Organization: MCAA

Treasury Department Rejects Teamsters’ Remedial Pension Plan

The Treasury Department’s Special Master, Kenneth Feinberg, rejected the remedial application of the Teamsters Central States’ pension plan to cut benefits in order to save the plan from even greater cuts due under the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation insolvency status.

Feinberg said the remedial plan actuarial and participant age assumptions were unreasonable, the benefits cuts were not distributed equitably across all participant categories and the explanation of the remedial plan did not meet the “understandability” criteria of the Pension Reform Act.

Reacting to the Treasury Department’s action, the Partnership for Retirement Security (sponsored by MCAA, the National Coordinating Committee for Multiemployer Plans and other signatory groups), said,

“While today’s decision by the U.S. Department of the Treasury to deny Central States Pension Fund’s rescue plan will temporarily spare many from cuts to their hard-earned benefits in the short-term, it also sentences participants to an insecure retirement where massive benefits cuts are inevitable. By their decision today, Treasury is gambling that Congress, which has flatly refused to assist these plans or the PBGC in the past, will now appropriate more than $100 billion required to rescue, not just Central States, but the entire system. It is a big bet. Unfortunately, rather than those who made the decision, it will be the pensioners who pay the price if it is lost.”

The NCCMP alternate plan design proposal – composite plans – which is designed to avoid the Central States type problem, will be at the top of the agenda for the Quality Construction Alliance National Issues Conference, which takes place in Washington, D.C. May 10-12.

MCAA 2016 Fabrication Conference was Over the Top

About 180 MCAA members traveled to central Texas last week for MCAA’s 2016 Fabrication Conference. Hosted by Dynamic Systems, Inc. (Austin, TX), the tour of the company’s fabrication operation gave attendees an appreciation of the company’s focus on process and productivity and dedication to providing its employees with the best possible work environment.

Attendees saw the virtual design area; machines, tools and equipment including a spiral machine, CNC plasma tables and coil line and delivery, the Vernon 5 Axis and Victaulic machine; the bar coding and basketing operation; cutting and welding procedures; quality assurance/quality control; and much, much more.

Educational sessions augmented the program. Dynamic Systems Senior Vice President Jay Rohan started off the conference with a detailed overview of the company and its fabrication operation. UA Training Director Chris Haslinger and International Representative Mark Buss shared their expertise about issues affecting fabrication operations, including new equipment, such as “Mega Stir” and other technologies that are changing the way jobs are managed in the field.

Sessions led by Amanda Comunale of Victaulic (Easton, PA) andDutch Martinez of Harder Mechanical (Portland, OR) and Lean consultant Dennis Sowards (Mesa, AZ) provided more perspectives and insights on managing fabrication processes effectively and profitably.

Attendees also had an opportunity to see the latest technologies during an exhibit presented by Autodesk, BD SysQue, Pentair, DeWalt, Eaton B-Line Series, Get the Point, Milwaukee Tool, Pipe Fabrication Institute, Team Industries, Trimble, Victaulic and Zurn.

Mid-Atlantic MCA Contributes to MCERF

The Mechanical Contracting Education & Research Foundation (MCERF) recently received a $5,000 donation from the Mid-Atlantic MCA, raising its total contributions to $41,000.

The Foundation’s Board of Trustees greatly appreciates the contribution and the support of its ongoing education and research programs. Find out more about MCERF’s programs.

PCA Plumbing Podcast Tackles Service Truck Inventory

If keeping your plumbing service trucks stocked with the right equipment for the right jobs has proven to be more challenging than it should, then check out this week’s Plumbing Pod podcast.

Ed Gormley of Gormley Plumbing & Heating (McMinnville, OR) shares tips for inventory management, standardized tools, and software that can be used to help service calls run more smoothly. Visit PCA’s homepage to download this and other podcasts.

Plumbing Podcast

Boost Your Safety Leadership Skills

As part of 2016’s Safety Week celebration, MCAA is presenting a webinar on Building Safety Engagement: How to Get Everything You Want at Work (and in Life) on May 5 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

Led by Dr. John Austin, an internationally recognized coach of business leaders on safety and human performance, the webinar will address common causes of low attention and interest in safety.

You will learn about the primary drivers of behavior and which of those you may be able to influence, proven ways to change behavior and actionable ideas that will help you enhance your employees’ engagement in safe work practices.

This webinar is free to MCAA/MSCA members as a benefit of membership.

It’s too late now to view it live, but please visit our Resource Center to listen to the archived recording.

