Whether you’re in construction, plumbing or service, you’ll find innovative ideas to move your company forward at the MCAA Technology Conference. General sessions feature content of interest to all contractors, while breakouts and workshops let you choose the education that suits your interests. Don’t miss out…join this community of innovators!
Complete Temperature Systems of Chicago cut office staff time by 14 hours per week using MobiliForms from iBusiness Technologies to help streamline their operations. Before, field work orders, service tickets, and preventive maintenance checklists had been driven around, which delayed invoicing and created the possibility of getting lost. Now, information streams in real time, allowing for same-day or next-day invoicing. CTS’ government contracts require specific work acknowledgement letters; with MobiliForms in place, they are signed onsite, stored, and shared digitally. MobiliForms also allows techs to capture pictures and sounds on work orders.
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.
A roof collapse could have knocked IVP Plastics of Washington, IL, out of commission for a long time, but Warner Mechanical LLC, of Edwards, IL, used Aquatherm polypropylene pipe in the rebuild, helping the manufacturer get back to business quickly. The heat fusion process made Aquatherm piping easier and faster to install than traditional welded pipe, saving Warner Mechanical time.
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.
Victaulic’s building information modeling (BIM) expertise saved Kruse Corporation an estimated $15,000 to $20,000 on the renovation of Union Station in Wichita, KS, while the streamlined construction approach reduced build hours from 4,000 to 3,100, yielding an additional $40,000 in labor savings. The combination of BIM services and Victaulic products simplified coordination, reduced risks during construction, and cut the manpower needed for this project in half.
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.
Congratulations to everyone at J.C. Cannistraro, LLC for being named PHC News magazine’s Contractor of the Year! The company, which is a member of MCAA and the New England MCA, was selected for its reputation as a leader in modular prefabrication and a very early adopter of construction technology.
Each year, as part of Autodesk’s annual education conference, Autodesk University, there is an optional session the first day that is geared towards the AEC industry called Connect & Construct. It features Autodesk’s corporate leaders like the new Autodesk President and CEO Andrew Anagnost talking about products designed for the construction industry as well as some of the industry’s leading innovators.
One such innovator featured this year was Travis Voss, Mechanical Inc’s Director of Technology. Mr. Voss was part of the keynote address that included Dr. Peter Diamandis, a recent speaker at the MSCA Conference and MCAA Convention, and Lorien Barlow, the Documentary filmmaker behind a movie titled, Hard Hatted Woman.
During his keynote address, Travis spoke about Mechanical Inc.’s path to technology leadership, what his role as a Construction Technologist means and how collaboration and cooperation with other MCAA members through the Technology Committee has helped their company.
The video is available through Autodesk’s Online University through this link. Travis begins his presentation at the 45 minute mark.
Travis Voss will also be speaking at the MCAA Technology Conference in Tampa Bay, Florida on January 30- February 1. His presentation will be part of a session titled, Next Generation Workflows, in which he will demonstrate how Mechanical Inc. has begun using augmented reality on the job site.
MCAA/MSCA’s Women in the Mechanical Industry Initiative has a new home on the MCAA website! If you’re a woman executive or employee of an MCAA/MSCA member company, this page will keep you up to date on our efforts to enable women in the mechanical industry to further enrich their careers through networking, educational, mentoring and career development opportunities beyond those already offered through membership in MCAA and MSCA.
If you’re a woman executive or employee of an MCAA/MSCA member company and you’re headed to MSCA18, join us for a luncheon and discussion on Monday, October 22. This is a unique opportunity to develop some important connections!
The event continues MCAA/MSCA’s Women in the Mechanical Industry initiative, a forum to enable women in the mechanical industry to further enrich their careers through networking, educational, mentoring and career development opportunities beyond those already offered through membership in MCAA and MSCA.
With the ManufactOn cloud and mobile solution, TG Gallagher has increased and improved its prefabrication capacity. The TG Gallagher leadership team can keep tabs on the status of prefab work and materials at all times. The field team can monitor the progress of prefabbed items, request them as they are completed, and tag products to keep track of them. By integrating prefabrication into TG Gallagher’s supply chain, ManufactOn has helped them take the next step in the prefab revolution.
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.
Whenever a new process, tool or technology is introduced to a company, there is always concern about how it will be used by the people in the field every day. At the Indianapolis Field Leaders Conference, UA Director of Training Chris Haslinger made a presentation about construction technology. His presentation included a survey which yielded some very interesting results from 175 end users.
A balance must always be made in technology training. You don’t want to spend so much time on the training process that it keeps people from doing their jobs. You also want to make sure that people understand how to use it and follow up with added training if required. The good news from these results is that it seems like most field users are getting the right amount of time, regardless of the duration, and very few respondents appear to be getting new technology handed to them with little time to practice with it.
The next question focused more on the tools needed to use new technology on the job site. As mobile devices are frequently seen as required tools by foreman and field supervisors, the need for internet connectivity has risen significantly.
Two thirds of field leaders answered that it is not only very important, but almost all of the time. This speaks to how essential communication and data flow is becoming between the field and the office. Today, field employees are using their mobile devices for more processes and a good internet connection is becoming a necessity. A poor internet connection slows down the processes and can waste field time. This makes usage of mobile devices counter-productive when the time it takes for files to load or transfer make it slower than other methods.
