Organization: PCA

Dick Starr, Former MSCA Chairman, Provides Insight on the Maintenance Requirements of High-Performance Buildings

Energy efficiency, comfort, and productivity are the top focus for most high-performance buildings, according to Dick Starr, senior account executive, Enterprise HVAC Service & Control, Twinsburg, Ohio and former chairman of the MSCA Board of Managers.

In a high-performance building, system integration is key. A balance between productivity, safety, good health, and energy efficiency is imperative. Failure to maintain one component may prevent the entire system from performing optimally.

With an emphasis on system v. equipment, these high-performance buildings differ from most other commercial buildings, where the focus tends to land more on a ‘break/fix’ mentality and focus only on basic wear and tear maintenance. With the equipment running independently of each other maintaining one part will not impact another.

Since high-performance buildings are normally ‘owner-occupied’ facilities, according to Starr, he believes that building and maintaining trust between the building owner and HVAC service provider is key to developing best practices and creating a successful strategic plan. Each building is unique and requires a different maintenance program to operate at its highest potential.

Read the full article from theNews and learn more on how to create a maintenance program that will result in higher performing systems, please click here.

Find the Latest from Viega, Victaulic and More 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:

Viega
Viega MegaPress XL® – Advanced Press for Larger Pipes – The only press fitting system for 2½” to 4″ dia. carbon steel pipe, makes connections, on average, in 25 seconds. Compared to welding, it saves up to 60% in installation costs and up to 90% in time.

Learn More

Victaulic
QuickVic SD – It’s the most economical and efficient way to join small diameter plain end carbon steel pipe, and it’s now available from Victaulic!

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

Introducing the Women in the Mechanical Industry Initiative Page

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.

Download Your New Membership Directory & Buyer’s Guide Today!

The full-featured digital version of our Membership Directory & Buyer’s Guide enhances the look and feel of our directory with digital-only benefits to help you:

Network on the go with linked email addresses.
Connect with the companies, products and services that interest you using linked web addresses.
Get where you’re going…fast…with bookmarks and a linked table of contents.
Find advertisers instantly with a linked advertiser index.

MCAA’s Membership Directory & Buyer’s Guide is free as a member benefit. Printed directories are in the mail and will arrive to members within the next two weeks.

Download Your Copy

Have updates? Please share! Update your profile on our website, or contact Jan Grillo for assistance.

Safe Work Practices are Key During Pressure Testing Operations – This Guide Has Them!

MCAA’s Guide to Pressure Testing Safety highlights the safe work practices that can help prevent worker injury during hydrostatic and pneumatic testing of steel and copper piping systems.

Your workers will learn about:

Hazards associated with pressure testing
Common injuries resulting from pressure testing
Seven causes of piping system failures during pressure test operations that can result in injury, and how to avoid them
Safe work practices for hydrostatic testing
Safe work practices for pneumatic testing

The guide also contains tools to help you with pre-test safety planning, including sample checklists for both hydrostatic and pneumatic testing. A sample pneumatic test permit is also included.

Download the guide

There’s More…

A safety training video on the topic of safe pressure testing is also available. Accompanying materials will assist you in highlighting key training points, documenting worker training and confirming that workers understand the training concepts.

Want More Safety Resources?

MCAA has you covered, with a full range of resources to help you protect your workers from injury and comply with applicable safety regulations. Here’s where to find them:

On our Direct Links to MCAA & MSCA Safety Resources page, where they’re listed by category with links.

Go there now

In the Resource Center, where you can use the blue Refine Your Search bar to pinpoint exactly what you’re looking for.

Visit the Resource Center

Have questions or need personal assistance?

Contact MCAA’s Pete Chaney.

Need to Keep Your Workers Safe from Asbestos Hazards? This Video Can Help!

MCAA’s Asbestos Awareness for the Mechanical Trades Safety Training Video teaches your workers to protect themselves from the hazards involved in working around microscopic asbestos fibers.

Your workers will learn:

What asbestos is
Where asbestos can be found on the jobsite
What the health hazards of asbestos exposure are
How to identify potential asbestos hazards
How to protect themselves from asbestos hazards

Download or play the video in English

Download or play the video in Spanish

There’s More…

Accompanying materials are also available to assist you in highlighting key training points, documenting worker training and confirming that workers understand the training concepts:

Highlight key training points

Download the Pocket Guide

Document worker training

Download the Documentation Sheet

Confirm that workers understand the training concepts

Download the Test

Download the Test Answer Key

Want More Safety Resources?

