Archives: News Items

Anderson, Rowe & Buckley Shaves Hours, Speeds Up Cash Flow With MobiliForms From iBusiness

Anderson, Rowe & Buckley (AR&B) deployed MobiliForms from iBusiness Technologies, cutting labor costs and going paperless painlessly. “Our 100+ field techs are shaving time each day, and I’ve personally recaptured eight hours per week,” said Darin Sheridan, HVAC superintendent, who is tasked with overseeing the solution.

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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

Enforcement of OSHA’s Electronic Reporting Requirements for Workplace Injuries/Illnesses Delayed to December 15, 2017

Enforcement of the electronic reporting requirements in OSHA’s recently revised recordkeeping rule has been delayed to December 15, 2017.

Enforcement Dates:

Employers of 250 or More Employees (large employers) – Electronically submit to OSHA 2016 OSHA 300 A Summary information by December 15, 2017.  Going forward, large employers will be required to electronically submit to OSHA information from their OSHA 300 Log, OSHA 300 A Summary, and OSHA 301 Incident Report Forms once each year. The 2017 information must be submitted by July 1, 2018. However, starting in 2019 and each year thereafter, the information from the preceding year must be submitted by March 2nd.

Employers of 20 to 249 Employees (small employers) – Electronically submit to OSHA 2016 OSHA 300 A Summary information by December 15, 2017.  The 2017 information must be submitted by July 1, 2018. Starting in 2019 and each year thereafter, the information from the preceding year must be submitted by March 2nd.

Electronic Submittal Information and Portal – Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries/Illnesses

MCAA Safety BulletinImprove Tracking of Workplace Injuries/Illnesses

OSHA Final Rule – Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries/Illnesses

Is a Project Giving You Headaches? Management Methods Bulletins Can Help!

When a project goes off-track or your plans for a new project hit a snag, where or who do you turn to for help? One resource is MCAA’s Management Methods Bulletins. A series of bulletins are available to help you solve troublesome project management issues.

The Job Management bulletins cover a wide range of issues from organizing and managing a project team to scheduling to controlling project costs to pre-project planning, just to name a few. For example, several bulletins are designed to help you organize and plan your project more efficiently and effectively at the outset.

Pre-Job Conferences lists the people and items that you should pull together to discuss project design, scheduling issues, equipment needs and crew coordination. Integrated Project Delivery (IPD), Design-Assist Project Delivery and Why Contractors Should Do LEAN describe project management strategies that have resulted in more trouble-free, efficient and productive projects.

The information contained in these bulletins may just have the answers you’ve been looking for to solve your project management challenges.

Want The Rest of the Job Management Bulletins?

You can find them under the Job Management category on our Management Methods Bulletins page. While you’re there, browse the other bulletins, all listed by category with links to help you get what you need quickly.

GO THERE NOW

Or, find them 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

ALI Course 17 Graduates 33 – ALI Course 18 Applications Available

NOTE: The dates for the next Advanced Leadership Institute, which will be ALI Course 18, are September 23-27 and November 4-9, 2018. For an application, contact MCAA’s Dennis Langley.

The 33 graduates of MCAA’s Advanced Leadership Institute (ALI) Course 17 reflect the culmination of 16 years of intense ALI program design, attendee evaluation/selection, and precise execution by MCAA’s partner, Babson Executive Education. It was, according to Keith Rollag, Babson’s ALI Faculty Director, “…a program where the faculty, the curriculum, and most of all, the goals and chemistries of the attendees, just all seemed in sync. It was remarkable!”

This incredibly cohesive group also attacked their final team projects, developing new or updating existing Management Methods Manual topics with the same energy, intelligence and humor they applied to everything else in Course 17.

The six projects the teams undertook were:

Team 1   “Video Conferencing”

Team 2   “Unmanned Aerial Vehicles – Are They Needed in Your Business?”

Team 3   “Value Engineering”

Team 4   “Retention of Professional Staff”

Team 5   “Fleet Maintenance – Effective Prevention to Keep Your Vehicles Running & Your Team Working”

Team 6   “Construction Contract for Cost of Work Plus a Fee”

In 2015 (Course 15), MCAA’s ALI Committee decided to challenge this once-a-year assembly of some of the sharpest minds in our industry to use their final class projects to bolster and improve our industry’s preeminent body of knowledge, MCAA’s Management Methods Manual. The results continue to get better as MCAA better defines the project goals and as attendees learn more by standing on the shoulders who have graduated before them.

