The school year is in full swing here in Cincinnati and all three of my daughters have different extracurricular activities they partake in. This fall, that equates to divide and conquer for my wife and me 4 nights of the week for practices then the weekends are also separate and conquer, but mainly on Saturday. This eats away at times we would typically use at home to get some walking in or even just generally getting stuff done. This schedule combined with working earlier has caused me to lose almost all workout desire. That is until I got to the first practice my oldest had which just happens to be held on my alma mater’s campus and is right next to Nippert Stadium.
When we arrived I noticed most parents were just hunkered down in their cars and watching movies or doom scrolling social media. I try to avoid doing that for 90 minutes straight if I can and so far I have. I started hitting the stairs at the University of Cincinnati’s Nippert Stadium with my 35-pound ruck on my back. While my goal is to be able to complete the standard they have for their 9/11 memorial event I also want to get back into the shape I was in when I did back-to-back GORUCK events and could crank out burpees without crying on the outside. After going up one column of stairs from the field to the concourse level I go across and down the next set until I have done every column of stairs that go from the concourse to the area directly. For their event, I have to complete two laps which will equate to the number of steps within one of the towers.
So to train, I started with seeing how many sets I could do without feeling like I was going to not be able to reach the top and walk to the car. Surprisingly, I was able to get about half of the stadium done. Then I still had another hour to kill, so I hydrated a bit and rucked on over to the track/soccer field where I could walk the track and watch co-ed intramural flag football games while I did laps. Finally, I threw in some ruck PT exercises as a cool down and ended back at the building her practice was in. When I got to work the next day I felt like I got beat with a sack of oranges from my waist down. Then, on Thursday the thought crossed my mind as I hadn’t slept much the night before to just relax, then I had a buddy ask if he could come do stairs with me, and so we did it again Thursday night.
So from now until the end of the school year, I will more than likely be rucking on or around UC’s campus and Nippert Stadium to ensure I get back into a reasonable condition without having to lose more time with my family. This isn’t always easy and doesn’t come without pain. That pain though comes with added energy and increases in my mental position as well, so I am open to more things.
The same thing can be said about an industrial compressed air system. If you just trudge through every day and don’t look at any part of your facility, it is going to cause some pain when you first start to look at it. The first step is to acknowledge that something needs to change, and you have to have that finished goal of more capacity and capability available. The best place to start on your compressed air system is at the start with mapping out the system and getting a base measurement of where you are at for consumption.. This is the first step in our 6 steps of compressed air optimization, and we can help with every step along the way, You just have to reach out to us, your accountability partner for efficient compressed air.
I’ve blogged in the past about how one of my favorite things to do is to get out of my comfort zone and over the past year, that has been a struggle for me physically. I’ve slacked off on my rucking and event participation and continued to grow my knowledge level. That’s started to weigh on me over the past few months, so I began to change it. In all honesty, I was okay with being meh. That’s not okay, and I started changing it, how you might ask? It all started with my friends and my daughters.
Not a shabby pace for 35-pound ruck and second ruck back at it.
Rather than trying to do a 180 and completely disrupt my relaxed style, I took the approach of 5mm changes over time. That’s right, I am in the US and I just used the metric system as my primary measurement. So what does this look like, well first it started with less sitting and more standing. Even when at work, I try to stand most of the day at my desk, I’m grateful I have the means to do so through a standing desk. Then, rather than just hanging out while my kids are at their practices, I’ve taken that time to start rucking or at the very least walking/volunteering and working. These are different movements that I didn’t have over the past several months, and it’s honestly been 5mm changes and I can already feel the improvements in my sleep, and my energy throughout the day. The best part is, I can really relate this to being a great approach to an industrial compressed air system as well.
Over time a system can age, efficiencies lower, leaks start to form, equipment wears down or gets built up on it and starts to require more maintenance. Just like my personal journey, we can easily get these back on track by making small 5mm changes in our daily operations. We don’t have to completely gut and revamp a compressed air system or just throw more compressors at the system to fix it. We can follow the Six Steps to Compressed Air Optimization and work towards a renewed system.
Processes lead to continuous improvement.
The first point is to get a baseline, find out where you are, and then go from there. This is easily done with Digital Flowmeters w/ Wireless Capabilities. Then, rather than trying to change an entire facility, focus on one spot, one line, or even one machine. Then start to evaluate that specific point for leaks, and open blowoffs. Fixing just this one machine by reducing leaks, and replacing open blowoffs can begin to shift the efficiency within the system and drive the desire to do more. This return will also generally give the system the ability to handle expansion to other new lines as well.
