The Biden Administration’s long-overdue overhaul of Davis Bacon Act prevailing wage regulatory policies and implementing regulations is slated to take effect on October 23, 2023, barring any last-ditch court challenges by open-shop groups.
Attached below is a memorandum from MCAA Government Affairs Committee Chairman Jim Gaffney to the MCAA Government Affairs Committee and MCAA Davis Bacon Task Force that filed MCAA comments on the proposed regulations.
The Memo digests the primary elements of the new rules issued in August and how they compare with the preceding regulatory proposal. The primary point of difference is that the proposed extension to offsite fabrication facilities has been significantly pared back to the more familiar coverage of work sites that are dedicated or nearly so to performance of the Federal project.
MCAA is continuing to monitor regulatory implementation, with an eye to whether open shop groups follow through on previous pledges to challenge the regulations in court.
The WiMI23 Conference inspired Debbie Siddall, Caitlin Schimmel, and Alyson Funkhouser, three staffers at D.A. Dodd, LLC, to write about MCAA’s Women in the Mechanical Industry (WiMI) for their company newsletter. Learn more about their experience and how it has inspired them to become more involved at the local level.
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:
Trane Two lines. Less copper. Indoor composite water piping can reduce cost & complexity.
Morris Group International The ConTrols® BASyC® Digital Mixing Valve provides monitoring and adjustment capability for your hot water distribution systems. ConTrols is a member of Morris Group International.
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!
The 2024 MCAA Annual Convention early bird registration is now open, and this is definitely a convention you won’t want to miss!
MCAA24 will be held March 17 – 21, 2024, at the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton Grande Lakes located in Orlando, Florida. We have a fantastic roster of speakers, education and entertainment lined up guaranteed to please every attendee. Hotel rooms will be available at both the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton, but they will go fast, so register early to secure your preferred room location and type. The Grande Lakes complex is located in the heart of all things fun in Orlando and is only 20 minutes from Universal Studios, Sea World and the Walt Disney World theme parks. It’s a great opportunity to bring the whole family for an unforgettable week.
Early bid registration will run from October 10 – December 31, 2023. Please visit www.mcaaconvention.org to register today! We can’t wait to see you there!
The National Certified Pipe Welding Bureau (NCPWB) has released a new Technical Bulletin that explains the origins of the 37-1/2°± 2-1/2° bevel, the normal bevel angle found on piping fittings and flanges and in many specifications and standards.
To update the HVAC system at the Montgomery County Jail in Dayton, OH, Starco, Inc. relied on NIBCO’s new PressACR™ system to save at least 100 hours in installation time. Initially, press systems were not approved on the specs for the project, but Starco convinced the building owner and the project’s engineering firm, HEAPY, that PressACR would save time and money.
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.
By participating in team-oriented value engineering, mechanical contractors can provide an invaluable service to their clients, thus increasing their value and competitive advantage. MCAA’s Value Engineering explains this approach to optimizing value for each dollar spent to prepare contractors to effectively participate in the process. It’s just one of MCAA’s educational resources that are free to MCAA members as a benefit of membership.
The bulletin explores:
What value engineering is
The typical six-phase value engineering process
How the mechanical contractor’s role and responsibilities vary depending on the project delivery system used
Benefits and drawbacks of the value engineering process
Over the last decade, the MCAA and the United Association (UA) have worked together on several safety and health initiatives. From presenting and education during the UA’s Instructor Training Program (ITP) and MCAA’s Safety & Health Conference to our newest project partnering together to bring awareness to mental health and suicide prevention, launched on September 1, 2023, the partnership pays dividends to MCAA and UA members alike.
The Spring/Summer 2023 issue of the UA’s Safety News highlights three key projects from MCAA’s Safety Excellence Initiative:
The first article highlights the effectiveness of the MCAA’s 2023 Safety & Health Conference which was attended by over 30 UA instructors and was the largest safety event in MCAA history. UA members participated in 50 hours of education and training, including a keynote presentation by the UA’s Jennifer Massey, Health, Safety, and Environmental Administrator. The UA is committed to sending 40 Instructors to the 2024 MCAA Safety & Health Conference in Tucson, AZ, January 16-18, 2024. Learn more about our 2024 conference here.
