MCAA Gateway: June 2019

Last chance to enter Safety Advantage Awards Submissions due June 30 

Word:  Zach Everett   Submissions to the MCAA Safety Advantage Awards, sponsored by Federated Insurance, are due by June 30, 2019. This is your last chance to enter the awards. Safety is overlooked by some contractors for several reasons: cost, time, resources, compounded focus on production, simple ignorance, or possibly many other things. Our goal is for the MCAA safety awards to help draw attention to the need and benefits of performing safely. The awards will be presented based on a company’s Incident Rate. This seemed to be the most equitable and best way to judge between contractors. The Incident Rate will be the only criteria at the present. There could be many other guidelines thrown into the mix; OSHA citations, comprehensiveness of safety policy, superseding of OSHA compliance by company policy, peer review of policies, job site inspections, volunteer safety work, using biodegradable earplugs, non-concrete block, utilizing anti-alien abduction hardhats or a gamut of other qualifiers and disqualifiers, but we thought that starting simple would be best for the moment. The Incident Rate, by which the safety awards will be judged, is calculated off of the OSHA logs. ALL OSHA recordable injuries and illnesses are logged for that year. The number of illnesses and injuries are multiplied by 200,000 then divided into the total number of hours worked by all employees for the year. This equation gives you the company’s Incident Rate. This should not be confused with the DART Incident Rate which only takes into account the incidents that result in days away from work. To get your company considered for the MCAA Safety Advantage Awards simply go to www.masoncontractors.org/safety/awards and fill out the sign up form and return it with your 2018 OSHA 300 form. All entries will be tabulated and the awards will be presented at the 2019 MCAA Midyear Meeting. We look forward to this event and hope that there is huge participation. Safety is extremely important! It's important to help get more work, to keep WC cost down, but most importantly, because families need their parents and spouse to come home healthy! Join with us in this small way to reach that goal. 

Natural Stone Institute Receives Pillar Award 

Oberlin, OH, April 30, 2019—Natural Stone Institute has been presented with the United Way of Great Lorain County’s Pillar Award. The award was presented during United Way’s Annual Celebration of Community Impact.   The Pillar Award acknowledges organizations with the largest percentage increase in employee participation by size of company. Natural Stone Institute staff began volunteering and making financial contributions to the United Way in late 2018.  Natural Stone Institute CEO Jim Hieb commented: “It has been rewarding and invigorating to see our staff get involved with United Way over the past few months. We incorporated these efforts into a team-building exercise at our last staff retreat, and employees in our Ohio office have volunteered with several local United Way programs, including a local food bank for seniors. Although we are a global association, it is important for us to remember that there is much to be done in our local communities. We look forward to continuing to support United Way throughout 2019 and beyond.”  Photo caption: Natural Stone Institute’s Pam Hammond and Jim Hieb accepted the Pillar Award at United Way’s Annual Celebration of Community Impact.  ###  About the Natural Stone Institute The Natural Stone Institute is a trade association representing every aspect of the natural stone industry. The current membership exceeds 2,000 members in over 50 nations. The association offers a wide array of technical and training resources, professional development opportunities, regulatory advocacy, and networking events. Two prominent publications—the Dimension Stone Design Manual and Building Stone Magazine—raise awareness within the natural stone industry and in the design community for best practices and uses of natural stone. Learn more at www.naturalstoneinstitute.org.   

Upcoming MCAA Webinars for June 2019

The MCAA Webinar Series features live and on-demand webinars on topics such as job site safety new construction technology increasing profits and more.  Visit www.masoncontractors.org/live to view a full schedule of upcoming programs and to register. --------------------  Assuring the Successful Continuation of Your Family Business  Wednesday, June 5, 2019 at 10:00 AM CDT   --------------------   How to Save Your Company Thousands: An Introduction to Savings4Members  Monday, June 10, 2019 at 10:00 AM CDT  --------------------  TMS 602, Specification for Masonry Structures  Wednesday, June 12, 2019 at 10:00 AM CDT   --------------------   Fall Clearance  Tuesday, June 18, 2019 at 10:00 AM CDT   --------------------   Effective Delegation in Action  Wednesday, June 19, 2019 at 10:00 AM CDT   --------------------   Concrete Masonry Field Tolerances  Wednesday, June 26, 2019 at 10:00 AM CDT  --------------------   Practical Steps to Creating a Productive Company Culture  Wednesday, July 10, 2019 at 10:00 AM CDT  Sponsored by: J. Construction Company  --------------------  How Codes Change the Way We Construct Masonry  Wednesday, July 17, 2019 at 10:00 AM CDT  --------------------   Silica Train-the-Trainer Course  Wednesday, July 23, 2019 at 9:00 AM CDT  --------------------- Conversions: Proven Methods to Capturing Online Leads  Wednesday, July 24, 2019 at 10:00 AM CDT  Presented by: Masonry Agency  --------------------  Masonry Wall Bracing  Wednesday, July 31, 2019 at 9:00 AM CDT   --------------------  Understanding Labor Cost, Productivity and Efficiency  Wednesday, August 7, 2019 at 10:00 AM CDT  Presented by: J. Construction Company  --------------------  Digital Sales: The Tools and Methods Necessary for Selling Online Leads  Wednesday, August 14, 2019 at 10:00 AM CDT  Presented by: Masonry Agency  --------------------  Turning People Problems into People Solutions  Wednesday, August 21, 2019 at 10:00 AM CDT   --------------------  Fostering Innovation with Construction Technology  Wednesday, September 4, 2019 at 10:00 AM CDT  Presented by: FMI   --------------------  Communication Between the Structural Engineer and Masonry Contractor  Wednesday, September 11, 2019 at 10:00 AM CDT   --------------------   Gain a Competitive Advantage Through Bonding  Wednesday, September 18, 2019 at 10:00 AM CDT  Presented by: Federated Insurance  --------------------  How to Prepare a Professional Masonry Submittal Package  Wednesday, October 2, 2019 at 10:00 AM CDT  --------------------  Developing the Next Generation using Performance Discussions  Wednesday, October 16, 2019 at 10:00 AM CDT   --------------------   How to Develop and Implement an Effective Quality Control Program  Wednesday, October 30, 2019 at 10:00 AM CDT  --------------------   OSHA Investigations  Wednesday, November 6, 2019 at 10:00 AM CDT   --------------------  How to Become an Equal Partner with the General Contractor  Wednesday, November 20, 2019 at 10:00 AM CDT  Presented by: J. Construction Company   --------------------   Management Essentials for the First Time or Recently Promoted Manager  Wednesday, December 4, 2019 at 10:00 AM CDT  --------------------   Mastering Millennial Mindset and Beyond: How to Attract and Retain Emerging Leaders  Wednesday, December 11, 2019 at 10:00 AM CDT  --------------------   Seismic Requirements of the Building Code  Wednesday, December 18, 2019 at 10:00 AM CDT  New MCAA Members for June 2019