MCAA President Armand Kilijian announced that the MCAA Charitable Fund will make a $25,000 contribution to help Ukraine and invited everyone to add their own donations to that amount using the link on the MCAA website.
After losing a large project because they did not work in Revit, icon Mechanical made the switch to Revit, later adding Trimble SysQue. Tim Riedle, vice president of engineering for icon, credits the addition of SysQue with helping icon get ahead of schedule on their projects. (Trimble is a benefactor of MCAA22.)
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.
MCAA’s Safety-Talk email listserv puts the collective brain trust of a network of safety professionals at your fingertips. MCAA members are invited to join in – ask questions, share information, and be in the know about all things safety. Contact MCAA’s Raffi Elchemmas to join or learn more.
Renovating an active hospital is challenging in the best of times; to complete a transplant hospital’s new unit in the midst of a global pandemic, Rand Construction needed products that could be delivered on time and installed quickly and safely. Gruvlok® grooved couplings and fittings from ASC Engineered Solutions were the perfect fit. ASC is a major sponsor of MCAA22.
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.
Gallo Mechanical, the Gulf Coast’s leading mechanical and plumbing contractor, saw an opportunity to eliminate paper and automate its fabrication shop with advanced technology. After a competitive bid, Gallo selected MSUITE’s FabPro for its ability to integrate with TigerStop and track time and production in the fab shop. “From the start, the integration between MSUITE and TigerStop saved our firm $4,000,” said Ray McDonald, Gallo’s general manager and fabrication coordinator.
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.
As the world watches the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, we here in the United States are unfortunately not immune from the situation and neither are our businesses.
As President Biden and our western allies level sanctions on Russia, options for cyberwarfare against Russia are being planned and executed against Moscow. Official Russian government websites have already experienced outages and disruptions and the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is warning of retaliatory cyber-attacks on U.S. infrastructure and businesses. Now is the time for your business to prepare for this possibility.
Nick Espinosa, MCAA’s Chief Security expert, advises the following steps be taken as soon as possible:
These seven points are by no means comprehensive to a complete Cybersecurity solution, however these are the most critical points that need to be addressed as soon as possible.
It is important to note that a cyber-attack in which foreign intelligence agencies are involved, tend to not look like the traditional ransomware attacks we hear about in the news. The primary goal for Russian intelligence would be to be as disruptive to infrastructure as possible. They won’t take the time to lock out your data and ask for money. They will simply attempt to either kill your infrastructure, destroy your critical data, or plant dormant infections in your network for later activation and then quickly move on to the next target.
Their first goal, however, is disruption of the overall infrastructure of the United States. In this vein, it is important to note the following could be possible disruptions for your business:
MCAA will continue to provide guidance to help safeguard your businesses, and homes from cyber attacks.
NCPWB’s General Welding Guidelines provide background information and supplementary instructions to contractors and welders who are using National Certified Pipe Welding Bureau Welding Procedures Specifications (WPS). It’s just one of MCAA’s educational resources that are free to MCAA members as a benefit of membership.
The resource includes both mandatory and recommended practices.
Mandatory Practices are considered part of the requirements stated on the welding procedure specification (WPS).
Recommended Practices provide additional information on variables not covered in the WPS. NCPWB recommends these practices be followed unless the welder’s supervisor provides other direction.
Contact MCAA’s Nick Nikpourfard.
MCAA’s Safety & Health Conference is one of the longest running construction safety conferences. Now in its 21st year the conference offers over 50 hours of safety training and education. This conference includes well known keynote speakers and offers networking and team building. The three-day conference is designed to give safety professionals the insight they need, from upcoming OSHA regulations and hazard research to breakthroughs in product safety and safety training.
To sign up for extended learning opportunities or more information on how to register, please email events@mcaa.org.
This event is a combined NCPWB Technical Conference and Technical Committee meeting. If you are interested in learning and sharing knowledge on the impact of supply chain chaos on welding; improving your welding business through technology; safe pressure testing of piping systems; building a digital manufacturing fab shop — not to mention networking with friends, colleagues, and new acquaintances — then don’t miss the NCPWB Annual Technical Conference April 24 – 26, 2022.
In addition to the conference, the NCPWB Technical Committee meets annually to resolve technical welding issues, develop and approve welding procedures, review various code activities, and educate chapter administrators about the policies and procedures involved in the operation of their chapters.
To register or get more information, please click the buttons below.
Each week, MCAA will highlight one or more of the educational resources that are free to MCAA members as a benefit of membership. This week, we focus on MCAA’s Business Transition Options for the Mechanical Contractor bulletin and podcast, which reviews the various options for transferring ownership of a company and showcases the advance planning and analysis needed for a successful transfer.
In the related podcast, host Bob Lindbloom and co-host Rob Armistead discuss Exit Strategy Planning with Mario Vicari, business advisor to privately-held companies at Kreisher Miller. Play the podcast directly from the WebBook, or listen and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or Google Play.
Contact MCAA’s Frank Wall.
THE CROSBY GROUP has issued a remove from service and arrange for return and replacement notice for a selection of screw pin anchor shackles. These shackles may have a condition that can reduce the ultimate load capacity from the published catalog values. The shackle bow may have a previously undetected indication, and continued use may result in loss of load, property damage, severe injury, or death.
This notice only applies to the following screw pin anchor shackles with Production Identification Codes (PIC) TXJ located on the shackle bow:
MCAA is pleased to welcome Amanda Haneke to the MCAA staff. Amanda is the new voice answering the phones at MCAA. She took over the role from Melanie Thompson-Ott, who is now the Assistant Director, Registration and Conference Services. Amanda previously worked for Starbucks and Severn Bank (now Shore Bank). She lives on a farm in Davidsonville, MD (20 minutes from Annapolis) with her grandmother. When she isn’t busy taking care of her grandmother or five chickens, she is an avid gardener and canner. She grows vegetables and herbs and makes pickles, relish, jams, and other treats. Her passion is baking custom cakes. Join us in welcoming Amanda and her family to the MCAA staff family and congratulating Melanie on her new role.
