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2017 Student Internship Grants Available Through MCERF!

The Mechanical Contracting Education & Research Foundation (MCERF) is again making available Student Internship Grants to all MCAA members who hire college students majoring in a discipline related to mechanical contracting.  The grants are for $1,000, and MCAA members are eligible to apply for up to two grants during 2017.

MCERF funds the grants to encourage MCAA members to draw student interns into our industry.  Everyone wins!  The student gains valuable knowledge from the skills and experience of the contractor and his/her team which enhances the student’s resume and may positively affect his/her future career plans.  The contractor gains from the student’s new perspective and savvy technology expertise and the grant helps cover the intern’s salary.

So when you hire a student intern this year, apply for a grant. It’s quick, easy and you’ll enjoy the benefits for years to come.

apply for a grant

MSCA’s Plumbing Service 101 Webinar Now Available

If you missed the February webinar of Plumbing Service 101, Plumbing Service Business Basics, don’t worry, you can now access the first module webinar of Plumbing Service 101 in both MSCA’s Resource Center and in Archived Webinars.

The first program module, Plumbing Service Business Basics, provides you with essential information on the value of adding plumbing services to your product offerings. Three successful plumbing service contractors discuss the opportunities and decision factors to consider when thinking about plumbing service for your company. They also review the initial resource and investment requirements needed before delving into this venture.

Each module consists of a 60-minute webinar and corresponding workbook. Webinars and workbooks are free to MSCA/MCAA members.

Access the webinar in Archived Webinars

The next webinar, Plumbing Service Markets, is scheduled for April 25, 2017 at 1:00 pm EDT.

Register for April 25th webinar here

Now Available! MSCA’s Insights into Field Service Software Webinar

The Insights into Field Service Software webinar is now available to members for access. This webinar featured a discussion of the recent findings of the MSCA Field Service Software Report and its analysis of the current state of service software.

Technology expert Kelly Doyle with JBKnowledge helped participants gain a better understanding of how to identify and evaluate service software functionality — which provides the best fit for your company. MSCA past-chairman Scott Berger, Arista Air Conditioning, Long Island City, NY, facilitated the program.

The MSCA Field Service Software Report, part of the MCAA Construction Technology Research Series and the Insights into Field Service Software webinar are both available below.

Access here

MSCA’s Sales Basecamp Accelerates Performance

Do members on your service sales team need a refresher course? Have you recently added new staff to your sales team? If your answer is yes, register them now for the upcoming MSCA Sales Basecamp course, May 1-2 to be held in Philadelphia, PA.

This is the last MSCA Sales Basecamp course of 2017. This popular 2 – day program will provide 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 below for details or to register your sales team members.

Details & Brochure

MCAA-Focused Technology Report Released

MCAA sponsored the 2016 Construction Technology Report, produced by MCAA’s technology partner, JBKnowledge. The report provided an in-depth look at practices in the industry regarding technology spending, software selection, hardware use and IT staffing.

As part of our sponsorship, MCAA has now published a new MCAA-Focused report that segments out responses given by MCAA members and compares them to the rest of the construction industry. With this new report, MCAA members can not only see how their companies compare to other MCAA members, but how our membership compares to the industry at large.

This new resource is free to MCAA members as a benefit of membership.

Download the report

Of special interest is that one of the key findings from the report focuses on how MCAA members approach BIM on projects. When asked who takes the lead on BIM, more than half of the members responded that they run them.  The report states:

“Given the higher level of BIM maturity, it is not surprising to see MCAA members taking the lead – it’s often easier for specialty trades to ramp up on BIM, specific to their projects, than a General Contractor working to understand BIM from all perspectives of a project.”

Leading the BIM process in construction takes a combination of experience with the software and having the personnel to manage the software. The new MCAA-Focused Report looks at which software MCAA members use and who they employ in their BIM departments. MCAA has also published reports specifically on BIM software as well as coordination software that links BIM to the Field.

