Green Builder Media CEO Sara Gutterman talks with IAPMO executive vice president John Watson about how standards development, testing and certification give builders confidence in emerging plumbing technologies. Watson explains why water efficiency, water reuse and water quality are the industry's next frontier.
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Sara Gutterman: It began with. Hi, I'm Sarah Gutterman, I'm CEO of Green Builder Media, and I'm here today with John Watson, the executive vice president of AI at Mo. Hi there. John.
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John Watson: Hi, Sarah. How are you?
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Sara Gutterman: Great. How are you?
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John Watson: Looking forward to this interview.
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Sara Gutterman: Wonderful. So, John, the intersection of sustainability and affordability is really a challenge that a lot of home builders are facing today. And therefore home buyers are as well. How do you see this all unfolding for new construction?
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John Watson: Well, I think it's actually a pretty exciting time because, it really is starting to marry the whole practical piece of what we can do. Given the new technology we have, to actually help build more sustainable buildings that are better performing, and actually saving the clients money because you can take something. I'll use an example like the water demand calculator, where we're able to actually downsize piping given the water that's to be used.
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John Watson: And because we're smaller sizing and piping, it's more affordable, but it also performs better. So that's just one piece of many examples that I could give you on how that intersection is really coming together in my opinion. Very nice.
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Sara Gutterman: So you talked about the water demand calculator, which I think is an incredibly compelling tool and very useful for builders. When I was as I atmo doing to help builders again really, kind of solve for sustainability and attain ability to do a.
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John Watson: Very good question and we again try to marry that piece of technology to practicality, if you will, in terms of, how we can testing justify that that product meets the claims, that it needs to. So there are ways to do that. There are existing standards that exist which we can test and certify products to. And if a client comes up with a new technology, we can help them create a standard to develop that performance criteria and then test and certify to that particular standard.
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John Watson: So in other words, we sort of take the guesswork out of it for the inspector aspect or for the safety aspect of it, because we're using a mark that will tell someone that that product has been independently tested, been certified to those claims, and actually does perform. It does provide a health and safety benefit because it's a safe thought.
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Sara Gutterman: So that's a nice dovetail into my next question, which is codes and regulations and standards are very hard to navigate. How does AI atmo help builders and developers and building professionals navigate through various different codes and standards?
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John Watson: But oh well, you can certainly learn a lot about that from our website, but I would encourage all of those entities to get involved in the process. That is actually the best way to learn about it. But that's okay if you don't want to dive in and learn it, because I atmo has many experts in this area and we lead a lot of these initiatives.
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John Watson: So if you ever have a question, we're available to reach out as an organization. We certainly are tuned in to a lot of different, partnerships that we have with trade organizations that learn about these new technologies and then try to advance technology by writing the standards or participate in the working groups that develop the standards.
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John Watson: So at the end of the day, it's all about collaboration. It's about bringing the industry together and we recognize that everyone is busy and that folks are going to have passions about one thing versus another. So if somebody is really passionate about something, I we definitely encourage them to get involved. But if they're not and they just don't have the time, certainly reach out to AI atmo to share your thoughts.
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John Watson: And we can make sure that those thoughts are captured and put into the standard so that we capture what those necessary requirements are.
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Sara Gutterman: That's interesting. I like how you're encouraging building professionals to really get involved, because they can't really have a voice unless you have a seat at the table.
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John Watson: Correct.
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Sara Gutterman: So to speak. So that makes a lot of sense. So.
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John Watson: Well.
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Sara Gutterman: As you know, we build our media. We've been around for about 20 years. And I can say honestly that I've never been as excited about what's happening in the industry right now in terms of innovation and transformation and the nexus between innovation and sustainability. But what we're also seeing is that, you know, building professionals have to have a certain level of trust and confidence in emerging technologies in order to adopt them.
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Sara Gutterman: So what is AI atmo doing to help building professionals really gain that trust and confidence in some of these new and emerging technologies?
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John Watson: Another really good question, and what we can do and what we do on a daily basis is we again, it will help craft standards. When new technologies come out. Because if you think about it, right, it's a bit of a vicious cycle. The code doesn't want to put something in as a requirement until it's sort of been proven and tested.
