This-N-That
CFFA Launches Certification Program For Vinyl Pool Liners
The Chemical Fabrics and Film Association (CFFA) announced the launch of its certification program for vinyl pool liners that meet the CFFA-P-101 – Recommended Minimum Performance Standards for Vinyl Swimming Pool Liners - In Ground.
The program covers vinyl films, which are used for in-ground swimming pool liners that must be tested by an accredited laboratory. Products certified to CFFA-P-101 must pass all the test methods within CFFA-P-101 that have been identified as important and relevant for in-ground vinyl swimming pool liners. These test methods are used by the industry and its customers to determine the physical properties of vinyl and polymeric films, to facilitate quality control, and to ensure customer satisfaction.
The program will also offer sponsorship opportunities for fabricators and distributors who are primarily in the business of reselling certified vinyl pool liners. Certification program sponsors may license the certification mark when promoting previously certified products on their own marketing materials and websites.
For more information, visit www.cffavinylpoolliners.org.
Forest Service, HBCUs Train Next Generation Of Wildland Firefighters
The Forest Service is teaming up with three historically Black colleges and universities, also known as HBCUs, to expand forest fire prevention and management training opportunities.
Florida A&M University, Southern University in Louisiana, Tuskegee University in Alabama, and Alabama A&M University have joined together to create the 1890 Land Grant Institution Wildland Fire Consortium. The partnership is modeled after Alabama A&M University’s FireDawgs program, a student-led forest firefighting team created in 2009. Since its creation, the FireDawgs have mobilized for several wildfires, rescues, and prescribed burning operations in partnership with the Forest Service.
Hands-on training offers students their first experiences with live fire while under the instruction of experienced wildland firefighters. Students learn to use drip torches, a common tool for prescribed burning, as well as how to operate and maintain chainsaws safely. In addition to the practical skills, they also learn how fires behave under weather conditions and in different types of fuels, like in heavily wooded areas or in tall grass.
The program is helping to bring more people of color into the forestry and wildland fire professional fields. According to the Society of American Foresters, White non-Hispanic persons receive a higher share of bachelor’s degrees in agriculture and natural resources, making up 91 percent of all bachelor’s degrees. While African American and Hispanics make up 1.9 percent and 3.6 percent of degree recipients respectively.
Considerations In Incorporating Electric Equipment Into A Fleet
As governments and communities continue to push electrification, fleet managers need to be prepared to make the switch. Here are three things to keep in mind when it comes to integrating electric equipment.
1. Application
Whether it’s diesel or electric, careful planning is important and matching the correct machine with its most likely use can save time and money. Because they are emission free, electric equipment opens up opportunities for indoor operation as well as work in noise-sensitive environments, such as around schools and homes. But electric equipment may not be compatible with existing hydraulic attachments, so plan accordingly.
2. Recharge Strategy
In addition to the application, it’s also important to develop a recharging strategy for each job utilizing electric equipment. Determine if equipment will return to a central area at consistent intervals or if a field-charging solution will need to be implemented. Updating fleet yards and garages with correct charging capabilities may also be needed and should be accounted for in the budget.
3. Maintenance Plan
Electric equipment significantly cuts down on maintenance requirements. With 50-percent fewer components and virtually no fluids, these machines need less daily maintenance than their diesel counterparts. This allows better utilization of maintenance teams and helps cut down on labor needs in communities struggling with workforce shortages.
Bonus:
In addition to these considerations, be on the lookout for incentives that might make electric equipment procurement easier (and cheaper). Work with a local equipment dealer to take advantage of all local and federal incentive and rebate programs.
--Information provided by Randy Fuss, Director of Government Accounts for Doosan Bobcat and Bobcat Company in North America
Field Notes
Altoz, Inc. hired Ryan Garrelts as District Sales Manager for Florida, South Carolina, Georgia, southern Mississippi and Alabama. He brings several years of territory management experience and proven sales growth in the outdoor power equipment sector.
Indianapolis-based Schmidt Associates, a regional architecture, engineering, and interior design firm, has promoted firm principal, Kevin Shelley, AIA, LEED AP to Chief Operations Officer. With a Bachelor of Architecture from Ball State University, he joined the firm in 1990. He has served as an architectural graduate, project architect, project manager and principal.
PGAV hired Andy Struckhoff as the new President of PGAV Planners, LLC, the firm’s fast-growing urban planning practice subsidiary. He formerly served as Vice President of the community planning, urban design, and economic development firm.
Husqvarna Launches Two-Year Warranty Program
Charlotte, N.C.—Husqvarna Group, a manufacturer of outdoor power equipment products, launched a comprehensive two-year warranty program designed to provide extended protection for equipment used by commercial green space and tree care professionals. The two-year warranty is a significant benefit for professional chainsaw customers, as the coverage is the longest commercial warranty in the market. Additionally for commercial zero-turn mowers and stand-on mowers, the first two years of ownership will be covered under warranty with no hour limitations on usage. For more information, visit https://www.husqvarnagroup.com/.
Tee-2-Green Introduces Prestige Premium Bentgrass Variety
HUBBARD, Ore.—Tee-2-Green, a grower-owned seed supplier with warehouses in Oregon and on the East Coast, introduces Prestige, their latest bentgrass offering. This product is a blend of the company’s highest performing bentgrasses, a combination of Pure Distinction and Pure Select.
This blend provides tour-quality surfaces on day in and day out, even in the harshest climates. It is ideal for greens, collars, and approaches. It can be seeded in a new green or interseeded for a dense, upright, and aggressive growth.
For more information, visit https://www.tee-2-green.com/.
Park Ranger Shares Life In The Wilderness
From Gettysberg to Denali, Tom Habecker has seen the best and strangest things national parks have to offer. In a new memoir, Send a Ranger: My Life Serving the National Parks offers a glimpse of a ranger's exciting life, from raising kids in the wilderness to daring medical rescues.
Habecker began his 32-year career with the National Park Service as a student intern at Gettysburg National Military Park while earning a degree in park administration at Penn State University. The book details his progression from novice to journeyman park ranger, working in Yosemite, Glacier, and Denali National Parks.
The book is full of exciting adventures, including search and rescue incidents, criminal investigations, grizzly bear maulings, backcountry horse patrols, darting and trapping problem bears, providing advanced emergency medical care, firefighting, winter survival, flying in aircraft in mountainous terrain, living in the Alaska wilderness and much more. These accounts are enhanced by verbatim entries from Tom’s daily journals. Written in an informal and sometimes humorous style, the book details the evolution of training, technology, and skills that today’s park rangers must have to perform their challenging job.
Purchase on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and many other online bookstores.
Best Wishes To George Toma
The Sports Field Management Association (SFMA) honored and celebrated George Toma’s life, career, and legacy as he retired earlier this year. Born in 1929, Toma has spent over seven decades working in the industry, and his expertise and dedication have earned him a reputation as the “Sultan of Sod.”
Toma was a mentor to many aspiring sports field managers, and helped to train and develop the next generation of sports field management professionals. Perfectionism and hard work are not only the way he approaches his work, but it’s also what he expects of those who work with him.
Toma was a key leader in the infancy of the SFMA. He served as a mentor for many in the sports field management industry. He always emphasized the importance of the entire crew in effective field management. His legacy will continue to inspire the profession for years to come.