This year is more than halfway over and Plumbing Manufacturers International (PMI) has already introduced new benefits to its members. Benefits include the PMI Market Outlook, Aspiring Leaders Program, and an e-learning initiative featuring two courses about codes and standards.

“These offerings add value to PMI membership and reflect our association’s commitment to finding new ways to help our members be successful,” said PMI CEO/Executive Director Kerry Stackpole.

The e-learning program was developed to make professional development more convenient and less expensive for both members and non-members wishing to participate. Part 1 is “A Primer on Standards, Regulations, Codes and Conformity Assessment,” and Part 2 is “Standards and Topics in Plumbing.”

“These courses were designed by PMI’s Technical Director Matt Sigler, with the assistance of our industry partners,” said PMI Education Manager Emilee Hughes. “They’re excellent, easy-to-use resources for both our members and others wishing to engage with PMI’s professional development.”

Introduced with a report on the first quarter of 2019, the PMI Market Outlook extends the value of PMI membership by providing the latest insights and information about the plumbing manufacturing industry. The goal of this quarterly report, developed in partnership with ITR Economics, is to provide PMI members with information that will contribute to greater success and profitability, Stackpole explained.

Formatted in an easy-to-read presentation style with charts and quick summaries, the members-only report makes it easy to find key information specific to a company’s business. The economic condition projections through 2021 described in the outlook are flagged by their phases in the current business cycle — A for recovery, B for accelerating growth, C for slowing growth and D for recession.

“Having economic research at their fingertips helps our members to adapt to the constant changes we have been seeing in the business landscape,” Stackpole remarked. “The recent tariffs, for example, have caused changes to supply chains and product distribution and will likely have an impact far into the future. Economic data also helps our members make their case to elected officials and regulators, who in turn can help improve economic conditions.”

PMI member companies have been invited to nominate promising professionals aspiring to leadership positions. These individuals will participate in PMI’s first-ever Aspiring Leaders Program, to be held on Nov. 4, the first day of the 2019 PMI Conference in St. Pete’s Beach, Florida, at the Dali Museum.

Hughes said the program will be designed to inspire participants to “to see and think differently, foster self-awareness and instill a growth mindset.”

Dr. Kim Macuare, education manager of the Dali’s Museum’s Innovation Labs, will employ the four-step FourSight framework — clarify, ideate, develop and implement — to identify each participant’s creative problem-solving preferences. Participants will receive a discount on PMI Conference registration, an invitation to exclusive events at the conference, and a book signed by multigenerational workplace expert and conference keynote speaker Lindsey Pollak, the author of the book, “The Remix: How to Lead and Succeed in the Multigenerational Workplace.”

More information is available at www.safeplumbing.com