In my last column, I focused on talking about how engineered plumbing systems were at a crossroads. This month, I would like to discuss some of the emerging trends in plumbing science.

Often early equipment room planning focuses on the larger electrical and mechanical room components, but it is important not to overlook plumbing and fire protection needs.

Meet PM Engineer’s 2023 Plumbing Engineer of the Year, Kelvin Kennedy, who has been in the plumbing engineering industry for 38 years. Have one conversation with him and his passion for plumbing engineering shines through.

As design professionals, our first and primary obligation is the protection of public health, safety and welfare above all other concerns.

“Should we wait for lab planning to identify the plumbing fixtures and equipment before getting involved to save time and budget?” or “Should I get involved early on during the program development?”

While many non-plumbing design professionals think plumbing engineering isn’t particularly difficult, real-world data and the latest developments say otherwise.

With people in our industry moving around, it is not uncommon to run into plumbing contractors and installers that are not well-versed with the code for the state in which they just moved to.

Regardless of our position in an organization or profession, we all have obligations and responsibilities to the career that we have chosen.

Plumbing systems engineering and design are better with group collaboration. I was in the U.S. Navy, and the Seabee’s motto is, “Construimus, Batuimus,” which means “We Build, We Fight.” We are trained to fight and defend what we build.

As an engineering manager, I have a responsibility to maintain a high level of quality in our “product.” But it’s my opinion that consulting engineers don’t really have a product. You might counter with — drawings and specifications are our product, are they not? Yes and no. Allow me to explain.