Organization: NCPWB

Workplace Violence Prevention and Protection Safety Training Video & Materials Now Available

MCAA’s new worker safety training video, Workplace Violence Prevention and Protection, and its accompanying materials are now available to members. The video teaches viewers to identify warning signs and take appropriate action to prevent workplace violence. It also shows viewers how to protect themselves and others if they find themselves in an active workplace violence situation.

Download or play the video

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 Even 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.

Soldering Lead-Free Valves Takes Added Practice

Plumbing manufacturers have made great efforts to remove as much lead as possible to comply with regulations established under the Safe Drinking Water Act. In order to meet these requirements, most manufacturers have used brass alloys containing small amounts of silicon or bismuth to improve machability. In the following years, most plumbers learned how to effectively make joints with the new alloys, but sometimes it is not apparent how complete the fill is in joints unless they are tested.

A recently released NCPWB technical bulletin demonstrated how joints that appear to be correctly soldered could often be frayed. The bulletin’s author, Walt Sperko, provided examples of incorrect joints and guidance. Pre-heating the tube more than the casting is critical for no lead copper alloys. This is because casting’s thermal conductivity is much lower than copper.

Incomplete fill from under-heating

When the plumber does not spend enough time on heating the tube, the solder has a tendency to only partially fill the joint. While silicon-based alloys were found to be more difficult to wet properly, both proved insufficient with poor technique.

NCPWB members can also download the Soldering Procedure Specification resource SPS-107-1 to better understand the welding procedures for brass and lead-free alloys.

A Thank You from Our Family Members Devastated by Hurricane Harvey

Hear from some of those affected by the Houston floods earlier this year. Your donations to the MCAA Disaster Relief Fund are making a difference for them and other UA and MCAA family members whose lives have been turned upside down by natural disasters.

If you would like to make a contribution to our Fund you can easily do so via a check made out to the “MCAA Disaster Relief Fund.” Checks can be mailed to the attention of MCAA CEO John Gentille at the MCAA National Office, 1385 Piccard Drive, Rockville, MD 20850.

Want to Teach Your Workers to Prevent Jobsite Fires? Check Out this Video!

MCAA’s Fire Safety Training Video will teach your workers to recognize common causes of jobsite fires and how to prevent them.

Your workers will learn about:

  • Health effects of smoke inhalation and burns
  • Common causes of jobsite fires
  • Proper fire prevention techniques
  • Safe fire response, including knowing when to fight the fire and when to get out and leave it to the professionals

Download or play the video

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 Even 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.

MCAA’s “A Day in the Life of Ted” Video – A Must-See for College Students!

“Despite being on the executive board of my school’s MCAA Chapter, I still didn’t fully appreciate what it is actually like to work for a mechanical contractor until this presentation. The “A Day in the Life of Ted” video was an excellent view as to what makes your section of the industry different than a typical building contractor.” That was one student’s reaction to the video at MCAA’s GreatFutures Forum.

The video follows Ted McHugh of West Chester Mechanical in Aston, PA through a typical workday. In addition to highlighting the daily demands associated with keeping a project on time and within budget, it showcases for students how a great future is achievable in the mechanical industry!

“I have never been more proud to be a plumber for a union contractor…”

MCAA is a family. Tragically, members of our family now need our help. Many of our MCAA and UA families had their lives turned upside down by the unbelievable tragedy named Harvey.

That’s why MCAA established the MCAA Disaster Relief Fund. THANK YOU to those MCAA-affiliated local associations, individuals and member companies, both contractors and manufacturer/suppliers, that have contributed to our Relief Fund.

Together, We are Making a Difference!

If you would like to make a contribution to our Fund you can easily do so via a check made out to the “MCAA Disaster Relief Fund.” Checks can be mailed to the attention of MCAA CEO John Gentille at the MCAA National Office, 1385 Piccard Drive, Rockville, MD 20850.

