Supporting Your Success: Inside F.W. Webb’s Hands-On Training Lab in Schenectady, NY

July 23, 2025 - Feature Article

Step into F.W. Webb's state-of-the-art training lab, and you'll find the systems you work on every day. Along one wall, there's the Samsung commercial line, fully operational as if it were ready for a service call. Along another wall, you’ll see an air conditioner and a furnace from the Rheem Endeavor line. Five boilers, including Ideal and Lochinvar models, stand ready for hands-on training.

"We're proud of the investment we've made here to help contractors like you in your day-to-day work," says Mike Bifano, General Manager of our Schenectady and Capital Region operations. The training room occupies a modest space, but it's perfectly suited for the instruction offered inside. "We designed it to support your needs," Bifano says. "It's more than just desks and chairs. You can work with furnaces and boilers under our attentive guidance, instead of relying on just a phone number for support."

The lab draws on the expertise of seasoned industry professionals like Royal Chadwick, who serves as our HVAC Applications Trainer. He's owned a business, held a master plumber's license, taught in trade schools, and served on the Department of Energy board for the federal government. "I've been in the trades since I was nine," Chadwick says. "It's all I've ever known."

His lifelong dedication carries over into his work on national boards and industry panels. Chadwick is a member of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), serving as the refrigeration chair on ASHRAE's board of governors. He also works on a panel with industry leaders to determine the most efficient ways to utilize rebate money. His high-level industry involvement means he brings a timely, informed perspective to every class and discussion.

“Our instruction provides in-depth information, covering the entire process for installations, service, and other important applications,” Chadwick explains, noting that he refers to it as a lab rather than a training room because it allows you to work with equipment as if you were on the job.

"We focus on making you comfortable with the solutions we offer,” Chadwick continues. "That way, you can provide the best possible results for your customers."

With the equipment available and knowledgeable staff present, the lab can offer comprehensive course material. Training sessions include a low Global Warming Potential (GWP) refrigerant safety course, a manufacturer-certified session featuring installation and startup instructions for Samsung RLC-05 commercial systems, and an EPA 608 Mainstream Engineering class.

In many cases, your everyday experiences inform course development. Feedback may reveal that you're unfamiliar with a particular brand or process. In other cases, you may want to learn more about rooftop systems, or our technical specialists may identify opportunities for support while assisting you in the field. Our training staff uses this information to create courses that address your specific needs.

Above all, we seek to deliver tangible and valuable benefits to your business.
Here's how:

1. One-and-Done: Reduce Follow-Up Calls

Returning to a project and troubleshooting something you've installed consumes valuable time. With the knowledge gained through our training sessions, you’ll save time with fewer return calls and less troubleshooting on increasingly complex systems.

In addition, projects are typically priced based on one-time installations. It's detrimental to your business if you make multiple visits to one customer, as this prevents you from taking on new jobs or more lucrative projects. Plus, multiple visits raise the risk of poor reviews, potentially impacting the brand you work hard to maintain.

2. From Service to Sales: Train Your Entire Team

Inside the live-fire training environment, units are fitted with plexiglass panels, giving you a glimpse into their operation. In many training sessions, Chadwick deliberately rigs systems to malfunction by simulating faults or error codes. Under these circumstances, you'll go through the repair and maintenance process as you would in the field, albeit in a low-stakes setting.

In addition to installer-centric instruction, classes are also available for your sales team, engineers, and estimators.

This guidance can make a critical difference. For example, if an estimator selects a system that isn’t optimized for a particular application, it won't deliver the best performance. We seek to give you and your team sufficient information to design or select the proper systems for a given project.

3. Adapt and Grow in a Changing Industry

While some classes lead to certifications, like those offered through ESCO's A2L test, others are designed to help you with current challenges, such as evolving technology and workforce shortages.

Customer feedback indicates that your leading challenge is the inability to find enough skilled people. As you attempt to expand, you may find it difficult to do so because of a shortage of people entering the trades.

To counter these trends, we structure our classes to help you expand your capabilities, which could mean adding new services or increasing output despite staffing constraints

Looking Ahead

What's next for the Schenectady education program? The goal is to build a curriculum that follows your advancement through key milestones. Our team is working on a system that records your progress as you take new classes.

As it evolves, the lab will continue to capture the essence of what we seek to offer: full-service solutions for your diverse needs.

"We do more than just move products—we provide comprehensive support for every aspect of your work, whether you’re a contractor, facility manager, architect, engineer, estimator, or salesperson. Ultimately, we want to play an important role in your long-term success," says Bifano.

Get hands-on training that can pay off in the field. Contact your F.W. Webb representative today and join us for a training session.

Training opportunities are available at other F.W. Webb locations as well. Click here to learn more.