Archives: News Items

MCAA Supports Challenge to NASA FOIA Shield on Prevailing Wage Audit

MCAA Government Affairs Committee Chairman Bill Albanese and Committee member Jim Gaffney joined in support of the Foundation for Fair Contracting’s (FFC) challenge of an over-broad Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) shield by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to withhold certified payrolls in a prevailing wage audit on a NASA job in Greenbelt, MD.

FFC requested certified payroll information on two firms performing on the NASA job. NASA redacted the wage rate information on the certified payroll records, citing an FOIA exemption that permits agencies to refuse disclosure of information or documents that would reveal trade secrets and commercial or financial information considered privileged and confidential.

NASA’s rationale was that revealing actual wages paid to contractor employees on prevailing wage jobs could be used by competitors to predict future bids and estimates and, therefore, undercut that firm’s future competitive position.

MCAA members Albanese and Gaffney filed affidavits in conjunction with FFC’s administrative appeal explaining why the certified payroll information could not be used to predict future project labor estimates and bidding.

President Tom Stone Addresses UA General Convention

MCAA President Tom Stone did a terrific job representing all MCAA members in his address August 2nd to the UA General Convention in San Diego. Interrupted a number of times by applause, President Stone started strong by telling the delegates that “We are proud to be a union contractor and have been for 110 years since our founding in 1906.” He recognized that what all of us — MCAA contractors and UA members — have in common is our shared interest in the future of this, the very best industry in America!

President Stone thanked General President Bill Hite for his leadership over the last twelve years. He told General President-Elect Mark McManus “Every member of the MCAA congratulates you and looks forward to continuing this great partnership — and working with you and your team in the future.”

New Management Methods Bulletin on Fabrication Shops

Planning to build or renovate a fabrication shop for your business? You may want to read through MCAA’s latest management resource, Factors to Consider in Establishing, Operating and Maintaining a Fabrication Shop.

Developed by an Advanced Leadership Institute (ALI) team as a Class 15 project, this Management Methods Bulletin takes you through all the considerations that affect your decision to establish a fabrication shop, design issues, equipment needed, and operating and maintenance concerns as well.

The bulletin contains drawings and photos to help you plan your facility. This is an excellent resource that may help you avoid costly design, operating and maintenance mistakes.

This resource is free as an MCAA member benefit. Download your copy now.

Welcome to Our New Family of Websites!

If you’re seeing this page, then you know that the old mcaa.org has been replaced by a bright, shiny new family of websites to better serve our members. The sites you can see now are the publicly available sites. If you’re a member, you should have received an email on July 29th with new login information that will allow you to login to access our Resource Center with hundreds of resources available to download free as a benefit of membership. You’ll also be able to access our new Virtual Trade Show with direct links to the latest product information from our Manufacturer/Supplier Council members. If you didn’t receive your password, contact us! We appreciate your patience as we transitioned to this new site!

Braconier Contributes to MCERF

The Mechanical Contracting Education & Research Foundation (MCERF) received a $2,500 contribution from the Braconier Plumbing & Heating Company, Inc. (Englewood, CO), raising its total contributions to $12,750.

The MCERF Board of Trustees is very grateful for the generous contribution which will help 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.

Visit MCERF.org for more information.

Plumbing Podcast #6 Focuses on BIM

PCA Chairman and MCAA Board of Directors member Armand Kilijian joined the Plumbing Podcast to discuss the importance of Building Information Modeling (BIM) to plumbing contractors.

The podcast covers plumbing contractors’ increasing use of BIM on job sites, strategies for starting and optimizing a BIM department within a company and how to leverage the data from the BIM model through fabrication, project coordination and total stations.

Listen to the Podcast.

MCAA Leaders Learn to Strengthen Their Leadership Effectiveness as Plans Form for the Coming Year

MCAA’s Board of Directors met July 15-16 to consider the association’s program and financial priorities for the coming year. Dr. Scott Taylor of Babson College started off the meeting with a session aimed at helping MCAA’s leaders maintain and build on their leadership effectiveness despite the press of professional and personal obligations that can prove overwhelming and distracting.

Board members and past presidents also reviewed reports on MCAA’s finances, its advocacy efforts to win Phase 2 of multiemployer pension reform, the activities of its committees and subsidiaries, plans for upcoming conferences, webinars and podcasts and plans for MCAA 2017. Board members also learned about a new initiative to enhance the WebLEM. Members also previewed MCAA’s newly redesigned website. The Board of Directors will next meet in conjunction with MCAA’s 2017 convention in San Diego, CA.