The second article brings awareness to MCAA’s 20 Years of Safety Excellence Campaign. This campaign, kicked off in January 2023, celebrates 20 years of MCAA Safety Excellence across the membership each month. Each simple-to-use monthly kit highlights an important safety topic with a mixture of live webinars, new videos, programs, guides, and resources. Find the monthly kits and all of MCAA’s safety and health resources here.
The newsletter wraps up with a recap of five new MCAA videos about the importance of personal protective equipment (PPE) in the mechanical industry. PPE saves the lives of millions of workers each year, yet so many workers still don’t wear this essential lifesaving equipment. PPE is the last line of defense and sometimes all you need to prevent an injury or save a life. The UA shared the MCAA videos on head protection, eye protection, hearing protection, respiratory protection, and hand protection. Learn more about these videos here.
MCAA is grateful to have the UA as our valued partner in addressing the industry’s biggest challenges.
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:
Procore Technologies, Inc. Procore Safety Certification Safety matters. Now more than ever. Go beyond OSHA regs and PPE to help you and your team stay safe—during and after a crisis – with a free Procore Safety Certification.
Conex Bänninger (IBP GROUP LLC) Benefiting from over 100 years’ experience in fittings manufacture and over two decades experience in press system design, >B< MaxiPro is set to revolutionize pipe jointing in air conditioning and refrigeration applications. The >B< MaxiPro range is brought to you by Conex Bänninger, a specialist in providing high quality fittings, valves and accessories across the globe.
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!
While their peers spent the summer relaxing and having fun, nine high school students in Western New York were learning and exploring life and careers in the skilled trades thanks to a Heavy Metal Summer Experience (HMSE) camp hosted by John W. Danforth Company, an MCAA member and one of the largest mechanical contractors in the northeast.
For six weeks, the students spent two-and-a-half hours every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon learning key skills, handling tools, and working on hands-on projects alongside professional tradespeople at Danforth’s piping and sheet metal shops.
The Danforth HMSE was the only one of the 22 HMSE camp sites across the United States and Canada held in New York state. For the company, the road to hosting the HMSE camp started when Robert Beck, the company’s CEO and MCAA’s President, heard about the program while attending a conference last fall. When he returned to the office, Beck charged Mike Bement, Vice President of Shop Operations, and Wendy Glauber, General Counsel & Vice President of Human Resources, with getting the program off the ground in time for this summer.
As they began planning their camp experience, the Danforth team relied heavily on the playbook and materials provided by HMSE. To help attract campers, they created fliers, marketing boards, and other materials for display at job fairs and school events and sent information to community organizations, schools, and industry associations. The company had a goal of 10 campers for the first year.
Bement and the Danforth team designed the program around a combination of hands-on classes, split between the sheet metal and piping trades, and field trips. Campers built items from a dustpan and a toolbox to a tablet holder and a lamp under the guidance of Danforth personnel who volunteered to act as coaches throughout the camp. The campers visited both SMART Local 71 and UA Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 22, where they heard from Training Coordinators about apprenticeship and what life is like as a journeyman worker in the industry. Parents were also invited to participate in the union visits.
“That turned out to be a great experience,” Bement said. “After one of the visits, one of our campers remarked, ‘that was definitely worth the trip,’ and the father of another student said that he was very impressed with what he saw. Now, they have an understanding of the classroom and hands-on education that comes with apprenticeship.”
Before graduating, the students visited the Lockport Memorial Hospital job site, where they could see all of the different job functions come together from start to finish.
At the end of the six weeks, everyone agreed that the program was a complete success, and came with a few pleasant surprises.
“I was really impressed with how engaged the students were from Day One,” Bement said. “We had better than 98% attendance. They asked good questions and were eager to do their projects. Several of them asked me if they could work at Danforth next summer, between their Junior and Senior years of high school. Others told me they plan to apply to the unions after graduation next year.”
Danforth is already looking forward to hosting another HMSE camp in 2024 and building on what they learned this year, with more students and possibly adding different shop locations within Danforth. Ultimately, Bement would like to establish a digital library of projects for campers to work on, ranging from basic to more advanced, creating the opportunity to have a camp where returning students work on more advanced projects and new students work on basic projects, while also seeing the sort of progress they can make if they come back for a second year of HMSE or choose a career in the trades.