MCAA’s Management Methods Committee will review each topic and will decide which get added immediately to the Manual and which may need a bit more development. Those accepted will make it into the next update of the Management Methods Manual.

The dates for the next Advanced Leadership Institute, which will be ALI Course 18, are September 23-27 and November 4-9, 2018. For an application, contact MCAA’s Dennis Langley.

 

Want to Educate Your Workers About Workplace Distractions? This Video Can Help!

MCAA’s Workplace Distractions Safety Training Video will help your workers recognize and avoid the most common industry-related workplace distractions.

Your workers will learn about the four most common types of distractions:

  • Driving distractions
  • Electronic distractions
  • Environmental distractions
  • Personal distractions

Download or play the video

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 Even 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.

Find the Latest from Sloan Valve Company, Mueller Industries, 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:

Sloan Carbon Neutral ProductsSloan Valve Company
Sustainability in the Commercial Restroom – Sloan now offers a series of carbon-free products to reduce environmental impact.

Learn More


Mueller Streamline PRS MCAA Virtual Trade Show
Mueller Industries, Inc.
Mueller Industries’ Streamline PRS press fittings are the trusted, quality solution to flameless copper joining.

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

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

Daikin Rooftop Units Paired With Intelligent Equipment Protect Museum’s Collections

To meet the stringent standards for climate control required to protect its treasured artwork and artifacts in storage, the University of California Berkeley’s Regatta Museum installed Daikin Rebel® commercial rooftop systems, paired with the Daikin Intelligent Equipment® solution that provides real-time data. Using the software solution saved time and money during the 6-week startup and commissioning process of a critical control application where rooftop package units are seldom used.

LEARN MORE

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

MCAA Technology Conference Highlights How the Best Contractors are Innovating

MCAA went to Austin, Texas for the 2017 Technology Conference.  Over three days, members learned about the latest and greatest hardware, software and process innovations in the industry.

If you missed out on the conference, watch the recap video to see some of the conference highlights and interviews.

The success of the conference came from a blend of the best industry speakers with real-life contractor case studies.  With a dozen breakout sessions that all involved roundtables, contractors were able to expand their network and learn how other contractors were innovating and facing some of the exact same problems.

If you missed out on the conference, some of the headline speakers will be at MCAA 2018 in San Antonio.  Register now if you are interested.

Announcing MSCA Sales Institute Program Schedule for 2018!

Announcing the MSCA Sales Institute Program Schedule For 2018!
Registration is Now Open So Sign Up For Your Class Today!

January 29 – 30, 2018, Sales Leadership Symposium in Irvine, CA
February 5 – 6 , 2018, Sales Basecamp in Phoenix, AZ
April 15 – 19, 2018, Sales Masters Week 1 in Oak Brook, IL
May 7 – 8, 2018,  Sales Basecamp in Chicago, IL
November 4 – 9, 2018, Sales Masters Week 2  in Houston, TX

MSCA’s Sales Institute, an MSCA University program is the first and only focused training program specific to service sales in the HVACR industry. This program, unlike any other, provides a clear career path for growing and developing service sales professionals to ensure their success, enhance their value to the company, encourage retention and, ultimately, increase sales. Nowhere else does such a comprehensive educational offering exist that focuses on your needs.

Sign up using the links below:

Sales Leadership Symposium

Sales Basecamp

Sales Masters Week 1 Sales Masters Week 2

Register Now for MCAA’s 15th Annual Safety Directors’ Conference

Register now for MCAA’s 15th Annual Safety Directors’ Conference.  Join us January 23-25, 2018 at the Marriott Marquis, San Diego, California, for this “must attend” conference for all safety professionals. The 2018 conference theme is “Not on Our Watch,” where attendees will get even better at helping our fitters, plumbers, and service technicians protect themselves for workplace hazards.

Not only will attendees receive world class industry-specific education on emerging safety issues, applicable safety regulations, best safe work practices, and new safety technologies, attendees will have the opportunity to hear from  motivational speaker Neil Pasricha who will leave them feeling highly motivated and energized.