MCAA has you covered, with a full range of resources to help you protect your workers from injury and comply with applicable safety regulations. Here’s where to find them:

On our Direct Links to MCAA & MSCA Safety Resources page, where they’re listed by category with links.

Go there now

In the Resource Center, where you can use the blue Refine Your Search bar to pinpoint exactly what you’re looking for.

Visit the Resource Center

Have questions or need personal assistance?

Contact MCAA’s Pete Chaney.

Want to Keep Your Fitters and Plumbers Safe from Electrical Hazards? Show Them this Video!

MCAA’s Electrical Hazard Safety Training Video teaches your workers to recognize electrical hazards and perform their jobs safely.

Your workers will learn about:

The electrical concepts of path to ground and path of least resistance
The importance of keeping power tools and equipment in good working order
Ground fault circuit interruptors (GFCIs) and when they should be used
Hazardous work situations and how to handle them safely

Download or play the video in English

Download or play the video in Spanish

There’s More…

Accompanying materials are also available to assist you in highlighting key training points, documenting worker training and confirming that workers understand the training concepts:

Highlight key training points

Download the Pocket Guide

Document worker training

Download the Documentation Sheet

Confirm that workers understand the training concepts

Download the Test

Download the Test Answer Key

Want More Safety Resources?

MCAA has you covered, with a full range of resources to help you protect your workers from injury and comply with applicable safety regulations. Here’s where to find them:

On our Direct Links to MCAA & MSCA Safety Resources page, where they’re listed by category with links.

Go there now

In the Resource Center, where you can use the blue Refine Your Search bar to pinpoint exactly what you’re looking for.

Visit the Resource Center

Have questions or need personal assistance?

Contact MCAA’s Pete Chaney.

Find the Latest from Nu Flow Technologies, Rawal Devices, Inc. and More 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:

Nu Flow Technologies
The Nu Drain System is used to rehabilitate aged or failing sewer, drain, vent and waste piping without digging, trenching or destruction inside buildings. This CIPP system can clean, line and reinstate pipes with diameters as small as 2”.

Learn More

Rawal Devices, Inc.
Rawal Devices, Inc.’s APR Control is a continuous capacity modulation and dehumidification device, providing part load control to resolve oversized DX A/C challenges in new and retrofit applications.

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

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

TG Gallagher Improves Prefabrication Processes with ManufactOn

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.

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

How Are Field Leaders Reacting to Technology?

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:

85% – Jobsite Documentation
75% – Blueprint Rendering
67% – Time Cards
19% – Tool Management
46% – Safety Related Purposes

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.

Find your Next Great Idea – Check Out MSCA’s Discussion Forum

MSCA’s online Discussion Forum is the place to go to share ideas and gain insights into industry best practices. Join a conversation, or start one of your own.

MSCA’s Discussion Forum can provide you with answers to some of your current concerns and give you new ideas on a range of business and industry topics. Exclusively for MSCA/MCAA member companies, the Forum is your online tool that enables you to reach out to other companies nationwide to share ideas or seek suggestions and input.

Current discussion topics include:

wearable technologies
peer groups
markup or margin
auto renewals
and more!

Be sure to check out the Discussion Forum site today!

Watch the MCAA18 Student Chapter Competition

The 2018 MCAA Student Competition brought together future leaders of our industry on the main stage of the convention.

Congratulations to our four finalists:

Colorado State University
Fairleigh Dickinson University
University of Washington
Wentworth Institute of Technology

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!

PCA Debuts New Seminar for Plumbing Service Contractors

This summer, the PCA is beta testing a new seminar on Plumbing Service to its members. The Plumbing Service Roundtable is designed to be an efficient, one-day seminar that will allow attendees to be out of the office as little as possible.

The roundtable is scheduled for June 21st at the Hilton Chicago O’Hare, conveniently attached to the airport. With a program scheduled from 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM, attendees will have the ability to fly in and out the same day to maximize their time out of the office.

Sessions will primarily be led by contractors with the intention to open up dialog between attendees and share best practices. The curriculum will include content on recruiting, training, technology, inventory, sales and truck setup.

With this new session being a beta-test, registration will be limited to 35 attendees and a limit of only one attendee per company. It is also recommended that attendees already be engaged in plumbing service at some level in order to share their experiences.

Registration is open and available on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information, download the brochure or register online.