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John Watson: Right. But you can't get something proven and tested until there's a standard on it. So it becomes this circular problem that until somebody starts with something, you can't advance that technology. So what I, Atmel can do is help craft those requirements and set that standard so that then that product can be tested and certified. And as an accredited independent third party, our mark of approval or our seal of approval, if you will, gives inspectors, consumers, the industry at large, this benefit that somebody has actually looked at this and suggested, tested and looked at it to say it is a proven technology and it's safe for my use.
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Sara Gutterman: To be interesting. So there's been a lot of focus on energy related codes and regulations and standards. How do we ensure that water codes and standards stay top of mind in the green building discussion? Because obviously they are so important. Water is kind of the next frontier of what we need to solve. Superpower. So so what I am doing to ensure and this what are your your tips and tricks and hacks for, ensuring that that water really remains top of mind.
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John Watson: Sure. So excellent point, because I think the recent information suggests that there's about 40% of the US that's going to be in a drought here in India either now or in the coming years. So it's definitely something that needs to be kept on top of my, but in reality, there's a natural sort of collaboration between water and energy, because you, you have to pump water to get it to where it's at.
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John Watson: So that actually is on the forefront of a lot of folks mind. However, I will recognize that having some background in this green space, I believe a lot of the folks that deal in water would suggest to you that water kind of takes second fiddle to energy. And again, the water folks are trying to, help, not just I atmo, but a lot of manufacturers that produce water consuming products believe that there's more advancement that can be done.
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John Watson: With regards to water, using water efficiently, using clean, safe water, and emerging those technologies like water reuse, and things like that. So from my utmost perspective, we have a document known as the UV Water Efficiency We Stand document that is a if you will. It's an opportunity for us to supplement the code with good ideas and things that justify that are justified in work, without folks having to take a chance on.
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John Watson: Gee, is this is this a gimmick or is it really going to work?
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Sara Gutterman: You know, now, I believe that we are in a yes and a moment in time where we need radical collaboration between all kinds of entities if we're going to hit our sustainability goals or climate goals. So how is I, Atma working with builders and developers to really help facilitate and enable more sustainable communities?
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John Watson: And well, what we're doing is we're again working with the industry at large to create standards or documents, in some cases, even guidance documents that explore a subject and based on our expertise and the expertise within the industry, because we partner with a lot of organizations to find the smartest folks to get the right answers. And then we work to collaborate and create a document for the betterment of the industry, not necessarily for the betterment of bioethanol, but for the betterment of the industry at large.
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John Watson: So we feel that if we help develop that leading and cutting edge and provide a safe environment for those products, it naturally just continues to grow. And I think we've seen some of that. When you think about how some of the standards have evolved and even how we stand has evolved, it certainly has a lot of traction.
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John Watson: And we think that it's an area that we need to continue to expand on because technology is growing. You know, not that many years ago, there was no such thing as a leak detection device. Or if it was, it was very sort of cryptic. And now we have the ability to control these things. And so now we have a standard for leak detection devices.
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John Watson: It's just amazing to watch how the industry embraces technology for good. And then the right organizations take that and try to help make that mainstream so that the world becomes all of the buildings that are constructed, become better, become more resilient, and can be a better product for not only the users, but in some cases, if it's a homeowner, for that, for that homeowner as well.
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Sara Gutterman: So what are some of the water related innovations or trends that you're watching?
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John Watson: Oh my goodness. How long have we gone for this interview? Well, there's an awful lot cert. Certainly water quality is one that is top of mind. I think for most people. We as an industry, I think have done a really, really good job of making water efficiency top of mind. So I'm not going to suggest we're completely done with that.
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John Watson: But there have been some unintended consequences that have come up as a result of this. And so now you're seeing water sit in pipes longer. And you have these bacteria that are starting to form, microbes that are starting to form. And so I think the current thought pattern is that the challenge is around water quality. Now, that's not that's only one of a big piece of the puzzle, right.
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John Watson: But we have to watch all of those things. So I think what we have to do is look at systemic approaches and continue to step one watch step, then watch. And I think organizations like I have more are well suited to do that. We have an industry research fund now that folks can contribute to and that will that money will then be used for additional research that we can look at some of these problem areas and be able to find solutions for that.