning Certification Review Course
(lunch on your own)
Instructor: Mark Jones, Chestnut Hill Chimney Service
This is the official review course for the NFI Woodburning Certification exam. The course is based on the official study manual for the exam, HEARTH Woodburning Hearth Systems Reference Manual, Third Edition, published Fall 2007.
This course covers both solid-fuel factory-built fireplaces and all types of wood stoves, including freestanding, inserts and manufactured high efficiency fireplaces. Core knowledge on combustion, heat transfer, construction and safety principles and installation knowledge specific to woodburning appliances, including installation and planning, solid-fuel appliance regulations and instructions, appliances, venting and ventilation and troubleshooting are also included.
NFI Pellet Certification Review Course
(lunch on your own)
Instructor: Larry James, High Country Stoves & Chimneys
This is the official review course for the NFI Pellet Certification exam. The course is based on the official study manual for the exam, HEARTH Pellet Hearth Systems Reference Manual, Third Edition, published Fall 2008.
The course covers the different approaches to pellet appliance fuel delivery, heat transfer and venting systems. Planning, installation and troubleshooting knowledge covered includes such subjects as appliance components, electrical requirements, vent configurations and assembly, and common causes and solutions for pellet system problems.
| 10:30am – 12 Noon | 90 minute sessions |
Managing a Retail Business in an Inflationary Recession
1.5 Elective CEUs
(Repeats on Wednesday, 3:00pm – 4:30pm)
Instructor: Tom Pugh, Lloyd F. Pugh & Associates
Anyone can manage a retail store when the economy is booming. The true test of a retail manager is producing profits when the economy is receding and costs are rising. Tom’s class will explain the long term economic consequences of the rising Asian economies and the economic meltdown in the U.S., and how they affect your business. This program is sponsored by a grant from Excel Chimney. Participants are expected to be familiar with the concepts in Excel Chimney’s Blueprint for Success.
What participants will learn:
- Why dealers in the Northeast are enjoying record sales while dealers in the rest of the country are struggling to stay in business.
- Understand the formula that will determine if, and when, the wood heat explosion will affect your store.
- Learn the Six Steps that all hearth retailers should implement to not only survive the upcoming recession, but to thrive in the eventual recovery.
Grassroots Lobbying: The Path to Political Power
1.5 Elective CEUs
Instructor: TBD
For many of us, lobbying is something other people do - people who wear suits and buy politicians lunch at expensive restaurants. But lobbying, or more simply, trying to influence those who make policies that affect our lives, is something anyone can do. Grassroots lobbying is essentially citizens participating in their local government. Today, the smart politicians are focusing more on what is being said by the local communities and the people. Your activity can have a major impact on how you do business in the future.
What participants will learn:
- Ways you can make a difference
- Ways to simply write, call, meet or fax your representative
- Tools available that identify the hot issues affecting you
How to Hold Barbecue and Grilling Cooking Classes in Your Store
No CEUs
Instructor: Karen Adler, Pig Out Publications, Inc.
This educational class will give you the nuts and bolts of what it takes to operate a professional cooking school. Whether you have (or want to have) an indoor or outdoor barbecue kitchen, this session is designed to provide answers for your basic and not-so- basic questions. Join us as Karen guides you through the how/when/ifs to add new elements to your store’s barbecue and outdoor room business.
What participants will learn:
- How to determine if demonstration are right for your store
- What supplies are necessary to begin
- The budget that you should consider
Three Steps to Increasing Your Profit Margin
1.5 Elective CEUs
Instructor: Tom Shay, Profits+Plus Seminars
Decrease expenses, increase prices or decrease inventory/labor costs are the three sure fire ways a business can increase its profit margin. If only it were that easy! This one-of-a-kind presentation assists attendees in understanding what it takes to change one of these three components by examining the components of a financial statement.
What participants will learn:
- How to improve the profitability of your business by making increment adjustments
- How to utilize the free online financial calculator from Profits+Plus
- Understand the financial information you have
Mandatory Safety Regulations – The Essentials
1.5 Safety/Health/Liability CEUs
Instructor: Max Muller, Rockhurst University Continuing Education
This informative attorney and OSHA Authorized Outreach Trainer leads a 90-minute session that strips to the essential safety and health regulations that virtually every employer must comply. Featured are not only what the regulations require but also how to immediately undertake effective compliance efforts. Participants will learn how to quickly bring their respective workplaces into OSHA compliance with these vital laws.
What participants will learn:
- Workers’ responsibilities regarding compliance with safety regulations
- The five elements every hazardous chemical right-to-know program MUST have
- Why failing to strictly and consistently follow lockout-tagout procedures will cost workers their fingers – or lives
- Smart ergonomic basics
- The when, what and how of personal protective equipment
- BONUS: safety check lists
| 1:00pm – 2:30pm | 90 minute sessions |
Troubleshooting Gas Millivolt Systems
1.5 Technical CEUs
Instructor: Mark Lewis, Jøtul North America, Inc.
