Archives: News Items

North Mechanical Cuts $1 Million in Shared Costs by Using Trimble SysQue to Optimize Workflow

To speed the design and fabrication workflow for a customer’s research facility build, North Mechanical Contracting & Service used Trimble® systems, saving an estimated $1 million in costs and cutting by 400 percent the time that would have been needed for traditional materials takeoff tasks. The project required North Mechanical to generate material takeoffs and fabricate all mechanical and plumbing components for a laboratory building in south-side Indianapolis, IN. It represents the company’s largest fabrication contract to date for one of the area’s largest manufacturers.

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Looking for More Smart Solutions?

Visit the Smart Solutions Case Studies area of our website! You’ll see how other mechanical contractors found their win-win with productivity-enhancing and cost-saving applications from members of MCAA’s Manufacturer/Supplier Council.

Plus, you’ll find tips and ideas on other ways you and your company can save money and enhance your productivity.

VISIT SMART SOLUTIONS

Hiring Summer Interns? Don’t Forget MCAA Internship Grants!

Internships are an opportunity to identify and evaluate potential full-time hires for your organization. Building a structured internship program will provide the opportunity for your firm to recruit talented students and provide a flexible, cost-effective labor force without a long-term commitment.

MCAA believes that students who work for one of its members will enhance their education, their professional experience, and their interest in the mechanical contracting industry. Therefore, MCAA through its Foundation is offering grants to current MCAA members who hire undergraduates as interns.

Apply for a Grant

Grant Description

The amount of the 2018 Internship Grant is $1,000 per intern hired by an MCAA member firm, up to 2 interns. Grants will be paid in the form a check from the Mechanical Contracting Education & Research Foundation (MCERF) to the member company. The grant check will be sent upon the acceptance of the above 2018 Student Internship Application.

Eligibility

An eligible MCAA member is one whose membership is currently in good standing with the MCAA. MCAA members include its mechanical contractor and mechanical service members, plumbing members and its Manufacturer/Supplier Council members.

Interns must be students in good standing at an accredited college or university. Though MCAA encourages its members to give priority to students from its 50+ student chapters, this is not a requirement for a grant.

Contact Dennis Langley for more information.

Member Company, Arista, Boosts Consumer Confidence with New XOi Wearable Technology

The collaboration of member company Arista, NYC metro area’s leading HVAC contractor, and XOi Technologies revolutionizes the way the HVAC service industry interacts with clients by empowering customers to see the tasks completed on a service call rather than trying to decipher job details from a bill. Customers no longer have to rely solely on trust when assessing job performance and are provided with video documentation of each service call.

Leading HVAC companies, like Arista, are beginning to use new video documentation technology provided by companies similar to XOi Technologies that helps them prove the value they provide to their customers with planned maintenance and repair service.

An HVAC technician in the field uses wearable technology that looks like a pair of
safety glasses, but actually allows them to take video of what they see and do. They can record video evidence that shows you exactly what they’re doing and why.

Arista’s evidence-based approach to service assures customers they are getting what they pay for; the bill matches the services rendered. The video documentation is a useful record-keeping tool, especially for business owners and property managers in charge of multiple sites.

It’s All About Relationship Building at MCAA18 and Beyond

It’s all about relationship building. At MCAA, our Manufacturer/Supplier Council members are members of our association. Their executives build deep and lasting relationships with many of our contractor members. So, look for them throughout MCAA18, not just at the exhibit, and at many of our other events throughout the year. Take the time to get to know them and learn how they can help you significantly increase productivity and bottom-line results.

MCAA 2017 Exhibit

It All Starts at the Annual Manufacturer/Supplier Council Exhibit

What’s new? What’s different? What works best for my business? Discover the answers to these questions at the Annual Manufacturer/Supplier Council Exhibit as you explore how the products and services you’ve come to know are responding to change with new technologies, innovations and improvements.

You will also see other solutions that are just emerging to take on the anticipated challenges that lie ahead.

Representatives of most of MCAA’s 130 Manufacturer/Supplier Council members—many of whom are new members or first-time exhibitors—will be available to meet you and discuss your experience with their products and services at this sold-out exhibit.

This is your opportunity to gain new insights and knowledge about how your business can grow with technologies and services that cut costs, time and errors. You’ll learn how an innovation could move you out ahead of your competition and on a path to new levels of success. You may even discover a new approach to using software or a device in the office or in the field that will significantly increase productivity and bottom-line results. See who will be there…

Download the Exhibit Guide

It Doesn’t End There!