MCAA-Backed Small Business Subcontracting Protections Added to SBA and FAR Regulations

The latest regulatory notice affecting the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) provides 11 changes to the small business subcontracting plan procedures required of prime contractors on covered prime contracts ($1.5 million or more), the most significant of which is the subcontractor listing and payment protections.

The prime contractor must make demonstrable good faith efforts to use the same small business subcontractors they relied on in preparing and presenting their bid, proposal and small business utilization plan to the contracting agency for approval.

If the prime contractor fails to utilize the relied-upon small business subcontractors, the prime must provide a written explanation to the contracting agency within 30 days of contract completion. Failure to use the named subs can be the basis for future adverse prime contract performance evaluations and responsibility determinations.

The regulations also prohibit prime contractors from attempting to bar small business subcontractors from discussing subcontract plan compliance or prime contract payment problems with the contracting agency directly.

The regulations also require that prime contractors notify the contracting officer in writing if they pay a small business subcontractor a reduced amount or if payment is held more than 90 days after the prime has been paid.

And, any record of payment violations is to be recorded in the prime contractors’ past performance evaluation in the Federal Awardee Past Performance information System (FAPPIS).

MCAA testified in support of these provisions on May 23, 2013 before the House Small Business Committee. Read the testimony here.

Access the new regulations.

MCAA’s New Management Resource Will Help You Improve Employee Reviews

Employee reviews are a management asset that can strengthen administrative relationships and improve employee productivity and satisfaction.

MCAA’s latest management resource—Employee Reviews—provides information about how to prepare for and conduct employee reviews effectively so that supervisors and employees benefit from the experience.

Helpful forms are also provided to guide you through the review process.

This latest bulletin is a product of MCAA’s Management Methods Committee, but was prepared by an Advanced Leadership Institute Course 15 project team. The bulletin received an award for the best management resource produced by an ALI team.

MCAA/MSCA members can download this valuable management asset now!

MCA of New York Contributes to MCERF

The Mechanical Contracting Education & Research Foundation (MCERF) received a $2,500 contribution from the MCA of New York, which raised it’s total contributions to $135,000.

Visit MCERF.org for more information.

West Michigan MCA Contributes to MCERF

The Mechanical Contracting Education & Research Foundation (MCERF) received a $1,000 contribution from the West Michigan MCA.

Visit MCERF.org for more information.

FitzGerald Contractors Contributes to MCERF

The Mechanical Contracting Education & Research Foundation (MCERF) received a $5,000 contribution from FitzGerald Contractors (Shreveport, LA), a payment on its pledge of $100,000.

Visit MCERF.org for more information.

OSHA Raises Civil Penalties for Violations

The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) has raised civil penalties for violations of its rules. OSHA raised the penalties to account for the rate of inflation, which has increased since penalties were last raised in 1990.

The new Interim Final Rule, which was published in the Federal Register on July 1, will take effect on August 1, 2016 for violations that occurred after November 2, 2015.

The differences in the penalties are shown below:

Type of Violation Previous Penalty Amount New Penalty Amount

Willful or Repeat $5,000 to $70,000 $8,908 to $124,709

Serious $7,000 $12,471

Other-Than-Serious Up to $7,000 Up to $12,471

Failure to Correct Up to $7,000 Up to $12,471

Violation of Posting Up to $7,000 Up to $12,471

BuiltWorlds Recaps Highlights of MCAA Construction Technology Conference

Disruptive technology, robotics, drones, 3D printing, cloud computing and storage, BIM and much more were the hot topics at the MCAA Construction Technology Conference in June in Indianapolis. BuiltWorlds, MCAA’s technology partner that presented the exhibit of new construction devices and products at the conference, captured all the speakers and their presentations in a detailed article that not only described the technologies but also how contractors are using them in operations, such as fabrication shops, and projects to improve productivity, efficiency and profits. Read the article.

Did you Miss our Webinar on the BIM Software Analysis Report?

JBKnowledge’s latest research report in the MCAA Construction Technology Research Series – BIM Software Analysis – was featured in a webinar on June 23.