Discover the Latest from Sloan Valve Company, ServiceTrade and More in MCAA’s Virtual Trade Show

MCAA’s Virtual Trade Show connects our contractor members with the members of MCAA’s Manufacturer/Supplier Council.

Learn More

ServiceTrade
ServiceTrade is customer service, sales, and service management software for mechanical service companies.

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

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

New Report Looks at How MCAA Members Use Technology

The MCAA-sponsored 2017 Construction Technology Report by JBKnowledge took an in-depth look at how the construction industry utilizes technology, software and IT. This week, MCAA released an “MCAA Focused” Report that analyzed the responses of MCAA and MSCA members. It looked at how MCAA members use and estimate BIM costs, track productivity, and emerging tech tools.

Part of the report focused on how MCAA members compare to the rest of the construction industry. It showed that MCAA members have a greater adoption of BIM and have higher use rates for BIM with especially with coordination and fabrication.

The MCAA focused report also explored how MCAA members are tracking BIM hours and estimating their costs. It found that far too many contractors do not track their BIM hours per project and as a result cannot use those hours to estimate the amount of time needed to perform BIM on a project.

The report also looked at emerging trends that contractors are currently testing. While the industry at large favors drones by a wide margin, MCAA members are far ahead of the industry on fabrication and modularization.

There’s Valuable and Timely Information in MCAA’s New WebBook Library

MCAA members can now access some of our most valuable publications from their desktop computers on our new WebBook platform. You will be able to read Management Methods Bulletins and other resources, take notes, print sections, and share with colleagues. And most importantly, when we have updated content, unlike a downloaded pdf, our WebBooks can be instantly updated behind the scenes while your notes are preserved securely on your computer.

MCAA Kicked Off Targeted Programming for Women Professionals at MCAA18

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.

Colorado State Wins Student Chapter Competition

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.

University of Washington is Student Chapter Competition Runner-Up MCAA18

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:

Ball State University
Kennesaw State University
McMaster University
Iowa State University
Milwaukee School of Engineering
Illinois State University

Member Company, Arista, Boosts Consumer Confidence with New XOi Wearable Technology

The collaboration of member company Arista, NYC metro area’s leading HVAC contractor, and XOi Technologies revolutionizes the way the HVAC service industry interacts with clients by empowering customers to see the tasks completed on a service call rather than trying to decipher job details from a bill. Customers no longer have to rely solely on trust when assessing job performance and are provided with video documentation of each service call.

Leading HVAC companies, like Arista, are beginning to use new video documentation technology provided by companies similar to XOi Technologies that helps them prove the value they provide to their customers with planned maintenance and repair service.

An HVAC technician in the field uses wearable technology that looks like a pair of
safety glasses, but actually allows them to take video of what they see and do. They can record video evidence that shows you exactly what they’re doing and why.

Arista’s evidence-based approach to service assures customers they are getting what they pay for; the bill matches the services rendered. The video documentation is a useful record-keeping tool, especially for business owners and property managers in charge of multiple sites.

MSCA Discussion Forum is LIVE!

Here are the easy instructions on how to use MSCA Discussion Forum:

Log into MSCA’s website with your username and password
Go to Discussion Forum tab at upper right hand corner and click
Scroll down and pick a topic that you want to join or start a new topic
Share your thoughts or ask a question and hit the submit button
Connect with experts and peers in interesting discussions and get feedback

Want to share a profile image or go “incognito” with a different name?

Go to “My Forum Settings” and click
Click “Edit” if you want a different name to appear for your profile and save changes (default is your first name)
Click “Change Profile Photo” if you want to add an image or profile pic
Click and drag an image or select one from your files
Adjust the square frame over your image and click “Crop”
Clicking “Crop” saves your image and you can change it at any time

Organization: PCA

Need Something Else?

Speaking of Smart Solutions

There’s More…

Provide worker training

Highlight key training points

Document worker training

Confirm that workers understand the training concepts

Want More Safety Resources?

Have questions or need personal assistance?

There’s More…

Highlight key training points

Document worker training

Confirm that workers understand the training concepts

Want More Safety Resources?

Have questions or need personal assistance?

There’s More…

Highlight key training points

Document worker training

Confirm that workers understand the training concepts

Want More Safety Resources?

Have questions or need personal assistance?

Need Something Else?

Speaking of Smart Solutions

Looking for More Smart Solutions?

Need Something Else?

Speaking of Smart Solutions