If you’d like to learn more about all of our Manufacturer/Supplier Council members, our Buyer’s Guide has you covered.

Download the Buyer’s Guide

Looking for More Solutions?

Connect with participating companies for highlights and links to new products, product lines, services, solutions or web pages of particular interest.

Visit the Virtual Trade Show

Speaking of Smart Solutions

Visit the Smart Solutions Case Studies area of our website to learn how other mechanical contractors found their win-win with cost-saving and productivity-enhancing applications from members of MCAA’s Manufacturer/Supplier Council.

This section of our website also includes tips and ideas to help your company save money and enhance your productivity. Don’t miss it!

Visit Smart Solutions

MSCA Discussion Forum is LIVE!

Here are the easy instructions on how to use MSCA Discussion Forum:

Log into MSCA’s website with your username and password
Go to Discussion Forum tab at upper right hand corner and click
Scroll down and pick a topic that you want to join or start a new topic
Share your thoughts or ask a question and hit the submit button
Connect with experts and peers in interesting discussions and get feedback

Want to share a profile image or go “incognito” with a different name?

Go to “My Forum Settings” and click
Click “Edit” if you want a different name to appear for your profile and save changes (default is your first name)
Click “Change Profile Photo” if you want to add an image or profile pic
Click and drag an image or select one from your files
Adjust the square frame over your image and click “Crop”
Clicking “Crop” saves your image and you can change it at any time

Discover the Latest from Viega, Craftmark Pipe Markers and More in MCAA’s Virtual Trade Show

MCAA’s Virtual Trade Show connects our contractor members with the members of MCAA’s Manufacturer/Supplier Council.

Participating companies highlight and link to new products, product lines, services, solutions or web pages of particular interest. Here are just a few of the recent additions:

Viega
Viega MegaPress XL® – Advanced Press for Larger Pipes – The only press fitting system for 2½” to 4″ dia. carbon steel pipe, makes connections, on average, in 25 seconds. Compared to welding, it saves up to 60% in installation costs and up to 90% in time.

Learn More

Craftmark Pipe Markers
Craftmark is a world leader in Pipe Markers, Valve Tags, Equipment Signs and Safety Products for Leading Mechanical Contractors across the U.S. MCAA members receive a 40% discount on all pipe markers!

Learn More

Need Something Else?

Find many more smart solutions in MCAA’s Virtual Trade Show!

Visit the Virtual Trade Show

Speaking of Smart Solutions

This section of our website also includes tips and ideas to help your company save money and enhance your productivity. Don’t miss it!

VISIT SMART SOLUTIONS

Need to Remind Your Workers How to Perform Their Welds and Cuts Safely? This Video Can Help!

MCAA’s Welding and Cutting Safety Training Video will teach your workers about the most common hazards of welding and cutting, and how to protect themselves from those hazards.

The video covers important welding and cutting safety topics including:

Personal protective equipment
Preventing electrocution
Respiratory protection
Preventing fires and explosions

Download or play the video in English

Download or play the video in Spanish

There’s More…

Accompanying materials are also available to assist you in highlighting key training points, documenting worker training and confirming that workers understand the training concepts:

Want More Safety Resources?

MCAA has you covered, with a full range of resources to help you protect your workers from injury and comply with applicable safety regulations. Here’s where to find them:

On our Direct Links to MCAA & MSCA Safety Resources page, where they’re listed by category with links.

Go there now

In the Resource Center, where you can use the blue Refine Your Search bar to pinpoint exactly what you’re looking for.

Visit the Resource Center

Have questions or need personal assistance?

Contact MCAA’s Pete Chaney.

Need to Teach Your Workers to Work Safely With Scaffolds? Get This Video!

MCAA’s Scaffold Safety Training Video will teach your workers to protect themselves from the hazards inherent in working at heights on both mobile and stationary frame scaffolding.

Your workers will learn about:

Scaffold setup
Scaffold height and capacity limitations
Safe access
Fall prevention and protection
Safe work practices

Download or play the video in English

Download or play the video in Spanish

There’s More…

Accompanying materials are also available to assist you in highlighting key training points, documenting worker training and confirming that workers understand the training concepts:

Highlight key training points

Download the Pocket Guide

Document worker training

Download the Documentation Sheet

Confirm that workers understand the training concepts

Download the Test

Download the Test Answer Key

Want More Safety Resources?