Bement knows firsthand how the opportunity to learn about the trades can result in a life-long fulfilling career. He started at Danforth as a 19-year-old intern and has been with the company for 30 years.
“We know that exposing students to the trades isn’t necessarily taught in school or discussed at home,” he said. “MCAA and SMACNA members need to promote our industry and share what a rewarding career this can be.”
Another HMSE Camp, Another Perspective
The teens in Danforth’s HMSE camp aren’t alone in their enthusiasm for the experience. MCAA staffer Alex Newcomb traveled to the HMSE camp In Kansas City to find out what the program is all about. Here’s her account of the event:
Over the 3 days of camp, I learned so much more about what our member companies do out in the field and how the union training centers help prepare their apprentices for the future. Before arriving at the Local 2 sheet metal training center, I honestly had no idea how any of that worked. We got to use some of the tools the pros use to bend the metal and we all ended up with some form of a small toolbox.
The next day we went to the Local 8 plumbers & gasfitters training center. We learned how to cut metal pipe and left with an awesome shelf. Luckily it came apart easily enough to fit in my suitcase! We also got out first chance to solder some copper pipe together. This was by far my favorite part of the camp. Turns out it’s a lot harder than it looks! That afternoon we went to Local 155 pipefitters where we did some more soldering. By the end of that day, we were all pros!
On the last day we took a tour of an active construction site. I’ve seen them from afar but it’s very different close up. Pretty amazing, actually, how so many companies come together and just know what to do and get it done! When we got back to homebase, the Builders’ Association Training Center, we got a little hands-on training for drywall, glazing, and concrete too! During our end of camp ice cream party, I asked several of the teens how they felt about the experience and if they still wanted to pursue a career in the trades. Most said yes, some said yes but decided they wanted to do a different trade than when it started, and a handful said it wasn’t for them. I told them about the other paths they could take to stay near construction but be on the outside of it like project management or estimating which they all agreed sounded like the right move!
It was so cool to meet these young kids who all really want to be a part of the trades in some way. Working for MCAA has really opened my eyes to all the important work our member companies do every day. I can honestly say if I had this experience 10 years ago my life would probably be a lot different (but I love where I am now)!
The Kansas City camp was organized by the Mechanical Contractors Association of Kansas City (MCAKC) and Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors’ National Association – Kansas City, in collaboration with trade partners SMART Local 2, Plumbers & Gasfitters Local 8, and Pipefitters Local Union 533.
These are just two examples of the HMSE camps hosted around the U.S. and in Canada in 2023. Find out who else hosted an event and learn how to host your own event on the HMSE website.
Up until now, handwashing has always taken place within the confines of the restroom. But what if hand sanitation and where it takes place were reimagined?
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.
January 16-18, 2024 | Loews Ventana Canyon – Tuscon, AZ
MCAA’s 2024 Safety & Health Conference will offer more than 50 hours of training and education from subject matter experts on safety, health, risk management, and legal issues. Join us January 16-18, 2024, in Tucson, AZ, for three days of presentations, discussions, and demonstrations with 300+ occupational safety and health professionals, principals, owners, local affiliated executives, UA instructors, industry partners, NECA & SMACNA, and anyone who has safety and health responsibilities. Register today!
For the first-time in conference history we are being joined by TAUC’s EHS Committee and welcome all TAUC members to participate in this event.
Registration Pricing This conference is one of MCAA’s most popular conferences and it sells out quickly. Register today to secure your spot! Member registration is $895 and guests are $295.
*Upon completing your registration, a link to book your hotel room will be emailed to you. If you encounter any issues while booking with the hotel please contact events@mcaa.org and we are happy to assist.
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.
October 2023: Confined Spaces
Whether you are a fitter, plumber, or HVAC technician, using safe work practices will help protect you and others from hazards in and around confirmed spaces. A confined space is defined as a space with limited or restricted access that is not designed for continuous human occupancy. Why is it hazardous? Oxygen content below 19.5% makes it difficult to breathe and increases the risk of combustion by more than 23.5%. Flammable gases or vapors and other physical hazards may also be present. This month’s kit includes a confined spaces video, bulletin, and model program.
