Ron George loves to share his knowledge about the plumbing profession — knowledge he obtained through years of work experience, mentors he met along the way, and his active participation in various associations over the years.

Since starting his career in 1978, George has worked with more than 10 engineering firms across the country both on a contract and permanent basis. His industry memberships include the National Fire Protection Association, the Society of Fire Protection Engineers, and five chapters of the American Society of Plumbing Engineers (ASPE). 

George also helped develop Certified in Plumbing Engineering (now Certified in Plumbing Design) exam courses for two ASPE chapters, taught at five universities, and served on multiple plumbing code and standard committees. He’s worked on hospitals, universities, prisons, hotels, high-rise buildings, airports, medical research labs, sports stadiums, military projects, industrial projects, manufacturing projects, plumbing, piping and fire protection systems, and HVAC process systems. 

Today, as the president of his own company, Plumb-Tech Design & Consulting Services, his work involves pretty much anything involving hot water. 

He divides his time between forensic investigations — many of which involve scalding and Legionnaires’ Disease, fuel gas explosions, fires, carbon monoxide poisoning incidents, floods and compressed air explosions — plumbing system design, technical consulting and troubleshooting for several manufacturers, assisting manufacturers or his local code committee in developing and proposing code language, and serving on many plumbing code product standard committees. 

In addition to his professional career, George has spent many years giving back to the local communities where’s he resided, serving as a fire chief, local firefighter, medical first responder and emergency medical technician, and as a member of the Newport Firefighter’s Association. 

All that experience — and his willingness to learn the ins and outs of the trade — has resulted in an encyclopedic knowledge about plumbing design, which he’s readily shared with fellow professionals through his active involvement in ASPE, codes and standards bodies, and through his contributions to Plumbing Engineer and other trade publications.

In a column published in 2021, George noted that his inclination to learn from others has contributed to his successful career, adding that “most plumbing system design is learned on the job or through joining ASPE and participation in other industry organizations, by reading this magazine, reading the ASPE Plumbing Engineering Design handbooks and working with plumbing designers who mentored them.” (https://bit.ly/45DvqRU)

George has regularly provided commentary to our publication since 1994, and began writing columns around 2000, initially imparting his advice in the Classroom Column (originally called the Designers Column), before taking over as writer of the Code Column (currently called Code Classroom). By my estimates, he’s written more than 300 articles since he started contributing to Plumbing Engineer 29 years ago when Art Klein served as editor of the publication. 

I met Ron for the first time in 2020, when he came to Chicago to perform a forensics investigation. What I quickly learned from our conversation is that he is passionate about plumbing design and engineering and is eager to share his knowledge about the profession with anyone who wants more information on the topic. 

As Plumbing Engineer’s editor, I appreciate his enthusiasm to share this knowledge with fellow readers, and I know others do as well. 

During a recent conversation with John Koeller, PE, an avid reader of our publication, he noted: “I love Plumbing Engineer magazine. It’s the one I go through page by page and then I read Ron George’s articles. A lot of the columns and articles don’t concern me. It’s outside my area of interest or sphere of influence, but I go through each issue to see what’s there and what may interest me.”

It’s because of people’s willingness to share their knowledge with Plumbing Engineer that the magazine has thrived over the past 50 years. As we celebrate this milestone with our plumbing engineering community, I and the team at PHCPPros want to thank Ron for sharing his time and talent with our readership so they can absorb some of the knowledge he’s amassed over the years.

“Ron has been and continues to be a valued member of the PHCPPros editorial team,” notes Cate Brown, principal at PHCPPros. “His contributions throughout the years have helped make Plumbing Engineer the most important trade publication in the plumbing specifying market. We are incredibly grateful to Ron and congratulate him on his illustrious career!” 

Publisher Brad Burnside concurred: “Ron George has been an important editorial partner to Plumbing Engineer for almost 30 years. His extensive knowledge on codes brings such value to our subscribers each month. Not only is Ron a terrific industry professional, but truly a great person and friend. 

“Everyone here at Plumbing Engineer/PHCPPros can’t thank Ron enough for his loyalty and dedication to not only the magazine but to this incredible industry we all serve. Thanks, Ron — and here’s to many more years of educating and updating the industry.” 

Thank you, Ron George! We look forward to reading more of your insights in the pages of Plumbing Engineer!