MCAA President Tom Stone Addressed UA’s Tripartite Conference, Honored General President Bill Hite

During the United Association’s Eighth Annual Tripartite Conference in Chicago April 26, MCAA President Tom Stone highlighted the best-value proposition MCAA employers and UA labor present for construction owners nationwide.

President Stone’s remarks also included a video of the MCAA Lifetime Achievement Award presentation to General President Hite at the association’s 2016 convention.

U.S. Labor Secretary Tom Perez addressed the group and lauded the labor/management collaboration between MCAA and the UA nationally and locally as a model for widespread deployment in other U.S. industries. Secretary Perez commended the UA for its leadership in helping address and remedy the water contamination crisis in Flint, MI. He expressed strong support for prevailing wage law enforcement efforts and the Department of Labor’s efforts to crack down on widespread wage fraud nationally perpetrated by worker misclassification.

North America Building Trades Union (NABTU) President Sean McGarvey also addressed the conference, highlighting a new NABTU initiative to promote the deployment of pension plan investment policies that would yield high returns in projects using union labor.

Can Your Fab Operation Improve?

If your answer is “yes,” then plan to participate in MCAA’s next Construction Technology Webinar on May 12, Optimizing Fabrication with BIM, at 1:00 p.m.

Led by Josh Bone, BIM Services Manager with JB Knowledge, you will learn how Building Information Modeling (BIM) can help streamline your fabrication operation workflows for those willing to make the investment.

In this webinar, Bone will discuss software solutions that enable different aspects of the fabrication process and address potential limitations. He will share best practices and workflows to maximize your outputs.

It’s not too late! We already held this webinar, but you can check out the archived recording in our Resource Center.

Podcast Reprises Water Crisis Webinar

If you missed Courtney France’s webinar on April 14 about how our industry is responding to the water crisis, check out the Plumbing Contractors of America’s (PCA) latest podcast, Water Crisis: Pushing the Limits of Building Water Conservation.

France of France Sustainable Solutions and Sean McGuire of MCAA discuss the PCA webinar she led that highlights innovative case studies and how the plumbing contractors who were involved with those projects made an impact on this problem. The link below will take you to the podcast.

PCA Podcast

MCAA Members Meet with House Ways and Means Committee Chair on Pension Reform

MCAA members met with House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) on pension reform on April 21, pressing for positive action by Congress that would allow plan trustees the option to consider adopting new pension plan designs, if appropriate for their area.

Meeting with Chairman Brady in Washington, DC, were MCAA members Barry Moore, President of Brandt Engineering (Dallas, TX), Jim Letsos, President/CEO of Letsos Company (Houston, TX), and MCA of Texas Executive Director Glenn Rex. They outlined the ways that the Solutions Not Bailouts legislative proposal would allow plan trustees to consider new options for multiemployer defined benefit plans that would reinvigorate the plan and workforce demographics, and improve long-term sustainability and MCAA member competitiveness and market share.

The new plan design proposal was pulled back from the Kline-Miller Multiemployer Plan Reform Act (MPRA) that passed in December 2014 with a promise for positive action in the next year, which fell short due to leadership changes in the House.

With the House leadership issues settled, MCAA and the National Coordinating Committee for Multiemployer Plans (NCCMP) are pressing again for Congressional action before this year’s session ends. And, pension reform will lead the agenda for the MCAA/Quality Construction Alliance National Issues Conference (May 10-12, Washington, DC). Former California Representative George Miller will moderate the pension reform panel discussion.

E. Robert Kent Award Winner PIPES is Now Available

The winner of the 2015 E. Robert Kent Award for Management Innovation – PIPES (Process Information Portal Enabling Success) – developed by The BP Group (Glendale, N.Y.) and ATX Advisory Services – is now available for MCAA members.

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,” 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. Click on the link below to request your copy.

Download PIPES

MCAA Mourns Passing of Past President Sam Shuman

06e04437-37f4-4824-b84a-9272f0baee45Samuel A. Shuman of Speer Mechanical (Columbus, OH) and MCAA Past President passed away on April 12. He was 89. Shuman, a graduate of Penn State University, joined Speer Mechanical in 1957 and built it into one of the leading mechanical contracting businesses in Ohio.

He was active locally in the MCA of Central Ohio, serving as its president, a member of its Board of Directors and on several committees.

He was also active for many years in the Builders Exchange of Central Ohio, serving on the Board as Past President and was a Cornerstone Award recipient.

