Articles

Karen D. Hickey

December 2016: From the Editor

This issue of Masonry is my last. A new editor, Dan Kamys, will take over the reins in January when the magazine passes from Lionheart’s to MCAA’s jurisdiction. Whether the topic is workforce development or the new silica rule or safety, I know Dan and the MCAA will continue fighting for the real concerns of your small businesses.

Michael Sutter

December 2016: Chairman’s Message

I just returned from Washington, D.C., having met with our BIM-M partners. For those who are not familiar with BIM for Masonry, known as BIM-M, it will allow those in the design community to easily include masonry in their designs. Previously, when architects or engineers designed and modeled projects with BIM, they were not able to model with masonry, as there was no software to allow this.

Stephen Borg

December 2016: Government Affairs

I am typing this piece a mere four days before Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2016: Election Day. I am reflecting on what a crazy year 2016 has been (as the Chicago Cubs’ World Series victory parade rolls by on the television screen!) and what might be turning up as we kick off 2017. By the time this piece is published and you are reading it, we will know who is going to be sworn into the U.S. presidency on Jan. 20, 2017, which party will be in control of the U.S. Senate in the 115th Congress, and who might be the Speaker of the House should current Speaker Paul Ryan resign (as some experts in Washington, D.C., now expect). All three of these answers will play a crucial role in shaping 2017.

Jeremy Douglas

December 2016: Trowel Tech

Mason contractors across the country face similar challenges when out in the field. With the help of Hohmann and Barnard’s director of technical services, Jeremy Douglas, Masonry delivers answers to some of your most technical, complicated questions.

George Hedley

December 2016: Business Building

If I asked each of your construction project managers, field superintendents and crew foremen exactly what they were accountable and responsible for, would they know? Could they list what targets, goals and results they were trying to accomplish on the projects they are working on? One of the biggest problems business owners and managers have is getting their people to be accountable. But this problem is also one of the easiest challenges to fix.

Damian Lang

December 2016: Contractor Tip of the Month

Have you ever searched for something, not knowing what you were looking for, and found it? No? Me neither.

That question would seem silly to a lot of people, but it’s not silly to contractors. Unfortunately, most contractors have their team aiming for an unidentified target — expecting them to hit it without first setting clear expectations of what the target is.

Karen D. Hickey

November 2016: From the Editor

Last month I wrote about the efforts of the North Carolina Masonry Contractors Association to involve younger people in the masonry industry. I mentioned Brandon Hartsell, who is leading the charge in that state. Brandon was recently appointed co-chair of MCAA’s South of 40 Committee, and he’ll be working on a national level toward this effort. Congratulations to Brandon for this honor!

Michael Sutter

November 2016: Chairman’s Message

If you read my column last month, you know I reported on the success of the MCAA Midyear Meeting in Scottsdale, Ariz. But since I had to write that article in the beginning of September, I was just assuming it went well. Now that it is finished, I can report that it was truly a wonderful event. Almost everyone who attended remarked how well it went.

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