The usage of mobile devices is increasing. Much of this has to do with better software applications on the market and more companies making it part of the process. When asked which software applications they used most frequently, they responded:
This demonstrates heavy usage of applications across a diverse set of processes. With a higher rate of application usage, the industry is likely to modify its processes to compensate. The last survey focused on this issue.
The top two responses both involved improved communication. Coordination with other trades is a process that has a high need for improvement, but involves a process improvement for communication. The same could be said of delivery of blueprints, change orders and design documents – a process that can grind a project to a halt and add significant cost if not organized correctly.
Mobile devices and job site software have become normal for modern contractors. To keep up on technology impacting MCAA members, MCAA’s Technology Initiative will continue to provide research, articles and guidance.
The 2018 MCAA Student Competition brought together future leaders of our industry on the main stage of the convention.
Congratulations to our four finalists:
The “Final Four” project involved the renovation of the heating and cooling systems for the Fogo De Chao Brazilian Steakhouse in New York City where chapters were tasked with coordinating the removal of the existing equipment and installing the new equipment.
The four finalists presented their plans to the on-stage judges and fielded a series of demanding questions. Missed the competition or want a second view? Watch the competition video from start to finish here.
Congratulations again to all the participants and this year’s winner…Colorado State University!
Faced with the possibility of losing money on a building expansion project, Braconier Mechanical and Plumbing found that using Viega products was an easy way to trim costs. The ease of installation with the Viega press approach cut installation time dramatically, bringing costs back under control. In addition, Viega turned out to be a better choice for a job where the original specs called for threading pipe.
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.
Contractors continued to build relationships with the members of MCAA’s Manufacturer/Supplier Council and student chapter members during the annual exhibits. The Annual Manufacturer/Supplier Council Exhibit highlighted well-known products and services as well as solutions that are just emerging to take on the anticipated challenges that lie ahead. The Student Chapter Exhibit provided members with another opportunity to meet students seeking their Great Futures in our industry.
Enjoy this recap of Monday’s activities at MCAA18! Additional videos are coming soon!
Our association’s leading women kicked off our Women in the Mechanical Industry forum with a networking reception. During the event, women learned how the forum will further enrich their careers through networking, educational, mentoring and career development opportunities beyond those already offered through membership in MCAA and MSCA. Women in the Mechanical Industry also sponsored a special session on two proven career advancement strategies measured to have the strongest payoff for women professionals.
The team from Colorado State University won the final round of the Student Chapter Competition at MCAA18, taking home the first prize and $10,000 for their efforts. Their proposal for the renovation of a New York City steakhouse beat out proposals from the Fairleigh-Dickinson University, the University of Washington and the Wentworth Institute of Technology.
Second place honors and a $5,000 prize went to the University of Washington team.
The other two finalist teams, from Fairleigh-Dickinson University and the Wentworth Institute of Technology, took home checks for $2,500.
Teams from six additional universities received Merit Awards and checks for $1,000. They were:
Looking for new talent to secure your company’s future? Hoping to connect during MCAA18? Start your research at MCAAGreatFutures.org.
A new search option helps you easily narrow your search to those candidates who are joining us at MCAA18. Look for it to the left of the Search by Keyword area, click the circle to select it and hit submit. Be sure to check back often… students are adding their resumes daily.
Looking for a specific skill like BIM or Autocad? Enter it into the keyword filter and you’ll get an instant list of students who fit the bill.
Prefer to search by university? We’ve got you covered – just select the university from the list and hit “Submit.”
Just want interns? Only looking for full-time professionals? The results can also be filtered by job type, so you can narrow them down depending on your needs.
Access to the resumes is exclusively for MCAA members, giving members first dibs on the talent the association’s Career Development Initiative has helped to nurture. To see candidate details, simply login with your MCAA.org username and password.
So reach out and get in touch. You may just find the next star employee to ensure your company’s great future!
The results are in! Congratulations to our four finalists for the 2018 MCAA Student Chapter Competition:
This year MCAA’s Student Chapter Competition drew 28 teams, including two new chapters. The project involved the renovation of the heating and cooling systems for the Fogo De Chao Brazilian Steakhouse in New York City where chapters were tasked with coordinating the removal of the existing equipment and installing the new equipment.
The top competition prize is $10,000. The second place team receives $5,000 and the other two finalists will each receive $2,500.
You can see the final four teams compete at the 2018 MCAA Convention in the Grand Oaks Ballroom on Monday, March 26 at 1:30 p.m.!
The winners will be announced at the Awards of Excellence breakfast on Wednesday, March 28 at 7:00 a.m. We’ll also be announcing the Chapter of the Year, Educator of the Year, and presenting new student chapter charters to:
Our convention is a great place to meet students from many schools who are interested in internships or jobs with MCAA member companies. You can attend the Annual Manufacturer/Supplier Exhibit on Tuesday, March 27 from 7:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m., where you will be able to talk to the students at their chapter tables.
Don’t miss the chance to meet our future industry leaders at this year’s Convention!
Anderson, Rowe & Buckley (AR&B) deployed MobiliForms from iBusiness Technologies, cutting labor costs and going paperless painlessly. “Our 100+ field techs are shaving time each day, and I’ve personally recaptured eight hours per week,” said Darin Sheridan, HVAC superintendent, who is tasked with overseeing the solution.
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.
Faced with new, more stringent building requirements mid-project, J.W. McClenahan Co. got a boost from the engineers at Jay R. Smith Mfg. Co.,® who rapidly designed new trench drains and had them verified by a third party to satisfy city inspectors—all in just four months.
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.
