Backend Category: Safety Excellence Initiative

Learn Essential Strategies for Keeping Your Workers Safe from Heat Illness in MCAA & Tyfoom’s Webinar

Heat Illness poses a serious concern for worker safety and health in the mechanical construction and service industries. Join MCAA and Tyfoom as we review strategies to keep workers safe against heat illness during a 30-minute webinar on Thursday, July 27, at 3:00 PM EDT. The webinar will emphasize the importance of awareness, best practices, and effective communication in ensuring worker safety. It will also address strategies for doing so, including planning awareness and training, best practices, and consistent communication into the daily work routine. Register today!

The webinar, which will be led by Tyfoom’s Jason Cuskelly and facilitated by MCAA’s Raffi Elchemmas, will provide attendees with an understanding of:

  • The urgency of implementing these strategies
  • The importance of planning to ensure employees are safe from heat illness
  • How intentional communication helps to educate employees about the risks associated with heat and best practices for staying safe
  • The role of microlearning techniques as an effective method for knowledge retention, enabling employees to stay informed and vigilant

By implementing these best practices, MCAA members can mitigate the risks of heat-illness, safeguard their workforces, and promote an overall culture of safety.

Register

2024 Safety & Health Conference: Call for Proposals – Submissions Are Due July 14th

Calling all Safety Professionals. Have you ever wanted to present at a national Safety & Health Conference?

Now is your chance to share your knowledge and expertise with hundreds of attendees from all over the country at the 2024 Safety & Health Conference in Tucson, AZ, January 16-18, 2024.

Submissions are due July 14th, 2023. Proposals must be submitted using the link below.

Please email raffi@mcaa.org for any questions about presenting.

SUBMIT PROPOSAL

MSCA 2030 Annual Education Conference

Explore critical topics such as management, personnel, finance, service technology, training, and recruiting issues. This is the only industry conference specifically geared to service companies and the unique challenges and issues they face. Also included is an exhibit of products and services that can help you run your business more efficiently. Education sessions will help you make your time, resources, and personnel go farther. Plus, there are expanded opportunities for structured networking and peer group discussions as well as numerous social events.

 

MSCA 2026 Annual Education Conference

Explore critical topics such as management, personnel, finance, service technology, training, and recruiting issues. This is the only industry conference specifically geared to service companies and the unique challenges and issues they face. Also included is an exhibit of products and services that can help you run your business more efficiently. Education sessions will help you make your time, resources, and personnel go farther. Plus, there are expanded opportunities for structured networking and peer group discussions as well as numerous social events.

 

MSCA 2025 Annual Education Conference

Explore critical topics such as management, personnel, finance, service technology, training, and recruiting issues. This is the only industry conference specifically geared to service companies and the unique challenges and issues they face. Also included is an exhibit of products and services that can help you run your business more efficiently. Education sessions will help you make your time, resources, and personnel go farther. Plus, there are expanded opportunities for structured networking and peer group discussions as well as numerous social events.

 

New CNA Fleet Safety Resources Offer Tips for Staying Safe On the Road

In a new fleet safety series, CNA, a member of MCAA’s Manufacturer/Supplier Council, offers MCAA members four infographic posters around the most common claim, auto safety. The posters address common issues including: tips to reduce auto accidents, situational awareness while driving, driving under the influence, and understanding distracted driving. MCAA thanks CNA for sharing these valuable safety resources with the entire membership.

Think about this:

  • In 2020, almost 3,000 fatal and over 200,000 nonfatal distraction-related motor vehicle accidents occurred.
    • Commercial drivers are six times more likes to be involved in a critical event when participating in handheld browser activities.
  • In 2020, there were fewer vehicles on the road, but the decrease in miles driven did not correlate to fewer accidents.
    • Even with an 11% decrease in miles driven, vehicle accident deaths rose by 8.3%.

