Achim Hering
| Achim Hering | |
|---|---|
 achim_05_june_2020a.jpg Achim Hering | |
| Native name | Achim Hering |
| Born | Germany |
| 🏡 Residence | Canada |
| 🏳️ Nationality | Canadian |
| Other names | Kim |
| 🏫 Education | Fire Protection Expert (Brandschutzfachkraft) – Gütegemeinschaft Brandschutz im Ausbau, Cologne, Germany, Counsellor Selling Certificate - Wilson Learning, Toronto, ON, Fire Protection Technician Certificate - PS Brandschutz GmbH, Bissendorf, Germany, Canadian High School Diploma |
| 💼 Occupation | |
Early Life
Achim Hering was born in Germany into what he refers to as a "crib of rockwool". From toddlerhood onwards, he was exposed to telephone calls, where his father, a rockwool salesman, would argue the benefits of this insulation, especially compared against fibreglass. Whatever his dad was selling, young Achim Hering would learn about, connecting insulation, fire-resistance, and refractories. Achim attended grade school and high school (Gymnasium) in Germany, until the family moved to Canada, partway through his high school years. Throughout his youth, he assisted the family business with trade and translations concerning commercial insulation and passive fire protection products, which necessarily entailed having to gain a complete understanding of the translation topics, as well as knowledge to trade terms unique to Germany and North America. After graduating high school, Achim went to work for the family business, constructing firestop test samples, at ULC and ULI, manufacturing firestop pillows, and interfacing with customers, such as contractors and utilities/power plant operators. An early such project, where Achim trained an insulation contractor to install cable though-penetration firestops, below MCC cabinets, was the Keephills Generating Station. The job complete, exiting the site late in the afternoon, during winter, was the first time Achim got scared in traffic, as the prevailing wind pushed steam issuing from the plant down on the road that led to the site, rendering the road like a sheet of ice. The driver of the car, in front, slammed on the breaks, causing that car to spin whilst in forward motion. Achim, still a teenage driver, did likewise, also causing his rental car to spin. Two cars were literally spinning around, in a circular motion, down the icy road, towards a T-intersection, which had a sizable drop, or cliff, right behind it. Luckily, both cars stopped spinning without hitting one another or going over the edge.
Career
Achim started working for his father, Gerhard Klaus Hering ("Gerry"), from the moment he took English, a compulsory course in grade 5 of his school, translating and copy editing. The commercial activities supported by Achim dealt with:
*Export from Germany
*Import into Germany
*Manufacturing of commercial fire protection goods
*Hydraulic component repair and maintenance.
BIO Fire Protection (Systems) Ltd., Canada, and US - 1983 - 1985 (VP)
After graduating high school, Achim's after-school activities became a full-time job, which began with establishing manufacturing of firestop pillows, in the old fire hall in Sumas, WA. as well as training customer installation crews to install firestop systems. One signature firestop project completed was the Revelstoke Dam Hydroelectric Power Plant. in addition to telephone exchanges belonging to BC Tel. Gerry ran into a dispute with BIO Fire and opened his own firm ("FPE" - Fire Protection Engineering), importing firestops from a BIO ex-employee. Under this new banner, Achim helped to conduct a fire test at ULC, with the new products, and to close a contract, sales presentation, as well as on-site training , selling firestops to "WNP-2" (now the Columbia Generating Station), as well as the San Francisco International Airport and assorted commercial occupancies in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Reason for leaving: Licensed and imparted technology to General Signal Corporation, below.
General Signal Corporation (Nelson Electric Firestops), Tulsa, Oklahoma - 1985 - 1986 (Technical Consultant)
Achim and his father, together with 2 German partners, licensed Nelson Electric with the manufacture and sale of assorted firestop products. Achim helped establish all manufacture, as well as interface with UL, ULC and Factory Mutual, to ensure the products were made under follow-up service (FUS), with regular audits. As a technical consultant to Nelson Electric, Achim had involvement with various nuclear power plant firestop promotions and installations, most notably including the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant, also through Williams Contracting, Inc., now Williams Group International, whose installers were trained by Achim. Achim joined veteran firestop pioneer Joe O'Brien in traveling all over the US to promote the newly licensed firestops to utilities and telephone companies all over the US. Notably, Joe drove a Chevrolet pick-up, when the two traveled from Tulsa, Oklahoma to Phoenix, Arizona, to attend a BICSI trade show. Joe's wife Peggy packed a thermos of coffee for the trip and Joe announced they would play "wee-wee-chicken" on this road trip. Whoever had to pull over first, had to pay for dinner that night. At the show, Achim also demonstrated the use of a mortar pump designed and built in Abbotsford, BC, by Gerry and Murphy & Wakefield.
