Category: Service

Want to Grow Your Business? Register for the PCA Plumbing Service Conference

While the construction industry has bounced back from the lows of 2020, the pandemic has helped teach contractors a valuable lesson – growing your business can help you ride out the low times. Plumbing service presents a perfect opportunity for plumbing, mechanical and mechanical service members to grow their business into new sectors. The ideal time to start the process is now when backlogs are full. The PCA Plumbing Service Conference presents a great opportunity to learn how to add service to your business.

As Neptune Plumbing CEO and PCA Chair Scott Wallenstein puts it, “We started getting into plumbing service a couple of years before The Great Recession. When times were low in 2007 and 2008, plumbing service was a great way to compensate for the slowdown in our construction department. Now we see it as a cornerstone of our business because of the higher margins, cash flow and regular business through maintenance agreements.”

The PCA’s new Plumbing Service Conference is a great way to learn how contractors have added plumbing service operations. While attending the conference, you can see it in action. Join a tour of Neptune Plumbing’s Cleveland facility to see how they perform their plumbing service operations. They will demonstrate how they handle inventory, dispatch, stock a plumbing service truck and perform comprehensive plumbing service operations.

The conference will be held September 20-21 in Cleveland, Ohio and limited to only 50 participants. The conference is filling up fast, so register now! To learn more, or to reserve your spot, visit our event page.

Resource Highlight: MSCA’s HVACR 101 Workbook Series

Each week, MCAA will highlight one or more of the educational resources that are free to MCAA members as a benefit of membership. This week, we focus on MSCA’s HVACR 101 Workbooks. The series of 10 workbooks familiarize new staff with the industry equipment, processes and terminology they’re likely to encounter to help them succeed in their jobs.

The workbooks are available in WebBook format to maximize the learning experience. Each one includes a training video, relevant course material and a quiz. The workbooks are also available as PDF downloads that do not include the videos.

Access the full list, including detailed descriptions of what is included in each, in the Resource Center.

Have Questions or Need Personal Assistance?

Contact MSCA’s Barb Dolim.

New National Service & Maintenance Agreement Effective August 1, 2021

A new six-year National Service and Maintenance Agreement has been finalized, approved and signed by the UA and MSCA/MCAA effective August 1, 2021. This Agreement will continue to play an important role in growing the HVACR market for the organized sector.  Several important modifications are included in the new Agreement, which should benefit all national signers and local UA unions. Click “Learn More” for details on the changes in the new Agreement and a link to the new document.

There are Heroes Among Us – Let’s Recognize Yours!

MSCA’s Everyday Hero Award is a great way for you to honor those individuals working for your company that go above and beyond to make a difference in their communities, churches or within their own families.

These extraordinary individuals get involved or perform these acts simply out of the kindness of their hearts. Whether it is helping the needy, aiding the elderly, volunteering for a charitable organization or fostering children, they are truly heroes.

Help us honor these generous and caring individuals that work for you by nominating them for the MSCA Everyday Hero Award. To submit your nomination, complete the brief form below and send it back to MSCA. Not only will we recognize them but MSCA will make a very generous donation to their charity of choice.

Deadline for nominations has been extended to August 20, 2021.

Learn How to Grow Your Business, Attend the PCA Plumbing Service Conference

While the construction industry has bounced back from the lows of 2020, the pandemic has helped teach contractors a valuable lesson –growing your business can help you ride out the low times. Plumbing service presents a perfect opportunity for plumbing, mechanical and mechanical service members to grow their business into new sectors. The ideal time to start the process is now when backlogs are full. The PCA Plumbing Service Conference presents a great opportunity to learn how to add service to your business.

As Neptune Plumbing CEO and PCA Chair Scott Wallenstein puts it, “We started getting into plumbing service a couple of years before The Great Recession. When times were low in 2007 and 2008, plumbing service was a great way to compensate for the slowdown in our construction department. Now we see it as a cornerstone of our business because of the higher margins, cash flow and regular business through maintenance agreements.”

The PCA’s new Plumbing Service Conference is a great way to learn how contractors have added plumbing service operations. While attending the conference, you can see it in action. Join a tour of Neptune Plumbing’s Cleveland facility to see how they perform their plumbing service operations. They will demonstrate how they handle inventory, dispatch, stock a plumbing service truck and perform comprehensive plumbing service operations.

The conference will be held September 20-21 in Cleveland, Ohio and limited to only 50 participants.

Time is Running Out! Nominate Your Everyday Hero Today!

