Organization: MCAA

CDC Guidance on the Use of Cloth Face Coverings to Help Slow the Spread of COVID-19

Due to the shortage of N95 respirators the CDC recently released guidance on the use of cloth face coverings to help slow the spread of COVID-19. The cloth face coverings are not nearly as protective as N95 respirators, and should never be used in place of them in high risk situations/applications. The CDC believes that cloth face coverings are more likely to help protect the general public when people infected by the virus are wearing them than they are to help protect non-infected people wearing them for protection against potentially infected persons. The guidance covers:

  • How to properly wear cloth face coverings;
  • Recommendation on home made cloth face coverings;
  • How cloth face coverings should be cleaned and sterilized; and
  • How to safely remove a used cloth face covering from the user’s face.

CDC GUIDANCE

4/6 Alston & Bird Coronavirus Flash Update

Alston & Bird have released their April 6 COVID-19 update, including the latest news on emergency funding, administrative and regulatory actions, workplace and home issues, and many other topics, as well as to links to all their past updates.

John W. Danforth Company Capitalizes on Ferguson’s Expertise to Meet Nursing Home’s Hot Water Needs

John W. Danforth Company installed a new hot water system in a nursing home without incident and with minimal disruption, thanks in part to Ferguson’s expertise in selecting the ideal replacement system. The new system improved overall efficiency for the nursing home and will be easier to maintain than the old system.

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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

OSHA Enforcement Guidance On Foreign Made Respirator Use

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently released guidance to its regional administrators outlining enforcement discretion to permit the use of filtering facepiece respirators and air-purifying elastomeric respirators that are certified under certain standards of other countries or jurisdictions. The guidelines also address enforcement discretion to permit use when the equipment was previously certified under the standards of other countries or jurisdictions, but are beyond their manufacturer’s recommended shelf life. Essentially, OSHA compliance officers are being directed to verify that employers are:

  • Making a good faith effort to use the most appropriate respiratory protection available;
  • Ensuring that their respirator users are performing appropriate user seal checks;
  • Training their respirator users to discard respirators with compromised structural and/or functional integrity:
  • Inspecting, or requiring their respirator users to visually inspect the respirators for defects;
  • Avoiding co-mingling of products from different categories of equipment; and
  • Training employees on the procedures for the sequence of donning/doffing to prevent self-contamination.

OSHA ENFORCEMENT GUIDANCE

Molly Sizemore Receives Ferguson-Women in the Mechanical Industry Scholarship

Molly Sizemore, a junior at Pennsylvania State University, has been awarded one of the two Ferguson-Women in the Mechanical Industry Scholarships.

Ferguson underwrites these scholarships, which recognize high-achieving female students working towards a degree relative to the mechanical industry.

Academic Experience

Molly is the President of the MCA of Central Pennsylvania-sponsored student chapter at Pennsylvania State University, where she studies Architectural Engineering specializing in mechanical systems.

Molly talks about how, “to my surprise, mechanical contracting fell into my lap after I was searching for a challenge in my academic career. When I first entered Penn State, I was generally just an architectural engineering student teetering between the structural and lighting design options. As I progressed in my academic career, I found myself really fascinated by HVAC and fire protection. HVAC really presented itself as an intricate puzzle which really drew me in.”

Molly acknowledges that, “MCAA has definitely created a springboard for me into the mechanical contracting industry, and I’m very excited to continue this journey and get others involved.”

She was able to grow her industry network by attending the 2019 Great Futures Forum, which has led her to ignite a passion for mechanical contracting in other students who have chosen to get involved with her student chapter.

Southland Industries Internship

Molly has accepted her second summer internship with MCA of Metro Washington member, Southland Industries. She reflects on her experiences:

“I liked the specialization of Southland and the responsibilities they gave me. I also really liked the mentor dynamic where I could sit down for an hour a week and ask any questions I had. My internship put me in a position where I can see all stages of the mechanical contracting process and have an opportunity to contribute at any stage. In my experience with Southland, I really love the dynamic of the firm in that everything is very mechanical-focused and specialized. I like the ability to have a detailed conversation about what is happening at every part of a mechanical system.”

