Masonry Magazine May 1975 Page. 30

Words: Joel Lutz, Leo Shea, Ernest Martens, Raymond Ross, Andy Bristol, Stu Cupler, John Fifer, Harry Lazecho, Don Leidal, Nelson Campbell, Richard Harding, Anthony Cece, Pat Cece
Masonry Magazine May 1975 Page. 30

Masonry Magazine May 1975 Page. 30
Graduating class of first Foreman Training Program sponsored by the Masonry Institute of Michigan.


29 Complete Foreman Training Program In Michigan

Members of the first graduating class of the Masonry Institute of Michigan's Foreman Training Program received their diplomas at special graduation ceremonies on the Wayne State University campus in Detroit on March 24.

They also heard an encouraging word about the future of the masonry industry from Leo G. (Jerry) Shea, vice president of Louis G. Redstone Associates, Inc., Detroit, who served as commencement speaker.

Presenting certificates to the 29 graduates were Joel Lutz, president of the Masonry Institute, and Ernest Martens, director, Management Center, Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations, University of Michigan- Wayne State University. The university presented the 10-week program in cooperation with the Masonry Institute.

Climaxing the evening was a special award from the class to Raymond S. Ross, Ph.D., Wayne State professor who coordinated the course and taught many of the sessions.

Jerry Shea left those in attendance at the graduation banquet with a good feeling about the outlook for the masonry industry. He praised the industry as "one of the most forward-looking," citing panelization and reinforced masonry as evidence that the industry indeed is moving ahead.

But there are problems, too, Shea said. He quoted facts and figures from a recent government-financed study of mason productivity. According to the study, improvements in productivity will require changes by the architect and the contractor as well as by the bricklayer. For architects and engineers, the report recommends simpler wall designs, the use of larger masonry units, increased distances between openings and corners, the use of cavity walls, and modular coordination.

For mason contractors, the advice is to use corner poles, provide weather protection, use adjustable scaffolding. employ a team effort, improve organization of the job, and initiate formal training programs for foremen.

Shea urged bricklayers and labor unions to cooperate with contractors in expanding and improving mason training programs as well as permit the use of mechanical aids and eliminate restrictive work practices where they exist.

Commenting on the relationship between the architect and the masonry foreman, he told the graduating class: "It is your job as a foreman to educate the architect's field man and to do it in a nice way."

Those graduating from the program (see picture) were:
* Andy Bristol, Stu Cupler, John Fifer, Harry Lazecho and Don Leidal of Leidal & Hart Mason Contractors.
* Nelson Campbell and Richard Harding of Campbell & LeSuer Mason Contractors.
* Anthony Cece, Pat Cece and


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