MSCA made the News – with HOPE anything is POSSIBLE!
For the eighth consecutive year, MSCA and Convoy of Hope worked together to assist a local charitable organization at MSCA’s annual education conference. This year, MSCA worked in Boca Raton at the Palm Beach County Food Bank, during MSCA CONNECT 2017.
Click the link below for the story!
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%.
Lifting Gear Hire Corporation
Hand chain hoists are available in 1-50 tons and are most ideal for shorter heights of lift. Electric chain hoists are available between 1-10 tons and can provide longer heights of lift. Air chain hoists are available between 0.5 to 60 tons and are lighter and require less headroom.
Find many more smart solutions in MCAA’s Virtual Trade Show!
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!
When the Steamfitters UA Local 602 Mechanical Trades School needed equipment to use in its apprenticeship program, SPX Cooling Technologies donated a Marley® NC cooling tower, enabling the school to present students with a real-world environment. Instructors use the complete new cooling system to teach students how to troubleshoot and fix problems with HVAC systems.
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.
The Mechanical Contracting Education & Research Foundation (MCERF) recently received a $2,500 contribution from the MSCA of New York, Inc. which raised it’s total contributions to $12,500.
“We are proud to support MCERF’s many efforts on behalf of our industry,” said Anthony Saporito, Executive Vice President of the MCA of New York. He added that, “…many of the members of our association benefit from the Foundation’s efforts and we want to support those efforts.”
MCERF President Mark Rogers thanked the MSCA of New York for their generous support of the Foundation. Rogers urges everyone to find out more about MCERF’s programs and activities and to consider making a contribution.
Contact Dennis Langley for more information.
Sure, MCAAGreatFutures.org connects you with the students who will comprise the industry’s future workforce. But do you know that it also provides an easy way for you to locate and connect with nearby student chapters?
Visit the Our Universities section of the site, one of our latest additions. There, you’ll find an interactive map that lets you filter the results to find universities near you. Or, skip the map to browse all of the universities with student chapters.
Each page provides a more detailed look at the university’s academic program, awards, and activities along with the basics, like contact information. In addition, each page highlights the resumes of the university’s students who are looking for their great futures.
So reach out and get in touch. You may just find the next star employee to ensure your company’s great future!
BuiltWorlds, one of the industry’s leading resources for technology related to the building industry, released a new report titled, The Internet of Things: connecting the job site like never before. It details how internet devices are working in conjunction with new software, hardware and processes to make the construction process more efficient and connected.
The number of IoT devices continues to grow as smart buildings are creating the demand for new ways to monitor and track building systems. The report states that the potential impact of IoT devices is could reach $6.2 trillion annually by 2025.
As an MCAA Technology partner, BuiltWorlds has provided the report free to all MCAA members.
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
DEWALT has launched a line of cordless brushless grinders, many of which are part of the Perform & Protect™ line of tools designed to provide a high level of one or more of the following: control, dust containment or low vibration, without sacrificing performance.
Delta Cooling Towers, Inc.
TM Series – capacity from 250 to 2000 cooling tons – Engineered plastic tower provides longer life – Low Maintenance – CTI Certified.
Find many more smart solutions in MCAA’s Virtual Trade Show!
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!
This week is your last chance to register for the MCAA Technology Conference. The conference provides insight on new tools, processes and software that even the most established contractors are having a hard time keeping up with.
This year’s event addresses challenges for your entire team. It was designed for all areas of your company that work with technology. General sessions are combined with in-depth breakout and roundtables to allow for a dive deep for specific users:
There are a lot of events each year, but this conference is the only one that is MEP focused with peers sharing ideas on the latest technology. Don’t miss this opportunity. Register now and I hope to see you in Austin this November 8-10.
Manual collection of paper time cards in the field is prone to errors, takes too much time, and, most importantly, takes attention away from important jobs in the field. Since rolling out Rhumbix so their foremen could go paperless, Independent Mechanical Industries, Inc. (IMI) has found, “Foremen use the Rhumbix app on their iPhones to record time cards in just minutes, [which] allows them to clear their minds and attack the work in front of them,” said David Reynolds, IMI vice president.
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.
MCAA student chapter members have been challenged to plan a project involving the renovation of the mechanical systems of a Brazilian restaurant in mid-town New York City—Fogo De Chao Steakhouse. The project, which was provided by Arista Air Conditioning Corporation, was announced during MCAA’s GreatFutures Forum in Indianapolis on September 30, 2017.
The project calls for the mechanical subcontractor to assist and coordinate the removal of the existing equipment and the installation of the new equipment using variable refrigerant flow technology (VRF). The contractor also must arrange for and coordinate the subcontracted work, manage the project within the space constraints of the restaurant (16,000 sq. ft.) and arrange all necessary city permits and licenses. The mechanical contractor may select the equipment manufacturer.