Reason for leaving: Mission accomplished, technology transferred enabling licensee to trade independently.
Wormald Fire Systems, Mississauga, ON & Burnaby, BC - 1986 - 1990 (Sales Co-ordinator)
Once the technology had been transferred to Nelson, Achim was hired by Wormald Fire Systems, in Mississauga, Ontario, as a salesman. Achim's grandfather Alfred (Gerry's father) had been a plumbing contractor. At Wormald, then Canada's second-largest fire sprinkler contractor, Achim became a contractor, selling firestop products, as well as firestop and fireproofing contracts in Ontario, and later, in BC and the State of Washington and the State of Oregon. Notable projects include but are not limited to:
*The Californian Condominiums, Mississauga, Ontario. That may sound unremarkable, but it was the first residential high-rise building in Canada, where a firestop contractor was retained to seal both mechanical and electrical through-penetrations directly for the developer/general contractor, one Elias Veisman, after a lead from Paul Northgrave, Architect, following a technical presentation there, by Achim. Typically, general contractors are motivated to let electricians and mechanical contractors do their own firestopping, which can look like THIS.
*SkyDome (now Rogers Centre) This was a monumental project for the City of Toronto, combining an alternatively indoor and outdoor venue (depending upon whether the roof was open at any given point in time) into one occupancy, which raised so many building code issues, that the opening ceremony, to which contractors and staff (including Wormald, which provided both firestops and fire sprinkler protection systems) were invited, after working much overtime, were invited, had the ribbon cutting ceremony moments after a permit was issued.
*St. Mary's Pulp & Paper, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. This job was for firestopping construction involved with the #5 paper machine, but, following a technical presentation by Achim to plant management, also spread to existing portions of the plant. This involved a huge cable tray through-penetration in an exterior concrete block wall, installed during -40°C temperatures.
*Howe Sound Pulp and Paper, Howe Sound, BC. This is a very large pulp and paper mill, with assorted contracts for electrical firestopping garnered by Achim protecting major service rooms, such as MCC rooms, cable spreading and control rooms.
*Grand Coulee Dam, Grand Coulee, Washington. This was a signature Franklin Delano Roosevelt project. By the time Achim got there, it had become apparent that firestops were needed within the intricate tunnels that run along the length of the dam, on the inside of the concrete, after one of the oil-cooled Japanese-made 6" OD cables had severed, creating a hydrocarbon fire that threatened the entire dam. The Bureau of Reclamation had the job specified for silicone foam. After a technical presentation by Achim, it was changed to a more modern method.
Reason for leaving: Tyco acquired Wormald, thus having its daughter company Grinnell, the #1 fire sprinkler contractor, taking over the # 2 fire sprinkler contractor in Canada. Wormald had passive fire protection groups, in Australia, in te UK and in Canada. Tyco, to this day, actively advocates for active fire protection, which is often at the expense of passive fire protection measures, in code hearings. Where Wormald decided to engage in both active and passive fire protection, Tyco decided to terminate all passive fire protection activities, departments and employees.
Fuller Austin Insulation (now Stuart Olson), Burnaby, BC - 1990 - 1992 (Manager, Firestopping and Fireproofing)
After interviewing widely, Achim actually had a job offer months later from a major PFP manufacturer, but since they were uncertain after flying Achim in to the East Coast of the US, Achim accepted the job from Fuller Austin Insulation, which had a spray fireproofing unit in Alberta, whilst at the airport, before flying back to BC. Achim spear-headed both firestopping and fireproofing in BC. Achim was also instrumental in specifying electrical fireproofing at a new refinery, right on the border between Alberta and Saskatchewan (an abridged list of projects secured by Achim follows):
Husky Bi-Provincial Upgrader, Lloydminster, Saskatchewan.
This project was the 1st in Canada to use Promat cladding for outdoor, electrical fireproofing. This fireproofing enabled the plant to use common electrical wiring, instead of MI cable, an advantage realised as a result of a technical presentation by Achim. Fuller Austin provided this fireproofing to multiple electrical contrators on site. Whilst refineries are mainly outdoor installations, not "buildings" under the building code, there were some buildings, whose electrical firestops were also provided by Fuller Austin, subject to specifying work by Achim.
Alberta Newsprint, Whitecourt, Alberta
This was a typical, large electrical firestop job, specified, quoted and secured by Achim.
