Tag: training

You Have To Start Somewhere.

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

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.

Brian Farno
Application Engineer
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF

EXAIR Provides you with the Necessary Tools for Training

Published on by Tyler DanielLeave a comment

I recently participated in a spicy wing eating competition here in Cincinnati. A last-man-standing format where contestants were tasked with finishing a single wing in 30 seconds per round. As the rounds increased, so too did the heat level of the sauce the wing was tossed in. The GRAND PRIZE for the daring winner was quite a haul, a $50 gift card to a local wing joint. Why put yourself through this for the chance at winning a $50 gift card I was repeatedly asked. Who knows, maybe I’m crazy. But, anyone who knows me knows I love a good competition and I wasn’t going to go into this one unprepared. Training for the competition was going to be necessary if I wanted to stand a chance.

peach reaper queen of the wing
Peach Reaper Peppers – The Breakfast of Champions

Several weeks of putting myself through a hellacious bout of pain, misery, and indigestion by way of Ghost Peppers, Trinidad Scorpion Peppers, and Peach Reaper peppers from my garden, I felt like I was ready to go. I started off the morning of the competition with some Peach Reapers in my breakfast burrito (the hottest I had on hand). Through the sweat, tears, and pain (along with a few eye rolls from my wife) I felt as prepared as I could possibly be. Unfortunately, all of my training didn’t quite get me the win. But, a respectable 2nd place finish wasn’t a bad showing. I suppose I’ll have to step my game up for next year…

queen of the wing
Do note the usage of proper PPE during the competition…

At EXAIR, we’re committed to providing our customers with the tools necessary to train themselves, their customers, and their employees on the proper ways to use compressed air. From right here on the EXAIR Blog, our YouTube Channel, and the Knowledge Base on our website there’s a ton of valuable information out there for your use. Best of all? It’s Free!

Within our Knowledge Base, you’ll find case studies that highlight examples of applications where we’ve helped customers improve their processes, save money by reducing compressed air consumption, and help improve on worker safety. There’s a list of FAQs categorized by product line, a library of calculators to help estimate the savings you’ll experience, and a list of application examples.

In addition, we also have a library of previously recorded webinars that are free to view at your convenience. With topics such as “Intelligent Compressed Air Solutions for OSHA Compliance”, “Intelligent Solutions for Electrical Enclosure Cooling”, “Optimize Your Compressed Air System in 6 Simple Steps”, “Simple Steps for Big Savings”, and “Understanding Static Electricity” all of the tools are readily accessible to make sure you’re fully prepared and equipped to handle your compressed air system.

Don’t let these free resources go to waste and take the time to train yourself on the available solutions to Intelligent Compressed Air usage. I promise it’ll be a lot less painful than a steady diet of super hot chili peppers!

Don’t feel like we’re leaving you to figure everything out on your own. In addition to all of the resources available to you within the Knowledge Base, EXAIR has a team of highly-trained Application Engineers with experience in a wide variety of industries and processes. There’s a good chance one of us has dealt with the very same application and we’ll be happy to help point you in the right direction. Don’t wait, give us a call!

Tyler Daniel
Application Engineer
E_mail: TylerDaniel@EXAIR.com
Twitter: @EXAIR_TD

 

Watch EXAIR Webinars On-Demand

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

That’s right, just like your local cable or satellite TV provider, EXAIR offers On-Demand content that can be streamed and used for training, education, help with cost justification, or improve awareness around compressed air costs and safety.

The best part about this content is that you don’t have to pay for it, simply register on our website (where your information is not shared) and go to the Webinars section of our Knowledge Base.  Then gain access to the library of five webinars that have all been broadcast around compressed air safety, efficiency, and optimization.

EXAIR.com – Webinars On-Deman

The current On-Demand offering is listed below:

Intelligent Compressed Air Solutions for OSHA Compliance
Intelligent Solutions for Electrical Enclosure Cooling
Optimize Your Compressed Air System in 6 Simple Steps
Simple Steps for Big Savings
Understanding Static Electricity

The most recent webinar we created is currently only On-Demand for registered attendees and will soon be added to the Knowledge Base library.  If you did not get to see it live, the content was extremely helpful for anyone that works within a facility that uses compressed air.  Use This Not That – 4 Common Ways To Save Compressed Air In Your Plant, keep an eye out for the release date in our On-Demand section.

If you would like to discuss any of the webinar topics further, please feel free to reach out to an Application Engineer.

Brian Farno
Application Engineer
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF

Taking Yourself Out Of Your Comfort Zone

Published on by Brian FarnoLeave a comment

During the warmer Ohio weather months, April through October, my blog posts may include information about taking my motorcycle to some road course tracks (and now even a cold month or two).  I take my bike to open track days where (mostly) amateur riders can get on a proper race course. There are people on the track for the first time and people who race professionally.   They will generally divide the riders into several groups, Novice, Intermediate or Advanced.  The control riders/coaches at the track will help you to determine what group you should ride in and then help you throughout the day.   Below is a video of a control rider that is also a professional rider at Mid Ohio Sports Car Course.  (Don’t mind the music, it’s not my cup of tea either.)

For the novice group there are classes after each session, as well as skills practiced in every session.  This is to help teach the beginning track rider that the same habits you use on the street are not meant for the track, as well as how to be as safe as possible while being on the track.  This is the most watched and controlled group due to the fact it generally has the most riders and they are all the newest to the track.

For intermediate group there are optional classes and you just run your own pace.  They step up the skill level by not enforcing you to focus on a skill during each session or requiring you to go to a class after each session of the day.  The pace is considerably faster than novice and the only ways to get instruction are to either ask a control rider for it or if they see something to help you with they will generally stop you and coach you on how to do it better.

The final group is advanced, or race class.  This has the same elements as a professional race minus the grid at start-up.   There aren’t really any passing rules and the control riders are mainly all professional racers or former racers who can still make your head spin as they fly past you.  Similar to the intermediate group the only way you will get help is to ask for it.

For the past two years I have been running in the intermediate group and it is a serious meat grinder.  You will have people in there that are fast enough to be in advanced group, but are too scared.  As well as having people who let their ego and pride tell them they don’t need to learn anything from a novice class and should really be in novice learning as much as they can.  I stayed in Novice for over the first year of track riding that I had done.   Some people choose to never leave the novice group because that is exactly where they are comfortable.  They don’t want to worry about the other classes and are perfectly fine with not even being the fastest person in Novice.  This is perfectly acceptable for some, but I had to push myself out of my comfort zone in order to really enjoy the entire experience.  Even though I have been to the track several times now I am always out of my comfort zone in intermediate because there are always new people showing up and you never know when you will running with a group that should be racing, or a group that should be getting coached in novice.

Here at EXAIR we have customers that could fit into each of these groups also.   The customer who doesn’t know what an engineered solution is and doesn’t understand the cost of compressed air.  The intermediate user who has used some of our products in the past but is encountering new issues and knows that we can help lead them in the right direction.  As well as the advanced users who know exactly what they need and sometimes even request a special unit to fit their exact needs.

No matter the case, we can help as well as coach even the most advanced users of our products on how to use compressed air better.  If you are reading this and you don’t know the difference between a Super Air Nozzle and an open pipe, then give us a call.  We will help teach you the differences as well as make sure you understand the need for engineered solutions on your compressed air system.  It may be out of your comfort zone for the first few calls but we will make sure you get to the level you want to be so you get back into your comfort zone.

Brian Farno
Advanced Application Engineer
BrianFarno@EXAIR.com
@EXAIR_BF