Worker Safety Training Videos & Accompanying Resources
General contractors looking to protect themselves with subguard or subcontractor default insurance (SDI) may request detailed financial information from potential subcontractors. MCAA’s Subguard/Subcontractor Default Insurance explains why this happens, and how these policies may impact mechanical contractors. It’s just one of MCAA’s educational resources that are free to MCAA members as a benefit of membership.
The bulletin explains:
What subguard/SDI policies are
How they differ from the performance and/or payment bonds issued by surety companies
The advantages and disadvantages of subguard/SDI policies
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:
OpenSpace Get started with OpenSpace by exploring our free online courses covering the fundamentals of reality capture. You’re in great hands, and we’re happy you’re here!
A.O. Smith We offer top notch training, available 24/7. You can learn about our Residential, Commercial, and even Tankless. Training includes items like How it Works, Installation, Application, & Service tips.
For more than a century, the National Safety Council has worked to save lives through safer workplaces, roadways and communities. The 2023 NSC Rising Stars of Safety program recognizes up-and-coming safety professionals younger than 40 who have a proven track record of safety leadership in their organization and are dedicated to continuous improvement. Raffi Elchemmas, MCAA’s Executive Director, Safety, Health & Risk Management, is featured for the cross-trade partnership with four national construction associations to produce five safety and health videos aimed at transforming safety culture.
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:
Delta Commercial The Delta® MultiChoice® Universal Valve gives you the ability to change shower styles as easily as customers change their minds. Upgrade the style and functionality of your clients’ showers without altering the plumbing behind the wall, offering flexibility that you and your customers will appreciate. With MultiChoice Universal Valves, giving them what they want has never been so simple.
Morris Group International The Murdock® tube evaporator in Maintenance Advantage® drinking fountains and bottle fillers is a more sanitary way to provide cold water. Murdock is a member of Morris Group International.
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!
With only three weeks to fully replace the riser system at a high-profile residential building, New York-based Fresh Meadow Mechanical Corp. selected Victaulic to win the race against time. Ultimately, they remained ahead of schedule, completing the entire project in only 15 days. Despite spatial constraints at various stages of the project, Fresh Meadow navigated each challenge with reliable engineered solutions that will benefit the building’s tenants and management for years to come.
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.
At the conclusion of every Institute for Project Management, the class elects an ‘MVP’ from amongst their peers. We hand out little blue cards, everyone writes down a name, and then we tally them up. On Thursday, we received among those cards an unusual ‘nomination,’ which we love because it was such a representative description both of how an IPM peer network comes together and also of the caliber of attendees.
The card, submitted by the individual who ended up winning the MVP award, read as follows:
“The entire class. From the very first day of the first week, this class has come together. We have helped each other, listened, partied, and really made this one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life. Picking one person from this class is almost impossible, in my opinion.”
– John Drew, Corporate Mechanical
Congratulations to the graduates in IPM Classes 85 and 86. The PMs who attend these courses demonstrate time and again that MCAA member companies are made up of the best talent in the industry, and this September’s grads are no exception. The volunteers of PMEC hope to see them all again at future MCAA programs!
Constantly Reimagined to Address Today’s Challenges
Founded in 1987, MCAA’s Institute for Project Management is older than many of the project managers who attend. But the hallmark of our program is that it is ever-changing and evolving to keep pace with the challenges facing the mechanical industry today. Our curriculum is constantly evaluated and reimagined by our dedicated Project Management Education Committee volunteers; and informed by feedback from our students about what they need to know to be the best project managers (PMs) in the industry. The lessons learned at IPM are invaluable to attendees from companies both big and small.
In-Demand Training Delivers a Great Return on Investment
The IPM is MCAA’s most in-demand project management training program, and so it has enrollment limits. If you have a top-notch PM with 3+ years of experience, sign them up and we will deliver a great return on investment not just for them as individuals, but for your company as a whole.
Registration Will Open January 30 for the Next Classes
Mark your calendars! Registration for our April-start programs will open at 12pm EST on January 30. To learn more about the program, click the button to visit our course webpage.
