Report of the MCAA Safety and Technical Committee

Changes to the 2005 ACI 530 / ASCE 5 / TMS 402 Masonry Code
In February of 2005, The Masonry Society (TMS) will publish the latest edition of the Masonry Standards Joint Committee (MSJC) Code and Specification. While there are many changes that were made, there are three major changes that are of particular interest to mason contractors.

Wet Cutting CMU - Ever since the first MSJC, there has been a caveat in the Spec that stated "unless otherwise required, do not wet masonry units". This meant that unless you had a progressive architect, engineer or general contractor, chances are every time you wet cut, you were violating the Code. While this is rarely enforced, the MCAA decided to clarify the language for the explicit purpose of allowing contractors to wet masonry units (if they desired) while cutting. This does not mandate wet cutting, just allows the option to wet cut. Our means for changing the Code was a battle cry from Rashod R. Johnson, our Director of Engineering. He asked our members for help and 88 of you responded to TMS to help facilitate this Code change. Kudos to MCAA members for a job well done

Low Lift Grouting - The Specification provisions for low lift grouting has changed. The grout lift height has been increased from 5'0" lifts to 12'8" lifts. This should increase productivity for grout placement tremendously where low lift grouting is mandated.

Lap Splices - The lap splice lengths for reinforcing steel seems to get larger and larger every Code cycle. This Code cycle should stop that trend. There were changes made to the lap splice equation that should lower steel lap lengths by around 25% for allowable stress design. While we know that is not enough, it is certainly a noble start.

These changes are currently being balloted within the Code system and should be incorporated into the 2005 MSJC (barring any strange events).

Changes to ASTM Standards
Between Rashod and me, we have a pretty good handle on the ASTM game. Both he and I hold key leadership positions within the ASTM organization and are working diligently to advance our agenda. The workmanship Standard is still being developed. We have run into quite a bit of opposition, in particular the Brick Industry. We are in the process of working with them in order to satisfy their needs without compromising our own. The finish and appearance sections of all of the concrete units Standards are being changed under the leadership of Rashod. This is the section of ASTM C90 that includes the "20 foot rule", the "5% waste rule" and others. While it is a manufacturing Standard, many of our contractors have a vested interest in this section of these Standards.

Standard Practice for Bracing Masonry Walls
Since our last meeting, our Director of Engineering, Rashod Johnson has conducted two wall bracing seminars. One was for one of our members in Peoria, IL and the other was for a local contractor organization in Arizona. Both seminars went very well and Rashod got high marks on his evaluations.

This 4 hour course is intended to teach project managers, safety managers, foremen and any other responsible person to understand and implement the OSHA regulation on wall bracing, the Standard Practice for Bracing Masonry Walls, and the Masonry Wall Bracing Design Handbook. Completion of this course will allow your people to safely and efficiently design adequate masonry wall bracing.

Starting in January of 2005, the Council for Masonry Wall Bracing will reconvene in order to update the current Standard Practice. There will also be some discussion as to whether or not the Wall Bracing Handbook should be made into an interactive CD.

Council for Masonry Research
The Council for Masonry Research (CMR) is a technical committee of the Masonry Industry Council (MIC). CMR has been working to develop a life cycle costs analysis (LCCA) that can be used nationwide to help sell the long term benefits of masonry to owners. After discovering a flawed LCCA that the US Department of Defense was using, the industry decided to work with a third party consultant to develop a more accurate representation of masonry life cycle costs. CMR has also been working with the Rocky Mountain Masonry Institute to develop a sound barrier wall publication. This document will be a technical and marketing piece that will help "sell" masonry sound barrier walls.

Hurricane Charley
Our Director of Engineering, Rashod R. Johnson was selected to serve on a TMS Disaster Investigation Team in Florida after Hurricane Charley in August. The purpose of this team was to investigate the performance of old and new masonry structures when subjected to extremely high wind loads. This investigation allows the Code community to adjust the building Codes to reflect real life loads when designing and constructing. While the full report is still pending, the preliminary report showed that masonry structures performed very well. Some of the older masonry structures sustained minor damage, but a great majority of the engineered masonry structures performed exceedingly well. The full Disaster Investigation Report will be published in the TMS Journal in the near future.

OSHA / MCAA Alliance
In March of this year, the MCAA signed a national alliance with OSHA. There are for key issues specifically cited in the Alliance: fall protection, forklift safety, scaffold safety and wall bracing. The MCAA is working closely with OSHA to develop training materials for MCAA members as it pertains to the Alliance. Only members of MCAA will be allowed to participate in this Alliance that will give MCAA members some leverage when dealing with OSHA on the regional and local levels. While these are the four issues that we signed the Alliance for, the close relationship with OSHA Staff has proved to be invaluable for other safety and health related issues

Other Health and Safety Issues
Our Director of Engineering, Rashod Johnson and Marian Marshall, our Director of Governmental Affairs, have been working to resolve a multitude of issues with OSHA. Some other issues that will be forthcoming are ergonomics, hearing conservation, hexavalent chromium and others.

Safety Committee
Last month, the MCAA sent a survey to its members asking if you had a dedicated safety director on staff. The purpose of this survey was to reinstate the Safety Committee that was disbanded last year. We are doing more on occupational safety and health topics than ever before. We are meeting with officials from OSHA, NIOSH, CDC and other trade organizations on a variety of health issues and your input is greatly needed. The Safety Committee will also be responsible for developing the training materials for our members as it relates to the OSHA - MCAA Alliance. Members of this committee may be asked to sit on special OSHA Committees, Task Forces and Construction Roundtables that OSHA hosts every year. Your help is needed to ensure that we are well represented on these committees. If you did not receive the survey, or did not respond, please send the name, e-mail address and phone number of your safety director to Rashod R. Johnson, Director of Engineering at rjohnson@masoncontractors.org or call him at 847-301-0001.