Masonry Magazine April 1996 Page. 25
FROM THE PRESIDENT
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diate day by day concerns of business and move to assume responsibility for the future.
We can no longer allow others: owners/users, General Contractors, obstructive work rules of others, or those who do not recognize intrinsic value of quality, to sway us from our commitment of doing quality and productive work. We must as MCAA contractors, continue to insist that quality be part and parcel of who we are, what we promise, what we deliver and what we demand of others. Anything less than this is not acceptable for our industry to grow.
It must be known that we can deliver our product on time, with competitive prices and still maintain this quality. Only true quality can be achieved through education and training, both our members and our employees. Excellence is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution.
If one of the Fortune 500 Corporations experienced this much market loss they would call an emergency Board of Directors meeting and not adjourn until a market plan was developed.
Let us work diligently to maintain the true meaning of quality in every facet of our operations and our industry.
Let our delivery systems serve as an example for the rest of the construction industry. I wish to recruit each and every member of our association to this commitment, that "quality comes first, last and always in our consideration."
I thought of talking about safety and how a safety conscious company increases its profitability, promotes company pride and lowers Workers' Compensation Insurance.
Or why do we as contractors take on more liability each new job by signing contracts that have harmless clauses and lend the owner/G.C. money by agreeing to pay when paid clauses. We must work for prompt payment and harmless reform and only sign contracts which protect us.
Also, should I address the Building Code Requirements for Masonry Structures. Yes, it places greater demand on the mason contractor but rewards those with good quality control.
This code & specs (ACI 530) are great steps forward for construction and design. It does require the mason contractor to be more informed and knowledgeable along with his employees thus requiring training to meet the construction methods.
I was going to mention our situation with the IMI, but that's been addressed at length. How did an industry asset go wrong? When main objectives, service to the masonry industry, are overshadowed by hidden agendas, then there was bound to be conflict. Conflict causes reactions of equal and opposite reactions. The creator of POGO must have had our industry in mind when he said "We have met the enemy and he is us." I believe this rag-
The greatest asset we have is our trained workers.
ing storm will pass between us. We cannot erase the past, but we need to make peace and move on. We should be united in the service to our industry and not be concerned on what organization we belong to, but how well our industry is being served.