This conference continues to grow each and every year. For fourteen consecutive years the number of conference attendees has increased in large increments. We are already on target to set a new record for attendance in 2018.

Registration is $735 for members, $75 per guest and $900 for Exhibitors.

Please contact MCAA Director of Safety & Health, Pete Chaney at pchaney@mcaa.org if you have any questions.

Has Your Safety Director Earned A Professional Safety Certification?

Help your company’s safety director increase his or her knowledge of construction health and safety subjects, and improve that persons professional standing by encouraging the earning of the professional safety certification… Construction Health and Safety Technician – Professional Designation – CHST.

The Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP) is the most highly recognized and respected professional safety and health certification body in the nation, and it enjoys the same recognition and respect in many countries overseas. The BCSP awards the Construction Health and Safety Technician (CHST) to individuals who demonstrate competency and work in the health and safety profession devoted to the prevention of construction illnesses and injuries.

MCAA is presenting a Construction Health and Safety Technician (CHST) certification examination preparation workshop in conjunction with its 15th Annual Safety Directors’ Conference in January 2018.  The workshop will be presented shortly after the Safety Directors’ Conference concludes the afternoon of Thursday January 25th, and all day the 26th and 27th  This is an incredible opportunity for your company’s safety professional to become even better at what he or she does for a living.

The workshop fee is normally $950 per person. However, MCAA Safety Directors’ Conference attendees, who are also attending the workshop, will pay $750. Information to help plan is below. If planning to attend the CHST certification examination preparation workshop, please send an e-mail  to (pchaney@mcaa.org) as soon as possible to let us know that you will be attending. We’ll send you a registration form immediately.

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

15th Annual Safety Directors’ Conference Week Schedule & Information (January 2018)

  • Location – San Diego Marriott Marquis & Marina
  • Pre-Conference First Aid and/or CPR/AED Instructor Courses – January 22 & 23 (Morning)
  • Pre-Conference First Aid and/or CPR/AED Courses – January 23 (morning)
  • MCAA’s 15th Annual Safety Directors’ Conference – January 23 12:30 p.m. – 25 Conclude at Noon)
  • Post Conference CHST certification preparation course – January 25 – 1:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. 2018 – January 26 & 27 – 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

 

Enforcement of Electronic Reporting of Workplace Injuries/Illnesses Delayed to December 15, 2017

Enforcement of the electronic reporting requirements in OSHA’s recently revised recordkeeping rule has been delayed to December 15, 2017.

Enforcement Dates:

Employers of 250 or More Employees (large employers) – Electronically submit to OSHA 2016 OSHA 300 A Summary information by December 15, 2017.  Going forward, large employers will be required to electronically submit to OSHA information from their OSHA 300 Log, OSHA 300 A Summary, and OSHA 301 Incident Report Forms once each year. The 2017 information must be submitted by July 1, 2018. However, starting in 2019 and each year thereafter, the information from the preceding year must be submitted by March 2nd.

Employers of 20 to 249 Employees (small employers) – Electronically submit to OSHA information from their OSHA 300 A Summary once each year. The 2016 information was supposed to have been submitted by December 15, 2017. The 2017 information must be submitted by July 1, 2018. Starting in 2019 and each year thereafter, the information from the preceding year must be submitted by March 2nd.

Electronic Submittal Information and Portal – Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries/Illnesses

MCAA Safety BulletinImprove Tracking of Workplace Injuries/Illnesses

OSHA Final Rule – Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries/Illnesses

Find the Latest from Baltimore Aircoil Company, Inc., Parker Hannifin 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:
Baltimore Aircoil Company, Inc. MCAA Virtual Trade Show
Baltimore Aircoil Company, Inc.

The ENDURADRIVE™ Fan System Retrofit Kit is a direct drive motor system that provides 100% reliability on transmission components and a 90% reduction in maintenance costs, all while providing an increase in energy savings by 10%.

Learn More

Parker Hannifin MCAA Virtual Trade Show
Parker Hannifin
Transair® is the original aluminium pipe work system for industrial fluids and your best solution for Compressed Air, Inert Gas and Vacuum applications.