He served as a member of MCAA’s national Board of Directors and on several committees, becoming national MCAA president in 1992.

Funeral services were held April 18 at the Overbrook Presbyterian Church in Columbus.

Obituary

MCAA Releases Safety Bulletin on OSHA’s New Silica Standard

MCAA’s new safety bulletin on OSHA’s new silica rule is now available. The bulletin describes the key compliance requirements and also summarizes the entire standard, which was published in the Federal Register on March 25.
The new standard becomes effective on June 23, but does not become enforceable in the construction industry until June 23, 2017.
The new standard:
  • Reduces the Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) by 80% from 250 ug/m3 to 50 ug/m3;
  • Establishes an Action Level (AL) of 25 ug/m3;
  • Requires affected employers to use engineering controls to limit exposures;
  • Requires respiratory protection when engineering controls are ineffective;
  • Requires affected employers to develop written exposure control plans;
  • Requires affected employers to train affected workers on the risks associated with silica and how they can limit their exposures; and
  • Requires affected employers to provide medical exams to highly exposed workers.
To learn more, members may access the Safety Bulletin by clicking on the link below.

MCERF Thanks Its 2016 Contributors to Date

The Mechanical Contracting Education & Research Foundation (MCERF) thanks its generous contributors who have given to the Foundation this year.

The Foundation acknowledges each contributor individually in this and other MCAA media, but the outpouring of supporters so far this year has been awesome. Therefore, we want to acknowledge all those who have financially supported the Foundation this year.

Thank you — your support is noted, valued, and vital to the work of our Foundation!

  • Anvil International
  • Armistead Mechanical, Inc.
  • Benicia Plumbing
  • CFI Mechanical, Inc.
  • Cleveland Plumbing Contractors
  • Coleman Spohn Corporation
  • CPMCA
  • Eastern Iowa/Western Illinois MCA
  • Ferguson
  • Foley Company
  • Gunthorpe Plumbing & Heating, Inc.
  • Hermanson Company
  • Icon Mechanical
  • Kinetics
  • William F. Lynch Company
  • Kenneth R. Marino
  • MCA of Akron
  • MCA of Central Ohio
  • MCA of Cleveland
  • MCA of Detroit
  • MCA of Eastern Missouri
  • MCA of Greater Springfield, Missouri
  • MCA of Indiana
  • MCA of Iowa
  • MCA of North Central Wisconsin
  • MCA of Rockford
  • MCA of Western Washington
  • MCA of Wisconsin
  • Mid-Atlantic MCA
  • Mid-Michigan MCA
  • Nooter Construction Company
  • North Mechanical Contracting, Inc.
  • Northern California MCA
  • Frank Schaetzke
  • Smith & Oby Company
  • Weldbend Corporation
  • West Chester Mechanical Contractors
  • West Michigan MCA
  • Western New York Association of Plumbing & Mechanical Contractors

Find out more about MCERF’s educational and research activities that inspired so many generous contributions by visiting the Foundation’s website and then consider making a donation.

Donate to MCERF

Revisit MCAA 2016 — Photos and Recap Video Still Available

2d12d736-ab36-4730-8cd0-c190dcaddaf6The memories of MCAA’s best convention ever are now available on our photo site, mcaa.smugmug.com. You can view, download and share photos from special events or special moments with family and friends…for free as an MCAA membership benefit.

To access the photos, go to the link below, click on the MCAA 2016 folder and then choose the gallery you would like to view (there’s one for each day of MCAA 2016).

Scroll through the “thumbnail” photos until you see the photo you want and then click on it. Look for an icon on the lower far right, just under your desired photo, to download. It’s a downward area above a horizontal bar.

A recap of all MCAA 2016 events is coming next week on YouTube.

Download Your Photos

Watch the Recap Video by Builtworlds

MCAA’s Construction Technology Webinar on 3D Scanning

James Benham, who led several sessions on new and emerging construction technologies and cyber security at MCAA 2016,  presented his research findings in the first of a multi-part webinar series on construction technology on April 7, at 12:00 p.m. Eastern time during MCAA’s Construction Technology Webinar.

The report, which is now available, provides a comparative analysis of 3D scanning technology. In 2016, MCAA partnered with JBK Labs to release this research.

Each part of the series evaluates and compares the benefits of specific products and software that contractors can apply in their operations.