MCAA has you covered, with a full range of resources to help you protect your workers from injury and comply with applicable safety regulations. Here’s where to find them:

On our Direct Links to MCAA & MSCA Safety Resources page, where they’re listed by category with links.

Go there now

In the Resource Center, where you can use the blue Refine Your Search bar to pinpoint exactly what you’re looking for.

Visit the Resource Center

Have questions or need personal assistance?

Contact MCAA’s Pete Chaney.

Get Your Copy of the MCAA18 Final Program!

HoloLens Research Report Reveals New Advantage for Contractors

What was once thought of as science fiction or construction fantasy is starting to make its way on to construction job sites. In late 2016, Microsoft released developer editions of their mixed reality headset, called the HoloLens. It represented the first time that a big tech company had offered a stand-alone headset that could overlay holograms in the real world that would stay in place as you moved around and changed your perspective.

For the construction industry, it offers a new path towards design, collaboration and visualization. The HoloLens allows you to take BIM models and overlay them on job sites or in conference rooms. You can see how your designs exist in the spaces you are building in. It allows you to move around them to check for collisions, plan for installation and visualize in real-space the plans that were once only on paper.

In MCAA’s Technology Research Series seventh installment, the MCAA Technology Committee explored the capabilities and potential of the Microsoft HoloLens for mechanical, plumbing and service contractors. Over the course of a year, the committee tested and proved that these devices are not only capable of making contractors more efficient, they can be seen as an immediate differentiator to your competition.

The report looks at how the HoloLens can be used to perform common processes for contractors. While it offers some extraordinary potential for jobsite planning and marketing, some areas like service had a limited role. These limitations stemmed from a lack of software that was designed for tasks important for service work.

Software plays a very important role in the usefulness of the device. To their credit, Microsoft was very savvy in the rollout of their new product. Right from the beginning, they partnered with leading software developers from multiple industry sectors to create apps designed for the HoloLens. This allowed for access to software applications for a lot of targeted applications, even during the roll-out of their developer editions.

Thankfully, one of the companies they partnered with was Trimble. Through Microsoft’s collaboration, Trimble developed tools for the construction industry to visualize construction models in real space. In the past year, more software developers have created solutions for the construction industry. The committee evaluated these apps in the report and made recommendations for software depending on the workflows that you intend to use the HoloLens for.

Software available today make it possible to pull BIM models into the device and visualize with extremely little training. They also offer capabilities in workflows that are not available on any other device. For contractors that are already working with BIM, this is another tool to increase efficiency and productivity.

The MCAA Research Report goes through five workflows to test the effectiveness of the device. In some cases, although a HoloLens could be used to perform a task, it was not the most efficient way of doing it. For other tasks it presented options and efficiencies that simply were not available using any other tool.

The HoloLens has proven to be an effective tool ready for the industry, the question is, how can your company ready to benefit from its use. To learn more, download the report and watch for updates. Software is in development by leading industry manufacturers that should push the capability of the HoloLens even further. The report is available to MCAA and MSCA members as a complimentary benefit of membership. With the release of new applications scheduled for the HoloLens, the report will be updated throughout the year.

Find the Latest from FabPro1, Uponor, Inc. and More in MCAA’s Virtual Trade Show

MCAA’s Virtual Trade Show connects our contractor members with the members of MCAA’s Manufacturer/Supplier Council.

Participating companies highlight and link to new products, product lines, services, solutions or web pages of particular interest. Here are just a few of the recent additions:

Uponor, Inc.
Uponor ProPEX® Engineered Polymer (EP) Opposing-port Tees – Ideal for use in hydronic heating and cooling riser applications, ProPEX EP opposing-port tees from Uponor reduce the number of required fittings by 75% and required connections by 60%.

Learn More

FabPro1
Track. Manage. Share. FabPro1 is the fabrication industry’s first cloud-based software created by mechanical contractors and proven to meet the needs of the fast-paced, ever-changing construction environment.

Learn More

Need Something Else?

Find many more smart solutions in MCAA’s Virtual Trade Show!

Visit the Virtual Trade Show

Speaking of Smart Solutions

This section of our website also includes tips and ideas to help your company save money and enhance your productivity. Don’t miss it!

VISIT SMART SOLUTIONS

MSCA Connect DATELINE Jan/Feb 2018

Click and CONNECT with DATELINE, MSCA’s monthly newsletter! What you need to know to catch up on the latest news and information and all things – MSCA.