Millar Western, Whitecourt, Alberta
This was a typical, large electrical firestop job, specified, quoted and secured by Achim.
Reason for leaving: Had begun, with President's prior approval, to put product line together, had test sample in a lab, ready to go, when decision to support was reversed. Was told in writing that the cause was an economic downturn, but, unofficially, verbal statements to others in industry, the cause was the idea of becoming a manufacturer, implying that it had not at first been accompanied by approval.
Willich Brandschutz und Entsorgung GmbH & Co KG, Dortmund, NRW, Germany - August 1992 - September 1993 (Department Manager, Fire Protection)
This was actually Achim's first time living and working in Germany as an adult, complete with national responsibility. It was also long enough after Germany's reunification (03. October 1990), that some of the early excitement had waned. Achim ran into folks from both sides, who would gladly have volunteered time and materials to put the "wall" back up. Still, the mantra of many West-German businesses, was to "go East!" For a while, it was like the North American "Wild West". Willich took part, investing in assorted satellite offices, not all of which did well, as some of the expansion required capital investments that Willich was not willing or able to make. This was also reflected in Willich's desire to get into epoxy based outdoor hydrocarbon fireproofing, sending Achim to Thermal Science, Inc., to get trained in the application of Thermo-Lag 440, despite refusing to purchase a pump to apply it, without which one cannot actually do the work, also not investing in scaffolding, thus reducing Willich to the use of sub-contractors against whom it was also competing, thus defeating the ability to first get a project to pay for a pump and scaffolding, without having one, attempting to compete against others who had all this. These conundrums repeated themselves across various sub-units, and resulted in systemic issues that management was not able or willing to address. Willich had a license to distribute and apply cementitious fireproofing from Pull bv, manufacturing under license from Strong Company in the US. Willich called the spray fireproofing "Wildur". Assorted issues and jurisdictional disputes within Willich finally culminated in a takeover by a competitor Reinhold & Mahla, after Achim had gone back to Canada. Despite systemic, internal conflicts that go back way before Achim joined this firm, Achim did enjoy some successful contracts, including, but not limited to:
*Condea (now Sasol) Refinery fireproofing - typical refinery applications, pipe bridges, vessel skirts, using Wildur cementitious fireproofing
*Bahlsen/Leibniz Cookie Factory, Berlin, Thermo-Lag 440 hand-applied fireproofing of an LPG vessel
*ThyssenKrupp Galvanisation Plant, Bochum, electrical and mechanical firestops.
*Rendsburg Traffic Tunnel, Rendsburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. This was a tunnel restoration project that began with crack-filling in the concrete tunnel segments, followed by spray fireproofing. Willich Insulation had tendered this, supplied and installed and lost on price. Subsequently, the low tender, rival Kaefer Insulation, purchased the fireproofing plaster from Achim's unit. Next, press reports began to appear, that sections of flat, spray-applied Wildur cementitious fireproofing were delaminating from the tunnel lining and falling onto cars while in the tunnel. TU Braunschweig iBMB was hired to investigate, along with an independent investigator. It was determined that the material adhered well to the concrete substrate, where the decades of car exhaust had been removed, but that in areas where it had NOT been removed, adhesion failed, causing the fireproofing to sink downward, fracture and fail. The independent investigator tried to figure out the exact chemical composition of the car exhaust soot, but failed. In determining fault, he mentioned the presence of the soot, but also found fault with Wasserstraßen- und Schifffahrtsamt Kiel-Holtenau, the part of the German federal government that owns and operates the site. The "expert" concluded that the government should have specified the use of a stainless steel wire mesh, to be located mid-way inside of the spray fireproofing, which would have violated the DIBt approval, as this component was not included in the original fire test that qualified it for the approval. TU Braunschweig is a governmental laboratory, which is required to share its reports FIRST with DIBt, in Berlin, then with the sponsor of the work. Once DIBt received the report indicating delaminations at the tunnel, DIBt instantly cancelled its approval of Wildur as a concrete spray fireproofing material. This is how Achim found out about the job in the first place. Achim enquired with DIBt about the reason for the approval revokation but was told that the reason was classified, as it was based on a report (from TU Braunschweig, for WSA Kiel-Holtenau) that DIBt had no clearance to share. So, Achim contacted WSA Kiel-Holtenau, and was told: "Oh, we were wondering how long it would take you to contact us." By then, all spray fireproofing had been removed. WSA Kiel-Holtenau was in a legal bind (having paid for the