This latest report also goes beyond virtual design and construction. It provides analysis on other aspects of technology, including software and apps that focus on plan management, safety, accounting, takeoff and scheduling.

To keep up to date on the latest in technology, visit MCAA’s Technology Initiative website and follow @mcaageek.

Interested in “Smart Solutions”?

Check out the very latest Smart Solutions which spotlights mechanical contractors who found their win-win. By partnering with members of MCAA’s Manufacturer/Supplier Council, these companies found innovative ways to meet their contractor clients’ needs by improving productivity, cutting costs and saving time on the job.

This section of our website also features tips and ideas on other ways you and your company can save money and enhance your productivity.

VISIT SMART SOLUTIONS

ALI Course 17 Is Sold Out!

MCAA’s 2017 offering of its Advanced Leadership Institute (ALI) is now sold out.  Starting in 2014, every ALI has sold out before March for a class that starts the following September.  The 2017 class will be held at the Babson Executive Education Center, Wellesley, MA on the weeks of September 10-14 and November 5-10.

ALI 17 will be capped at 36 attendees as the rise in demand has also pushed the size of the classes ever upward…ALI 16 saw a record 39 graduates.  To insure that each graduate of each class gets the very best professional leadership experience they can receive, ALI Chair Jody Ralston (CEO of High Purity Systems, Manassas,VA) says, “We will balance the demand for the ALI with the end goals and we will cap the class size at 36. We believe this allows us to maximize the number of MCAA members through each course while maintaining ideal group sizes for various exercises and team competitions.”

A waiting list will be started to accommodate persons who may still wish to attend pending any program cancellations.  To get on the list or to learn more about the ALI, contact Dennis Langley.

Looking for Cost-Effective Pipe Fabricator Options?

If you’re looking for a fabricator that will make consistent repeatable pipe cuts for a fraction of the cost of commercial cutters, check out the award-winning innovation created by Air Masters Corporation of Fenton, MO and described in a recently-released MCAA Management Methods Bulletin.

The idea for the fabricator was sown when Air Masters started looking around for fabrication equipment that would reduce shop time, enhance the services it offers to its customers and increase its competitiveness in the marketplace. However, Air Masters discovered that pipe fabricators that would meet its needs could cost as much as $250,000, a substantial investment for a small company.

Air Masters invented a solution to this challenge—the CNC Pipe Fabricator. It was created with already existing components and custom-designed software. The fabricator was designed for 2 ½” to 12” pipe, mounts on the end of any pipe roller bed and can make straight, inside bevel, outside bevel, saddle cuts or hole selected. Its total cost came to less than $30,000. And, in recognition of its innovation, Air Masters was presented with the E. Robert Kent Award for Management Innovation.

So, if future plans for your company include a pipe fabrication operation, the CNC Pipe Fabricator may be a good option.  Find out more about this impressive innovation.

 

Safety Regulation Compliance Deadlines for 2017

Several of OSHA’s recently released safety and health regulations have provisions that become enforceable sometime this year.  The three that apply to the mechanical industry are silica, recordkeeping, and crane operator certification. Each of these regulations is currently under scrutiny by the new administration and various employer groups. It is conceivable that one or more of the compliance deadlines could be extended or rescinded. However, MCAA recommends that you get your company into compliance with all rules that apply to it prior to the established enforcement deadlines. MCAA will let you know immediately if substantive changes are made to any of the regulations. The compliance deadlines are shown below along with notes describing the current status of each regulation.

Respirable Crystalline Silica 

June 23, 2017 – By June 23 affected employers must be in compliance with OSHA’s new rule on respirable crystalline silica. Employers can comply by either following Table 1 of the rule, or by implementing the alternative exposure control methods that are established by the rule. (Note: This rule is under litigation by the Construction Industry Safety Coalition and other groups. The groups that are in opposition to the rule believe that OSHA did not meet its burden of prove with regard to the rule being technologically and economically feasible. It is unknown whether the litigation will be resolved prior to the June 23 enforcement date). 

Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses  

 July 1, 2017  – By July 1 small employers (20 to 249 employees), and large employers (250 or more employees) must electronically submit their OSHA 300A summary information from 2016 to OSHA. The agency will provide a secure website address for submitting the information. MCAA will provide you with that address as soon as it becomes available.  (Note: This regulation is under litigation by several employer groups contesting the anti-retaliation provisions, and the requirement for employers to disclose confidential business information. It is unknown whether the litigation will be resolved prior to the July 1 enforcement date). 

Cranes & Derricks in Construction (Operator Certification)

November 10, 2017 – By November 17 employers with affected crane operators will have to be in compliance with OSHA’s crane operator certification requirements. However, the agency is currently in the process of updating the crane operator certification requirement in its Cranes and Derricks in Construction rule. The agency expects to issue a final rule in time for the November 17 crane operator certification compliance date. (Note: It is unknown whether OSHA will be able to issue a final rule on crane operator certification requirements prior to the November 17 compliance deadline.)

 

 

Have You Visited Our Virtual Trade Show?

MCAA’s Virtual Trade Show connects our contractor members with the members of MCAA’s Manufacturer/Supplier Council, because who doesn’t need the best strategic supply chain to enhance your productivity and profitability! We know you already love the exhibits at the MCAA Convention, MSCA’s Educational Conference, the Safety Directors’ Conference and our Technology Conference. Now in addition you can catch the latest products and other offerings all year long!

Visit the Virtual Trade Show

Hired an Intern? Get a Grant!

If you’ve hired a college student as an intern or a co-op, apply for a $1,000 Student Internship Grant from the Mechanical Contracting Education & Research Foundation (MCERF). Hire another intern and apply for another grant. You can apply for up to two grants through the end of this year.

Student interns or co-ops can greatly benefit your business. They will be eager to put their knowledge and skills to work on an actual project.  They have a fresh perspective on projects and problems, technology capabilities and a desire to learn more about our industry. With the added bonus of the grant, this initiative is a win-win.

If you would like to hire a student intern or a co-op for this spring and summer but haven’t found the right candidate, try MCAAGreatFutures.org.  Almost 240 well-qualified students from colleges and universities across the U.S. and Canada–all members of MCAA student chapters–have posted their resumes and are eager to talk with you about internships or full-time employment opportunities.  Check it out today!

 

 

Watch Highlights from the 2017 Safety Directors Conference

MCAA’s 2017 Safety Directors’ Conference provided world class, industry-specific safety and health education and outstanding networking opportunities for 215 participants. Attendees included occupational safety and health professionals from member firms and local affiliates, UA local instructors, MCA local executives, and others.

Topic experts from around the country presented fifteen educational sessions throughout the three-day conference. Keynote presenter Dr. John Medina, author of the best-selling book Brain Rules, wowed the attendees with his presentation on The Learning Brain as they discovered how to make their own training and educational sessions much more effective. MCAA’s 15th annual Safety Directors’ Conference will be presented in January 2018 in San Diego.

 

Click the image to watch the video

CPMCA Contributes to MCERF

The California Plumbing and Mechanical Contractors Association (CPMCA), Benicia, CA, has contributed an additional $7,500 to MCERF, which raises their cpmcatotal contribution to the Mechanical Contracting Education & Research Foundation (MCERF) to $262,500.  Charles (“Chip”) Martin, Executive Director of the CPMCA, says that he and the entire membership of CPMCA  support MCERF’s efforts to underwrite education for our industry and to help recruit and retain great young people for the industry.

President of MCERF, Mark Rogers, thanked the leadership and members of the CPMCA for their years of support of the Foundation.

For more information on MCERF, contact Dennis Langley (dlangley@mcaa.org).

Thinking of Hiring an Intern? Stop Thinking. Start Hiring.

