Masonry Magazine November 2007 Page. 59
News
Mason Contractors Association of America
The MCAA has sold Masonry Showcase to Hanley Wood and will now be the sponsor of World of Masonry. The show will be held Jan. 21-25, 2008, in Las Vegas. The MCAA will have four educational programs at the convention, including the Masonry Quality Institute, Basic Masonry Estimating and the Masonry Codes and Standards session. All four would be eligible for certification credit.
The convention will feature the Spec Mix Bricklayer 500, the Masonry Skills Challenge and the Fastest Trowel. The opening session speaker will be Henry Winkler, "The Fonz" from Happy Days. There will also be a mason contractor appreciation night, which will include free drinks, food and giveaways including cash, casino chips and equipment from exhibitors, all free of charge. The Mason Contractor headquarter hotel will be Caesars Palace.
The MCAA certification program is moving forward, and the MCAA will begin taking registrations for certification before the end of 2007. The first test to be given is expected to occur in the middle of next year for those who qualify. The MCAA certification committee will have a panel at the MCAA annual meeting in Las Vegas to review the program and answer questions. The MCAA has approved all the St. Louis presented education programs for credit in the program.
The MCAA officers recently met with OSHA and the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers (BAC) in Washington. The meeting with OSHA was productive, resulting in a new MCAA Alliance program. The group also toured the new, impressive National Training Center the BAC recently opened in Maryland. The trip culminated with a meeting with BAC President John Flynn to discuss ways the MCAA could work with the union in areas of common interest. Several items were discussed, including allowing open shop contractors the ability to take one of the contractor college courses, which would be a way for the union to introduce open shop contractors to what the union has to offer. The MCAA is planning on working with the International Masonry Institute on having an open house at the Training Center either later this year or early next year.
The MCAA recently joined a lawsuit filed against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in San Francisco challenging the process taken to implement the no-match rule. The suit alleges that the DHS did not follow proper protocol in the implementation of the new rule, and they need to follow the proper protocol before the rule can be implemented. The ACLU and the AFL/CIO have challenged the legitimacy of the rule in a separate suit.
The MCAA marketing committee has committed $125,000 to support the Masonrysystems.org Web development project undertaken by the Masonry Executives Council. The launch of the Web site will be in early-2008. The committee also has earmarked $75,000 to go toward the development and implementation of a new masonry design magazine, Masonry Design, with the sole purpose of promoting masonry design to the design community. The first of six bimonthly issues will launch in January 2008. The initial distribution will consist of more than 17,000 design firms. The certification program will be promoted in each issue of the magazine.
The new look of the MCAA's forklift manuals are near completion. The MCAA has worked closely with the Laborer's Union in updating the program. The Laborer's Union will be implementing the new training program sometime in early-2008 for union contractors. The MCAA simultaneously will launch the program for open shop contractors.
New dates and locations for the popular National Education Series courses, including the Masonry Quality Institute, Understanding Masonry Codes & Standards, Masonry Foreman Development Course, Basic Masonry Estimating and the Wall Bracing Design Course have been released:
Masonry Quality Institute: Applying the Quality Process to the Masonry Industry
The Masonry Quality Institute assists masons in evaluating services, meeting stringent customer expectations and improving profitability. The course includes an introduction to the quality process and detailed implementations of the basic principles of quality, along with learning strategies for team building and problem solving.
Dates and Locations:
Nov. 14-15, 2007 Chicago (MCAA Office)
Jan. 23-24, 2008 Las Vegas (World of Masonry)
Feb. 26-27, 2008 Dallas, Texas
March 4-5, 2008 Denver
March 11-12, 2008 Chicago (MCAA Office)
March 25-26, 2008 Tampa, Fla.
April 8-9, 2008 Baltimore
April 22-23, 2008 Phoenix, Ariz.
May 13-14, 2008 Louisville, Ken.
June 3-4, 2008 Seattle
Understanding Masonry Codes and Standards: Your Guide Through Changes in Specifications and the Masonry Code
The Understanding Masonry Codes and Standards seminar will guide you step-by-step through the recently updated
Lafarge Expands into Maryland, Pennsylvania
Lafarge Group, maker of building materials for residential, commercial, institutional and public works construction, announced that one of its subsidiaries has completed the purchase of the Heritage Division of H.B. Mellott Estate Inc. (H.B. Mellot Heritage Division). The business will be consolidated into Lafarge's North American Aggregates, Concrete & Asphalt operations. The H.B. Mellott Heritage Division consists of four construction aggregate quarries and three concrete plants in Western Maryland and Southern Pennsylvania. For more information, visit www.lafarge.com.
November 2007 Masonry 57