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Apply Now for a Prestigious MCAA/CNA Safety Excellence Award!

MCAA and long-time partner in safety CNA bring you the prestigious MCAA/CNA Safety Excellence Awards Program. Top awards are based on your company’s safety program’s success, and innovative safety initiatives. There are first place winners in each of five size categories. Each first place winner receives a plaque at MCAA’s annual Convention.

To be eligible to receive one of these awards you’ll have to complete an application online and submit it to MCAA by January 10, 2018. If your company wins an award, someone from the company must be available to receive it at the annual Awards of Excellence Breakfast on March 28, 2018 at MCAA18 in San Antonio, Texas. If you have any questions about the program, please e-mail or call Pete Chaney at pchaney@mcaa.org, or 301-990-2214.

Application

 

Explore the Latest from EVAPCO, Inc., Delta Faucet Company 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:

EVAPCO, Inc. MCAA Virtual Trade ShowEVAPCO, Inc.
The new eco-Air Series of dry and adiabatic products provide a broad range of heat transfer solutions with minimal or no water use with V or flat coil configurations. These coolers and condensers offer great flexibility.

Learn More


Delta Faucet Company - MCAA Virtual Trade ShowDelta Faucet Company
Set apart from typical modern design by its divergence from cool, straight lines, the Tesla™ Bath Collection is an elegant, soft, contemporary solution for a modern space.

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

Find Solutions to Your Leadership Challenges at MCAA’s Advanced Leadership Institute

Looking for solutions to your leadership challenges and needs? MCAA’s unique leadership development opportunity, the Advanced Leadership Institute, or ALI, can help.

Here’s what Kori Gormley-Huppert, President of Gormley Plumbing + Mechanical and a graduate of ALI Course 17, had to say about her ALI experience:

“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!”

Learn How to be More Productive at MCAA18

Charles Duhigg MCAA18Productivity is often measured by the speed at which we tackle our to-do lists. Real productivity, however, comes from thinking differently—managing how we identify goals, construct teams, direct our focus and make decisions.

In this session, Charles Duhigg looks at what separates the merely busy from the genuinely productive by exploring eight critical concepts. With case studies from a U.S. Marine Corps boot camp, the making of Disney’s Frozen, and how Google sought to build the perfect team, he explains how people and companies become smarter, faster and better.

Sponsored by Baltimore Aircoil.

Duhigg BooksCharles Duhigg is the bestselling author of The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business, which explores the science of habit formation, and Smarter Faster Better: The Secrets of Being Productive in Life and Business. He is a Pulitzer prize-winning investigative reporter for The New York Times for his series of articles focused on Apple, “The iEconomy.”

Learn More About Charles Duhigg

MSCA CONNECT 2017 Session on Planned HVAC Maintenance Featured in Contracting Business Magazine!

MSCA CONNECT 2017’s recent session on preventative maintenance is featured in Contracting Business Magazine’s latest article about how the value for preventive HVAC maintenance continues to be a popular topic at industry events.

The article highlights three of the industry’s best preventatice maintenance proponents: David Bavisotto, vice president, service with Illingworth-Kilgust Mechanical and past chair of MSCA board of managers; Steve Smith, senior vice president, ACCO Engineered Systems and treausurer of MSCA board of managers; and Jon Finch, vice president, training and recruiting, Milwaukee Tools.

Click the button below to read the article.

The Benefits of the Construction Health and Safety Technician (CHST) Certification

Construction health and safety professionals benefit tremendously from earning the  Construction Health and Safety Technician (CHST) certification. Just the hazard recognition skills gained, and the incident prevention solutions learned make the certification process well worth the effort.  However, the professional recognition and instant credibility that go along with it are extremely beneficial too, especially when health and safety professionals find themselves negotiating with a GC, CM, or owner who doesn’t fully understand a jobsite safety or health issue.

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.

 

Want Your Field Leaders to Become Business and Results-Oriented Managers? This Conference is for Them!