Looking for your next great employee to groom and help you push your company to the next level? Well there’s an app…no, wait…a bulletin for that! It’s is entitled “How to Find, Hire, and Manage Student Interns” which is Bulletin No. HR 1 Revised in MCAA’s Management Methods Manual. That’s right…you already own it as a free MCAA member benefit! But, wait, there’s more…

MCAA sweetens the deal through its GreatFutures website (www.mcaagreatfutures.org) where you can find resumes from and interact with literally hundreds of great students from MCAA’s 50+ student chapters. Let me guess…you still want more?

OK, then, let’s put a cherry on the top of  your recruitment sundae. The Mechanical Contracting Education & Research Foundation (MCERF) will even pay you $1,000 each for hiring up to two of these awesome interns.

So, let’s review:

  • a free step-by-step, how-to bulletin on How to Find, Hire, and Manage Student Interns
  • a free website with MCAA student chapter interns, photos, and resumes from the brightest young people who want to enter our industry, and…
  • free money to hire up to two of them

Like the title says…if you’re thinking of hiring an intern, stop thinking…start hiring!

For more information about MCAA’s Career Development activities, contact Harlee Gallo.

MSCA Sales Basecamp Provides New Service Sales Professionals the Skills Needed to Succeed

If you have recently added new staff to your sales team or have members of your sales team that need a skills tune-up, register them now for the upcoming MSCA Sales Basecamp course, May 1-2 to be held in Philadelphia, PA. This popular 2 – day program will provide 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.

For additional details and to download a brochure, click below.

Details & Brochure

Did You Miss the CES Show? See a Report on the Best Tech for MCAA Members

The International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is probably the biggest gathering of new technology on the planet each year. For the last 50 years, attendees have gathered to see the latest gadgets and technology intended for consumer use. With the explosion of technology coming to the market in the last decade, we are seeing more technology that blurs the line between consumer and commercial use.

This year, the MCAA Technology Committee sent Britton Langdon, an MCAA member from Modern Piping in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to attend the show. After walking the 2.5 million square foot exhibit, visiting as many of the 38,000 exhibitors from 150 countries as he could, Britton prepared a report of the newest technology at CES that could be used by MCAA contractors.

Download the report

The report gives the pros and cons of the most applicable technology from the exhibit. It includes the latest in augmented reality, drones, cameras, sensors, mapping devices and scanners.

To keep up with the latest technology for MCAA members, follow @mcaageek on Twitter.

MSCA Introduces Plumbing Service 101 Webinar Series and Workbooks

Mechanical Service Contractors of America is pleased to announce its much anticipated Plumbing Service 101 webinar series and workbooks!

Each webinar and workbook module will focus on a key facet of operating a successful plumbing service business. Each module consists of a 60-minute webinar and corresponding workbook. Webinars and workbooks are free to MSCA/MCAA members.

The first program module, Plumbing Service Business Basics, is scheduled for February 28th at 1:00 pm EST and will provide you with essential information on the value of adding plumbing services to your product offerings. Three successful plumbing service contractors will discuss the opportunities and decision factors to consider when thinking about plumbing service for your company. They will also review the initial resource and investment requirements needed before delving into this venture.

Registration is now open for this exciting, new webinar series so register below today. Prior to the webinar, make sure to download the Plumbing Service Business Basics Workbook available as a free download to MCAA/MSCA members.

Register for Feb. 28th webinar here

Download workbook here

The Amazing Power of Interns and “Thank You”

The email arrived without fanfare, subject line: MCERF; the sender: Jim C. Mooney, President and CEO of Enginuity LLC, Mechanicsburg, PA.

The subject was not really about MCERF (the Mechanical Contracting Education & Research Foundation) but ratherryan-smith-w_letter it was about what Jim wanted to say to MCERF, which was: thank you.  Mooney had just received a $1,000 internship grant that MCERF sent him to hire a superb young intern, Ryan Smith from Penn State Harrisburg.