Keep in mind, it doesn’t have to be a drastic change or complete teardown and rebuild. It should start with a baseline and then perform small changes from there, so the data can be collected and return can be measured to justify the means. We outline this process and do everything we can to offer items needed for each step of the process to ensure you have one single contact along the process, an EXAIR Application Engineer.
If you want to discuss further how we can help you keep ticking away at these 5mm changes within your system, please contact us.
A few weeks ago I participated in a series of three events that spanned the course of three days. Each of these events was through a company called GORUCK which manufactures American made gear and conducts endurance events led by Special Forces Cadre that use some of the training methods they have experienced throughout their career in the armed forces. GORUCK also works alongside service projects that help to better and empower veterans as well as their communities. I believe this tag from their page says it best. “So, yes we build gear. Yes, we lead events, build teams, and strengthen communities. But only because if we didn’t, we’d have to find some other way to change the world, one day at a time.” (GORUCK,2020)
Our custom team weight, weighing in at 25 lbs. Commemorating the battle of A Shau Valley
Our custom team weight weighing in at 25 lbs and commemorating the battle for A Shau Valley
The events that weekend were to commemorate and tell the story of a battle from Vietnam, specifically the battles for A Shau Valley. This is where the battle that became known as Hamburger Hill took place. The valley was an unforgiving place that came with many disadvantages to try and overtake. For example, the elevation goes from 2,000 feet above sea level in the valley to 5,000 ft and anywhere in between thanks to the surrounding mountain ridges.
The valley is also a triple canopy jungle making air support and recon extremely difficult. This valley was a supply chain during the war and there is still turmoil as to whether the battles were necessary as there were many lives lost and several other options that would have achieved a similar supply chain disruption. In the end, there were 17 Americans involved in a battle with a constantly changing number of support forces. 100% of the soldiers became casualties, 5 paid the ultimate sacrifice during the battle and there were 2 Congressional Medals of Honor given due to actions during the battle for Hamburger Hill.
Taking roll call and getting the lay of the land for the event.
To learn all of this we started out Friday evening at 2100 hr. in a park here in Cincinnati, on a basketball court. There were 23 of us total participating in the event as well as Cadre Steve our leader and then a great friend of mine who shadowed and photographed a great portion of the events. After some administration, we did a quick warmup where we quickly learned what it meant to be in sync and to move as a team. When doing physical exercises, in the dark, with 23 people from all walks of life and varying physical ability it can get interesting. With a team leader assigned by the Cadre, we made around a 1-mile movement as a group carrying with us an American Flag, GORUCK flag, six empty sandbags, and a team weight that weighed in at 25 lbs.
The movement was to a public sand volleyball court where the sandbags quickly went from empty to filled. Thus adding around 650 lbs of extra weight to the team. Each movement, from the point we stepped off to filling the bags became a task as we had to stay within a certain distance of each other, everyone wanted to go different speeds and the urban terrain was an added obstacle. Adding in the weight and suddenly the team will quickly realize how important communication as well as cooperative work and supporting one another is.
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We then moved to a small secluded area where the Cadre had done some excellent recon to locate a downed communication device that needed relocation. This was a downed telephone pole that we are estimating weighed in at well over 300 lbs and was around 20′ long. 6 people were assigned from the team to carry that and continued our movement to another park within the city limits that had no easy way to reach other than up and over several of the hills our great city offers. Around 5 miles later and 5 hours later we reached our destination to get some more history on the events that took place during the war.
Along the way, our tactics for the weight continued to vary and we eventually placed 9 people tripping over each other on the heavy communication device, then an additional six on the sandbags, two people on flags, one on the team weight, and the rest just falling in line. By the time we got to the park, everyone on the team had become exhausted, some believed they were carrying more of the load than others, people carrying sandbags would want to not carry weight and have to go under the log then back to a sandbag all because communications were breaking down and the team was beginning to fray at the seams.
At some point it is human nature to look outside rather than inside and begin to focus on what others aren’t doing rather than what you can personally do in order to improve the situation of everyone. The rhythm that the team had been keeping broke down with mental and physical fatigue. Once we had received some more knowledge on the battles the Cadre asked how we were doing and what could be done better. We gave the team leader at each of these sessions three items they did well and three items to improve on then they are removed from their position and another is placed before the next movement. This also helps those that were leaders to understand their importance when placed in a support role.