Read why Keith Atteberry, President/CEO of Marelich Mechanical, a large contractor in California, finds the MCAA training a must for his employees.

“Being a mechanical contractor in today’s market is as challenging as it has ever been. Technology and innovation are evolving at a rapid pace and it is imperative that we make every effort to assure all of our people are trained and educated to keep pace. This particularly holds true for our field personnel who are on the front lines daily.

As a large mechanical contractor, we provide a high level of training for our people on a consistent basis, but we are constantly looking for a program that helps take that training to another level. The MCAA Field Leaders Conference fits that need perfectly.

Not only does this program provide the highest level of education and training for our field personnel, it also allows them to interact with their peers throughout the country. This interaction is invaluable and stimulates our people with new ideas and energy. Besides providing everyone with great training, they come back highly motivated to take what they have learned and push it down throughout the organization. It is truly remarkable.

I cannot recommend this course enough and, if you want to take your team, and your company to the next level, make sure you take advantage of this course. We have sent a significant number of people to previous sessions and will continue to do so as long as they are offered.

Don’t miss out. Get your people signed up today!”

Learn more about the May 16 -18, 2018 Indianapolis conference and register your team today!

Your Business is the Best…Tell the World!

Your business provides the highest quality mechanical, service and plumbing services to all commercial establishments in your market area…but are you getting the word out? With help from MCAA’s Management Methods Bulletins, your company could be the first one called when a project or service is needed.

Public Relations: An Important Marketing Tool for the Mechanical Contractor offers a wide variety of ideas to help you reach out to existing and potential customers about the range of services your company provides. Direct advertising ideas range from television and radio ads to fliers, circulars and newspaper inserts. Your involvement in the community through civic groups, sponsorships of special events and contributions to local charities increases your company’s name recognition and broadens your prospects for new business.

Social media has added to the possible avenues for business marketing.  Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and others have become popular venues for advertising because they reach a huge audience. Guidelines to Using Social Media in Your Business helps you sort out the best options for your company and issues you should consider when choosing them.

Another tried and true way to connect with your customers is with a newsletter.  A well-written and designed company newsletter keeps your customers—old and new—up to date on project developments, changes to your services, staff, equipment and much more. Creating a Readable Corporate Newsletter provides valuable tips on how to produce an attractive, informative publication that your customers will want to read.

Less tangible but equally important marketing tips suggest ways for you and your staff to promote your company’s name as a service- and people-oriented business. Listening to Our Customers and Why Mechanical Contractors Should Furnish Equipment will help you build your company’s positive reputation and spread the word about its “customer first” culture.

These and many more valuable Management Methods Bulletins, designed to help your company address and overcome a myriad of business challenges, are available for download at no charge as an MCAA member benefit.

And, for complete information about branding, advertising and how to design your own promotions, take a look at Guide Marketing Your Business. It’s also available as a free download to MCAA members.

Looking for Another Management Methods Bulletin?

You can find them on our Management Methods Bulletins page. There, you’ll find the bulletins 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

Registration for Growing and Developing Service Supervisors is Now Open!

MSCA’s Growing and Developing Service Supervisors program, scheduled for April 19-20, 2018 and to be held in Brookfield, WI, is a two-day hands-on program that uses real world exercises and relatable video recorded role plays that engages participants. Your Service Supervisor will be able to easily incorporate the skills learned from this program into their everyday responsibilities.

Every participant who completes the program will receive a Certificate of Completion and a comprehensive workbook to use for day-to-day responsibilities in areas such as safety, operations, training, tools and vehicles. This valuable workbook contains more than 100 sample forms, procedures, checklists and reports that field supervisors use daily. Sign up for this program by clicking the button below.

Don’t Miss Out On the Benefits of Attending MCAA’s 2018 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.

Emily Murphy Confirmed to Lead the U.S. General Services Administration

Emily Murphy, a former procurement policy consultant for the MCAA Government Affairs Committee and daughter of former MCAA President Jim Murphy and Mimi Murphy, was confirmed by the Senate as the new leader of the U.S. General Services Administration. The GSA is the lead civilian agency focusing on procurement policy and government operations.