You can read more about Molly’s internship experience here.

Women in the Mechanical Industry Perspective

Molly gives her thoughts about the challenges and opportunities that come along with being a woman in the industry:

“As a woman in the mechanical industry, I’ve experienced first-hand with being the only woman on a project team. Though I initially faced this as a challenge on my path, I turned it around and viewed it as an opportunity to build my own self-confidence and create a voice for myself in an industry dominated by men.

Beyond my own personal experience, I have been able to mentor young women in the Penn State College of Engineering to ignore the stereotypes and be more than a statistic. As a greater challenge, I think it will be getting everyone on the same page with accepting diversity in the industry. Diversity in a team brings new and innovative ideas because people come with different backgrounds and experience.”

Women in the Mechanical Industry and the John R. Gentille Foundation congratulated Molly Sizemore on this prestigious scholarship and thank Ferguson for their commitment to encouraging young women to be engaged in the industry.

OSHA & CDC/NIOSH Release Guidance on N95 Respirator Extended Use and Reuse

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently released guidelines to help combat supply shortages of disposable N95 filtering face piece respirators. The agency’s guidelines address alternatives to N95s, and extended use and reuse of the respirators. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), which is the research arm of OSHA, also released N95 guidelines addressing extended use and reuse of the respirators, specifically for healthcare settings. The CDC/NIOSH guidelines are much more detailed than OSHA’s guidelines. Their recommendations are intended for use by professionals who manage respiratory protection programs in healthcare institutions to protect health care workers from job-related risks of exposure to infectious respiratory illnesses. However, the guidelines provide excellent information for anyone considering extended use or reuse of N95s. For example, the guidelines make the case that extended use is preferred over reuse of the respirators because extended use limits the number of times the respirators will be touched.  The guidelines address the risks of extended use and reuse, and provide independent sets of recommendations for extended use, and reuse.

OSHA GUIDELINES

CDC/NIOSH GUIDELINES

MCAA Safety Talk: COVID-19 Facility Cleaning and Disinfecting Guidelines

Whenever it’s feasible, it’s best to hire a reputable third party to perform facility cleaning and disinfection services. However, if it will be necessary for you or someone else from your company to perform the cleaning and disinfection service, the following guidelines may help protect that person from exposure to COVID-19. The best way to help protect yourself and others is to have all surfaces that may have been contaminated cleaned and disinfected. Cleaning refers to the removal of dirt and impurities. Disinfecting refers to the use of chemicals to kill the virus.

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University of Nebraska Awarded Student Chapter of the Year

The University of Nebraska Student Chapter has been awarded the 2019 MCAA Student Chapter of the Year.

The Student Chapter of the Year Award recognizes an MCAA student chapter for outstanding achievement as an organization of students who are planning careers in the mechanical construction industry. The award honors exceptional achievement in governance and leadership, membership recruiting, fundraising, community involvement, and career development.

The University of Nebraska Student Chapter is sponsored by the MCA of Omaha. Vishnu Reddi, Assistant Professor of Practice with the Durham School, College of Engineering, is the chapter’s faculty advisor.

The Student Chapter was one of MCAA’s first. Chartered in 1998, it has since remained one of the most active in the MCAA student chapter network.

The chapter takes a unique approach to fundraising, community service and networking opportunities with local MCA members.

Fundraising 

In 2019, the chapter hosted four events to raise funds and provide opportunities for students to network with the MCA of Omaha’s 30 mechanical contractor members. The events included a beer tasting, a wine tasting and two golf tournaments. The most profitable of these was a beer tasting that raised a record-breaking amount.

Community Service

In 2019, the student chapter participated in three community services events.

One of the highlights was the annual Heat’s On event, during which HVAC service technicians and students provide free inspections of senior citizens’ furnaces to ensure that they are working safely for the winter months. Students worked with their service member partners to run through a checklist that included inspecting the filter, flames, flame sensor, flue gas, changing fire alarm batteries, and more.

