TN Technology Centers Get Carbon Monoxide Training.

DanHolohan

Newspaper headlines throughout the United States are filled with stories on deaths caused by Carbon Monoxide poisoning.  In all too many of these cases, a furnace or a boiler recently serviced is the cause of the carbon monoxide.



 



Carbon monoxide is colorless, odorless, tasteless gas that sends over 50,000 people to the hospital every year.  Many of the cases are fatal.  All too often these types of events occur due to improper service of HVAC equipment or negligence.  



 



The

Tennessee Technology Center HVACR instructors understand the importance

of teaching safety and teaching proper service procedures.  To make certain that all of the state HVACR instructors were properly informing their student's, they spent

a full "in-service" day receiving carbon monoxide and combustion safety

training at their annual gathering at the TTC location in Crossville,

TN.



 



 The session was conducted by the <span style="color:#000000"><span style="text-decoration:underline;"><a href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=uzbzuldab&et=1104796159752&s=97&e=001lvlhK2NvMwTHI7oRnh7HV3YZKE98K1KHFVa5WDuljmYW0wEDn2nhLaI-KYAjJKUPUJIraiFFVqVi73hjQFyAXTc202CBOOQf-AOBUU_o2Mc=">Carbon Monoxide Safety Association</a></span></span> (COSA) and made possible with the support of Fieldpiece Instruments, and the ESCO Group.



 



"It

is always good to have an audience of instructors to work with when

outlining the sources, causes and preventative measures required to

prevent carbon monoxide generation and exposures" said Bob Dwyer, the

instructor for this course and Director of Training for COSA.

"These instructors are a key to helping in raising combustion safety

awareness to the hundreds of new Tennessee HVACR technicians coming out

of their programs."



 



The

Tennessee Technology Center instructors all received training that

emphasizes thorough testing and the vitality of manufacturer

instructions when setting equipment in service and conducting service

checks.



 



"The

old days of installing equipment without verifying the safety,

efficiency & the basic code requirements should be coming to an end

as knowledgeable HVACR companies and technicians step up to testing

while leaving their traditional guesswork behind. " adds Dwyer. "If

companies continue to install and service without testing, they surely

will run into liability issues when consumers realize they have a choice

between trained, certified and performance driven technicians compared

to those who do not test."



 



The

program conducted by COSA included instructions on building & duct

pressure measurements which are critical to the performance requirements

of combustion equipment such as Category I appliances. "The

non-positive pressure vent systems are especially affected by building

pressures as people continue to tighten up their homes to save energy.

The tighter the home, competing pressures like duct leakage, clothes

dryers, bath & kitchen exhausts will have a larger impact for

building air and pressure release" adds Dwyer. "We also demonstrate the

effectiveness of carbon monoxide alarms in front of the audience using

known & certified concentrations of CO test gas. This really gets

them involved and in many cases worried about the safety of their own

homes."



 



The training for the instructors was conducted by COSA at the Tennessee Technology Center in Shelbyville, TN.   The

training was open to the public and conducted at the HVAC Excellence

accredited facility. "It is even better for us when we work with

technical institutions and companies that are willing to put in the

extra effort  to ensure their programs provide the most up to date

curriculum and technology to new and emerging technicians in the HVAC

industry" concludes Mr. Dwyer.



 



COSA would like to ask anyone reading this story to visit <a href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=uzbzuldab&et=1104796159752&s=97&e=001lvlhK2NvMwTJCL_LElGkSo0vukxSwDXkFQsF5Ggz_BOkcmePKAeF_FSNE5_ML25EQEZwRkfxse4FlTHV56N6mGZ_EP_Rctv1lkCrH4KPHfwFG2D6mKqQHw==">www.cosafety.org</a> and click on the news link.  This

link provides constant updates of stories across America where people

have become sick or died as a result of Carbon Monoxide.  In many cases it could have been avoided if the technician did their job properly.



 



Tennessee

has 27 technology centers located throughout Tennessee.  These schools

have been the leaders in training the American workforce for a great

many years.  Once again, Tennessee is showing their leadership here in

making certain that all of their HVACR students have the training

necessary to properly service and or install HVACR equipment to

manufacturers specified standards.