Ms. Murphy’s confirmation hearing was held on October 18, 2017. She was introduced by Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill, the Ranking Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle were supportive of Ms. Murphy’s appointment and exceptionally strong credentials for the position.

Watch the confirmation hearing

Workplace Violence Prevention and Protection Safety Training Video & Materials Now Available

MCAA’s new worker safety training video, Workplace Violence Prevention and Protection, and its accompanying materials are now available to members. The video teaches viewers to identify warning signs and take appropriate action to prevent workplace violence. It also shows viewers how to protect themselves and others if they find themselves in an active workplace violence situation.

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 Project DocControl, Mitsubishi Electric 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:

Project DocControl MCAA Virtual Trade ShowProject DocControl
Created by and for specialty contractors, Project DocControl helps you increase productivity, reduce risk, enhance company image and improve accountability with our Cloud or Server project management.

Learn More


Mitsuibishi Electric Kumo Cloud - MCAA Virtual Trade ShowMitsubishi Electric
Personal comfort just got smarter. Mitsubishi Electric’s kumo cloud™ app helps you provide more value and services to your customers with anytime, anywhere smart control of their HVAC system on almost any smartphone or tablet.

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

MSCA CONNECT 2017 Featured in the NEWS (ACHRNews)!

MSCA CONNECT 2017 is featured in the current issue of the NEWS, the HVACR Contractor’s Weekly Newsmagazine. Under the title, “MSCA Connect – Where Everybody Knows a Trade”, the article is a well-written summary of our action-packed, education-filled, exciting and fun four-day conference at the Boca Raton Resort and Club in Boca Raton, Florida this past October!

Read the article by clicking the button below!

Soldering Lead-Free Valves Takes Added Practice

Plumbing manufacturers have made great efforts to remove as much lead as possible to comply with regulations established under the Safe Drinking Water Act. In order to meet these requirements, most manufacturers have used brass alloys containing small amounts of silicon or bismuth to improve machability. In the following years, most plumbers learned how to effectively make joints with the new alloys, but sometimes it is not apparent how complete the fill is in joints unless they are tested.

A recently released NCPWB technical bulletin demonstrated how joints that appear to be correctly soldered could often be frayed. The bulletin’s author, Walt Sperko, provided examples of incorrect joints and guidance. Pre-heating the tube more than the casting is critical for no lead copper alloys. This is because casting’s thermal conductivity is much lower than copper.

Incomplete fill from under-heating

When the plumber does not spend enough time on heating the tube, the solder has a tendency to only partially fill the joint. While silicon-based alloys were found to be more difficult to wet properly, both proved insufficient with poor technique.

NCPWB members can also download the Soldering Procedure Specification resource SPS-107-1 to better understand the welding procedures for brass and lead-free alloys.

A Thank You from Our Family Members Devastated by Hurricane Harvey

Hear from some of those affected by the Houston floods earlier this year. Your donations to the MCAA Disaster Relief Fund are making a difference for them and other UA and MCAA family members whose lives have been turned upside down by natural disasters.

If you would like to make a contribution to our Fund you can easily do so via a check made out to the “MCAA Disaster Relief Fund.” Checks can be mailed to the attention of MCAA CEO John Gentille at the MCAA National Office, 1385 Piccard Drive, Rockville, MD 20850.

Get Profitable Results and Improve Performance with MSCA’s Sales Basecamp!

Have you recently added new sales staff to your team? Could your current sales team members benefit from taking a refresher course? If your answer is “Yes”, register them now for MSCA’s Sales Basecamp, February 5-6 to be held in Phoenix, AZ. Class size is limited and fills up fast so don’t miss out!

This popular, in-demand, two day program will provide your sales team member with the skills needed to build long-term customer relationships, efficiently and effectively prospect for results, understand the MSCA Sales Cycle, prepare for that first critical meeting and handle objections professionally during the proposal presentation.