James Benham, founder of JB Knowledge and its research wing, JBK Labs,  discusses the results of the first part of the study series on 3D Scanning Technology during this webinar. He explores and compares the differences in 3D scanning products, software and processes, also providing a glimpse of 3D scanning solutions that are still emerging.

If you missed the webinar, view our archived version here.

Download the report.

MCAA’s 3D Scanning Report Available

If you’ve been thinking about adding a 3D scanning system to your operations, be sure to check out MCAA’s report, 3D Scanning Technology – A Comparative Analysis.

The MCAA report is the first in a series of research on construction technologies that are now in use and becoming available in the near future. The report assesses various laser, non-laser scanning and photogrammetric hardware and software tools that mechanical contractors are using to map out projects.

Developed by JBKLabs, the research and development team of JBKnowledge, Inc., the report is free as a benefit of MCAA membership.

Download the report.

BP Mechanical Corporation Contributes to MCERF

The Mechanical Contracting Education & Research Foundation (MCERF) recently received a $500 contribution from BP Mechanical (Glendale, N.Y.), winner of the 2015 E. Robert Kent Award for Management Innovation. And, BP designated half its contribution for MCERF Scholarships.

The MCERF Board of Trustees greatly appreciates the contribution which enables the Foundation to continue its education and research programs, especially the scholarship support, that help our industry advance. Find out more about MCERF and its programs by clicking on the link below.

Learn More

Set-Up Your Service Supervisors for Success

MSCA’s Growing and Developing Service Supervisors program (April 28-29 – Brookfield, WI) will help supervisors understand how to coach, mentor, manage, and motivate their technicians.

Each attendee will receive a comprehensive manual containing more than 100 forms and worksheets to use for day-to-day responsibilities in areas such as safety, operations, training, tools, and vehicles.

Sorry, this event is over, but it will be repeated so check the calendar!

Tom Stone Becomes New MCAA President as MCAA 2016 Closes

Tom Stone of Braconier Plumbing & Heating Company, Inc. (Englewood, CO) became MCAA’s new president at the closing session of MCAA 2016.

Outgoing President Steve Dawson delivered farewell remarks after presenting plaques of appreciation to retiring Board of Directors members Chuck Fell, Jim Allen, Andy Kruse, Greg Lewis, and Dick Starr.

Robert J. Durr, Jr. of Durr Mechanical Construction, Inc. (New York, N.Y.) became the newest member of the Executive Committee, where he will serve as vice president/assistant treasurer.

Joining MCAA’s Board of Directors are Troy Aichele of Hermanson Company (Kent, WA), Michael Gallagher of The John F. Gallagher Company (Eastlake, OH), Patrick Lynch of CCI Mechanical (Layton, UT), Curtis Harbour of the Brandt Companies (Houston, TX) and Bill Tavenner of Ferguson (Newport News, VA).

United Association General President Bill Hite updated attendees on the latest developments concerning workforce training, market recovery efforts, and apprentice recruiting programs.

Rounding out the program was Navy SEAL Robert O’Neill, one of America’s most highly-decorated combat veterans of all time. He shared some of his harrowing experiences involved in Navy SEAL training, combat missions and the important lessons he learned about achieving success—be prepared to fight, perform under fire, trust your people and never quit. President Stone ended the program by inviting all to attend MCAA 2017 at the San Diego Marriott Marquis, March 5-9, 2017. See you there!

Annual Awards Breakfast Spotlights Exceptional Students

Outstanding MCAA student chapters, an educator and students’ achievements were celebrated at the Annual Awards Breakfast on March 23.

MCERF President Mark Rogers presented scholarship checks to Timothy Drake of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln for the Foster J. McCarl, Jr. Memorial Scholarship ($2,500); Leah Hendricks of the Milwaukee School of Engineering for the William A. Bianco, Jr. Memorial Scholarship ($5,000); Andrew Palcan, also of MSOE, for The Reilly Family Memorial Scholarship ($5,000); and Kevin McIntyre, also of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln for the Alan P. O’Shea Memorial Scholarship ($2,500).

Career Development Committee Chairman Troy Aichele awarded trophies and cash prizes to the finalists of this year’s Student Chapter Competition: first prize and $10,000 went to Student Chapter for Mechanical/Electrical Specialty Contracting at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the $5,000 prize for second place went to the Rocky Mountain Chapter of MCAA at Colorado State University.

The University of NebraskaLincoln chapter was also honored as the 2015 Student Chapter of the Year, and Prof. Blake Wentz of the Milwaukee School of Engineering was honored as the 2015 Educator of the Year.