fireproofing, having proof of inadequate cleaning, having paid for the fireproofing, but having no way to get their money back. WSA Kiel-Holtenau could not get their money back on account of the consultant's conclusion that partially blamed the material's failure on WSA Kiel-Holtenau's specification, which, the "expert" figured, should have included a stainless steel mesh at the centre of the fireproofing thickness, meaning Kaefer was off the hook, thus violating DIBt's approval, who revoked their approval for Willich, on account of the delamination. WSA Kiel-Holtenau then sought to develop evidence to contradict the "expert's" conclusion that called for this approval violation. Assorted areas of the tunnel were to be treated with different preparatory measures, mentioned by the "expert", followed by adhhesion tests to the concrete itself, then re-fireproofing with more Wildur. This included washing with and without soap, as well as sand-blasting "down to the concrete aggregate". That caused issues. At the bottom of cast concrete, one typically has a "cement-rich", smooth layer that assumes the shape of the form, where once cannot see the aggregate (stone). If you sand-blast that off, you can see the rocks. But how much of the rock has to be exposed to satisfy the conditions this expert had in mind? In the end, it was a moot point, since the bigger problem was rusting re-bar. The sides of the tunnel were clad with Promat boards. When some of those were removed, much more damage and need for remedial work that would have necessitated the removal of the plaster in the first place, regardless of the error source for the delamination of th spray fireproofing (which was inconsistent removal of the soot...). Had this been put under a slight electrical charge, thus preventing the rust and the accompanying concrete damage, a lot of trouble could have been averted.
Reason for leaving: (1.) the Willich-internal squabbles and dysfunction that caused its overall demise were apparent, and (2.) Achim had been able to conclude an agreement with a major licensee in the US, for one of his firestop products, which necessitated his manufacture of this product under a private label agreement. Therefore, Achim returned to Canada.
ASIT, Ontario, 1993 - 2000, President
Developed firestop materials, ran fire tests with ULC and Warnock Hersey, obtained listings, manufactured and sold these to a US-owned licensee. Maintained compliance with licensee QC department procedures, ULC and WH follow up service procedures. Finally sold complete rights to licensee.
Reason for leaving: Mission accomplished, technology sold.
DuraSystems Barriers Inc., Vaughan, ON, 1995 - 1998, Manager, Research & Development
Product Development, Testing, Customer Service, Sales Support + manufacturing of goods. This was the first of 2 tenures with this firm.
2 Local Office Equipment Dealers, Sudbury, Ontario - 2000 - 2002, Document Consultant
Turn-key sales and installations of small format and wide format office equipment, including, but not limited to:
*Postage meters, Scanners, printers, copiers, shredders, computers, multi-function centres, Vectorisation.
This included digital wide format scanners and printers for engineering offices.
Reason for leaving: Digital wide format equipment was new to "the north" at the time, whereby service personnel knew less about the equipment than customers. Was recruited by VectorSoft.
Drawing & Map Conversion Sales, Sudbury, Ontario - 2002 - 2005, Independent Sales Agent
Sales of raster to vector conversions of graphic documents to military, intelligence, industrial accounts and indigenous accounts. This was a hardcore sales job, extracting paper-based drawings and maps from governments, indigenous governments, mines, manufacturing plants, then having those documents, scanned and converted into computer-editable files. Example: I obtained satellite imagery, had this converted and on that basis sold a vectorised map of Kabul to the Canadian Army, before they took a turn in Afghanistan, thus enabling precision targeting, CSAR operations, etc. Other orders include but are not limited to maps, plant drawings for pulp and paper, as well as mine facilities in Northern Ontario.
Reason for leaving: This company is now defunct on account of quality control issues, having outsourced its drawing work overseas.
TRG and AT&T, Niagara Region, 2005 - 2009, CSR and Team Lead, Health & Safety Representative
This was both sales (outbound) and customer service (inbound), rapidly resolving technical and billing issues, calming down and upselling “irates”. Telephony, insurance plans, assorted commercial campaigns.
Reason for leaving: Both centres were closed and moved out of Province. Was recruited back to DuraSystems.
DuraSystems Barriers Inc., Vaughan, ON, 01-2010 - 10-2017, Manager, Research & Development
Developed new products and got those certified, to fit customer needs precisely, with best possible back-up that defeated the opposition by means of thorough omework. Examples: (1.) Largest through-penetration firestop in the world. (2.) 3-hour nuclear cable tray fireproofing. Interacted with technical customer staff to assist in closing contracts, where sales people lacked technical knowledge to do so.
Achim did not develop "Durabarrier".
