Masonry Magazine July 2009 Page. 40
TECHNOLOGY
# Masonry Systems.org
By Chris Mayo
The tools of masonry have, for the most part, remained unchanged for centuries. A 21st century trowel, for instance, isn't much different than a trowel used during the construction of great cathedrals during the 16th century. A hammer is still a hammer and a chisel is still a chisel. The construction trades as a whole have changed dramatically, however. There are more options for customers now, from steel stud and tilt up walls, to wood frame and even straw bales and used tires. With all the choices, a customer's decision is often a function of how well a contractor markets his product.
With the emergence of new materials and a more competitive marketplace, masonry construction has lost a substantial slice of the pie over the last several years. But now there is a new masonry tool (a decidedly 21st century tool) that can help masonry contractors regain some of that lost market share, a one-stop shop that will enable contractors to show potential customers why total masonry systems are still the way to go.
Imagine a Web site that motivates customers to design their next buildings with masonry-not precast or tilt-up or synthetic masonry, but real, total masonry construction.
MasonrySystems.org is the answer.
# The idea
"MasonrySystems.org is the brainchild of the Masonry Executive Council (MEC), a coalition of professionals from more than a dozen masonry contractor associations," says Ann Wolter, a consultant for the Vision 2020 project and the coordinator of www.MasonrySystems.org. "With www.MasonrySystems.org, contractors have an answer if an architect calls looking for contemporary examples of masonry in a specific type of building, or if a contractor asks you to tell him the difference between a masonry cavity wall and a steel stud system; or your foreman calls and says he needs to show his crew some proper flashing details...right now."
Tom Daniel, president of GBC Concrete and Masonry Construction Inc. and current president of the Masonry Contractors Association of America (MCAA), recalls the meetings that led to the creation of the Web site. "We recognized that we'd been talking about promotional and marketing needs for years, but we were always fragmented. Everyone tended to focus on their own area of expertise, rather than masonry as a whole. From that new starting point, we decided that we needed to incorporate all the various masonry specialties into one easily accessible place. What we visualized was a starting point that everyone (contractors, designers, suppliers) could use when they were talking to a customer."
"What we visualized was a
starting point that everyone
could use when talking
to a customer."
Tom Daniel
MCAA Presiden
# The site
The Web site was designed with a few simple goals in mind:
* Promote the entire wall system, not just brick or block or stone
* Make use of the medium that most customers prefer - the internet
* Provide technical information and design inspiration, and keep it current and ever-changing
* Capitalize on the information that already exists throughout the industry but has been, up to now, fragmented.
38 MASONRY July 2009 www.masoncontractors.org The Voice of the Masonry Industry