MCAA Member Networking

Each student is offered the opportunity to be mentored by a professional from an MCA of Omaha member company, an internship with a member company, and the chance to serve on a committee with several contractors. By the time a student graduates, the goal is for them to have personal relationships at almost every MCA of Omaha member company that they can carry into their future careers.

In April 2019, Student Chapter members visited MCA of Omaha members to hand out mugs with candy in them for Administrative Professionals Day. This introduced students to all of the member companies.

In the fall, students took a behind-the-scenes tour of the mechanical and plumbing systems at Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium. The students also travelled to a virtual design and construction conference hosted by Victaulic.

Mentorship Program 

During the year, the MCA of Omaha matches every student with a mechanical contractor mentor from a local MCA of Omaha company. This match between student and mentor is based on the student’s specific interests. Mentors engage with the students a minimum of four times throughout the year. Mentors show students what they do on a daily basis at job sites and give a tour of their offices, walking students through the daily routine to help them get a feel for everyday life in the industry. Through this experience, students gain first-hand knowledge of the industry to help them make more educated career decisions.

Industry Internships 

Students had the opportunity to attend Internship Day in the fall, where they had a chance to interview with multiple MCAA companies that are looking for interns. Six of the nine students were offered and accepted  internships with an MCAA member company.

You can read about chapter member Caleb Kowalski’s internship experiences with MCAA members here.

MCAA and the John R. Gentille Foundation congratulate the University of Nebraska students on their active involvement with MCAA and their commitment to the mechanical contracting industry.

Webinar #5: Implementing Paid Leave Requirements Under the New FFCRA – Michael P. Kreps and Katie Bjornstad Amin

The new Family First Coronavirus Response Act took effect April 1, 2020 and with it comes temporary requirements that will impact MCAA member companies who employ 500 or fewer employees. Katie Amin and Michael Kreps, both principals of Groom Law Group, along with John McNerney, MCAA general counsel, discuss which employers must adhere and who is eligible under the new act currently set to expire December 31, 2020.

Additional Resources:

This webinar was recorded Thursday, April 2, 2020.

Zurn Pledges $1 Million of Products in Fight Against COVID-19

Zurn Industries, LLC, a longtime MCAA member and sponsor, has pledged to donate one million dollars of its hygienic products to qualifying healthcare facilities currently addressing COVID-19. Craig Wehr, president of Zurn, said, “Donating this product to healthcare facilities will allow them to increase hygiene with touchless, sensor-operated products, support CDC recommendations for handwashing in a Wet-Scrub-Rinse-Dry (WSRD) fashion and, hopefully, decrease the risk of the spread of the COVID-19 virus. We all must do our part during this pandemic, and Zurn will continue to provide support for our employees, customers, and communities.”

Ergonomic Tips for Working Remotely

With so many of us working remotely it’s important to consider the ergonomic design of our workspaces. MCAA’s long-time partner CNA is sharing with us Ergonomic Tips for Working Remotely. The CNA risk control bulletin makes recommendations on chair set-up and adjustments, monitor placement, laptop, keyboard and mouse use, and more.

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New WiMI Conference Date Set for 2021

We are all doing our best to navigate these unprecedented times, and due to the uncertainty of the situation, the difficult decision has been made to postpone the 2020 WiMI Conference until next year. Please mark your calendars for June 21 – 23, 2021 at the JW Marriott, Austin, TX.

It will no doubt be another amazing event and a wonderful opportunity to enjoy each other’s company. We plan to open registration in early 2021 but in the meantime, WiMI is here for you!

We will continue to provide resources and information to help grow your careers and facilitate connections between women around the country in the mechanical industry! This is a great time to join our Mentor/Mentee Program and virtually connect with another woman in your field.

WiMI Mentee Questionnaire
WiMI Mentor Questionnaire

Ali Brown Receives Ferguson-Women in the Mechanical Industry Scholarship

Ali Brown, a junior at the University of Nebraska, has been awarded one of the two Ferguson-Women in the Mechanical Industry Scholarships.