Learning how to pinpoint the true problem in a millivolt gas system is crucial to every hearth technical. It is even more crucial that quickly and effectively. In this course you will learn not only how to take millivolt readings, but more importantly, how to determine what they mean.
What the participant will learn:
- How take and interpret electrical and pressure readings
- The best ways to use your multimeter and manometer
- Tricks to solve the problem the first time
It’s NOT About You!
1.5 Elective CEUs
Instructor: Tom Shay, Profits+Plus Seminars
Many salespeople have attended sessions designed to provide them with additional technical information so that they can better explain their products and services to their customers. And yet with all of that information, they frequently fail to close the sale. Why does that happen? It happens because the selling situation is not about you, the salesperson. Learn the differences between buyer-oriented sales and sales-oriented sales. It is what separates the professionals from the rest!
Emergency Management Planning for Your Business
1.5 Safety/Health/Technical CEUs
Instructor: Max Muller, Rockhurst University Continuing Education
This thought-provoking 90-minute session led by an operations expert whose books are sold throughout the world, provides participants with practical, real-world advice regarding the process of preparing for, mitigating, responding to and recovering from an emergency. Emergency/disaster planning encompasses a large, diverse and complex body of information. What constitutes a disaster/emergency for Company A may be of no consequence to Company B. In all instances, however, the unexpected loss of or injury to personnel, the sudden interruption of mission-critical information, or the abrupt failure of equipment or facilities can lead to catastrophic business and operational results for any organization.
What participants will learn:
- Types of business disasters your disaster/recovery plan must cover
- Hidden costs of disasters that render many business continuity plans useless
- Creating a Threat Analysis Matrix – How to analyze and prioritize your exposure and risk to threats, accidents or illness
- Why insurance just isn’t enough to recover from disaster
- Critical “hot sites” your organization must have
- Often forgotten personnel issues – salary continuation, FMLA, Workers
| 1:00pm – 4:30pm | Half-day sessions |
Introduction to Masonry Heaters
3 Technical CEUs
Instructor: Rod Zander, New England Hearth & Soapstone, LLC
Masonry heaters and tiled stoves are one of the oldest, most effective and fascinating ways to heat with wood. In this course you will learn how this technology first began and how it has transformed into the various systems on the market today, whether prefab kits or complete custom installations. You will also learn the construction requirements necessary for a successful installation, including the various codes, standards, and regulations.
What the attendee will learn:
- The principle technologies that constitute a masonry heater
- The combustion and design principles which provide for low emissions and high efficiencies
- Typical installation requirements
Installation and Service Made LEAN
3 Elective CEUs
Instructor: David Pomeroy, Dave Pomeroy Signature Training
With escalating overhead expenses, you must run a LEAN service and installation department. Improve field productivity by thirty-five percent when you implement LEAN concepts and begin to identify and banish waste.
What participants will learn:
- Learn how to conduct LEAN “autopsies”
- Develop job/part boxes
- Improve your service or installation vehicle’s organization
- Tighten service or installation job scheduling
| 3:00pm – 4:30pm | 90 minute sessions |
Managing a Retail Business in an Inflationary Recession
1.5 Elective CEUs
Instructor: Tom Pugh, Lloyd F. Pugh & Associates
Anyone can manage a retail store when the economy is booming. The true test of a retail manager is producing profits when the economy is receding and costs are rising. Tom’s class will explain the long term economic consequences of the rising Asian economies and the economic meltdown in the U.S., and how they affect your business. This program is sponsored by a grant from Excel Chimney. Participants are expected to be familiar with the concepts in Excel Chimney’s Blueprint for Success.
What participants will learn:
- Why dealers in the Northeast are enjoying record sales while dealers in the rest of the country are struggling to stay in business.
- Understand the formula that will determine if, and when, the wood heat explosion will affect your store.
- Learn the Six Steps that all hearth retailers should implement to not only survive the upcoming recession, but to thrive in the eventual recovery.
Reduce your Liability Through Proper Chimney Inspection
1.5 Technical CEUs
Instructor: Bill Ryan, Ryan & Son Chimney Contractors Limited
The class will give you the tools to determine when a chimney inspection is needed and how this process will eliminate the liability on retrofit installations. It will cover the steps you need to take in this process and show you how to properly integrate the inspection into the sale of hearth appliances.
What participants will learn:
- How to reduce liability through education, implementation and procedure
- How NFPA mandates relating to inspections
- How to properly educate the customer
Turning a Sales Flyer Into a Sales Happening
1.5 Technical CEUs
Instructor: Tom Shay, Profits+Plus Seminars
Businesses spend thousands of dollars each year on direct mail, yet it seems the only way to increase sales is to increase the quantity of flyers sent. The objective of direct mail is to increase traffic flow with new and repeat customers in order to increase sales. This session will give you the techniques to transform a sales flyer into a sales happening.
