Category: Featured Resource

NCPWB Technical Bulletin: What Mechanical Contractor Managers Need to Know About Piping Codes and Customer Specifications

Piping codes are standard industry practice, and failure to agree on the one that applies to your work can result in ugly disputes with customers. Customer specifications can have inspection requirements that can result in repairs to welds that you did not plan for. Welders can make welds that put your business at risk. This article highlights what you can do to avoid these risks.

NCPWB Technical Bulletin: What You Should Understand About GMAW (MIG) & FCAW Welding

While there is a lot of buzz about modern waveform controlled power sources and how they make it easier for a welder to make the root pass, the basics of MIG welding have not changed. This article describes the technical aspects of GMAW, explains how the metal gets from the wire to the workpiece (transfer modes), and highlights what contractors need to pay attention to when bringing the process into their shop or field fabrication site.

Successful VDC Management Flowchart

The best way to understand your company’s technology challenges is to understand your processes. This workflow tool helps you understand and document your company’s entire project management flow, including the application of fabrication, BIM and Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) processes. It identifies in detail the potential implementation of VDC throughout each phase of the project lifecycle and details the team members involved and their specific responsibilities for each phase of the construction process. (Note: MCAA members will need to set up a free Lucidchart account and create a copy of the template to customize the flowchart for their company’s processes.)

Model Fall Rescue Safety Program and Plan

Quick rescue is paramount to keeping workers safe while they are suspended in fall arrest harnesses after falling from an elevation. Having a safety program and plan in place to address the needs of these workers is critical to minimizing suspension trauma and meeting OSHA requirements. MCAA’s model program and accompanying model plan can be tailored to address various project fall arrest system applications and ensure the safety of your company’s most important asset, its workers.

The Business Value of BIM for Mechanical and HVAC Construction SmartMarket Report

The use of BIM and related technologies and processes that leverage data from models is delivering meaningful impact to mechanical and HVAC contractors on a wide variety of measures, including cost and schedule improvements, enhanced productivity, better collaboration between stakeholders and better worker safety. This research report quantifies other benefits to users and the challenges related to leveraging BIM to increase industry understanding of which factors will most effectively drive growth and expand future use.

Prefabrication and Modular Construction 2020 SmartMarket Report

Improved productivity and quality are among the benefits driving interest in, and use of, prefabrication and modular construction today. This research report quantifies other benefits to users and the challenges related to each to increase industry understanding of which factors will most effectively drive growth and expand future use.

Multiemployer Pension Plan Reform Policy Issues

This report, which was released jointly by MCAA, the United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters (UA), and Horizon Actuarial Services analyzes how the impact of the lingering pension reform impasse in Congress adversely affects active participants in MCAA/UA pension plans and highlights inequities in benefit levels.