Download the four infographics to share with your team. The more conscious we all are of how to prevent auto accidents, the more likely we are to avoid them, and that’s good for everyone!

tips to reduce auto accidents
situational awareness while driving
driving under the influence
understanding distracted driving

If you have questions or need additional information, please contact:

MCAA Safety & Health Data Raises The Bar

The 2023 MCAA Safety Statistics & Awards program recognizes member company safety performance from 2022. This year the MCAA Safety Excellence Initiative is proud to recognize 86 MCAA members companies. All applicants receive a valuable benchmarking report that will allow them to compare their own 2022 incidence rates with the aggregate rates of the other participating MCAA companies overall, those in the same size category, and with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics incidence rates.

Across the board MCAA contractors have an average recordable rate of 1.2, lower than our own rate last year, and significantly lower than our industry in general by over 60%. As far as lost workday cases go, MCAA members once again performed better than last year with a .27 rate compared to non-members rate of 1.9.

Those who qualified also received a certificate of recognition.

The program provides six awards categories including awards for zero recordable cases, zero lost workday cases, recordable cases incidence rates that are 25% or more below the industry average, lost workday cases incidence rates that are 25% or more below the industry average, and two that are a mix of these items.

MCAA is pleased to give the following contractors special recognition for their safety performance.

Zero Recordable Cases

  • Bayes, Inc.
  • S&D Mechanical, Inc
  • James T. Kay Co., Inc.
  • Advanced Mechanical Corp
  • ACSI Mechanical (American Combustion Service, Inc.)
  • Allison Mechanical, Inc.
  • Leibold Inc.
  • J. WILLIAMS INDUSTRIAL GROUP, INC
  • Gunthorpe Plumbing and Heating
  • Smith-Boughan, Inc.
  • The YMI Group, Inc.
  • Neptune Plumbing & Heating Co.
  • Mecco LLC
  • Power Process Piping
  • AJ Allen Mechanical Contractors Inc.
  • Westside Mechanical Group
  • Denali Construction Services
  • Air Temp Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc.
  • Loescher Heating & Air Conditioning, Co.
  • G.E. Mechanical, LLC
  • Air Comfort LLC
  • Sexson Mechanical Company
  • North Mechanical Contracting, Inc
  • Bumler Mechanical
  • Suttles Plumbing and Mechanical Corp
  • Progressive Mechanical Inc.

Zero Lost Workday Cases

  • Warner Mechanical Corporation
  • Modern Controls, Inc.
  • Armistead Mechanical NJ
  • Rite-Way Plumbing & Heating Inc.
  • Stirrett Johnsen, Inc.
  • PCI Services, Inc.
  • Thermalair, Inc.
  • Armistead Mechanical- NY
  • Ainsworth, Inc- PA
  • Corrigan Company
  • Herrman & Goetz, Inc.
  • DebonAir Mechanical
  • Haberberger, Inc.
  • UMC. Inc.
  • McCloskey Mechanical Contractors, Inc.
  • Horwitz, LLC
  • Winger Contracting Company
  • Nooter Construction Company
  • A.O. Reed & Co.
  • Total Facility Solutions
  • Apollo Mechanical
  • W. Soule & Co.

Congratulations to all award winners and thank you to everyone who submitted. MCAA members’ focus on safety & health is objectively above average and your support of this programs highlights your company’s commitment to safety.

2024 Safety & Health Conference: Call for Proposals 

Calling all Safety Professionals. Have you ever wanted to present at a national Safety & Health Conference?

Now is your chance to share your knowledge and expertise with hundreds of attendees from all over the country at the 2024 Safety & Health Conference in Tucson, AZ, January 16-18, 2024.

Submissions are due July 14th, 2023. Proposals must be submitted using the link below.

Please email raffi@mcaa.org for any questions about presenting.

SUBMIT PROPOSAL

Celebrate MCAA’s 20 Years of Safety Excellence Each Month of 2023 With a Safety Resource Kit

To celebrate MCAA’s 20 Years of Safety Excellence, MCAA is offering monthly safety kits to benefit our contractors around the country and the mechanical industry workers they support. Each kit will include videos, webinars, trainings, and additional resources on each monthly topic.

