Organization: MCAA

Celebrate MCAA’s 20 Years of Safety Excellence Each Month of 2023 With a Safety Resource Kit

To celebrate MCAA’s 20 Years of Safety Excellence, MCAA is offering monthly safety kits to benefit our contractors around the country and the mechanical industry workers they support. Each kit will include videos, webinars, trainings, and additional resources on each monthly topic.

September 2023: Mental Health Awareness

Construction has one of the highest rates of death by suicide of all industries in the United States, about four times higher than the general population. MCAA is proud to tackle Mental Health Awareness & Suicide Prevention head on with a series of NEW resources developed in partnership with the United Association (UA).

Mental Health Awareness & Suicide Prevention Video

Our newest safety and health video highlights the success story of an industry veteran, with appearances from MCAA’s president Robert Beck, the UA’s Jen Massey, industry expert Dr. Sally Spencer Thomas, and MCAA member Ricky Reams.

Joint Statement from MCAA & UA

UA General President Mark McManus and MCAA President Robert Beck highlight the importance of mental health awareness and suicide prevention.

988 Chips & Hard Hat Stickers

The MCAA and the UA have partnered to create UA/MCAA branded chips and hard hat stickers  highlighting the 988 National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

  • MCAA members can order stickers here. To order chips, contact Lindsay Korpiniski at orderdesk@unionproud.com and reference the MCAA and UA 988 Chips. Both manufacturers employ union labor, and the chips and stickers carry the union label. Those with questions can contact Raffi Elchemmas (raffi@mcaa.org).
  • UA members can order right from the UA’s webstore. Those with questions can reach out to Nicole Jeup (nicolej@uanet.org).

Mental Health Toolbox Talks

This series of toolbox talks are easy to reference, quick to use, and a great way to start the conversation on mental health awareness and suicide prevention in construction at your company.

Additional Resources

UA workers and MCAA members can access several posters, flyers, and other resources through these sites:

DOWNLOAD RESOURCE SUMMARY

Connect With the Latest Training from Ridge Tool Company and Mueller Industries, Inc. at MCAA.org

The Manufacturer/Supplier Training area of MCAA’s website connects our contractor members with training opportunities available from the members of MCAA’s Manufacturer/Supplier Council.

Participating companies highlight and link to new webinars and training opportunities across their product lines, services, solutions or web pages. Here are just a few of the recent additions:

Ridge Tool Company
RIDGID product experts showcase & demonstrate the latest in sectional machines, including the K-50, K-60, K-1500, and K-5208.

Learn More

Mueller Industries, Inc.
Streamline® ACR Copper Press Fittings | Installation Instructions
Watch this video to learn about the installation process of the Streamline® ACR Copper Press Fittings for HVAC & VRF applications.

Learn More

Interested in More Training from Our Supplier Partners?

Be sure to visit the Manufacturer/Supplier Training area for all the latest offerings.

Learn More

2024 WiMI Conference

The annual WiMI conference will feature exceptional speakers, interactive educational sessions, industry related roundtables and opportunities to build lasting relationships with fellow women in the mechanical industry. A full menu of educational offerings will help you discover all the opportunities this industry has to offer. From industry newcomers to executives, and everyone in between, this is the event to attend for all women in the mechanical contracting industry.

2025 WiMI Conference

The annual WiMI conference will feature exceptional speakers, interactive educational sessions, industry related roundtables and opportunities to build lasting relationships with fellow women in the mechanical industry. A full menu of educational offerings will help you discover all the opportunities this industry has to offer. From industry newcomers to executives, and everyone in between, this is the event to attend for all women in the mechanical contracting industry.

2024 Fabrication Conference

MCAA Fabrication conference is one of the most popular educational events of the year. The focus of the conference is on off-site manufacturing techniques, processes and strategies. Each year the conference includes an operations tour with a full explanation of how the host contractor performs fabrication. This is paired with practical education sessions that feature contractors showcasing best in class case studies of their own operations from around the country.

2025 Safety & Health Conference

MCAA, SMACNA, TAUC have partnered together to host the Safety & Health Conference, the biggest construction safety event of the year. The conference brings together safety professionals from across the construction industry to collaborate and explore the challenges and opportunities within our field. Attendees will have the opportunity to engage in a range of educational programs designed to enhance their professional skills. Subject Matter Experts will cover various aspects of jobsite safety, including discussions on emerging technologies and evolving best practices that can be implemented in their operations. Hands-on workshops will also be available, allowing experts to delve into new safety & health concepts in detail and provide practical guidance to help attendees better understand these innovative ideas. Two summits will also be offered, a pre-conference Construction Mental Health Summit and a post-conference Construction Risk Management Summit. 

Heat Stress: ClickSafety Explains Your Responsibility as an Employer

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), employers have a responsibility to protect their workers from extreme heat. Every year, dozens of workers die and thousands more become ill while working in hot or humid conditions. Heat is the number-one cause of weather-related deaths in the United States. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 815 heat-related worker deaths and 70,000 heat-related serious injuries between 1992 and 2017. To protect workers, employers should establish a complete heat illness prevention program in addition to observing the heat index.