Demonstrable Skills
• Languages: Fluent & Accent Free, Written and Spoken English & German, Upgradeable French
• First Rate Sales and Closing Skills
• Seasoned Public Speaker, Motivator, Presenter and Author
• Superior Knowledge of Federal & Provincial Legislation and Governmental Procedures
• Superior Executive Leadership, Management, Interviewing and Supervisory Skills
• Exemplary Interpersonal, Communication, Consultation, Relationship-Building Skills
• Strong Judgment and Decision-Making Abilities & Working to Tight Deadlines
• Cultural Awareness, Discretion and Sensitivity to Needs of Others
• Contract Administration & Hands-On Work
• Conceptual / Analytical / Strategic Thinker, Determined, Results Oriented Execution
• Research & Development Veteran (New Products & Improvements to Existing Products)
• Experience Managing Specialised Facilities Including Space Analysis, Planning, Design, Leasing, Construction, Renovation, Maintenance – Fire Protection Expert –Sound Knowledge of Building
and Fire Codes and Enforcement Issues
• Seasoned Trainer (Sales, Estimators, Field Crew, WSIB / Hazmat, Fire Protection)
• Experience Providing Information-Management Policies / Procedures / Protocols, Retrieving / Disseminating Information
• Computer Literacy (Ms Office, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Databases, Outlook, Internet Explorer & Edge, etc., Corel Office; Vector and Raster Graphics, Html, Webmaster)
• Developing and Controlling Budgets
• Documentation (Internationally Published Articles, MSDS, Procedures, Specifications)
• Effective Organization, Project Planning and Execution Skills
• Superior Problem-Solving & Negotiation Skills (With Trade Unions, Clients, Centres of Influence, Management, Governmental Representatives, Inter & Intra-Governmental Relations, Thorough
Understanding of Jurisdictional Issues, Troubleshooting, Handling Contentious Issues and More.)
• International Business Experience & Contacts in Canada, USA & Europe, Some Far East
Industries worked in
• Military, Commercial, Residential, Institutional & Industrial Accounts (Canada, USA, Europe)
• Intelligence Community (USA)
• Fortune 500 National Accounts (Canada, USA, Germany, Sweden)
• Restaurants (Northern Ontario)
• First Nations Bands (Northern Ontario)
• Municipalities (California, Ontario, Germany)
• Provincial Governments (Ontario, BC)
• Utilities (USA, Canada, Germany)
• US State Governments
• Canadian Federal Government
• US Federal Government
• Franchises (National and individual accounts)
• Contract Furniture Reps, Dealers and Interior Designers (Demountable walls and ceilings)
• Doors
Training/Education/Professional Memberships (not all active)
• ASTM E05 and E06, West Conshohocken, PA – Voting Member on Fire Testing and Building Performance Standards
• National Defense Industrial Association, Arlington County, VA
• American Chemical Society, Washington, DC
• American Ceramic Society, Westerville, OH
• Counsellor Selling Certificate - Wilson Learning, Toronto, ON
• Fire Protection Technician (Brandschutzfachkraft) – Gütegemeinschaft Brandschutz im Ausbau, Cologne, Germany
• Construction Document Reading and Estimating - Toronto Construction Association
• Professional Writing Certificate - Padgett Thompson, Toronto, ON
• Windows & Excel Certificate - EDV Service, Bottrop, Germany
• Fire Protection Technician Certificate - PS Brandschutz GmbH (later Signum Brandschutz), Bissendorf, Germany
• Task Group 21 Member - Underwriters' Laboratories of Canada
• Chapter Memberships Vancouver & Toronto - Construction Specifications Canada
• Chapter Memberships Buffalo & Puget Sound - Construction Specifications Institute, Alexandria, VA
• Canadian Standards Association - Voting Task Group Member on Nuclear Fire Safety Standard
• Illuminating Engineering Society, Toronto Section – Fundamentals of Lighting Certificate
• Valid Driver’s License, Clean Record
Articles authored
“Proper Firestopping”, Construction Specifier Magazine, Construction Specifications Canada, May 1989.
“Smoke Travel”, Construction Specifier Magazine, Construction Specifications Canada, November 1989.
“Proper Firestopping II – the Sequel”, Construction Specifier Magazine, Construction Specifications Canada, July 1990.
“The proof is in the fire”, Chemical Innovation Magazine by American Chemical Society, May 2001.
“The Problem with Intumescents”, The Construction Specifier, Construction Specification Institute, September 1995
“MAN-MADE MINERAL FIBRES – Carcinogens?”, Construction Specifier Magazine, Construction Specifications Canada, November 1995.