MSCA has been honoring our industry’s heroes for the past seven years during our annual education conference. These unsung heroes, who do extraordinary things every day, simply out of the kindness of their hearts, truly make a difference for the better not only in our industry but in our communities as well. This pandemic has been hard on all of us, but is has also shined a light on so many of our employees and peers that have taken their heroism to the next level – and we want to honor them! Help us recognize these generous and caring individuals at this year’s MSCA21 being held October 14 – 17, 2021 at the JW Marriott Scottsdale Camelback Inn, Scottsdale, AZ by nominating a hero today!

Deadline for nominations is August 1, 2021

NOMINATION FORM

MSCA21: Bounce Back from Setbacks

Slowing down the pace or rate of change isn’t an option, especially true after this last year. Therefore, skilling your people to more readily adapt to change as well as bounce back quickly from challenging setbacks is your organizations competitive advantage. During this session you will learn how building your “Bounce” skills is a critical element in creating and sustaining your Leadership Vitality. During MSCA21 October 14 – 17, 2021, Sara will walk attendees through a systematic “bounce approach” framework to strengthen the skills of resilience.

The framework does this by:

  • Helping people find calm through the chaos to increase their uncertainty tolerance;
  • Decreasing wasted emotional energy on “false-threats” causing people to feel stuck and overwhelmed, and instead focusing on the most important information;
  • Increasing awareness of the choices and opportunities people have when facing change and ambiguity and channeling that into appropriate action.

Sara talks more about what she will share during the MSCA Conference in the video below.

LEARN MORE & REGISTER

Nominate Your Everyday Hero TODAY!

MSCA has been honoring our industry’s heroes for the past seven years during our annual education conference. These unsung heroes, who do extraordinary things every day, simply out of the kindness of their hearts, truly make a difference for the better not only in our industry but in our communities as well. This pandemic has been hard on all of us, but is has also shined a light on so many of our employees and peers that have taken their heroism to the next level – and we want to honor them!

Help us recognize these generous and caring individuals at this year’s MSCA21 being held October 14 – 17, 2021 at the JW Marriott Scottsdale Camelback Inn, Scottsdale, AZ by nominating a hero today!

Deadline for nominations is August 1, 2021. 

NOMINATION FORM

National Service and Maintenance Agreement Negotiations to Begin Spring 2020

The National Service and Maintenance Agreement continues to be an excellent tool used by  HVACR and plumbing service contractors around the country to grow market share and remain competitive in this highly competitive market.  The current National Agreement is effective through July 31, 2020.  The MSCA Labor Committee will be discussing potential changes or modifications with the UA later this year.  Although we anticipate very few changes, we would appreciate your input or recommendations on terms and conditions which you feel may be helpful in expanding your service business.  Please send all comments to bdolim@mcaa.org  by December 6, 2019.

Report Shows MCAA Members Don’t Invest Enough in Tech Budget and Manpower

In 2018, MCAA sponsored a JBKnowledge Construction Technology Report that surveyed over 2,800 professionals in the construction industry. In the newly released MCAA-Focused Report, the responses given by MCAA members were separated and compared to those of the rest of the construction industry.

While MCAA members are getting heavily involved in VDC and mobile technology, they are behind the rest of the industry when it comes to some aspects of R&D. As the report’s primary researcher, Liz Beechinor from JBKnowledge points out, “Our research is showing that the construction industry as a whole is behind on R&D spending compared to other industries, but when we take a look at MCAA members’ responses and compare that to the construction industry, they are even further behind. Fewer MCAA contractors have dedicated R&D budget and employees dedicated to R&D.”

According to a 2017 McKinsey Report, the construction industry as a whole spends less than 1% of their revenue on R&D. Compared to the auto industry, which spends 3.5%, and the aerospace industry, which spends 4.5%, this can seem relatively underfunded.

What is even more concerning is construction companies’ lack of any R&D budget. The 2018 MCAA-Focused Construction Technology Report showed that 56.8% of those surveyed had no budget for R&D, while 63.5% of MCAA members reported that they didn’t budget for R&D.

The same could be said for having employees dedicated to R&D. In the last few years, we have seen more MCAA and MSCA contractors dedicate manpower to technology research and implementation, but on average, they are still behind the rest of the industry.

Most respondents that identified as MCAA members reported that they had one or two people dedicated to R&D, while 37% do not have employees dedicated to R&D. During a presentation on the topic at MCAA19, MCAA’s Director, Construction Technology Sean McGuire explained, “While we are seeing more members take technology seriously, smaller companies are going to always be more limited on budget and manpower that they can dedicate towards research and implementation. Larger GCs and CMs can absorb these costs a little easier simply as a function of their size.”