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

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

John E. Green Company Saves Installation Time, Ensures Energy Efficiency With an Array of Johnson Controls Products

John E. Green Company (JEG) trusted its longtime partner, Johnson Controls, to help them meet the demands of Detroit Medical Center’s (DMC’s) new tower and identify products that could save the contractor installation time. YORK® YMC2 centrifugal magnetic drive chillers paired with the Metasys® building automation system (BAS) with Central Plant Optimization 10 (CPO10) optimized energy efficiency, while using YORK Solution Air Handling Units and SimplexGrinnell’s addressable notification system ensured speedy installation.

LEARN MORE

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

MCAA’s Disaster Relief Fund Aids Victims of California’s Devastating Wildfires

Relief checks for $1,500 have been sent to 21 field and office employees of Northern California MCA member firms whose homes were damaged or destroyed by the recent wildfires that devastated Northern California. The United Association has also provided financial assistance to the wildfire victims. This is the latest example of how the generosity of the MCAA and the UA family has enabled the two organizations to come to the aid of those among us who have been victimized by disaster.

An Exposure Control Plan is Required for Compliance with OSHA’s Respirable Crystalline Silica Standard

A written silica exposure control plan is required for compliance with OSHA’s Respirable Crystalline Silica standard, regardless of whether your company uses the exposure control methods established in Table 1 of the standard, or the standard’s alternative exposure control methods. MCAA has model programs covering both exposure control method options. Both plans are available for free to members as a benefit of membership.

Option 1 – Use of Table 1 Exposure Control Methods – Model Plan A

Option 2 – Use of Alternative Exposure Control Methods – Model Plan B

Are you in need of other mechanical construction industry-specific safety resources for silica? MCAA has you covered. The following resources are also free to members.

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

Safety Leadership Training for Supervisors

Effective safety leadership is as important to the safety of our fitters, plumbers, service technicians, and other workers as all the rules, regulations, protective equipment, and other fundamental safety program componenets. The Center for Construction Research and Training (CPWR) has developed a 2.5-hour safety leadership course that can be presented as a stand-alone course, or included as one of the electives in the OSHA 30 Hour Construction Safety Standards course. Teaching materials can be downloaded for free…  Teaching Materials

Learn More

 

Cut the Legal Red Tape with Management Methods Bulletins

Legal challenges are bound to arise in a mechanical, service or plumbing business…and they often do. That’s why MCAA’s Management Methods Committee has compiled a series of bulletins that cover a wide range of legal issues from protection of lien rights to contractual provisions to pension issues to tax questions.

Bulletins are now available to provide basic information about an issue that’s confronting your business. Their content is not intended to equip you to resolve the issue on your own, but rather to provide you with enough information to consult with an attorney about strategies for moving forward. For example, Multi-Employer Defined Contribution Plans—Are You Liable for Another Contractor’s Delinquency? concerns situations where members of a bargaining unit may be held financially responsible for a contractor’s non-payment of pension contributions. Contract Clauses, Liability of a Prime Contractor for Interference with a Subcontractor and Employers’ Liability When Contributing to Union Testimonial Dinners will brief you on issues to consider when situations arise.

Knowing the basics of federal laws affecting your business is critical to its success. For example, you should review Purchases and Sales of Goods Under the Uniform Commercial Code, Tax Requirements Applicable to Travel Reimbursements, Advances and Bargaining Units Subsistence Allowance and Federal Prompt Payment Act to ensure your transactions and tax preparations are consistent with current law. And, be sure to review Records Retention, which offers guidelines on which business records to keep and when and how to properly dispose of those records.

These are just a few examples of bulletins that can help you get a handle on a legal issue. While all of these bulletins offer valuable and helpful information on a variety of legal matters, always consult with your attorney before entering into a legal proceeding.

Want More Management Methods Bulletins?

You can find them on our Management Methods Bulletins page, where they’re listed by category with links.

GO THERE NOW

Or, find them 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

Need to Teach Workers About Hazard Communication? This Video Can Help!

MCAA’s Hazard Communication Safety Training Video will help your workers protect themselves from chemical hazards in the workplace.

Your workers will learn about:

  • The globally harmonized system for communicating chemical information
  • Hazard communication programs
  • Chemical container labels
  • Safety Data Sheets (SDSs)

Download or play the video

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

Plus, give workers a quick jobsite reference

Download the GHS Pictograms and Hazards Poster

Want Even 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.