Masonry Magazine December 2006 Page. 48
News
MCAA Board Approves New National Initiatives
Michael Adelizzi, Executive Director
Mason Contractors Association of America
At the recent Mason Contractors Association of America (MCAA) Midyear Meeting in Maui, Hawaii, the Board of Directors approved two, far-reaching initiatives that will have a major impact on the use of masonry, as well as the contractors that are selected to build future masonry projects.
The MCAA Board approved the National Mason Contractor Certification Program aimed at improving the professional capability of the industry's quality contractors and then ensuring the selection of those certified contractors by industry construction customers. The program seeks an aggressive and extensive educational program for both the contractor and their supervisory personnel, followed by a national exam that contractors must pass in order to achieve certification. The Association is already engaged in gaining support from key customer groups that will ultimately specify the use of a certified mason contractor on their projects.
Contractors have already begun working toward their certification by taking the required educational programs. The first exam dates are expected to occur in Fall 2007.
Also approved by the Board is a move by the Association to become engaged in masonry promotion through a new effort to educate construction designers. Heeding a call from nationally recognized architect, Chris Huckabee, the MCAA Board recognized the need for the contractor segment of the industry to step up nationally. Millions of dollars are spent on promoting the use of masonry materials while the industry continues to lose market share to inferior systems such as tilt-up. The Board recognized the need for the contractors to become engaged in promoting masonry at a national level and how our unique role in the construction cycle can benefit in educating and convincing customers to use total masonry construction. The Board approved the establishment of a national fund that will support a new educational program targeting designers, both at the academic and professional level. The Association will ask members and suppliers to fund this new national initiative.
For further information about the MCAA and its programs, call the MCAA national office at (800) 536-2225, or visit www.masoncontractors.org.
Region V OSHA Best Practices Training Seminar
Rashod Johnson, P.E., Director of Engineering
Mason Contractors Association of America
On Oct. 26, 2006, the Mason Contractors Association of America (MCAA), along with the Laborers-AGC Training Fund and the Laborers Health & Safety Fund, conducted a full-day Best Practices seminar at the Chicago Laborers Training Center. The goal of Best Practices workshops is to give Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) compliance officers a brief overview of masonry construction and make them familiar with our industry's training and work practices. Approximately 20 OSHA field personnel from Region V, which includes the states of Illinois and Wisconsin, attended the training program.
The morning portion of the session featured occupational safety presentations on topics such as silica protection, ergonomics, fall protection, wall bracing and overhand bricklaying. With the assistance of Jim O'Connor, executive director of the MCA of Greater Chicago, the afternoon portion consisted of hands-on demonstrations at three stations, including masonry basics with different types of masonry materials and equipment, rough terrain forklift safety and scaffold safety.
One of the major goals of the program is the elimination of multiple interpretations of OSHA standards from different OSHA inspectors that mason contractors often deal with on their job sites. Another benefit and outcome of the session is a stronger understanding by OSHA personnel of the steps that mason contractors and the MCAA have taken to provide a safe work environment.
"We felt that many OSHA field personnel did not fully understand our industry and the intricacies of our safety practices," said MCAA Executive Director Michael Adelizzi. "OSHA gave us an opportunity to explore ways in which, as an industry, we could provide some of the same training to their personnel as we provide to our own industry's workforce."
The Best Practices Workshop program is a continuing collaboration for MCAA, the Laborers International Union, and Laborers Health and Safety Fund to conduct training programs in all 11 OSHA regions over the next two years. Two regions are complete and a Best Practices seminar for OSHA Region I (New England area) is being scheduled for the early portion of 2007.
Beginning in March 2004, MCAA signed an Alliance with OSHA to provide education and training to the industry's workforce. The primary goal of this Alliance is to increase the level of safety throughout the masonry industry. The Alliance is focused on four main areas, including fall protection, scaffold safety, rough terrain forklift safety and masonry wall bracing.
While there are certainly many benefits to this Alliance, one of the primary benefits is the ability to partner with OSHA in establishing safety training programs, which help provide safe work practices for the industry's nearly 275,000 masons and laborers.
For more information, visit www.masoncontractors.org.