June 2023: MSDs/Ergonomic Safety

Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSD) or Ergonomic injuries are more than a buzzword. OSHA approximates that 1 in 3 injuries is an MSD and is costing U.S. workplaces billions of dollars each year. This month we are relaunching our recent video on Musculoskeletal Wellness. This video comes with a pocket guide, documentation sheet, test, and answer key. The kit also includes several microlearning videos and a supervisor video, both collaborations with our partners at CNA Insurance. You can also rewatch our Ergonomics webinar where we partnered with Washington University in St. Louis and CPWR to reduce MSDs in construction.

Worker Safety Training Videos & Accompanying Resources

Musculoskeletal Wellness (Ergonomics)

MCAA/CNA Microlearning Safety Video Series

Safety Training Webinars

Supervisor Safety Training Webinars

DOWNLOAD RESOURCE SUMMARY

The Hill Group Earns Top MCAA/CNA Safety Award

The Hill Group was recently recognized as the MCAA/CNA Safety Excellence Awards winner for 2022 in Size Category 5, 1,000,000+ Work Hours. The Hill Group’s robust safety culture represents their commitment to their most important asset – their people.

Safety is the primary goal at The Hill Group, and this requires focused effort from everyone in the organization to achieve. They believe the choices that we as individuals make could very well prevent injuries, or even save a life. That is why The Hill Group has invested their entire leadership in safety, implementing BluePoint emergency response solutions and a customizable mobile app.

The MCAA/CNA Safety Excellence Awards began in the 1990s when MCAA partnered with CNA Insurance. It is a fiercely competitive program in which only the best of the best compete for the awards.

This is one of the most competitive safety awards programs in the country and winners are highly regarded among their peers.

The award focuses on safety and health programs, safety innovations and achievements in safety to reach a high degree of safety and health excellence. Companies are divided into five categories by number of hours worked and winners are selected by a committee of their peers.

Participants are required to describe their safety programs in detail, including how they achieved safety excellence and why they believe they deserve the award. The Safety Awards Selection Taskforce, which is led by CNA, carefully evaluates each submission looking for safety leadership, an advanced safety culture, effective leading indicators of safety performance, and innovative safety initiatives that helped the company achieve an exceptionally high degree of safety excellence.

MCAA and CNA congratulate The Hill Group for achieving such a high degree of safety excellence in 2022.

Share Your Insights With Dodge Construction Network in NEW Jobsite Safety Report

MCAA is partnering with Dodge Construction Network on a new study on jobsite safety, and your participation is vital to its success. The purpose is to track trends in safety practices in the U.S. construction industry. This survey should take approximately 12 minutes to complete. 

In return for qualifying for, completing and submitting the survey, you will have the option to have a summary report of the survey findings emailed to you.

The findings will be released in a SmartMarket Report that will examine the prevalence of safety practices such as pre-task planning and dealing with heat exposure, the use of technology to enhance safety programs, understanding industry engagement with safety training and mentoring, examining the degree to which companies are addressing challenges with mental health and addiction, and exploring the best ways to communicate about safety. 

TAKE THE SURVEY

Your answers are strictly confidential and will not be associated with your name or the name of your company in any way. Your answers will be combined with others and only presented as averages or percentages, or by visual means that cannot be linked back to individual answers. Your answers are stored in a password protected database that can only be accessed by analysts at Dodge Construction Network. Your participation in this survey is completely voluntary.

Thank you for helping the industry to continue to prioritize and improve safety.

UMC Earns Top MCAA/CNA Safety Award

UMC was recently recognized as the MCAA/CNA Safety Excellence Awards winner for 2022 in Size Category 4, 450,001 – 1,000,000 Work Hours. UMC’s mental health focus and “Pride-based Safety” program set the company apart.

UMC established a safety program to inspire the overarching principle that motivates UMC’s team to work safely and look out for one another – pride. The “Pride-based Safety” program is centered around knowing that you are doing the right thing at the right time for the right reasons, especially when no one is looking.

The MCAA/CNA Safety Excellence Awards began in the 1990s when MCAA partnered with CNA Insurance. It is a fiercely competitive program in which only the best of the best compete for the awards.

