Category: Uncategorized

Get Recertified for ASSE 12020 – This Webinar Is the First Step

Did you take MCAA’s ASSE 12020: Environment of Care, Infection Control and Construction Risk Assessment Professional Qualification Standard certification class in April 2020? If so, your certification is set to expire, and MCAA has prepared a free 2-hour recertification course through ASSE International. The goal of the ASSE 12020 personnel certification is to provide end users with contractors and technicians who can work as valuable members of construction risk assessment teams. You can assist in protecting building occupants from pathogens and other potential construction hazards while at the same time preventing outbreaks. Following the course, attendees will need to pass a recertification exam. The cost of the exam is $110. ASSE will provide additional details during the webinar. Join MCAA and ASSE on Thursday, April 13 from 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM Eastern to take the first step toward your recertification.

CNA Risk Control e-Talks Offer Insights Into Business Resilience

You cannot eliminate the possibility of business disruptions—but you can prepare for them. Whether the cause is a storm, a cyberattack, or another unexpected event, a sudden disruption could affect your organization at any time. To grow and thrive in an uncertain risk environment, your business needs preparation to absorb, adapt, and be resilient to disruptive events. CNA, a benefactor of MCAA23, offers a series of short podcasts (about 15 minutes each) on risk and resilience.

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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

Get Recertified for ASSE 12020 – This Webinar Is the First Step

Did you take MCAA’s ASSE 12020: Environment of Care, Infection Control and Construction Risk Assessment Professional Qualification Standard certification class in April 2020? If so, your certification is set to expire, and MCAA has prepared a free 2-hour recertification course through ASSE International. The goal of the ASSE 12020 personnel certification is to provide end users with contractors and technicians who can work as valuable members of construction risk assessment teams. You can assist in protecting building occupants from pathogens and other potential construction hazards while at the same time preventing outbreaks. Following the course, attendees will need to pass a recertification exam. The cost of the exam is $110. ASSE will provide additional details during the webinar. Join MCAA and ASSE on Thursday, April 13 from 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM Eastern to take the first step toward your recertification.

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.

March 2023: Power Tool & Hand Tool Safety

Every contractor and worker use tools to do their job. Injuries from improper use and choosing the wrong tool for the job happen far too often. This month’s kit provides members with information on the most common hand and power tool injuries in the mechanical construction and service trades. The videos highlight the tools most likely to be involved in an injury incident and teach proper use of the tools to help prevent injuries. Also, check out these additional resources from our partner in safety, MILWAUKEE TOOL, for additional information on power and hand tool safety.

Worker Safety Training Videos & Accompanying Resources

Hand & Power Tool Safety

Welding and Cutting Safety

Welding – Electric Arc Welding Safety

MILWAUKEE TOOL Resources

Hand Incident Prevention Training Kits

Safety Training Videos

DOWNLOAD RESOURCE SUMMARY

Resource Highlight: MCAA’s Retention of Professional Staff

High employee turnover of professional staff is a major issue facing the mechanical contracting industry today. It can have a massive impact on a contractor’s productivity and bottom line. MCAA’s Retention of Professional Staff outlines specific strategies that contractors can implement to increase their ability to retain employees as well as metrics that can be used to measure the effectiveness of these initiatives. It’s just one of MCAA’s educational resources that are free to MCAA members as a benefit of membership.

The bulletin covers:

  • The impact of employee retention
  • Direct costs of replacing an employee
  • Indirect costs from an employee’s departure
  • Retention strategies
  • Case studies
  • Soft and hard metrics for employee retention
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.

Resource Highlight: MCAA’s Bluetooth for Tool Management

Employees working in warehouses and tool rooms manage tens of thousands of tools used in the installation, maintenance, and repair of plumbing and mechanical systems. MCAA’s Bluetooth for Tool Management provides an overview of Bluetooth technology to assist those considering a move to a Bluetooth tool management solution. It’s just one of MCAA’s educational resources that are free to MCAA members as a benefit of membership.

The bulletin covers:

  • What Bluetooth is and what it does
  • Cost- and labor-saving opportunities available as a result of Bluetooth
  • The three major components of Bluetooth systems
  • How to implement Bluetooth
  • Challenges
  • Things to consider while reviewing tool management solutions
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.