Each week, MCAA will highlight one or more of the educational resources that are free to MCAA members as a benefit of membership. This week, we focus on MCAA’s Exposed: Keeping Your Data to Yourself After an IT Breach. This resource explains what company executives can do to protect their companies if their website is hacked and defaced, their files are held for ransom, or their Data Center goes offline with no estimate for restoration.
Contact MCAA’s Sean McGuire.
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:
Parker Hannifin
Learn how ZoomLock MAX press technology for HVAC will improve your efficiency, adding to your bottom line. ZoomLock MAX fittings delivers secure, braze-free connections in a few simple steps while providing a safer environment for your team.
The Harris Products Group
Harris Products Group, maker of brazing and soldering equipment and consumables, provides NATE training on the basics of brazing, base and filler metals and fluxes, and torch safety. Includes brazing demonstrations and hands-on practice.
Be sure to visit the Manufacturer/Supplier Training area for all the latest offerings.
With modern building practices, mechanical, plumbing, electrical and sheet metal contractors must coordinate precisely in their design and building for jobs to be profitable. In Tampa, Florida this week, members from MCAA, NECA and SMACNA extended that collaboration at the MEP Innovation Conference where they came together to learn from each other how new technologies are impacting their businesses.
This was the first time all three associations have collaborated on the in-person event. It brought together 450 attendees from the MEP trades to better understand different viewpoints, roles and responsibilities. The benefits of having innovators from across the industry were immediate. MCAA Innovative Technologies Committee Chair Stacy Zerr commented, “At Waldinger, we work all MEP trades and already knew how similar the challenges and solutions are between them. At this conference, I learned just as much from the electrical and sheet metal presentations as I did from the mechanical presenters.”
Sharing insights and team building went further than the presentations. As Travis Voss, Helm Group’s Leader of Innovative Technologies put it, “For years we have brought project managers and estimators from the mechanical and plumbing side to this meeting. This year, we were able to bring in people from across all of our company to learn, cross train and team build. When they attended sessions together, it gave them a better understanding of the process beyond their focus.”
Plans are underway for the 2023 MEP Innovation Conference, and further education is in the works to bridge the gap between conferences. Many of the sessions from the 2022 conference were recorded and will be repackaged into educational videos later this year. These will be released online and available exclusively to MCAA members.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has withdrawn the COVID-19 Emergency Temporary Standard on vaccine mandates as an enforceable emergency temporary standard. OSHA remains committed to pursuing a proposed rule through the formal process. Both MCAA and the UA continue to strongly encourage the vaccination of workers against COVID-19.
Last week the MCAA presented one of the most exciting Safety Directors’ Conferences ever. The first in-person conference in two years brought together safety professionals from around the country for world-class education on best practices and safety and health issues specific to the mechanical industry. Participants also heard keynotes on safety leadership from Capt. Richard Phillips, Olympian Vince Poscente, and longtime safety advocate Regina McMichael during the January 18 – 20, 2022, event in sunny Florida.
The latest innovations from over 20 exhibitors were on display, including those from MCAA Manufacturer/Supplier Council members MILWAUKEE TOOL, Tyfoom, Emerson, DEWALT Industrial Tool Company, and Victaulic, which unveiled its new QuickVicTM System, a solution with exciting safety implications. Other exhibitors, like Little Giant Ladder, also showed off their latest solutions.
MCAA thanks CNA and MILWAUKEE TOOL for sponsoring the event, and all the safety professionals who attended.
Each week, MCAA will highlight one or more of the educational resources that are free to MCAA members as a benefit of membership. This week, we focus on NCPWB’s General Brazing Guidelines. These guidelines provide background information and supplementary instructions to contractors and their brazers who are using National Certified Pipe Welding Bureau Welding (NCPWB) Brazing Procedure Specifications (BPSs).
Your workers will learn about:
Contact NCPWB’s Dariush (Nick) Nikpourfard.
The Association of Union Constructors (TAUC) invites MCAA members to participate in its 2022 Union Craft Labor Supply Survey, the industry’s only union-specific survey focused on construction and maintenance. The survey is once again being conducted in conjunction with the Construction Labor Research Council (CLRC). Survey responses are due by February 11, 2022.
The survey responses provide for a detailed, data-driven picture of the current state of the labor supply throughout the United States. The resulting data set allows for educated decision making and action that can both strengthen our industry and increase market share.
Launched in 2015, the survey has been continually enhanced based on the feedback of a wide cross-section of previous respondents, including more than 3,250 contractors, labor representatives, owner-clients and construction association representatives. This survey will drill down into the specifics of both regional and national labor supply trends and further assessment of the union craft workforce. New this year, the survey addresses COVID-19, the infrastructure deal, and more.
Your responses are confidential, submitted anonymously and will be analyzed to create a final report that will be shared with MCAA members when it is available this spring.
This event is a combined NCPWB Technical Conference and Technical Committee meeting. If you are interested in learning and sharing knowledge on the impact of supply chain chaos on welding; improving your welding business through technology; safe pressure testing of piping systems; building a digital manufacturing fab shop — not to mention networking with friends, colleagues, and new acquaintances — then don’t miss the NCPWB Annual Technical Conference April 24 – April 26, 2022. In addition to the conference, the NCPWB Technical Committee meets annually to resolve technical welding issues, develop and approve welding procedures, review various code activities, and educate chapter administrators about the policies and procedures involved in the operation of their chapters.
To register or get more information, please click the buttons below.