Learn to Protect Your Company’s Bottom Line at MCAA18

Looking for practical, proven approaches to protecting your company’s bottom line? Paul Stynchcomb and Doug Patin will provide them at MCAA18. Their insights and advice will help you maintain your company’s profitably regardless of unforeseen circumstances.

Proactive Construction Management: How to Protect Your Bottom Line

You know it’s going to happen: At some point during a project, someone will want to make a change that could prove costly, thereby justifying a claim. This session will provide practical, proven approaches to managing claims that will help you ensure a profit on the job. You’ll learn about:

Proactive management of your contract or subcontract
The project schedule and how it affects your company
On-going reviews of project progress and issues that affect your bottom-line

Managing the Subcontract Disputes Resolution Process

Although we would like to have every project progress smoothly from contract negotiation to the day of completion, that’s rarely the case. This session offers insights and advice on how to manage and resolve subcontract disputes.

Paul Stynchcomb is the Principal of Vero Construction Consultants Corporation. He is an expert in CPM scheduling, construction management, contract and subcontract administration, delay and cost impact analysis, and loss of labor productivity in federal and state courts.

Doug Patin is a partner in the Construction & Procurement Practice Group at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings in Washington, DC. He has specialized expertise in builder’s risk and liability insurance disputes, bid protests, take-over surety issues, and complex litigation.

Want More Information to Help You Weather Job Challenges?

The 2018 Edition of MCAA’s Change Orders, Productivity, Overtime features new material that clarifies the process of selecting labor inefficiency factors. A new chapter devoted to the subject of concurrent delay has also been added. This resource is a must-have for mechanical and other specialty contractors, attorneys in construction practices, and consultants.

Download

Clarifying the Process of Selecting Labor Inefficiency Factors

The 2018 Edition of MCAA’s Change Orders, Productivity, Overtime features new material that clarifies the process of selecting labor inefficiency factors. A new chapter devoted to the subject of concurrent delay has also been added. This resource is a must-have for mechanical and other specialty contractors, attorneys in construction practices, and consultants.

The new material within the chapter on How to Use the MCAA Labor Factors clarifies the process of selecting inefficiency intensity factors. This information will prove useful for those using the MCAA Factors to prepare loss of labor productivity equitable adjustment requests.

In the concurrent delay chapter, authors Doug Patin, Esquire and Paul Stynchcomb, CCM, PSP, CFCC, explain how you can avoid being cited for potentially costly concurrent delays to a project. The chapter also provides information to assist you in defining and identifying concurrent delay in a project schedule.

Make sure your construction attorneys and consultants have this book! Look for the share icon under the story title to let them know it’s available. Can’t find it? It’s three dots connected by lines, to the left of the print icon.

Download or Purchase Your Copy

Local Affiliate Boards Continue to Support the MCAA PAC

All members of the MCA of Detroit’s Board of Directors recently contributed to the MCAA PAC, continuing a long-held tradition of unanimous Board support. The boards of the MCA of Connecticut, M&SCA of Eastern Pennsylvania, MCA of Houston, ARCA/MCA, CPMCA, New England MCA and MCA of South Florida also contributed to the MCAA PAC recently, as have the members of many Peer Groups. This support enables the MCAA PAC to gain MCAA members and our industry a fair hearing in federal public policy decisions.

Want to Teach Your Workers How to Safely Use Air-Purifying Respirators? This Video Can Help!

MCAA’s Respiratory Protection Safety Training Video will teach your workers to protect themselves from certain types and concentrations of airborne hazards using air-purifying respirators.

Your workers will learn about:

User responsibilities
Hazard assessments
Respirator selection
Medical evaluations
Fit testing
Proper respirator use
Cleaning and sanitizing
Maintenance
Change schedules
Storage

Download or play

There’s More…

Accompanying materials are also available to assist you in highlighting key training points, documenting worker training and confirming that workers understand the training concepts:

Highlight key training points

Download the Pocket Guide

Document worker training

Download the Documentation Sheet

Confirm that workers understand the training concepts

Download the Test

Download the Test Answer Key

And don’t forget this related resource

Create a customized model program

Download the Model Program

Want More Safety Resources?

MCAA has you covered, with a full range of resources to help you protect your workers from injury and comply with applicable safety regulations. Here’s where to find them:

On our Direct Links to MCAA & MSCA Safety Resources page, where they’re listed by category with links.