Resource Highlight: MCAA’s Bluetooth for Tool Management

Employees working in warehouses and tool rooms manage tens of thousands of tools used in the installation, maintenance, and repair of plumbing and mechanical systems. MCAA’s Bluetooth for Tool Management provides an overview of Bluetooth technology to assist those considering a move to a Bluetooth tool management solution. It’s just one of MCAA’s educational resources that are free to MCAA members as a benefit of membership.

The bulletin covers:

  • What Bluetooth is and what it does
  • Cost- and labor-saving opportunities available as a result of Bluetooth
  • The three major components of Bluetooth systems
  • How to implement Bluetooth
  • Challenges
  • Things to consider while reviewing tool management solutions
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.

Connect With the Latest Training from CNA and Morris Group International 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:

CNA
CNA’s Subcontractor Prequalification – Gather necessary information for current and future construction jobs.

Learn More

Morris Group International
Safe Water Delivery in Healthcare Facilities highlights the consequences of improper water delivery in healthcare facilities & discusses a systems approach & monitoring systems for infection control.

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

Biggest Safety Conference in MCAA History Will Provide Even More Opportunities to Learn from Peers

MCAA is on track to have the highest number of safety professionals in one place in over 20 years at MCAA’s 2023 Safety Conference, providing even more opportunities to learn from other professionals. The event will include 50+ hours of education and training, keynote speeches on safety leadership and a celebration of safety. We will once again be joined by our partners in safety, the United Association. Join us January 17-19, 2023, in San Diego, CA. Register today!

LEARN MORE & REGISTER

Find the Latest from Miller Electric Mfg. Co. and Metraflex Company 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:

Miller Electric Mfg. Co.
Simplified and optimized for pipe fabrication shop welding, the PipeWorx 400 Welding System’s streamlined set-up with one touch welding, quick process changeover, and Pulsed and Modified Short-Arc MIG processes, makes training and turn-around times faster than ever before.

Learn More
Metraflex LPD-Y Strainer

Metraflex Company
Metraflex energy-saving LPD-Y-Strainer dramatically reduces pressure drops. ROI within 1 year. Larger screen with more holes. Re-engineered to reduce turbulence.

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

Learn to Inspire Employees with Standout Leadership from 2023 Safety Conference Speaker Connie Podesta

MCAA’s 2023 Safety Conference includes 50+ hours of education from subject matter experts, plus inspiring keynote speakers like Connie Podesta. Connie will take you inside the minds of your most difficult employees and give you the tools to turn negative attitudes into positive, entitlement into accountability, complacency into productivity, complaining into solutions and “that’s not my job” into ownership. Join us January 17-19, 2023, in San Diego, CA. Register today!

Resource Highlight: MCAA’s Articulating Weld Boom

Faced with limited space in a new fabrication shop, Shinn Mechanical workers designed an articulating weld boom. MCAA’s Articulating Weld Boom provides details about this innovative device that lets fabricators perform any type of welding, including TIG, without any cords or hoses on the floor. It’s just one of MCAA’s educational resources that are free to MCAA members as a benefit of membership.

The bulletin covers:

  • What the articulating weld boom is and how it was built
  • Benefits of the boom, including improved safety, ergonomics, and air quality
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.

Learn How to Start or Expand Fabrication Operations from NEI Instructor Greg Fuller

MCAA’s National Education Initiative (NEI) Seminars bring our best programs to your local association or your company thanks to instructors like Greg Fuller, Owner and CEO of North Mechanical Contracting, Inc., North Mechanical Services, Inc., NewJac Industrial, LLC, and Integrated Modular Construction, LLC. Greg provides a comprehensive look at fabrication that is ideal for anyone interested in starting or expanding their fabrication process.

In addition to being an MCAA Past President, Greg is Past Chair and a current member of MCAA’s Project Management Education Committee and an active instructor in the Institute for Project Management (IPM), Advanced Institute for Project Management (AIPM), and Field Leaders Conference.

Greg has taught classes on a variety of mechanical contracting subjects to audiences of various sizes. His Fabrication (FAB) classes are geared towards those who are interested in implementing or developing fabrication operations. His courses, FAB 101: The Evolution of Fabrication I: Why, How and When (Now) and FAB 102: The Evolution of Fabrication II: Implementing Manufacturing Process for the Construction Industry, provide a comprehensive look at fabrication making them ideal for anyone interested in starting or expanding their fabrication process. Regardless of your company’s current capacity, there is opportunity to develop processes that lead to increased project success and profitability, by transforming the way you look at fabrication.