The original project design called for a chilled water system that was to be installed on the restaurant building’s roof, but the owner preferred a design option using VRF. A Simultaneous Heat Recovery system (producing heating and cooling at the same time) was selected, but bidders are to determine its design and operation.
Proposals are to be submitted in two segments. The first is to include pre-qualification data, such as corporate background, relevant project experience, financial information, a corporate organization chart, Building Information Modeling (BIM) capabilities, the company’s safety record, letters of recommendation and more. The second segment calls for project-specific information, such as a project staffing matrix, a schedule, a detailed construction and/or logistics project plan, unique means and methods anticipated, and a Total Lump Sum Cost Summary Breakdown.
Proposals also must include a Preventative Maintenance and Service Contract which must incorporate a complete energy service agreement covering all the installed equipment, complete tasking of all equipment, tracking and analysis of all energy used in the system, a monthly report of all energy used, a dedicated mechanic and a back-up familiar with the restaurant and the equipment, quarterly reviews of the energy spent, filter service, estimated labor and much more.
Bidders also must take into consideration the following requirements and information:
Proposals, which are due December 15, 2017, will be evaluated by members of MCAA’s Career Development Committee. These members will select the top four scoring teams to present their proposals at the MCAA 2018 convention in San Antonio, TX on March 26, 2018. The winning team will receive $10,000, the second place team will receive $5,000 and the other two finalists will each received $2,500.
For more information, please contact Harlee Gallo.
Small ideas can make a big difference to your company. The MCAA Technology Conference is an event that doesn’t just provide a few small takeaways, but a wealth of ideas that can be applied across your business. Technology is providing so many new tools, processes and software that even the most established contractors are having a hard time keeping up. The MCAA Tech Conference is your crash course on the latest tech trends in the industry and how other contractors are taking advantage of them.
This year’s conference addresses challenges for your entire team. MCAA fields a lot of questions on who should attend. This conference is designed for all areas of your company that work with technology. General sessions are combined with in-depth breakouts and roundtables to dive deep for specific users:
MCAA and MSCA host many educational events each year, but this conference is the only one that is MEP-focused with peers sharing ideas on the latest technologies. Don’t miss this terrific learning opportunity. Register now!
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.
The Mechanical Contracting Education & Research Foundation (MCERF) received a $2,500 contribution from the MCA of New York, Inc. which raised it’s total contributions to $137,500.
Anthony Saporito, Executive Vice President of the MCA of New York said, “The members of our association are benefiting from the work of the Foundation, particularly the internship grants they receive for hiring interns and co-op students. We are proud to support MCERF’s efforts.”
Mark Rogers, President of the MCERF Board of Trustees said the Foundation is very grateful for the generous support of the MCA of New York which helps the Foundation continue its support of education and research programs that keep our industry growing, thriving and advancing. Find out more about MCERF programs and activities and then consider making a donation.
Contact Dennis Langley for more information.
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:
Ferguson
Ferguson is dedicated to helping you keep your complicated jobs on schedule by providing custom solutions. We also offer on-site inventory management and local branch customized support.
Learn More
FARO Technologies, Inc.
FARO develops portable 3D imaging devices designed to capture and deliver real world information into the digital world for building and industrial facility documentation during the project lifecycle.
Find many more smart solutions in MCAA’s Virtual Trade Show!
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!
By using Aquatherm polypropylene-random (PP-R) Blue Pipe® to replace carbon-steel pipe at Berry Global’s injection-molding facility, the P1 Group of Lawrence, KS, successfully completed installation in just 24 hours. The lightweight pipe is easy to transport and easy to join using a flameless heat-fusion technique that saves time. The speed of installation was more than just a productivity win for the contractor; at Berry Global, a mere half-second loss in production time can cost tens of thousands of dollars.
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.
The networking and hiring continued on the second day of the GreatFutures Forum.
More students found their great futures. Here are a couple examples:
Garrett Duncan of Iowa State University is headed to SIEMENS.
Luke Tackes of Missouri State University will join the team at Murphy Company.
Congratulations to the new hires and the companies that have secured their futures by bringing in young talent.
The afternoon’s reception and product display offered an opportunity to see how students perform outside the pressure of the interview room.
In the evening, everyone headed to the NCAA Hall of Champions for a dinner sponsored by the MCA of Indiana, which hosted this year’s Forum. Following dinner, there was plenty of time to explore the interactive exhibits.
The second day of the GreatFutures Forum continued with a variety of education sessions focused on teamwork and discussions.
Kevin Dougherty captured attendees’ interest with tales of communication successes and failures from his own career as a contractor. He offered tips on how to maintain the important lines of communication that add insight to intelligence, seasoning to skill and technique to technology.
Tyler Culp, president of the student chapter at the University of Missouri-Columbia showcased his chapter’s meteoric rise from new student chapter to Student Chapter Competition winners in just two years.
