The Evolution Of A Trades Men

Introduction

I began my career in construction at around the age of fourteen, prior to graduating high school. I started as a part-time apprentice for whoever was hiring, where I was given the opportunity to gain skills in carpentry, plumbing and electrical works. After graduating high school, from the fall of 2002 through the summer of 2007, I worked as a full-time electrician with a number of Staten Island contractors, those that standout is Bryur Electric, Catello Electric and TopShelf Electric. The responsibilities and tasks surrounding the installation of electrical circuits and devices in residential homes and commercial buildings, with 35% of my work being fire alarm repair and retrofit installations. Throughout this period, I dedicated much of my time to career development, attending training seminars and classes, which focused on the electrical trade. A fundamental milestone in my career occurred in 2006, when I became a journeyman managing projects and leading teams of up to five electricians, on up to three projects simultaneously.

In April of 2007, I was hired by a refrigeration and mechanical contractor, Arista Air Conditioning out of Long Island City, where I was responsible for the maintenance, repair and installation of hvac equipment and specialized in refrigeration start-up and the wiring of controls in refrigeration mechanical systems. Already having a strong electrical and controls background, I shifted my focus to hvac and refrigeration training courses and seminars, to continue to develop professionally with the goal of mastering this new trade. Arista was dedicated to training their team. After one year, I began leading projects directing teams of up to six men, all of which were responsible for installing controls for the startup of large hvac systems such as Mitsubishi Citi Multi, Daikin Fujitsu and other multi-zone systems or Variable Refrigerant Flow/Volume Systems, as well as troubleshooting, repair, and maintenance throughout the extreme weather seasons.

In 2007, I was introduced to Direct Digital Controls or building automation, which provided 24/7 remote control monitoring and alarm access. These systems were largely found in franchised retail stores, such as Modell’s Sporting Goods, GAP and Banana Republic, as well as large university campuses, such as New York University, well-known buildings, such as 30 Rockefeller Centre and high-end residential homes. DDC is a state of the art, computer generated control system, with a custom operating software that runs in a programmable logic controller, making it possible to connect a laptop to control equipment to make changes to set points, view alarms and trends and access energy use analytics. The creation and utilization of the DDC technology eliminated 30% of the large relays and temperature gauges that I spent years learning and installing.

In about the winter of 2011, I was hired by an Automated Controls Contractor, as a System Specialist for Automated Logic out of Clifton, New Jersey, redirecting my focus from mechanical controls to automated controls, solely installing building automation systems, and learning the technology and by 2015, I earned certification to install multiple PLC systems, architecture, and protocols. In three short years, I obtained the knowledge necessary to customize operating software designs and programmable custom logic, as well as gained network design wiring and infrastructure experience with different network protocols and set ups. With my previous electrical and mechanical experience, combined with this newly acquired knowledge, I was hired by a small contractor 8760inc out of Manhattan in 2013, and given the title Project Engineer. Throughout my duration working as a Lead System Specialist for ALC, and as a Project Engineer for 8760inc, I led multiple teams across the United States in completing projects in the Google Building in NYC, 30 Rockefeller Centre (top sixteen floors), A&E Building, as well as over 120 CitiBank locations.

In 2015, NYC pledged to reduce greenhouse gases and energy use, with the goal of achieving an 80% economy-wide reduction in overall NYC emissions by the year 2050 (covering both city and private sector operations). Using fiscal year 2006 as a baseline for city government operations, the goal was to achieve a 40% emissions reduction for city operations by the year 2025 and 50% by the year 2030. These goals initiated the implementation of the 2019 Climate Mobilization Act, which intended to accelerate progress towards 80x50 by installing solar photovoltaic and battery systems in city buildings to utilize renewable energy and energy storage. The Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) is the property manager for New York, owning, maintaining, and operating over fifty-two properties, including the courthouses and municipal buildings of NYC. Furthermore, the DCAS obtains responsibilities pertaining to the office of the Mayor, including managing the city’s budget, civil service exams, civil service titles, lists and many other special projects. With the city’s commitment to leading the way in its own buildings, DCAS obtained the responsibility of managing utility matters for the city, focusing their work to six major areas of NYC including energy supply, clean energy generation, demand response and load management, energy-efficient operations and maintenance, energy efficient retrofit projects and energy training and innovation.

As a result, DCAS coordinated a team called the Maintenance Collaborative, which was funded by the federal government through the Department of Energy. The Maintenance Collaborative was a group of tradesmen responsible for the implementation of retro-commissioning and electro commissioning measures, focusing on upgrading and repairing systems where necessary to reach the goals laid out in the city’s reduction pledge. It is to my understanding that this agency was created within DCAS, to distribute funds accordingly and to help other agencies participate and succeed in this program and mutual goal of energy and ghg reduction.

On September 11th, 2015, I interviewed for the Controls System Specialist position with the Director of the Maintenance Collaborative Team, who was a Senior Stationary Engineer, as well as the Supervisor of Thermostat Repairers, but not a member of the Maintenance Collaborative Team. Throughout the interview, I was asked questions pertaining to the installation and troubleshooting of direct digital controls, variable frequency drives and other equipment of no make or model, but just in general knowledge. Additionally, numerous questions were asked surrounding hvac sequence of operations of various equipment, refrigeration, and temperature transfer.

My tentative start date for the position Thermostat Repairer is December 15th, 2015, at The New York City, Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS)

As described by my interviewer, the description of the position included becoming a member of the Maintenance Collaborative Team under the direct supervision of the Supervisor of Thermostat Repairers, with the given the tasks of repairing, installing, and maintaining direct digital controls and hvac equipment, including variable frequency drives, dampers, valves and other automated control accessories and equipment. This would require strong background knowledge surrounding retrofitting existing hardwired and pneumatic control systems, with a design build construction approach for hvac systems, as well as knowledge in PLC software troubleshooting, modification, networking, front-end graphical interface design and controls integration experience with both new and existing computerized controls. Having acquired extensive experience specializing in the installation and repair of low voltage controls, local hardwired hvac control systems, remote-controlled monitored computerized automation systems, upgrading existing systems, commissioning, troubleshooting and repair, I was hired and started working at the Department of Citywide Administrative Services, with the title of Controls System Specialist, in December of 2015.