Go there now

In the Resource Center, where you can use the blue Refine Your Search bar to pinpoint exactly what you’re looking for.

Visit the Resource Center

Have questions or need personal assistance?

Contact MCAA’s Pete Chaney.

Discover the Latest from DEWALT Industrial Tool Company, Hilti and More in MCAA’s Virtual Trade Show

MCAA’s Virtual Trade Show connects our contractor members with the members of MCAA’s Manufacturer/Supplier Council.

Participating companies highlight and link to new products, product lines, services, solutions or web pages of particular interest. Here are just a few of the recent additions:

DEWALT Industrial Tool Company
By leveraging new technologies and battery innovations, DEWALT introduces the new 20V MAX Compact 3.0Ah Battery (DCB230). Compared to the existing DCB200, the DCB230 offers the same capacity and is 20% lighter.

Learn More

Hilti, Inc.
Hilti has the products, services and software to help mechanical contractors get the job done. Choose an application, and we’ll show you the right solutions for the job.

Learn More

Need Something Else?

Find many more smart solutions in MCAA’s Virtual Trade Show!

Visit the Virtual Trade Show

Speaking of Smart Solutions

This section of our website also includes tips and ideas to help your company save money and enhance your productivity. Don’t miss it!

VISIT SMART SOLUTIONS

New MCAA Safety Bulletin Covers Key Changes to NFPA 70E (Electrical Safety in the Workplace)

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) recently released its latest standard covering electrical safety in the workplace. The most current version of the standard, which is on a 3-year revision cycle, is NFPA 70E – 2018. MCAA has prepared a safety bulletin covering the key changes that affect mechanical service workers who are working on equipment pushing 480 volts or less. The bulletin highlights the key changes on the front page, and provides a side-by-side comparison of the key changes between the 2015 and 2018 versions of the standard on subsequent pages.

Safety Bulletin

Additional MCAA/MSCA safety resources to help your company address the key changes to NFPA 70E for 2018 will be available later this month. The resources include:

A new model lockout/tagout program for electrical safety in the workplace (the revised standard requires a written electrical safety lockout/tagout program); and
A revised model program on Electrical Safety for Service (Based on NFPA 70E – 2018).

If you have questions about the new standard, please contact Pete Chaney at pchaney@mcaa.org, or 301-990-2214.

Sales Masters Attendees Say that MSCA Sales Masters Program Delivers the Best ROI!

“My personal experience with the Sales Masters program was prolific and educational. Our instructors were dynamic in a way that allowed you to showcase your strengths and improve your weaknesses. Thanks to their program, I achieved an overall higher closing ratio.”
Eli M. Mimari – H.T. Lyons, Inc.

News Update – for a Limited Time ONLY, the Sales Masters Program is waiving the prerequisite of attendance at the Sales Leadership Symposium so take advantage of this waiver and enroll now. Week One is April 15-19, 2018 in Oak Brook, IL and Week Two is November 4-9, 2018 in Houston, TX. Limited spaces available and no prerequisite, so sign up today!

The curriculum, designed by in-the-field experts in partnership with sales specialists from the University of Houston Sales Excellence Institute, is for the intermediate to advance level service sales employee. The tools and insights learned in Sales Masters are certain to take your sales professionals to the next level and allow them to become the go-to resource for their teams and customers.

ALI Course 18 Fully Subscribed – Wait List Applications Being Accepted

The 2018 class of MCAA’s Advanced Leadership Institute, the ALI, is fully subscribed at 36 participants. Dates for Course 18 are September 23-27 and November 4-9, 2018. A wait list for this course is being maintained. Several wait list applicants were taken for Course 17, completed in November 2017.

The program, which is held at the Babson College Executive Education Center in Wellesley, MA is considered one of the top executive leadership experiences provided by any member organization, anywhere. Babson is a perennial number one provider of leadership and entrepreneurship programs in the world, and the relationship that has developed between Babson and MCAA over the years is a model for executive education partners everywhere. Read more here.

“Going through ALI was an amazing and rewarding experience! It has opened doors for me and given me the confidence I needed to take on the role as president. I’m excited about my future and the future of our company as we celebrate 110 years in 2018!”

— Kori Gormley-Huppert, President, Gormley Plumbing + Mechanical

For an application to get on the Course 18 wait list, contact MCAA’s Dennis Langley.