LEARN MORE

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

Find the Latest from Kojo Technologies, Inc. and Omegaflex, Inc. 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:

Kojo Technologies, Inc.
Kojo is the industry’s leading material procurement solution, providing contractors with a digital solution to streamline materials management from pre-con to payment.

Learn More

Omegaflex, Inc.
CounterStrike CSST, MediTrac CMT, and DoubleTrac double containment piping systems are now listed by the ICC for seismic resilience per the ICC-ES ESR-4565 Report.

Learn More

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

Registration for MSCA’s Autumn Classes Now Open

MSCA provides focused training programs for your operational personnel. This collection of programs, unlike any other, provide the continued training to set your employees apart in the HVACR industry. 

MSCA Dispatchers Professional Development Training Program
November 9-10, 2023
Seattle, WA

SOLD OUT

This two-day program will provide dispatchers with all the skills they need to dramatically improve job performance. Custom designed especially for MSCA members, this program goes beyond traditional technical training to cover such critical dispatcher skills as leading technicians rather than letting technicians lead them, becoming the service manager’s partner, prioritizing customer emergencies, evaluating technician abilities, and managing their own careers in dispatching. After attending this program, dispatchers will be able to improve their job performance by learning how to: identify the service life cycle and the critical contact points that impact service success; recognize the importance of the dispatcher’s job and its impact on the organization’s profitability; communicate effectively with technicians and customers; and use good decision-making approaches for optimum priority setting and effective resource allocation.

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MSCA Growing and Developing Service Supervisors 
November 9-10, 2023
Seattle, WA

SOLD OUT

The Field Service Supervisors Training Program is focused training designed specifically for improving the performance of your field service supervisors. Using proven methods, this program will advance skills in leadership, coaching, planning, time management, communication, and motivational techniques, all of which will give the field supervisor an edge and the confidence to deal with the workplace challenges of today.

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MSCA Service Managers Training Program
November 13-16, 2023
Seattle, WA

SOLD OUT

Get the management and leadership skills you need to help your company succeed during this intensive four-day program. Whether you have come up through the trades with little or no formal management training or you want to enhance your management skills to become a more effective leader, this course is for you. Topics will include financial management, communications, coaching, managing conflict, motivating employees and more. A variety of small group activities, assessment tools, and skills-building exercises will help you apply the skills you learn in class, preparing you to go back to the office ready to use what you’ve learned. 

Get the management and leadership skills you need to help your company succeed during this intensive four-day program. Whether you have come up through the trades with little or no formal management training or you want to enhance your management skills to become a more effective leader, this course is for you. Topics will include financial management, communications, coaching, managing conflict, motivating employees and more. A variety of small group activities, assessment tools, and skills-building exercises will help you apply the skills you learn in class, preparing you to go back to the office ready to use what you’ve learned. 

LEARN MORE

AEC Recognizes Chip Martin

MCAA’s Association Executives Council (AEC) recognized outgoing Chair Chip Martin at the conclusion of the 2023 AEC Best Practices Conference on August 2, 2023 in Carlsbad, CA. During his time in office, Chip (CPMCA and Arizona MCA) led the formation of the Arizona MCA and contributed to the development of the AEC Executive Trainee Program, which he will help launch in 2024. He also assisted in the development of the AEC Affiliate Board Orientation Manual and served as the AEC advocate on the MCAA Board of Directors. Thank you, Chip!

Simplifying the Way We Capture and Transfer Knowledge

With more than 70 million baby boomers set to retire by 2030—more than 10,000 each day—organizations need to rethink the way they capture and transfer knowledge before it is lost forever.

LEARN MORE

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

You Won’t Want to Miss MCAA’s Collective Bargaining Seminar & the UA/MCAA Labor Relations Conference

There’s still time to register for MCAA’s Collective Bargaining Conference and the UA/MCAA Labor Relations Conference this September! MCAA’s Collective Bargaining Conference will help improve your understanding of the bargaining process to assist in preparing for constructive negotiations. The UA/MCAA Labor Relations Conference will focus on topics such as the current need for manpower, organizing, workforce development, and more. Register today and join us in Las Vegas, NV for both events!

Collective Bargaining Seminar

September 25-27, 2023 | Las Vegas, NV

LEARN MORE & REGISTER

UA/MCAA Labor Relations Conference

September 27-28, 2023 | Las Vegas, NV

LEARN MORE & REGISTER

Through the registration process, you will have the ability to register for both conferences at once, or select an individual conference. After your conference registration is complete, you will be directed to make your own hotel reservations based on your particular travel arrangements. We look forward to seeing you there!

Resource Highlight: MCAA’s Creating a Readable Corporate Newsletter

Staying in touch with customers, employees and others who may be interested in your company’s products and/or services, upcoming events, or other business developments is critical to your company’s growth and success. Thanks to the availability of myriad print and electronic media, the Internet and social media, companies have many options for connecting with their internal and external audiences. This bulletin focuses on one option—newsletters. It’s just one of MCAA’s educational resources that are free to MCAA members as a benefit of membership.