Ferguson underwrites these scholarships, which recognize high-achieving female students working towards a degree relative to the mechanical industry.

Academic Experience

Ali has been a member of the MCA of Omaha-sponsored Student Chapter since 2017. She attended the 2019 GreatFutures Forum and the 2019 WiMI Conference. She is earning her degree in Business Administration & Human Resources.

In her scholarship application, Ali discusses why she shifted her focus from the engineering and construction management side of the industry to the business side. “Even though I am now a business major I still see the mechanical construction industry as an exciting industry to be in. I see the opportunities that there are for growth in all areas of the industry.”

Post-graduation, Ali sees herself working for a mechanical contractor in their human resources department. “I want to help with developing standards of practice as well as recruit new talent for my company. My goal in my career is to help people and I believe that I can achieve this goal through working in Human Resources.”

Ali is appreciative of her involvement with her student chapter and the connections she has made with contractors through the MCA of Omaha. “We work with our contractors to plan fundraising events, recruit new student chapter members, and much more. Through our chapter I feel like I have learned more about the industry than I ever thought I would know. I have been able to see how many different companies run jobs and other day-to-day activities between our different contractors.”

Waldinger Internship

Ali has been interning for The Waldinger Corporation, a member of the MCA of Omaha, MCAA and NCPWB, throughout her academic career. She has been involved in the administration, Virtual Design and Construction, and the accounting department. “I enjoy the culture we have at Waldinger. I especially enjoy the internship program we have; it exposes me to all facets of the company.” She is excited to continue her Waldinger internship this summer.

Ali reflects on her internship experiences and seeing the unique challenges and opportunities as a women in the industry. Ali thinks there are many challenges that come with being a woman in the mechanical contracting field. “Since it is so male dominated,” she said, “I feel like gaining the respect of coworkers is the biggest challenge that comes with being a woman in this field. Though it is a challenge I believe that also makes it an opportunity. The best way to grow personally is by taking challenges and turning them into opportunities.”

Women in the Mechanical Industry and the John R. Gentille Foundation congratulate Ali on this prestigious scholarship and thank Ferguson for their commitment to encouraging young women to be engaged in our industry.

20-Question Multiple Choice Trainee Test Corresponding with MCAA Safety Talk: COVID-19

MCAA developed a best practices guidance document to help protect mechanical construction and service workers from COVID-19 exposure. MCAA and the United Association partnered with several industry experts to gather all facts and proper procedures concerning this virus. Because MCAA members are using the safety talk for worker training, MCAA developed a 20-question multiple choice test and accompanying answer key to help members document that the training occurred, and that trainees understand the training content.

MCAA SAFETY TALK: COVID-19
MULTIPLE CHOICE TEST
ANSWER KEY

Find the Latest from Carrier Corporation and nVent 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:

Carrier Corporation - MCAA Virtual Trade Show
Carrier Corporation
Carrier’s new Ecoblue technology is the industry’s first beltless direct-drive vane axial fan system for select rooftop models designed to improve performance and efficiencies while decreasing maintenance and installation costs.

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nVent - MCAA Virtual Trade Show
nVent
The nVent CADDY Rod Lock Strut allows for the quick creation and installation of trapeze assemblies. The pre-cut strut is ready to use out of the box and allows for quick prefab and easy installation.

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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

Beyond the Classroom – The Importance of an Internship

In this month’s Beyond the Classroom, meet University of Missouri-Columbia graduate, Paige Theby. She has recently started as an Engineer at MCAA member, Murphy Company. You can reach Paige’s full story HERE.

As a past MCAA Student Chapter member and Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering major, Paige talks about the importance of her internship and the opportunities she sees for people starting out in the industry. She shares how MCAA GreatFutures can help kickstart a career through networking and internship opportunities.

Upcoming Beyond the Classroom videos will showcase how MCAA student chapter members and MCAA members alike are benefiting from the program. They will also share the opportunities available to students who choose careers in the mechanical industry.