Masonry Magazine June 2006 Page. 46
NECMA Design Awards
Award of Excellence
NECMA ANNOUNCES 2005 DESIGN AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE WINNER
The winner of the 2005 New England Concrete Masonry Association (NECMA) Design Awards of Excellence has been selected. The Design Awards program is co-sponsored by NECMA and the National Concrete Masonry Association to promote the rich diversity of concrete masonry construction. The winning project reflects outstanding design innovation and aesthetics, as well as functional utility, economy, environmental harmony, energy and attention to social concerns.
A jury panel consisting of fellow architects and a representative of the Massachusetts Trowel Trades Association judged this year's entries.
This is the fifth year NECMA has sponsored this competition, which is open to all architectural firms designing with concrete masonry and landscaping products in the New England area.
NECMA is a regional organization representing manufacturers of concrete block, pavers, segmental retaining walls and related products. The association undertakes marketing, educational, government relations and other activities on behalf of its members. For more information, visit www.necma.com.
Woodward Center, Westfield State College, Westfield, Mass.
Architect: Cambridge Seven Associates Inc., Cambridge, Mass.
Mason Contractor: Fontaine Brothers, Springfield, Mass.
Jury Comments: The design concept for this project, including a floating roof combined with a masonry anchor, worked well together and provided a successful palate where the masonry bridges the scale between humans and the large-scale roof. In addition, the masonry materials facilitate a seamless flow from the exterior to the interior.
Celebrate Mistakes with Your Employees
MASONRY NEWS CONTRACTOR TIP
As a leader, how you react to situations will enhance or deteriorate your employees' trust in you and your company.
Have you ever found out a new piece of equipment has just been damaged beyond repair on one of your job sites? How do you approach that situation? At Lang Masonry, we bring it out in the open and discuss it - that's what I call "celebrating mistakes with my employees."
When mistakes are made, I like to tell our employees to let us know and we will celebrate them together. This is much more beneficial than throwing a fit over the mistake.
Here's why: Let's say a new brick saw is ruined because it fell off a forklift. Because these types of things are celebrated in our organization, the person responsible will tell management what happened. Then, we can discuss it at our next monthly safety meeting to ensure we don't make the same mistake again. At the meeting, one of the employees present may say something like, "Why don't we have our mechanic weld steel skids to the bottom of the saws before they go on the job site - that way they can't bounce off the forks?" These types of suggestions are invaluable especially if they potentially save lives. By celebrating this mistake, we have just made the job site safer.
On the other hand, if I throw a fit over the situation and go on ranting about all that money spent for nothing and punishing the crew for not taking the time to secure the saw, etc., the next time something like this happens, chances are no one will admit to doing it. In that case, we may never know the events that led up to the problem or how to guard against it in the future. Throwing a fit over a mistake simply creates mistrust and disrespect in the eyes of your employees. We have all made mistakes; the goal is to learn from them. Life is and should be full of reinvention based upon the desire to experiment and do it better the next time.
As you have probably guessed by now, one thing I like to see in our organization is a continuous excitement about learning, Think about it like this: When we are learning, we are growing. When mistakes are made, discuss them, learn from them, and make the organization better. By remaining open to celebrating these mistakes, you encourage openness from your employees. In the long run, employees' suggestions and ideas for improvements can be extremely useful to your company's bottom line.
Damian Lang is the author of the book "Rewarding and Challenging Employees for Profits in Masonry." To order a copy of his book or to attend one of his seminars held specifically for mason contractors, call Kerri Huck at Lang Masonry at (800) 417-9272.
Provided by Damian Lang, President of Lang Masonry Contractors, Inc. and EZ Grout Corp.