Through InstallationMasters® training, employees across Western are gaining practical knowledge to better support customers from specification through installation.

Western Architectural Openings is bringing installation training to employees in quality, engineering, field service, territory sales, and architectural support. The effort is designed to give more of the people who work with customers a practical understanding of what happens after a product leaves the factory.

Installation plays an important role in carrying engineering intent into the finished opening. How a product is installed and integrated with the surrounding building envelope can influence its intended performance. Questions about that process may surface during specification, quoting, preconstruction, or once work begins in the field.

Territory Sales Managers Jeff Aviles and Tom Munoz are certified to teach the Fenestration and Glazing Industry Alliance’s InstallationMasters® course. The three-day combined program spans 28 chapters and covers accepted installation practices for replacement and new construction applications. Participants complete an exam on the final day.

For employees whose daily roles range from engineering to customer support, the course provides a shared foundation for discussing installation. It also offers a structured look at the reasoning behind practices that may otherwise be learned through experience alone.

“Many installers have been taught through a tribal knowledge approach without understanding the ‘why’ behind the process,” Munoz says.

At the beginning of the course, Munoz asks participants to put their years of knowledge “in their back pocket” for three days. He wants them to approach the material with an open mind while recognizing that their experience remains valuable.

“Some of what you do will make sense, and some of what you do will be an eye-opener,” he says. “We hope you have many ‘aha’ moments.”

That focus on the “why” is especially relevant as a project moves from one team to the next. A detail established by an architect can shape a dealer’s quote, influence a builder’s planning, and affect the work completed by an installer. Each decision carries context that can be difficult to preserve when those conversations happen separately.

InstallationMasters training gives Western teams a clearer understanding of how those decisions relate. They can raise relevant questions earlier, speak more confidently about published product requirements, and recognize when a project-specific detail requires input from the appropriate design professional, builder, or installing contractor.

“This education allows us to have stronger technical conversations, ask better questions, and provide more informed guidance throughout the life of a project,” Aviles says. “When architects, dealers, builders, and installers have knowledgeable partners, projects run more smoothly—and that’s a win for everyone involved.”