Being bigger does not necessarily mean better though.  As Sean notes, “While research and staff budgets can be absorbed by larger companies easier, the bigger you are, the harder implementation becomes. Small companies can adopt changes a lot faster because you can get less people pulling in the same direction faster.  Large companies have to dedicate more resources to implementation and follow up.”

This lines up with another report question that asked what the most limiting factor was for adopting new technology. Not surprisingly, lack of staff and budget received the highest response rates and were concerns for nearly half of the MCAA respondents. The report provides further insight into these questions as well as BIM productivity and estimation and mobile device and hardware use.

Keep Your Service Techs Safe in the Field – This Video Can Help!

MCAA’s Mechanical Service Safety Training Video teaches your service techs how to protect themselves from the most common safety hazards in the field.

Your workers will learn:

  • How to conduct a quick walk-around vehicle inspection
  • Why it’s important to preplan their days to ensure that they have the right tools, materials and safety equipment on hand
  • How to protect themselves and others while driving
  • Why they should check in with their supervisor or someone at the office when working alone
  • How to safely set up and use ladders
  • When fall prevention/protection are needed and how to properly protect themselves
  • How to protect themselves from electrical hazards while working on equipment pushing 480 volts or less
  • What additional protection is needed when working on equipment pushing more than 480 volts

Download or play the video

There’s More…

Accompanying materials are also available to assist you in highlighting key training points, documenting worker training and confirming that workers understand the training concepts:

Highlight key training points

Download the Pocket Guide

Document worker training

Download the Documentation Sheet

Confirm that workers understand the training concepts

Download the Test

Download the Test Answer Key

Want More Safety Resources?

MCAA has you covered, with a full range of resources to help you protect your workers from injury and comply with applicable safety regulations. Here’s where to find them:

On our Direct Links to MCAA & MSCA Safety Resources page, where they’re listed by category with links.

Go there now

In the Resource Center, where you can use the blue Refine Your Search bar to pinpoint exactly what you’re looking for.

Visit the Resource Center

Have questions or need personal assistance?

Contact MCAA’s Pete Chaney.

Member Company, Arista, Boosts Consumer Confidence with New XOi Wearable Technology

The collaboration of member company Arista, NYC metro area’s leading HVAC contractor, and XOi Technologies revolutionizes the way the HVAC service industry interacts with clients by empowering customers to see the tasks completed on a service call rather than trying to decipher job details from a bill. Customers no longer have to rely solely on trust when assessing job performance and are provided with video documentation of each service call.

Leading HVAC companies, like Arista, are beginning to use new video documentation technology provided by companies similar to XOi Technologies that helps them prove the value they provide to their customers with planned maintenance and repair service.

An HVAC technician in the field uses wearable technology that looks like a pair of
safety glasses, but actually allows them to take video of what they see and do. They can record video evidence that shows you exactly what they’re doing and why.

Arista’s evidence-based approach to service assures customers they are getting what they pay for; the bill matches the services rendered. The video documentation is a useful record-keeping tool, especially for business owners and property managers in charge of multiple sites.

MSCA Discussion Forum is LIVE!

Here are the easy instructions on how to use MSCA Discussion Forum:

  • Log into MSCA’s website with your username and password
  • Go to Discussion Forum tab at upper right hand corner and click
  • Scroll down and pick a topic that you want to join or start a new topic
  • Share your thoughts or ask a question and hit the submit button
  • Connect with experts and peers in interesting discussions and get feedback

Want to share a profile image or go “incognito” with a different name?

  • Go to “My Forum Settings” and click
  • Click “Edit” if you want a different name to appear for your profile and save changes (default is your first name)
  • Click “Change Profile Photo” if you want to add an image or profile pic
  • Click and drag an image or select one from your files
  • Adjust the square frame over your image and click “Crop”
  • Clicking “Crop” saves your image and you can change it at any time

New MCAA Safety Bulletin Covers Key Changes to NFPA 70E (Electrical Safety in the Workplace)

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) recently released its latest standard covering electrical safety in the workplace. The most current version of the standard, which is on a 3-year revision cycle, is NFPA 70E – 2018. MCAA has prepared a safety bulletin covering the key changes that affect mechanical service workers who are working on equipment pushing 480 volts or less. The bulletin highlights the key changes on the front page, and provides a side-by-side comparison of the key changes between the 2015 and 2018 versions of the standard on subsequent pages.

Safety Bulletin

Additional MCAA/MSCA safety resources to help your company address the key changes to NFPA 70E  for 2018 will be available later this month. The resources include:

  • A new model lockout/tagout program for electrical safety in the workplace (the revised standard requires a written electrical safety lockout/tagout program); and
  • A revised model program on Electrical Safety for Service (Based on NFPA 70E – 2018).

