� NORA ISSUES ACCREDITATION TO INSTRUCTORS
NORA recognized trainers who completed the inaugural NORA Accredited Instructor program : Joseph Maroney , RW Beckett Corp ; Christopher Bolobanic , Electrical Training Center ; Wayne Lawrence , Petro Home Services ; Ronald Mannino , Technical Heating ; and Robert O ’ Brien , Oil & Energy Service Professionals . They completed the course at NORA ’ s Research & Education center in Plainview , NY on June 8th under the tutelage of professional education trainer Brenda Huber .
From left : Christopher Bolobanic , Wayne Lawrence , Joseph Maroney , Michael Devine , Brenda Huber , Robert O ’ Brien and Ronald Mannino . Photo via NORA .
Michael Devine , NORA President stated , “ I am extremely proud of the commitment of these educators who completed this threeday workshop with the goal of improving their training skills . They prepared lessons , studied best-training techniques and then were evaluated by their instructor and their peers . I have no doubt when they return to the classroom their students will benefit , as will our industry .”
The NORA Accredited Instructor program was developed to ensure technicians trained in NORA schools , unions , and by companies in the heating liquid heating fuels industry have been provided with an education that positions them , their customers , and their companies for success . The service professionals in the liquid heating fuels industry are the first and most important contacts with customers . They are responsible not only for ensuring the heating system is operating at maximum efficiency , safety and reliability , but also with how customers perceive their liquid fuel heating , their adoption of renewable fuels and how comfortable they are with staying with their liquid fuel heating system .
The class began with a prepared presentation by each of the participants . These were critiqued by the instructor as well as others in the class to establish a baseline . From there , the instructor took the participants through the teaching process to elevate their lessons from simply conveying facts to creating a meaningful total-learning experience for the students . The NORA Accredited Instructor program ’ s emphasis is to present the curriculum in such a way that students “ own ” the information and not just hear it . Ms . Huber , the instructor for the course commented , “ I was impressed with the trainers ’ willingness to hear critiques from their peers and make improvements to their teaching .”
Devine also noted , “ Our industry is concerned with shortages of qualified service technicians . The best way to have qualified personnel is to hire good people and train them . These newly accredited trainers made a commitment to improving their own teaching skills . NORA thanks them for their dedication .”
These first five Accredited instructors will be posted on NORA ’ s website , as will all additional trainers who complete the course .
If you are a learning institution or trainer and are interested participating in NORA ’ s Accredited Instructor program , contact NORA ’ s Director of Education , Bob O ’ Brien at robrien @ noraweb . org .
NORA was authorized by Congress in 2000 to generate funding , from within the industry , allowing the liquid fuel industry to provide more efficient and more reliable heat and hot water to American consumers . NORA ’ s efforts focus on Energy Efficiency , Environmental Responsibility , Safety , Research & Development and Professional Education , with particular emphasis on transitioning heating oil and its appliances to a low-carbon source of heat and hot water . For more information on NORA ’ s activities go to NORAweb . org or contact NORA at info @ noraweb . org .
� NORA BIODIESEL QUICK GUIDE FOR TECHS
As the liquid heating industry continues to decarbonize through ever-increasing blends of biodiesel in fuel , questions have arisen as to the proper way to manage service in the field . NORA consulted service technicians , educators , manufacturers and its own research to identify the most common questions about servicing biofuel powered heating appliances .
The results were narrowed down to six questions centered around cad cell readings and shut-down , head coking , setting-up a combustion analyzer , fuel unit ( pump ) binding , filter clogging and carbon emission reductions .
In response , NORA has issued its Biodiesel Blends Quick Guide , where each of these is addressed in a simple and actionable manner .
Bob O ’ Brien , NORA ’ s Director of Education said of the guide , “ Technicians are seeing more and more biodiesel blend installations which have raised questions and unfortunately , have often generated misinformed answers . This Quick Guide gives them the simple and correct information to make sure the system continues to run safely , reliably and efficiently .”
The Quick Guide is available online at Learning . NORAweb . org .
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