This is one of the most competitive safety awards programs in the country and winners are highly regarded among their peers.

The award focuses on safety and health programs, safety innovations and achievements in safety to reach a high degree of safety and health excellence. Companies are divided into five categories by number of hours worked and winners are selected by a committee of their peers.

Participants are required to describe their safety programs in detail, including how they achieved safety excellence and why they believe they deserve the award. The Safety Awards Selection Taskforce, which is led by CNA, carefully evaluates each submission looking for safety leadership, an advanced safety culture, effective leading indicators of safety performance, and innovative safety initiatives that helped the company achieve an exceptionally high degree of safety excellence.

MCAA and CNA congratulate UMC for achieving such a high degree of safety excellence in 2022.

Postler & Jaeckle Corp. Earns Top MCAA/CNA Safety Award

Postler & Jaeckle Corp. was recently recognized as the MCAA/CNA Safety Excellence Awards winner for 2022 in Size Category 3, 250,001 – 450,000 Work Hours. Postler & Jaeckle’s organization-wide safety approach set the company apart.

Postler & Jaeckle established a company-wide initiative focused on the health of their employees, which included the installation of AEDs in every fixed office within the company and a wall with the slogan “This is why we work safely.” The program reached all levels of employment by asking for photos of employees with people that are special to them – family, friends, etc.

The MCAA/CNA Safety Excellence Awards began in the 1990s when MCAA partnered with CNA Insurance. It is a fiercely competitive program in which only the best of the best compete for the awards.

This is one of the most competitive safety awards programs in the country and winners are highly regarded among their peers.

The award focuses on safety and health programs, safety innovations and achievements in safety to reach a high degree of safety and health excellence. Companies are divided into five categories by number of hours worked and winners are selected by a committee of their peers.

Participants are required to describe their safety programs in detail, including how they achieved safety excellence and why they believe they deserve the award. The Safety Awards Selection Taskforce, which is led by CNA, carefully evaluates each submission looking for safety leadership, an advanced safety culture, effective leading indicators of safety performance, and innovative safety initiatives that helped the company achieve an exceptionally high degree of safety excellence.

MCAA and CNA congratulate Postler & Jaeckle Corp. for achieving such a high degree of safety excellence in 2022.

OSHA Announces National Emphasis Program to Prevent Falls

The U.S. Department of Labor announced that OSHA has begun a National Emphasis Program (NEP) to identify and to reduce hazards which are causing or likely to cause serious injuries and fatalities from falls while working at heights. Considering that falls remain the leading cause of fatalities and serious injuries in all industries, and the violation the agency cites most frequently in construction industry inspections, the agency has determined that an increase in enforcement and outreach activities is warranted.

The targeted enforcement program is based on historical Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data and OSHA enforcement history. BLS data shows that of the 5,190 total fatalities in 2021, 680 were associated with falls from elevation, about 13 percent of all deaths. “This national emphasis program aligns all of OSHA’s fall protection resources to combat one of the most preventable and significant causes of workplace fatalities,” said Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health, Doug Parker.

The program establishes guidance for locating and inspecting fall hazards and allows OSHA compliance safety and health officers to open inspections whenever they observe someone working at heights. An outreach component of the program will focus on educating employers about effective ways to keep their workers safe. If a compliance officer determines an inspection is not necessary after entering a worksite and observing work activities, they will provide outreach on fall protection and leave the site.

“MCAA supports the focus on improving fall prevention, including the outreach and education to prevent falls across all industries.” said Raffi Elchemmas, MCAA Executive Director of Safety, Health, and Risk Management. MCAA has several resources on working at heights, including videos and programs on Aerial Lift Safety, Fall Prevention and Protection, Ladder Safety, and Scaffold Safety.

LEARN MORE ABOUT FEDERALLY REQUIRED FALL PROTECTION
MCAA RESOURCES ON WORKING AT HEIGHTS

Safety Week 2023 Comes to a Close – Look Back On the Week

#SafetyWeek is a wrap! But the safety & health of our workers, our teams, and each other continues to be of the utmost importance. You can view all of last week’s video clips below for tips to prevent accidents and ensure the safety of our workers below.

