Thousands of industry professionals from all over the world spent time at the 2020 ASPE Digital Experience on December 1-3. Attendees were able to learn about the latest plumbing design techniques, and were able to chat with nearly 100 exhibitors and to learn about new plumbing products and technologies in the Expo Hall.
ASPE members also were able to listen to keynote speakers and live technical sessions, as well as network with speakers and other attendees in breakout sessions.
For those who were unable to attend live, the Expo Hall and technical sessions will be available until January 31, 2021. Those who wish can sign up and view them at their convenience by visiting expo.aspe.org. The Expo Hall is free for everyone to browse, and the technical sessions are complimentary to ASPE members.
Expo Hall
The highlight of the 2020 ASPE Digital Experience was Zurn Industries LLC receiving the "Best Booth Award" for the informative and stylish mix of videos, text, and photos in their booth. However, all of the exhibitors had much to offer, all intended to teach attendees about the latest innovations in plumbing products and technologies. Attendees also had the chance to network directly with product specialists and other participants in the booth chat rooms.
Keynote Speakers
To kick off the 2020 ASPE Digital Experience, Susan Limbrunner, AIA, and Douglas King, NCARB, ACHA, presented the two-part keynote session: “The Whole Story and Beyond: Planning, Design, Construction and Operations Considerations for Creating the McCormick Place Alternative Care Facility, and its Lasting Legacy on Emergency Response in the United States.”
They shared a first-hand account of the rapid journey to convert the country’s largest convention center into an operating healthcare facility and lessons learned that can be applied to future deployments of alternate care sites in the case of an emergency. From their session description:
Many convention centers and arenas across the country are being called to the mission of becoming temporary healthcare facilities to alleviate the strain on local hospitals dealing with COVID-19 patients. Chicago's McCormick Place is the only facility prepped to serve acute care COVID-19 patients on a mass scale. McCormick Place ACF was conceived to alleviate the shortfall of beds for COVID-19 patients and specifically ICU bed capacity in healthcare facilities in the Chicagoland area. The facility serves as a satellite patient ward supported by nearby full-service hospitals that provide the logistics, materials, and waste management support, nutrition care, etc. The unprecedented facility has the capacity to treat up to 3,000 low- to moderate-acuity patients across three of the convention center’s halls.
Within 25 days from project award to project completion, the team converted approximately 1.5M square feet of convention space into a facility focused on patient care and providing a safe place for COVID-19 patients as they recovered, beating the upward curve of patient volumes in the Chicagoland area.
This session will explore the McCormick Place conversion journey and discuss steps the planning, design, and construction community can take to be better prepared for the rapid deployment of future alternate care facilities in case of an emergency.
Technical Sessions
In addition to the keynote, four 'live' sessions were also presented:
- Grease and Oil Interceptor Design and Sizing
- Physical Water Conditioning
- Hands On Workshop for Multi-Story Fittings in High Rise Vertical Construction
- Not All Alloys are Created Equal
As part of their registration package, ASPE members also were able to view eight recorded sessions:
- Commercial High-Purity Water Systems and Applications
- Double Containment Fuel Piping
- In-building Blackwater Reclamation and Thermal Energy Recovery in Manhattan
- Lab Water Design – An In-Depth Case Study and Review
- Plumbing Systems and Global Pandemics
- Practical Plumbing That Improves Customer Satisfaction
- UL1738 Venting Standard – Current State and Adoption
All of these technical sessions offer CEUs and are available for viewing until January 31, 2021.