 

It’s Not Too Late to Reserve Your Room for the 2017 UA/MCAA Labor Relations Conference

The UA/MCAA Labor Relations Conference will be held at The Mirage in Las Vegas, November 14-15, 2017. The conference theme is “Highlighting Best Practices.” This will be a very positive and forward-looking event. There will be substantial UA attendance as the UA is holding a Business Managers Meeting in conjunction with the Labor Relations Conference. It will be great, therefore, to have robust attendance from MCA affiliated associations. To encourage maximum attendance there will be NO registration fee.

To reserve your room at The Mirage:

Reserve Online

To reserve by telephone:

Call: 800-627-6667
Reference code: SUAM1117

Room rates begin at $180.00/night and must be booked no later than Friday, October 20, 2017.

Registration for the conference will open in August. The conference will begin with a reception the evening of Tuesday, November 14. The conference program will be all day on Wednesday, November 15. That evening MCA local associations and UA local union attendees are encouraged to hold joint dinners. MCAA participants should, therefore, not plan on departing before the morning of November 16.

For more information, contact John McNerney.

Egan Realizes Rapid ROI with KEY2ACT’s MobileTech

Egan Company installed the MobileTech solution from KEY2ACT, slashing billing time and eliminating time-consuming paperwork. Chris Yelle, Egan’s service operations manager, estimated that Egan will see its return on investment (ROI) within 18 months of implementing MobileTech, which connects field staff to the back office, providing instant access to the information and enabling both sides to easily manage service calls and appointments.

LEARN MORE

Looking for More Solutions that Deliver Quick ROI?

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

Do You Want to Start Your MCAA.org Experience on a Particular Page?

If you have an iPad or iPhone, it’s easy. Follow these simple steps to customize your MCAA.org experience by making, for example, our Safety Excellence Initiative or MSCA.org or any other page an app on your home screen!

  1. Open Safari and navigate to MCAA.org.
  2. Use the menu to find the page you use most often.
  3. Touch the “share” button in the Safari menu bar to see the options (it looks like a box with an upward arrow coming out of it).
  4. Check out the lowest row of options, and scroll until you see the plus sign icon “Add to Home Screen.”
  5. Select it and rename the page if you choose to something shorter, “Safety” or “MSCA”.
  6. And there you have it! Hit the home button to leave Safari and you should see the new “App” on your home screen.
  7. You can even make as many as you need. Calendar? Resource Center? NCPWB? Virtual Trade Show?

It’s that easy!

National Issues Conference

Your participation at the National Issues Conference can put the union-signatory sector of the highly-skilled specialty construction industry in the lead with the new Congress and a re-energized Administration. What will the tension between fiscal restraint and job creation mean for the construction industry? The new political and policy dynamics between the Administration and Capitol Hill require your active involvement to move our industry’s agenda forward.

OSHA Raises Civil Penalties for Violations

The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) has raised civil penalties for violations of its rules. OSHA raised the penalties to account for the rate of inflation, which has increased since penalties were last raised in 1990.

The new Interim Final Rule, which was published in the Federal Register on July 1, will take effect on August 1, 2016 for violations that occurred after November 2, 2015.

The differences in the penalties are shown below:

Type of Violation         Previous Penalty Amount            New Penalty Amount

Willful or Repeat                     $5,000 to $70,000                           $8,908 to $124,709

Serious                                                           $7,000                                     $12,471

Other-Than-Serious                          Up to $7,000                               Up to $12,471

Failure to Correct                              Up to $7,000                               Up to $12,471

Violation of Posting                          Up to $7,000                                Up to $12,471

 

MCAA Releases Safety Bulletin on OSHA’s Final Rule to Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses

MCAA has just made available its Safety Bulletin with information about the Occupational Safety & Health Administration’s (OSHA) revised recordkeeping rule to Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses.

The revised rule requires affected employers to electronically submit, annually, specified occupational injury and illness information directly to the agency. The bulletin provides information on key compliance dates and a summary of recently amended provisions in the rule (29 CFR 1904).

MCAA Safety Bulletin on Final Recordkeeping Rule