This coming year SMACNA’s popular Chapter Education Program has a new lineup of seven exciting new courses, for a total of 10 educational programs.

SMACNA’s chapter education program enables SMACNA chapters to bring high caliber education seminars to their members so they don’t have to spend time traveling to distant locations.

Funding is limited, so chapters are encouraged to select a program or two and submit their requests by Jan. 14, 2005.

The following are brief descriptions of the 2005 courses. For more details or to request a program, complete the request form located on SMACNA’s Web site or contact Bridgette Bienacker, director, business management and membership, at bbienacker@smacna.org or call (703) 803-2987.

The new courses for 2005 are:

Service Managers Training Program The program covers five key areas – communication skills, financial, safety, operations, and marketing.

Advanced Sheet Metal Estimating This program will help estimators to think differently about the estimating process, and how to approach each opportunity realistically.

Residential Retrofit and Service Operations Management Program Discover what it takes to run a successful residential service and retrofit HVAC business by exploring the sales and marketing strategies and tactics, the financial aspects, and the people and production side of this business.

Strategic Planning for Your Closely Held Business In this program you will learn how to differentiate your product and service in the marketplace, enabling you to achieve a higher gross profit.

The Top Ten Ways to Prevent Major Screw-Ups This course identifies barriers to a smooth and timely flow of the construction project and provides solutions to problems which arise between the owner/architect, construction manager, general contractor and subcontractor.

Leadership and Managing Performance Participants will examine the key factors in performance management, practice re-directional coaching sessions with their employees and will construct their own strategic plan for use at their workplace.

Marketing/Sales Overview: How to Get More than Just “Your Share” of Your Market This full-day session covers: marketing/sales process – what it takes to develop and win good work; targeting; lead-finding; intelligence gathering; branding and firm visibility; capture planning; client cultivation; selling by benefits in all marketing and sales communication.

Courses back by popular demand from the 2004 schedule are:

Successful Design-Build Project Delivery This seminar will help a contracting firm identify design-build proposals; the design and performance risks associated with these projects and suggest strategies for effectively dealing with those risks.

Basic Sheet Metal Estimating This eight-hour program covers the eleven steps in preparing an estimate, examines installation drawings and discusses the take-off process. Includes a hands-on exercise of preparing an actual estimate using sample drawings, notes and bid preparation materials.

High Performance Program With all the challenges of today’s competitive market, SMACNA contractors must constantly improve their company and its management systems. In 2003, SMACNA introduced the High-Performing Contractor (HPC) Assessment model to help contractors maintain a competitive edge. The HPC model and process is designed to give contractors a vision of high-performing contracting and a pathway to achieve it. This four-hour session introduces the HPC model and assessment criteria and prepares a company leader to conduct a HPC assessment.