At this stop, we were able to pay out through exercises leaving the communications pole at a safe location and have a better understanding of how to better move as a team and be congruent even in the middle of the night. We were able to move faster and get to the last stopping point for more education then off to where we started everything at to finish out the event. From this point on we had constant communication, we were working fluidly as a team and everyone from the front to the back of the pack was in the know of what our goal was, our time, and what was needed to get there.
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During these events, every single person gets to fight their own minds and questions whether or not they are being an asset to the team or being a liability. It is when you are feeling weak, have pain, see others not struggling, or just get tired that this simple question can become devastating. That’s when everyone has to be willing to communicate and expose their weakness to their team in order for their team to support and help them overcome these internal hurdles. Not everyone gets there and not everyone can overcome. The team as a whole will grow closer and become far more effective if the members all experience this.
Experiencing this throughout the course of the night and seeing the kinds of opportunities that the team here at EXAIR has made possible for me to grow goes hand in hand. When someone here has not experienced an application, or we are weak within a certain area of knowledge or ability, the rest of the team will support, strengthen and ensure everyone makes it through. This is one reason that communication will always be one of the most important traits I can find in a team member. It is also one reason EXAIR continues to progress and continue forward even through trying times.
We communicate from the front all the way to the back of the building fluently and concisely. When something doesn’t happen then we know there is a problem and rather than focusing on blame or what went wrong the teams here all focus on the solution and then we can debrief once the issue is resolved. This leads to on-time and shipping accuracy percentages that continue to improve over the past decade. We place our team’s focus on being able to take care of our customers, give them a safe and efficient way to utilize compressed air and be easy to do business with throughout the entire process.
If you would like to discuss any compressed air application you may have or if you would like to discuss an interaction that you have had with us and share anything good or bad, please feel free to contact me directly.
Last week I was on vacation with my wife’s family. We had the good fortune of going to Lake Norman, NC and renting a house for everyone to stay in. While vacation was on a lake and we all had a boat load of fun (mainly because we had a pontoon boat for a week). Work still needed to get done. This wasn’t work from the Application Engineering position here at EXAIR. This work was physically more difficult.
Lake Norman Cove
This was training for an event I will be doing hopefully within the next year. I’ve been attending a Tuesday morning workout for the past six months or so with two other men, who are both Marine veterans and I thank them for their service. This work we put in on Tuesday morning and a few other random times throughout the week is all for the same events. The events are put on by a company called GORUCK. (Yes, just like EXAIR, it is all CAPS all the time, one word.) These events are classified as endurance events and are lead by either an active or retired Special Forces cadre. There are different versions but they are all heald to the same standard for participants. Put in the work, rely on your team, and everyone will get through it together.
At most of the events very few people know each other that well. This makes forming a team within the few hours you are together very difficult. That is until you are under a time hack when everyone has their weighted ruck on their back, you have a few hundred extra pounds of sand bags to carry and because it is fun to watch the Cadre gives you a casualty that now has to be buddy carried. The main focus is to get people of all walks of life, all abilities, all physical aptitudes to come together, build into one another, and make sure everyone is at the end getting a patch to wear on their ruck.
Deck of Cards & Stairs
Glistening!
This is why, on every Tuesday I try to put in some hard work mixed in with a lot of stairs. While I was on vacation and could have easily let that weekly training go, I didn’t. Instead I got out a deck of cards for the number of reps to each exercise, grabbed a 60 lbs and 40 lb sandbag and went to the tallest section of stairs we had close by, the dock stairs.
While going through the exercises, panting and glistening (for those that don’t know that’s the fancy word for seriously sweating), my youngest daughter came down to “help” me workout. The look on her face was at first confusion, then after a brief talk and explaining I am trying to better myself by doing this, she switched to full on support.
Burpees have never felt so good until you have a 4 year old cheering you on. Once I was done with all of my reps and had made over 6 trips up and down the steps with the 60 lb. sandbag I carried my sandbags and followed her in to the house for some well deserved breakfast.
This work could have been easily pushed to the side and not completed. Instead, I embraced it and did it. I was going to do the work even if anyone wasn’t watching because I want to better myself so that I may better any team that I am part of.
This same level of dedication is put in to everything we do here at EXAIR. Customer service, production, assembly, product design, order entry, accounting, and marketing all dedicate to ensure that we fill the needs of our customers because we want to become a strong part of their team. Whether it means digging deeper on testing a product in order to get some data at different operating pressure, or creating a 100% custom product that we have never manufactured before, we dedicate to the customer and ensure that all possibilities are exhausted so that the customer and EXAIR can both succeed.
If you have any questions about how EXAIR can help your team to reduce compressed air consumption, increase plant efficiency, and save energy through compressed air usage, please contact us.