The bulletin includes:

  • The purpose of a newsletter
  • Audience assessment
  • The mission statement
  • Content considerations
  • Budgeting considerations
  • Staffing, or who does what?
  • How it looks, including design, format and structure
  • Documenting style with a style sheet
  • The print/no print decision and how to proceed once it’s made
DOWNLOAD

For a full list of available Management Methods Bulletins, visit the Management Methods Bulletins page.

Have Questions or Need Personal Assistance?

Contact MCAA’s Frank Wall.

Phishing Alert: Email with “MCAA Field Leaders Conferences – 2023” in the Subject

MCAA has become aware that some people have received an email stating that the MCAA Field Leaders Conference mailing list is available for sale. We would like to assure you that MCAA never sells lists of our members or our event attendees, nor do we authorize any third parties to do so.

The emails that we are aware of have come from different contacts at the same company, “conferencesonline.live,” but carry the same message:

Hi Team,

Just writing to check if you would be interested in acquiring the Attendees list of “MCAA Field Leaders Conferences” Held on| August 02nd – 04th – 2023| San Francisco, CA, USA

Each record will contain details like: Contact Name, Title, Phone Number, Fax Number, Physical address, State/City, Company Name, Company URL, and most importantly verified email addresses.

Let us know if you are interested and we will revert back with cost and other deliverables.

Email from conferencesonline.live

MCAA has investigated and determined that this is a phishing scheme designed to gather your personal or company financial information by selling you a list that you will never receive. Please handle them accordingly.

ServiceTrade Helps B&W Mechanical Put Customers First, Building Long-Term Loyalty

B&W Mechanical, one of the largest mechanical contractors in the Southeast, chose ServiceTrade software to help them make the move from paper to digital, shortening the time it takes to provide quotes for repairs. Swift, detailed, clear communication is one way that B&W builds trust that leads to long-lasting customer relationships.

LEARN MORE

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

MCAA Shares Safety & Health Videos to Support OSHA Safe + Sound Week

In honor of the Occupational Safety & Health Administration’s (OSHA) Safe and Sound Week campaign, August 7-13, 2023, MCAA is re-sharing a series of safety videos created by the Safety Alliance between MCAA, TAUC, NECA, and SMACNA for your use to highlight key safety topics with your employees and co-workers. From mental health, fall protection and other OSHA Focus Four topics like electrical hazards and caught in-between/struck-by, take time to focus on safety, you will be glad you did!

We kick off the week with a message from Mechanical Contractors Association of America (MCAA) Executive Director of Safety, Health & Risk Management Raffi Elchemmas about how workers can stay safe while using ladders and stairs, or when working at heights.

On Tuesday, we hear from National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) Executive Director, Outside Line Safety Mike Starner, CUSP, CHST about how workers can protect themselves from line of fire incidents including caught-in, caught-between and struck-by. Lockout/tagout is also covered.

The Association of Union Constructors Director of Environmental Health & Safety Alex Kopp shares a message on Wednesday about the importance of mental health and resources that are available to provide support.

On Thursday, we hear from SMACNA Director of Safety Justin Crandol, CSP, ARM, CRIS with tips to help workers protect themselves from heat hazards.

To close out the week, we hear from National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) Executive Director of Safety Wesley Wheeler, SMS, CESCP about the importance of personal protective equipment (PPE), a critical component to jobsite safety.

Learn more about OSHA’s Safe + Sound week here and follow the week’s news at #safeandsound.

Darnelle Everett and Sosina Haileselassie Have Joined the MCAA Staff

MCAA is pleased to welcome the two newest members of the staff: Darnelle Everett and Sosina Haileselassie.

Darnelle is a meeting coordinator supporting the Events Department by helping with planning and logistics. He was born and raised in Washington, D.C. and graduated from nearby Morgan State University with a B.S. in Communications. He enjoys discovering new music and food. He is also interested in sports, fashion, and traveling to new countries.

Sosina is a dues coordinator supporting the Accounting Department. She has a B.A. degree in Accounting, which she earned while living in Ethiopia. Her extensive accounting background includes positions from accounting clerk to supervisor (and pretty much everything in between) in the airline and construction industries and at a law firm. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with friends and watching British comedies and classic U.S. comedies.

Join us in welcoming Darnelle, Sosina and their families to the MCAA staff family.

Resource Highlight: MCAA’s Credit Card Payments

Credit cards are rapidly becoming the preferred method of covering a variety of financial transactions between contractors and their vendors/suppliers and project owners. MCAA’s Credit Card Payments reviews the advantages and disadvantages of making payments via credit card to help you fully understand the benefits and costs involved. It’s just one of MCAA’s educational resources that are free to MCAA members as a benefit of membership.

The bulletin covers:

  • Getting established with the appropriate accounts
  • Advantages to the contractor
  • Advantages to the vendor and supplier
DOWNLOAD

For a full list of available Management Methods Bulletins, visit the Management Methods Bulletins page.

Have Questions or Need Personal Assistance?

Contact MCAA’s Frank Wall.