Like our other NEI instructors, Greg brings his unique blend of industry and teaching experience to virtual courses, a relatively new NEI offering. Providing top notch, accessible education for everyone in your organization is what the MCAA’s NEI is all about! Visit the NEI website for more information about these seminars and a full list of the NEI courses available to MCAA members.

Book your courses via the NEI website, then apply for a 20% rebate on the instructor fees, up to $5,000 per class.*

LEARN MORE ABOUT GREG’S CLASSES
NEI WEBSITE

*This benefit is available only to MCAA members and local affiliates in good standing who book courses via the NEI website. Learn more about the rebate program here. Have questions or need personal assistance? Contact MCAA’s Frank Wall or call him at 301-990-2215.

Find the Latest from Reliance Worldwide Corporation and Marking Services, 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:

Reliance Worldwide Corporation
RWC launches Cash Acme EB25 Plus to help contractors save money and time. EB25 Plus replaces a parallel system or series installation with a single valve, providing faster setup and maintenance.

Learn More

Marking Services, Inc.
MSI’s AIM Mobile Technology delivers on-demand 24/7 access to critical asset information. Our QR coded tags provide instant access to critical documents in the field. AIM will greatly increase productivity and efficiency in the field providing Asset and Document Management (O&M, Commissioning, Startup, Warranty, Submittals, etc.) to meet your turnover package needs.

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

The Cost of Not Training – Tyfoom Explains How Training Makes Employees More Productive, Profitable, and Committed

Training is key in driving desired systematic improvement in any organization. Yet many businesses see training as an optional cost rather than as a necessary investment with a significant return. Consequently, training often drops to the very bottom of companies’ priorities. Prioritizing training, however, makes your employees more productive, more profitable while at work, and more committed to your organization.

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

Learn How Decisions Made in the Field Impact the Project and the Company from NEI Instructor Mark Rogers

MCAA’s National Education Initiative (NEI) Seminars bring our best programs to your local association or your company thanks to instructors like Mark Rogers, President of West Chester Mechanical Contractors, an HVAC, service and plumbing contractor that serves the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area. Mark sheds light on how interactions and decisions made in the field impact all areas of a company.

Over the past eight years, Mark has voluntarily presented the “Real Cost of a Manhour” over 125 times to more than 20,000 UA Members. He has also taught sessions on jobsite profitability at MCAA’s Field Leaders Conferences and leadership sessions to the UA Business Managers/Agents and at MCAA’s Advanced Institute for Project Management in Austin, TX.

Mark has taught classes on a variety of mechanical contracting subjects to audiences of various sizes. His Field and Foreman Leadership Development (FFLD) seminars shed light on how interactions with coworkers, other tradespeople and the end users can help (or hurt) the direct cost of union tradespeople.  The series will also cover how decisions impact safety, insurance, profits and overall company culture at every level of a project and will educate ALL sides on what the other is dealing with on a daily basis. This better understanding of how their roles can be improved through leadership, communication and education sets the tone for the success of any organization.

Like our other NEI instructors, Mark brings his unique blend of industry and teaching experience to virtual courses, a relatively new NEI offering. Providing top notch, accessible education for everyone in your organization is what the MCAA’s NEI is all about! Visit the NEI website for more information about these seminars and a full list of the NEI courses available to MCAA members.

Book your courses via the NEI website, then apply for a 20% rebate on the instructor fees, up to $5,000 per class.*

LEARN MORE ABOUT MARK’S CLASSES
NEI WEBSITE

*This benefit is available only to MCAA members and local affiliates in good standing who book courses via the NEI website. Learn more about the rebate program here. Have questions or need personal assistance? Contact MCAA’s Frank Wall or call him at 301-990-2215.

Resource Highlight: MCAA’s Employee Reviews

Employee reviews are powerful tools in the performance improvement process. MCAA’s Employee Reviews provides guidelines and samples to help ensure a productive and beneficial review process for employees and their managers. It’s just one of MCAA’s educational resources that are free to MCAA members as a benefit of membership.

The bulletin covers:

  • Benefits of the review process
  • Preparing for the review
  • The two types of reviews
  • Conducting the review
  • Guidelines to help ensure productive and beneficial reviews
  • Legal considerations

It includes examples of:

  • Open-ended questions
  • A management driven rater review
  • A management driven exploratory review
  • An employee self-evaluation questionnaire
DOWNLOAD

To learn more about MCAA’s Advanced Leadership Institute mentioned in this bulletin, visit the Advanced Leadership Institute page.

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.