May 1, 2023:
We kicked off the week with a message from Mechanical Contractors Association of America (MCAA) Executive Director of Safety, Health & Risk Management Raffi Elchemmas about how workers can stay safe while using ladders and stairs, or when working at heights.

May 2, 2023:
On Tuesday, we heard from National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) Executive Director, Outside Line Safety Mike Starner, CUSP, CHST about how workers can protect themselves from line of fire incidents including caught-in, caught-between and struck-by. Lockout/tagout is also covered.

May 3, 2023:
The Association of Union Constructors Director of Environmental Health & Safety Alex Kopp shared a message on Wednesday about the importance of mental health and resources that are available to provide support.

May 4, 2023:
On Thursday, we heard from SMACNA Director of Safety Justin Crandol, CSP, ARM, CRIS with tips to help workers protect themselves from heat hazards.

May 5, 2023:
To close out the week, we heard from National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) Executive Director of Safety Wesley Wheeler, SMS, CESCP about the importance of personal protective equipment (PPE), a critical component to jobsite safety.

MCAA Partners with Tyfoom to Provide Safety Training Resources to Members

Springville, Utah — May 2, 2023 — Tyfoom, an engagement platform for employee communication and training, today announced a partnership with the Mechanical Contractors Association of America (MCAA), which will give MCAA members access to select MCAA-produced training and education material and products via Tyfoom’s video-based microlearning format.

MCAA materials will be made available as short bite-sized microlearning videos that are easy to digest and assist with knowledge transfer. With Tyfoom’s advanced training capabilities and MCAA’s safety training content, members have everything they need to stay competitive and keep their employees safe.

“We are thrilled to partner with MCAA ,” said Mark Nelson, CEO of Tyfoom. “This partnership will enable us to provide MCAA members with access to world-class training content, and we are excited to help support the industry by providing innovative tools for training and communication.”

“We are excited about this partnership and the opportunity to expand our reach and impact through Tyfoom’s platform,” said Raffi Elchemmas, Executive Director, Safety, Health, and Risk Management, MCAA. “We look forward to working closely with Tyfoom to provide our members with the tools and resources they need to succeed.”

MCAA members can take advantage of Tyfoom’s powerful training and communication platform that helps organizations deliver relevant communication and training in the flow of work and as an on-demand resource. With the platform, organizations can also create their own content to ensure standardization of their unique best practices.

MCAA safety training content will be rolled out throughout the second and third quarter of 2023. New users may sign up at www.tyfoom.com/signup.

About Tyfoom

Tyfoom is the #1 engagement platform for employee communication and training. They provide a simple and easy way to connect all employees with leaders everyday to improve culture, productivity and employee engagement. Tyfoom employs non-disruptive, science-based techniques and gamification to facilitate the transfer of knowledge and increase accountability. For more information visit: www.tyfoom.com.

Celebrate MCAA’s 20 Years of Safety Excellence Each Month of 2023 With a Safety Resource Kit

To celebrate MCAA’s 20 Years of Safety Excellence, MCAA is offering monthly safety kits to benefit our contractors around the country and the mechanical industry workers they support. Each kit will include videos, webinars, trainings, and additional resources on each monthly topic.

May 2023: Working at Heights

Working at heights continues to be one of the most dangerous parts of construction and service. Each year falls are the leading cause of workplace fatalities and fall protection is the most cited OSHA violation. MCAA has put together a kit which includes training on Aerial Lift Safety, Fall Prevention and Protection, Ladder Safety, and Scaffold Safety. This kit also includes model programs on fall protection and fall rescue. This could be one of the most important kits of the year.

Worker Safety Training Videos & Accompanying Resources

Aerial Lift Safety

Fall Prevention and Protection 

Ladder Safety

Scaffold Safety

Model Safety Programs

DOWNLOAD RESOURCE SUMMARY

EMCOR Services Scalise Industries Earns Top MCAA/CNA Safety Award

EMCOR Services Scalise Industries was recently recognized as the MCAA/CNA Safety Excellence Awards winner for 2022 in Size Category 2, 100,001 – 250,000 Work Hours. The EMCOR Services Scalise Industries safety committee’s approach of setting attainable goals to change safety culture set the company apart.