If you have questions about the new standard, please contact Pete Chaney at pchaney@mcaa.org, or 301-990-2214.

Past MSCA Chair Dick Starr Featured in Contracting Business Magazine

The CB Interview: Dick Starr

Controls innovator and past MSCA chair, Dick Starr, reflects on his career in controls, the HVAC industry, his experience and service with MSCA and MCAA and shares his years of knowledge in this interview.

Dick recently sold his company, The Enterprise Corporation, that he purchased in 1977 to a colleague within his network but he will continue to be involved in its daily functioning.

Read the article by clicking the button below.

Want to Educate Your Workers About Workplace Distractions? This Video Can Help!

MCAA’s Workplace Distractions Safety Training Video will help your workers recognize and avoid the most common industry-related workplace distractions.

Your workers will learn about the four most common types of distractions:

  • Driving distractions
  • Electronic distractions
  • Environmental distractions
  • Personal distractions

Download or play the video

There’s More…

Accompanying materials are also available to assist you in highlighting key training points, documenting worker training and confirming that workers understand the training concepts:

Highlight key training points

Download the Pocket Guide

Document worker training

Download the Documentation Sheet

Confirm that workers understand the training concepts

Download the Test

Download the Test Answer Key

Want Even More Safety Resources?

MCAA has you covered, with a full range of resources to help you protect your workers from injury and comply with applicable safety regulations. Here’s where to find them:

On our Direct Links to MCAA & MSCA Safety Resources page, where they’re listed by category with links.

Go there now

In the Resource Center, where you can use the blue Refine Your Search bar to pinpoint exactly what you’re looking for.

Visit the Resource Center

Have questions or need personal assistance?

Contact MCAA’s Pete Chaney.

Need Help Managing Your Business Finances? Check Out These Bulletins!

Staying on top of your company’s finances can be challenging, especially during periods of economic volatility. With that in mind, MCAA’s Management Methods Committee produced bulletins that address the most critical accounting and financial issues facing your business.

The bulletins cover a wide range of topics from general guidelines—Tips to Help Contractors Manage Through an Economic Downturn, Guide to Financial Statements and Credit Policy Criteria—to more specific issues, such as Cash Flow, Service Mark-ups vs. Construction Mark-ups and Other Direct Job Costs (ODJC’s) and Indirect Job Costs. Each bulletin provides detailed, current information that will not only help you keep your finances in balance but may also streamline your company’s accounting processes and improve your business relationships with your customers, project associates and equipment suppliers.

Want to See All of the Management Methods Bulletins?

You can find them on our Management Methods Bulletins page, where they’re listed by category with links.

GO THERE NOW

Or in the Resource Center, where you can use the blue Refine Your Search bar to pinpoint exactly what you’re looking for.

VISIT THE RESOURCE CENTER

MSCA Appoints First Female Chair of MSCA Board of Managers

NEWS RELEASE

Mechanical Service Contractors of America Names First Woman Chair of MSCA Board of Managers

Jaimi Lomas, VP of Service, A.O. Reed & Co., makes MSCA history

ROCKVILLE, MD—The Mechanical Service Contractors of America (MSCA) announced the appointment of Jaimi Lomas, vice president of service at A. O. Reed in San Diego, CA, as the first woman chair of the MSCA board of managers during its 32nd annual education conference in Boca Raton, Florida. Kip Bagley, vice president of service at EMCOR Services, Mesa Energy Systems, Irvine, CA, will serve as vice chairman, Steve Smith, senior vice president of ACCO Engineered Systems, Inc., Glendale, CA, will serve as treasurer and Chris Carter, vice president of service at Murphy Company, St. Louis, MO, will now serve as past chairman.

Jaimi Lomas, vice president of service for A.O. Reed & Co. in San Diego, CA is a 20+ year veteran of the company and is responsible for sales, operations, and the overall growth and financial health of the service division. With over 10 years in her current role at A.O. Reed & Co., Jaimi is expert in building strategic customer relationships and has a true passion for developing internal culture and mentoring employee success.  As a female in a male dominated industry, Jaimi is focused on building an inclusive and diverse organization that reflects the community and allows individuals to contribute and reach their full potential. Jaimi was selected as the 2011 HVAC Woman of the Year by HVAC News, and has been an active leader with BOMA in San Diego for over 20 years. She has served on the MSCA marketing committee for 10 years and as its chairman for the past two years as well as serving on the MSCA Board of Managers for six years. Jaimi is currently President of the Mechanical Service Contractors of San Diego. For over a decade she has been a committed Big Sister for Girls Rising where she has inspired many young women.