The DeWALT soft shell heated jacket includes a battery pack to control its heated arms. Need we say more? Pricing available at dewalt.com

With a sharp wit and sense of humor, Bryan Orr has quickly become one of the most powerful and recognizable voices in the HVACR industry — covering everything from duct fabrication to installation in his wildly successful HVAC School podcast. He is the vice-president of service at Kalos Services Inc in Clermont, Florida  which he started with his dad when he was 17, and he regularly helps his team train and troubleshoot as a working contractor. But if you ask him about it (and we did), he’ll say he’s just keeping busy.

In order to streamline your shop operations, we’re launching a special How-to section on SNIPSmag.com focusing on sheet metal fabrication, installation, transport and everything in between. To kick everything off, we asked some of our favorite contractors and companies to give us a few how-to tips on some frequently asked questions. Here’s what they said.

Nortek Air Management, the parent company of Nortek Global HVAC and Nortek Air Solutions, is announcing a price increase up to 6 percent during the first quarter of 2019.

Experienced designers know that a well-designed high-performance air system is the most cost-effective and efficient system for many buildings. Thanks to industry and ASHRAE innovation, no other air-conditioning technology has advanced as rapidly over the last 10 years.

The TED50V features Ruskiprene blade and jamb seal material. The TED50VXT is designed to protect against extreme cold temperature conditions by using mechanically-fastened extruded silicone on the blade seals and ribbed-extruded silicone on the jamb seals. 

Described as a "toolbox" for the construction industry, Autodesk's recently unveiled robot-filled shipping container mobilizes the power of two Panasonic TS-950 robots.

What happens when a hurricane is your workspace? Such was the case when licensed mechanical contractor Christopher Molnar was tasked with the recovery and inspection of HVAC equipment from residential and commercial sites in Panama City, Florida, soon after Hurricane Matthew ripped through its neighborhoods.

Safety is a skill. And like any skill, it takes practice to perfect. As a company, this should be your first priority. 

Are you an artificial intelligence (AI) optimist or pessimist? Today, AI is often thought of as either the end of the world as we know it; when robots will take all of our jobs; or the answer to all our problems, when AI is the ultimate solution to save the planet.