Chairman's Message: The Beauty of Efficient Efforts

Words: Dick Dentinger

When a masonry jobsite is running smoothly, it’s a beautiful and inspiring demonstration of efficiency. Work flows without interruption, confusion, or hint of a delay. Each mason gets into a groove with zero waste of energy or muscle movement. Mortar is spread with precision and ease as the trowel skates from mud board to the edge of the units on the wall and more units are buttered in place. It seems effortless. The mason tenders are also running on all cylinders, keeping a keen eye on the status of materials in front of the masons. A skilled tender gives another demonstration of efficient planning as he keeps a steady supply of the materials in front of the mason, and the efficient workflow continues.

It takes more participants than the masons and tenders for our jobsites to even have a chance at these perfect days of profitable efficiency. Project managers and estimators back at the office have to do their part as well. The block, brick, mortar, and stone materials, as well as rebar, anchors, flashing and insulation all need to be ordered correctly to be on the site in the correct quantities and on time. The crew will be paid whether they are in a perfect workflow groove or standing around waiting for mortar or reinforcing to make its way up to the scaffold. Our success and bottom line are increased when we run efficiently in our workflow from bid day on through every day on the jobsite. The same can be said for the effectiveness and success of our industry efforts to improve our masonry industry.

Having grown up in a mason contracting family, I recall absorbing tidbits here and there from my childhood memories of my parents’ involvement in the industry and especially within MCAA. My dad passed away four years ago. But, even throughout his retirement, he still had his finger on the pulse of the industry. Not so long ago, I often talked to him about all the things going on at MCAA. Especially after I accepted a position to join the MCAA board. Having been a past board member himself, he knew what was involved and remained curious about our work. In those discussions dad spoke of how he felt the greatest recent development in our masonry industry was that all of the stakeholders, now finally, seemed to be working together with much more effectiveness. He explained that for as long as he remembered, including the 1970s through 1990s when he was more involved in MCAA, the mason contractors, block producers, brick manufacturers, and labor groups struggled to be on the same page. Different groups often doubled up on efforts or were too protective and worried about specific axes to grind rather than looking at the entire picture of our industry. He said because of that we regularly came up short or late to the table to efficiently address problems.

I think our industry has absolutely proven his observation to be correct. The evidence is easy to spot.

Last month, all four members of the MCAA executive board attended the CMHA annual convention in Indianapolis. We witnessed the incredible upbeat and positive energy coming from the concrete block and hardscapes producers. The concrete block check-off program is running full steam now after taking a decade of effort to get passed through congress. The grant program through the CMU check-off has input from block producers of course but also includes all sorts of regional and local stakeholders providing opinion and input. Plus, the meetings are all open and productive and driven to provide wins for everyone in the industry.

We see similar energy coming out of the Brick Industry Association. The BIA has stepped up their work to market brick masonry to not only the design community, but the end-user whether it be a homeowner or a commercial property investor. In addition, the MCAA’s Masonry Foundation has blossomed into a very useful additional tool to address all things masonry. The Masonry Foundation was created from donations and investment from contractors and industry stakeholders to offer grants that serve current efforts to address issues as seen from a contractor’s perspective.

All of the different efforts are working together with each of the various boards well aware of who is doing what and where they are needed most. Simultaneously, these efforts are also growing the positive brand of a career in masonry. We are working to influence young people to choose masonry as a career. And we are doing it locally, and nationally. We promote our products while also selling the value of a career in masonry. It’s a much more efficient and well-organized way of addressing our challenges than it was once upon a time.

Partnerships have been formed to adapt workforce and training programs tailored to regional areas while noting what is or is not working elsewhere. Trailblazing recruitment and training success in areas such as North Carolina, and Arizona, and Texas are being shared with any market interested in learning from the successes achieved by others. The Bricklayer 500 competition and Skills competitions held annually have become bigger than ever imagined and draw immense attention to our trade. All of these efforts are producing energy and picking up steam. It’s all well-orchestrated and efficient. Everywhere you look, all of the stakeholder groups in our masonry industry are working with the effectiveness of a jobsite crew in a perfectly smooth and efficient workforce flow. High-fives and fist-pumps are earned by all who have contributed.



About: Chairman’s Message
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