For example, the committee, which is comprised of management, changed driving behavior using GPS vehicle telematics. The ESSI Safety Program identifies hazards in order to prevent incidents with personal injury, property damage, fire damage, and occupational illness, any of which could result in human pain and suffering.

The MCAA/CNA Safety Excellence Awards began in the 1990s when MCAA partnered with CNA Insurance. It is a fiercely competitive program in which only the best of the best compete for the awards.

This is one of the most competitive safety awards programs in the country and winners are highly regarded among their peers.

The award focuses on safety and health programs, safety innovations and achievements in safety to reach a high degree of safety and health excellence. Companies are divided into five categories by number of hours worked and winners are selected by a committee of their peers.

Participants are required to describe their safety programs in detail, including how they achieved safety excellence and why they believe they deserve the award. The Safety Awards Selection Taskforce, which is led by CNA, carefully evaluates each submission looking for safety leadership, an advanced safety culture, effective leading indicators of safety performance, and innovative safety initiatives that helped the company achieve an exceptionally high degree of safety excellence.

MCAA and CNA congratulate EMCOR Services Scalise Industries for achieving such a high degree of safety excellence in 2022.

MCAA, CPWR & WUSTL Seek MCAA Member Contractor Partners for Research on Manual Material Handling

MCAA is collaborating with The Center for Construction Research and Training (CPWR) and Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL) to prevent injury and improve productivity by reducing manual material handling (MMH). Manually lifting and moving heavy construction materials can cause strain, sprain and related soft tissue injuries. Planning ahead for how materials will be stored, lifted and moved reduces manual materials handling, helps contractors of all sizes stay productive and profitable and saves workers from painful injuries. We are looking for five MCAA member contractors in each of the following states: Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Wisconsin to use a free MMH program and provide feedback through September 2023.

The program includes:

  • Site planning tools, checklists and materials
  • Interactive training and coaching resources

 Contractors interested in becoming research partners will be asked to: 

  1. Participate in a one-hour interview about their current manual material handling practices.
  2. Allow researchers to go onto jobsites to conduct brief observations of workers handling materials and ask them to take a 10-minute survey at the start of the study and six months later.
  3. Participate in six monthly meetings with researchers to discuss changes based on their experiences using the MMH program.

If you are interested in learning more, please email Raffi Elchemmas, MCAA Executive Director of Safety, Health and Risk Management, at raffi@mcaa.org.

Leibold Inc. Earns Top MCAA/CNA Safety Award

Leibold Inc. was recently recognized as the MCAA/CNA Safety Excellence Awards winner for 2022 in Size Category 1, Zero – 100,000 Work Hours. Leibold Inc.’s top-down safety approach and the organization’s safety culture set the company apart.

For example, Leibold’s safety committee works hand in hand with their insurance carrier to keep all workers trained and safe. With over 85K workhours, Leibold successfully achieved 0 injuries and believes jobsite safety is the result of daily safe work habits.

The MCAA/CNA Safety Excellence Awards began in the 1990s when MCAA partnered with CNA Insurance. It is a fiercely competitive program in which only the best of the best compete for the awards.

This is one of the most competitive safety awards programs in the country and winners are highly regarded among their peers.

The award focuses on safety and health programs, safety innovations and achievements in safety to reach a high degree of safety and health excellence. Companies are divided into five categories by number of hours worked and winners are selected by a committee of their peers.

Participants are required to describe their safety programs in detail, including how they achieved safety excellence and why they believe they deserve the award. The Safety Awards Selection Taskforce, which is led by CNA, carefully evaluates each submission looking for safety leadership, an advanced safety culture, effective leading indicators of safety performance, and innovative safety initiatives that helped the company achieve an exceptionally high degree of safety excellence.

MCAA and CNA congratulate Leibold Inc. for achieving such a high degree of safety excellence in 2022.