Click on the buttons below to register or learn more!

Planning a Joint Venture? Read All About it First!

Entering into a joint venture with another company on a project can bring many benefits—sharing of costs, spreading the risk, pooling equipment, increasing labor, among other advantages. Like most other business arrangements, however, there are issues that may complicate a joint venture. Two Management Methods Bulletins bring these to light.

Basic information that you should know when you consider a joint venture arrangement is laid out in Joint Ventures. Along with the many pluses that come with a joint venture are some suggestions about how to approach the arrangement, when and how to organize and finalize the agreement and the protections that are necessary to ensure a productive and profitable relationship.

Becoming involved in a business arrangement with another company that’s not in the state where your company is incorporated can be complicated. State laws consider out-of-state companies to be “foreign corporations” and therefore must meet certain qualifications to legally transact business. Failure to do so will bring severe penalties to your company as well as the other company in your joint venture. Failure of One Corporate Member of a Joint Venture to Qualify as a Foreign Corporation May Penalize All Venturers alerts you to the issues that you may face when you embark on an out-of-state joint venture.

Joint ventures can be very beneficial business arrangements for all parties involved, but make sure you are fully aware of all the issues involved in such agreements before making a commitment.

Looking for Another Management Methods Bulletin?

You can find them on our Management Methods Bulletins page. There, you’ll find the bulletins 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

MCAA Technology Conference Brings Real Solutions to Members

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.

To get attendees talking and sharing, the conference began with a different sort of panel discussion.  Bluebeam’s Sasha Reed led a panel discussion that was gamified.  To encourage participation, a competition was held with the panelists as well as the attendees themselves.  Josh Bone, James Benham and Nathan Wood attempted to give their best answers to technology questions that contractors faced.  As the questions were being answered, the crowd voted on the best answer.  In the end, Josh Bone, playing on behalf of the charity World Central Kitchen, won the competition.

The next morning, the conference started the day with Nick Espinosa, a white-hat hacker and cyber security specialist with Security Fanatics.  The lively presentation mixed in lessons to avoid exposure to hacking with practical solutions for software and business practices.  Recommendations included spam filters, firewalls and site check software.  If you missed Nick’s presentation, he is speaking at the MCAA 2018 Convention in San Antonio.

Throughout the day, breakout sessions on more specific topics took place.  Each of these sessions featured best practices and roundtable discussions so that contractors could not only learn from their instructors, but from their peers as
well.  From these breakouts, attendees learned about 3D scanning, BIM practices, service software, fabrication technology, augmented reality and more.   It gave the contractors a chance focus in on a narrow set of topics and dive deep on solutions.

One of the breakout sessions highlighted a new tool developed through MCERF funding.  Brett Young, CEO of BuildingSP joined Nathan Wood from Spectrum AEC to discuss the new MCERF Complexity Measurement Tool (CMT).  The CMT is a Revit Add-in that takes the BIM project you are designing and analyzes it for complexity.  With the way that buildings are designed through BIM today, it is possible to build a system that is so complex that in either can’t actually be built or maintained.  The CMT performs a volumetric analysis on a designed space to determine how full a space is with not only MEP materials, but also materials from other design partners like structural.  The MCERF CMT is a free tool developed for the entire industry to use so that buildings can be designed better with more understanding of how complexity impacts the spaces that contractors build in.

For more information on the MCAA Technology Initiative and upcoming programs, visit the MCAA Technology site or contact Sean McGuire.

 

Want to Teach Your Workers to Prevent Jobsite Fires? Check Out this Video!

MCAA’s Fire Safety Training Video will teach your workers to recognize common causes of jobsite fires and how to prevent them.

Your workers will learn about:

  • Health effects of smoke inhalation and burns
  • Common causes of jobsite fires
  • Proper fire prevention techniques
  • Safe fire response, including knowing when to fight the fire and when to get out and leave it to the professionals

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.