LANSDOWNE, Va. - Twenty-seven business owners, operations managers, project managers, estimators, and superintendents spent four days at the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors-National Association (PHCC) Educational Foundation's January offering of the Essentials of PHC Project Management course.

The training program, sponsored by American Standard and Trane, demonstrated to attendees how preplanning and a commitment to supporting field labor could drastically reduce wasted time and save businesses significant amounts of money.

"Contractor business owners and project managers need to learn that success depends heavily on their planning and thinking skills," said Kirk Alter, director of the foundation's management courses and lead instructor for the course. "A solid project management plan that allows the field crews to always work at top efficiency can easily help a company earn net profits that are double or triple the industry average."

"American Standard and Trane are proud to sponsor this training program," said Joe Maiale, American Standard's vice president, wholesale sales Americas, Bath & Kitchen Division. "We know that professional, successful contractors are our best customers and that continuous training at all levels of the company is the secret behind most successful businesses."

The next Essentials of Project Management course will be held June 7-10 in Fort Worth, Texas. American Standard and Trane also sponsor the foundation's Owners Strategic Management workshop. The workshop is scheduled for March 29-April 1 in Scottsdale, Ariz., and is designed to teach contracting business owners and their key staff how to position their companies as the leading firm in their market.

For more information, visit www.phccweb.org/foundation or call 800-533-7694.

Publication date: 01/23/2006