Students got a first-hand look at what it’s really like to be a mechanical contractor thanks to “Ted: A Day in the Life.” The video follows Ted McHugh of West Chester Mechanical Contractors in Aston, PA through a typical workday. In addition to highlighting the daily demands associated with keeping a project on time and within budget, it showcases how a great future is achievable in the mechanical industry. Ted McHugh and his boss, MCAA Past President Mark Rogers, were on hand to answer questions and share their experiences.
In It’s All in the Game – Forum Frenzy (Part I), Prof. Tim Wentz of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln challenged student teams to analyze a project and decide how to organize and manage it to successful and completion. The teams have less than 12 hours to prepare to answer a battery of questions. We’ll see how they do tomorrow morning.
New this year were a series of roundtable discussions designed to provide students with a greater understanding of how contracting businesses operate, the types of opportunities typically offered to young professionals, and when and how to make the move upward in a company. Paul Lakin and Kalen Cartwright shared Everything You Want to Know About Mechanical Contracting and Your Future Job. In How to Turn Opportunities into Successes, Shaabini Alford encouraged students to challenge assumptions along the road to success. Kathy McCauley separated facts from fiction and as she answered questions from students about company culture.
Day two of MCAA’s Great Futures Forum opened with an energetic video. See for yourself!
Career Development Committee Member Jon Finch noted that MCAA’s annual career-related conference has grown from and event with 60 attendees to this year’s more than 300.
MCAA President Greg Fuller welcomed attendees to his hometown of Indianapolis, saying “I’m delighted to note that this year we have our largest attendance ever, by a wide margin.” His remarks highlighted the opportunities the mechanical industry offers, both in terms of great futures and lifelong learning available from MCAA.
Before we begin our sessions, I’ve been asked to offer a few serious words of advice. Let me start with a few words about myself, so you know where I’m coming from.
I’m the owner of North Mechanical Contracting, a mechanical construction and service contractor serving commercial, industrial, life sciences, institutional and public sector clients across central Indiana.
I started by becoming a journeyman plumber in 1985, became a superintendent and joined North Mechanical in 1991 as a Project Manager. I transitioned into the company’s leadership as Vice President and purchased the company in 1997, becoming President and Owner. I know you can do the math… that’s 12 short years from starting at the company to becoming it’s owner and president.
And that is just the type of opportunity you can find in the mechanical industry.
All it takes is the willingness to work hard, be willing to take on new responsibilities, and continue learning throughout your career.
For example, our industry is always one of the first to incorporate the latest advances in technologies and practices into our companies – ever increasing use of tablets, Smartphones and apps, augmented and virtual reality, BIM and LEED, drones and total robotic stations. They are changing the way we do business, manage projects and relate to our customers.
Education is a priority at MCAA – in fact, we call ourselves the “education association.” Our education programs for your career include:
– an Institute for Project Management and an Advanced Institute for Project Management;
– an Advanced Leadership Institute for senior executives;
– an annual conference for our contractors specializing in the service side of our business;
– an annual conference that focuses on fabrication and modularization, two trends virtually transforming the way projects are built;
– an annual conference on construction technology;
– an annual conference focusing on the all-important topic of jobsite safety;
– and many, many other conferences, seminars, workshops, webinars, publications and apps…I could go on, but my point is that MCAA member companies take education very seriously, and so do we as their association.
There are people here who have started incredibly successful careers and companies using these resources and educational programs. I dare say that you can, too.
We have a lot of resources on the web.
MCAA.org has hundreds of these same publications that you can download, for free. You just need to create a profile, identify your student chapter, and you’re in.
And the mcaagreatfutures.org website has been redone and relaunched this week to provide news on our student chapters and our industry and assist you in getting your resume in front of our members. If you haven’t logged in and uploaded your resume, talk to Adrienne or Megan or Harlee or any of the staff here and get that done today.
So I’ve told you that in my opinion, you will find more success, more variety of responsibility at an earlier age, and more exposure to new technology with one of our companies that with a gc. I firmly believe that.
What I want to add is that the mechanical industry is a family, where people build connections and develop life-long relationships.
We all watched with horror as Hurricane Harvey flooded homes and vehicles across Houston. The destruction devastated over 350 individuals in MCAA’s family, folks who work for member companies. MCAA started a disaster relief fund, and in three weeks we raised a significant amount of money and were able to cut checks totaling 443 thousand dollars to these individuals to help them rebuild their lives.
That’s family. It’s our family. And we’re inviting you to join it.
In closing, let me say that I have no doubt that whatever path you follow, you are going to have a great future! I look forward to seeing many of you at our annual convention in March in San Antonio, and at the finals of the student chapter competition there.
So enjoy your time here, please take advantage of the educational and networking opportunities, and please join me in giving yourselves a round of applause for being here! After all, we are the champions!