Josh Bone, the report’s principal author, led the webinar and offered insights into the study findings, explained the differences in the software tested and answered questions about BIM and virtual design and construction processes and systems.

If you missed this chance to learn more about the software available for these technologies and how they can help improve your business operations and projects, and you’re an MCAA or MSCA member, you can listen to the archived webinar as a benefit of membership.

You can listen to the webinar here and download the BIM Software Analysis Report here in our Resource Center. Questions about the study? Contact Sean McGuire.

Local Association Boards Support MCAA-PAC

The annual round of MCAA local affiliated association summer board meetings continues to bring strong support for the national MCAA Political Action Committee (MCAA-PAC). All members of MCA of New Jersey’s board of directors just contributed to the MCAA-PAC. The MCA of Connecticut, ARCA-MCA, CPMCA and the MCA Kansas City, among others, also have 100% board participation. Last year, the Association Executives Council (AEC) also responded with strong participation by local affiliate executives. The MCAA Board of Directors members have contributed generously to the MCAA-PAC. With multiemployer pension reform leading MCAA’s legislative priorities, participation levels have increased markedly. Lend your support to MCAA advocacy efforts by contributing to the MCAA-PAC by making a contribution today.

JF Ahern Contributes to MCERF

Last week, the Mechanical Contracting Education & Research Foundation (MCERF) received a $25,000 contribution from the JF Ahern Company (Fond du Lac, WI), raising its total contributions to $125,000. The MCERF Board of Trustees is very grateful for the generous contribution which will help 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.

Pay Forward Your Business-Building Innovation

If a unique management idea helped your company overcome an office or project challenge and improved its bottom line, consider nominating that innovation for the E. Robert Kent Award for Management Innovation. Winning the award brings well-deserved industry accolades and publicity to the nominating company in MCAA and industry publications.

As important, however, the innovation becomes part of our industry’s culture, providing companies that may have been struggling with the same issues and challenges with a way to overcome them.

Last year’s winner was honored for PIPES (Process Information Portal Enabling Success) – developed by The BP Group (Glendale, N.Y.) and ATX Advisory Services. PIPES is an innovative tool that allows a company to easily view the entire workflow of its business while drilling into specific processes to see each step in the flow, the resources involved, the systems used, business policies, systems, procedures and links to forms, reports and other business intelligence used during the course of business.

It is essentially an online “how to” for the business with links into all its operations’ details for employees to use. Built on the foundation of MCAA’s “Planning for Profitability – Step by Step,[link to resource center doc]” PIPES is a template that MCAA members may use to map their business operations. It uses Microsoft® software products, including VISIO, is available in two forms to accommodate all versions of the software and comes with a Users’ Guide to assist with its installation. PIPES is available to MCAA members at no charge as a benefit of membership, so request your copy here..

Nominations for the next E. Robert Kent Award to be presented at MCAA 2017 in San Diego are due to MCAA by October 3. Commercial products are not eligible for this award. Click on the link below for more information and the nomination form.

Information and Nomination Form

It’s Not too Late to Find an Intern, and Get a Grant

MCAA_GREAT_FUTURES If you are considering hiring an intern for this summer and you haven’t yet lined up candidates, go to MCAA’s website, MCAAGreatFutures.org.

Over 200 resumes of well-qualified students from across the U.S. and Canada are posted and they’re eager to work for a mechanical, mechanical service or plumbing contractor to learn the business.

And, once you’ve hired someone, you can apply for a Student Internship Grant from the Mechanical Contracting Education & Research Foundation (MCERF). The grants are $1,200 each and you may apply for up two grants (if you hire two interns).

View Resumes

Apply for a Grant

ASHRAE President Tim Wentz to Attend MCAA 2017

Timothy G. Wentz, associate professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, winner of MCAA’s highest honor – the Distinguished Service Award – and a three-time winner of MCAA’s Educator of the Year Award, became the 2016-2017 president of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) during its annual conference in St. Louis, MO June 25-29.

He’s been preparing for this leadership role for many years as chairman of ASHRAE’s Members Council and President-Elect Advisory Committee and a member of the Chapter Volunteerism and Engagement Ad Hoc Committee and the Building Performance Alliance Ad Hoc Committee.

During this past year, Wentz has traveled to all corners of the world visiting and speaking to ASHRAE chapters and attending technical conferences.

MCAA is honored that President Wentz will participate in MCAA 2017 in San Diego, CA!