Rob McManamy

Chicago

Executive Editor at HPAC Engineering

Smart cities won't care where you went to school.

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Articles

Navigating Uncertainty, with Economist Richard Branch

2 weeks ago | hpac.com | Rob McManamy

At this time of extraordinary economic disruption, 'HPAC On The Air' welcomes back longtime industry analyst Richard Branch for his take on how design and construction firms can manage best in the face of a potential recession. Formerly the chief economist at Dodge Construction Network, Branch left that role in January. But he continues to monitor our industry's most relevant economic indicators, billing himself as the Free Agent Economist and publishing a free weekly newsletter for subscribers.
EPA Resets, Engineers Stay Focused, with Rob McManamy

1 month ago | hpac.com | Rob McManamy

In March, the Environmental Protection Agency announced plans to roll back more than 30 regulations and de-emphasize the monitoring of greenhouse gas emissions. Since our industry is already heavily invested in decarbonization, we spoke with a number of key engineering leaders to gauge their reaction. Here, in his latest Editor's Notes, Rob McManamy reports on what they told him. Click below to listen... #####For all episodes of HPAC Editor's Notes and HPAC On The Air, visit our archives here.
Protecting Your Business, with Nick Espinosa

1 month ago | hpac.com | Rob McManamy

As building operations become more and more automated, building engineers and project teams face ever-increasing cybersecurity challenges. Whether the client is a federal agency, a sports arena or a food processing plant, vulnerabilties continue to abound and evolve daily in the modern marketplace.
Breaking Barriers, Listening to Customers, with ABMA's Nancy Simoneau

2 months ago | hpac.com | Rob McManamy

This month, HPAC On The Air welcomes Nancy Simoneau, president of Groupe Simoneau, a 40-year-old Canadian boiler manufacturer based in Quebec, and the new Board Chair of the American Boiler Manufacturers Association (ABMA). In January, Ms. Simoneau became the first woman ever to attain that title with the 137-year-old trade group, as well as the first non-U.S.-based member to fill that role.
AHR Expo 2025: Scenes from the Second Day

Feb 12, 2025 | hpac.com | Rob McManamy

An industry reporter and editor since 1987, McManamy joined HPAC Engineering in September 2017, after three years with BuiltWorlds.com, a Chicago-based media startup focused on tech innovation in the built environment. He has been covering design and construction issues for more than 30 years, having started at Engineering News-Record (ENR) in New York, before becoming its Midwest Bureau Chief in 1990.
Panel Finds Industry in Uncertain State

Feb 12, 2025 | hpac.com | Rob McManamy

Given the ongoing pivot in federal leadership on so many relevant issues, it was hard not to feel the swirling mix of anxiety, optimism, and curiosity permeating the packed meeting space for AHR Expo's annual 'State of the Industry' panel on Tuesday. Some 250 attendees attended the one-hour session that featured insights from ASHRAE President M.
Digital Revolution Meets Customer Service

Feb 11, 2025 | hpac.com | Rob McManamy

AHR Expo's education sessions started Day 1 with a blockbuster, as Josh Crouch andTersh Blissett, the popular co-hosts of the 'Service Business Mastery' podcast, drew a standing-room-only crowd of roughly 150 attendees to their joint presentation. The topic? The Digital Revolution in HVAC: AI, Automation, and the Future of Customer Service. "How many people here are already using AI?" asked Blissett, cofounder of Small Business Automations, which he started alongside Crouch.
What's New? What's Next? Thought Leaders Speak

Jan 16, 2025 | hpac.com | Rob McManamy

In keeping with tradition and in preparation for the new year, we asked members of the HPAC Engineering Editorial Advisory Board and recent guests on our HPAC On The Air podcast for their views on what they expect to see from our industry in 2025. What follows are their edited responses... William P.
Divided Nation, Focused Industry

Nov 22, 2024 | hpac.com | Rob McManamy

"We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies."-- Abraham Lincoln’s first Inaugural Address, 1861. Since I live in Illinois, aka “The Land of Lincoln,” it’s hard for me not to think of Mr. Lincoln every November. After all, he delivered the iconic Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863, and that came just one week before the first official U.S. celebration of Thanksgiving. Of course, it was Lincoln, himself, who had made Thanksgiving a national holiday just a month prior.
Despite Angst, 2025 Forecast Still Bullish

Nov 21, 2024 | hpac.com | Rob McManamy

Even after an election occurs as seemingly momentous as the one the United States just went through this fall, economic forecasting models are still loathe to show any change due to current events. On the contrary, no matter what, the mathematical input that had been loading all year was still going to shape the highly anticipated annual forecast presented Nov. 14 by the Dodge Construction Network online via a webinar for hundreds of contractors, engineers and architects, etc.