So why is this noteworthy? Because it is so unusual today for someone to actually take time out of their busy day to say thank you to someone else for just doing their job. Seriously, who even does that?  Well…Jim Mooney does.

To be clear, Ryan is not Jim’s first intern; he’s not even the first one he received an MCERF grant for. But, Ryan is Enginuity’s first intern since Jim and his team1 decided to formally write down the things that they as a company believe. They did this to be able to communicate their “company culture” to all their associates, including interns! Jim told us, “One of our core beliefs is in the power of saying ‘thank you’; it goes a long way toward building and sustaining relationships.”

This simple courtesy made quite an impact when Jim’s email arrived. The grant was a thousand dollars…not insignificant, but in business terms, not even a rounding error for some companies! But it was important to Jim that he say thank you to MCERF for sending that grant, and now it’s important to young Ryan Smith as well…to know that his boss and his company do not take their business relationships for granted, nor should he.

When we queried Jim about why he hires interns, 3he said it was because one of the industry’s icons, Bill McClure, took a chance on him in 1982 and hired him as an intern.  He has always been grateful to Bill for doing that, including this message in his email: #thankyouBillMcClure.

When we mentioned to Jim how his efforts moved us and we thought it would have a positive effect on others, this was his response:

Thanks for recognizing us, but it was not our intention you do so; on the contrary, we wanted to recognize MCERF. My wife and I are involved in a number of youth-related organizations and are often soliciting funds. We realize how powerful, reaffirming, and energizing it is for donors to see tangible results. Keep up the good work.

We will, Jim Mooney, we will! Oh, and thank you.

Contact Dennis Langley to learn more about MCERF.

GP McManus Visited White House on Monday; Pipelines Moved Forward on Tuesday

On January 23rd, President Trump had a White House meeting with the Building Trades leadership, including UA General President Mark McManus. On January 24th, President Trump signed an Executive Order to advance the construction of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access Pipelines.

On January 20, President Trump issued an Executive Order directing agency heads to roll back implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) provisions that impose burdens on states or added costs, fees, taxes, penalties, and regulatory burdens on individuals and families. Agencies are also directed to roll back provisions of ACA through the notice-and-comment regulatory process.

This Executive Order marked the beginning of the regulatory process at the agencies while parallel legislative reform takes shape in Congress. Details about which mandates and taxes will be rolled back are pending until the Treasury and Health and Human Services Secretaries take office and set departmental policy on the Executive Order. MCAA will monitor how and when the employer mandate is affected as well as when the Cadillac tax and high income and capital gains surcharges are turned back.

Also on January 20, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus issued a memorandum to all federal agency heads and departments entitled “Regulatory Freeze Pending Review,” which put all proposed regulations on hold for 60 days, pending agency review and possible suspension or revision by the notice-and-comment process.

The memo is not self-executing and will require further agency action.  However, the general regulatory freeze memo, like the Executive Order on the Affordable Care Act, is a substantive beginning to the process at each agency. Each agency will compile a list of affected regulations and explain the process to deal with each going forward.

It is expected that more Executive Orders rescinding Obama Executive Orders will be coming soon. MCAA will monitor regulations that impact MCAA employers directly, including the Federal Sick Leave Executive Order, the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces worker pay and classification notices, the new non-discrimination and affirmative action regulations for registered apprenticeship programs, and the new overtime pay requirements that are currently under a court injunction.

Pension Reform Push and Saving Davis-Bacon Top MCAA’s Legislative Agenda

Additionally, MCAA has been meeting with key Congressional offices this week, in advance of the Democratic and Republican policy retreats, seeking favorable discussion of multiemployer pension reform and enactment of new plan designs.

Also among MCAA’s legislative concerns are potential proposals to remove Davis Bacon protections from any new infrastructure spending. The fight in the House and Senate to preserve Davis Bacon on federal and federally-assisted projects, as well as new funding mechanisms such as tax credit and public-private partnership measures, will be an ongoing battle throughout the First Session of the 115th Congress.