Masons: Happy Holidays From MCAA Chairman, John Smith Jr.

We are all very busy this time of year. We all work to balance our lives all year long, but during the holidays, it is time to reflect on our families.

TheMCAA staff is extremely busy this time of year as Jeff and Tim are spending a lot of time preparing for the World of Masonry in January.

We have shortened the conference by one day. We did this as a result of the survey last year. We have a lot of seminars and events during the three days. Take a look at the information, and register. We added an additional hotel in a modest price range to encourage you to bring a larger group to the convention. We offer many seminars that would help your staff and company in the next year.

    

Regarding masonry around the country, most companies are reporting continuing growth. Profits are still slim, but the opportunities are growing. We continue to address manpower issues with NCCER as we have seen areas that are starting to have difficulty finding qualified craftsmen. We just hired a new staff person, Terry Ruppel, to begin our initiative to work hand-in-hand with the high schools, career centers and community colleges in the states of Kentucky and Tennessee. He will work to encourage high school programs in the trades and become their liaison and sponsor with NCCER, so they can credential their students. Credentialing their students will give them the ability to track their training and show competence on both the written and performance sides. 

We are also working heavily on the silica issue. Our coalition is busy evaluating the new rule, and I can assure you that – from what we have initially discovered of the rule – it will dramatically change the masonry jobsite and create a new burden on mason contractors with paper work and new liability exposure. 

We are hopeful that we can get changes made to the rule. The proposed PEL of .50 is not a practical or feasible limit we can meet. Our studies have shown that wet cutting can get consistently below .8 to .9. Look for more information on our website, www.masoncontractors.orb, on this issue. We need all mason contractors to work together to try to get changes made to this rule. It will make compliance with the rule extremely costly and quite complicated.   

  

Please enjoy your holiday, and make time to register for the convention.   

Construction Employment Up in 39 States From One Year Ago

Construction employment increased in 39 states over the past 12 months, the most widespread gains since April 2012, according to an analysis today by the Associated General Contractors of America of Labor Department data. Association officials said action on needed infrastructure investments for water and transportation projects would help support continued employment growth for the industry.

“It is encouraging that three-quarters of the states are now adding construction jobs on a year-over-year basis,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “Employment increases are still intermittent in too many states, however, and nearly all states are far below their pre-recession highs.”

Mississippi led all states with a 19 percent increase (9,300 jobs) in construction employment between October 2012 and October 2013. Connecticut was next, with an increase of 11 percent (5,500 jobs), followed by Louisiana (8.3 percent, 10,700 jobs) and Florida (7.7 percent, 26,600 jobs). Florida was first in the number of construction jobs added, closely followed by California (26,000 jobs, 4.3 percent), then Texas (14,500 jobs, 2.4 percent).

Eleven states and the District of Columbia lost construction jobs over the past 12 months. Indiana had the steepest percentage drop in construction employment for the month (-9.5 percent, -11,800 jobs), followed by Montana (-7.3 percent, -1,700 jobs) and D.C. (-5.0 percent, -700 jobs). Indiana also lost the largest number of jobs over the year, followed by Illinois (-4,500 jobs, -2.4 percent) and North Carolina (-3,600 jobs, -2.1 percent).

Between September and October, 32 states added construction jobs, 16 states and D.C. lost construction jobs, and employment was flat in Delaware and Wyoming. Alaska had the steepest percentage gain in construction employment for the month (6.0 percent, 1,000 jobs), closely followed by Nevada (5.9 percent, 3,100 jobs), then Vermont (4.3 percent, 600 jobs). Florida added the most construction jobs last month (10,500, 2.9 percent), followed by Louisiana (3,400, 2.5 percent) and Nevada.

The worst percentage decline in construction employment last month occurred in Arizona (-2.7 percent, -3,300 jobs), followed by Hawaii (-2.4 percent, -800 jobs) and New Jersey (-2.2 percent, -3,000 jobs). Texas lost the largest number of jobs between September and October (-4,000 jobs, -0.7 percent), followed by New York (-3,900 jobs, -1.2 percent), Arizona, New Jersey and Washington (-2,800 jobs, -1.9 percent).

Welcome as the employment gains are, association officials cautioned that industry’s recovery was still uneven and urged Congress and the administration to enact measures to help repair and upgrade aging water and transportation systems. In particular, they urged a Congressional conference committee to settle differences between House and Senate versions of the Water Resources Development Act and pass a final bill. They also urged Congressional negotiators to include infrastructure funding as part of any final budget deal.

“Congress has an opportunity to enact measures that will help put people back to work and make our economy more competitive for years to come,” said Stephen E. Sandherr, the association’s chief executive officer. “Making our ports more efficient, our bridges safer and our roads less congested will allow American businesses to be more competitive, our products more affordable and our economy more robust.”

View the state employment data by rank, by state.

Environmental Product Declaration for U.S.-Made Concrete Masonry Products

Angelus Block Co.Inc.  released an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for its concrete masonry units (CMU). Angelus Block is a manufacturer and supplier of CMU products in the Southern California construction industry, servicing a region from the central coast to San Diego.

An EPD is a standardized way of communicating the environmental impacts of a product in a scientifically recognized and compact format. EPDs are currently receiving significant attention as an important first step to achieving product transparency "labels" akin to the nutrition information found on food products.

Sustainable design, as a movement – and in some cases a mandate – to construct buildings that minimize impacts to environmental and human health, continues to grow and evolve. LCAs and/or  EPDs have contributing roles in green rating systems such as LEED, Green Globes, and The Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS), and by state and local codes such as California's CALGreen.

USGBC's pending launch this month of the latest generation of its rating systems, known as LEED v4, is already moving the needle with several new credit requirements that include product EPDs. The new credits introduce several options and reporting requirements for demonstrating transparency in materials. Building product manufacturers that wish to remain in the green arena are assessing how to comply.

Angelus Block is the first U.S. CMU producer to publish an EPD.  It includes a substantial set of 69 individual mix designs for products from each of their seven CMU manufacturing locations in and beyond the Los Angeles metroplex. 

 

"We were looking to provide more than a single-product report," says Edward Antonini, president of Angelus Block. "We knew we needed to cover multiple materials, unit sizes and configurations to have our core products fully represented. Our market includes many high-profile design firms dedicated to green leadership, so we felt the standard should be higher and greater detail would be appropriate."

The more rigorous requirements of LEED v4 also present a challenge to architects in identifying materials that not only contribute to the green goals of a project, but are also within a pragmatic distance.  

"A design firm's skill in creating buildings, and harnessing all the tools available to deliver green value for its clients, ultimately gets translated into physical materials," says Rick Martin, director of sustainability, Perkowitz+Ruth Architects. "Angelus Block represents an essential building product, and we appreciate them taking a lead role in the new material disclosure paths.  We design with masonry on many projects, so it's great to know producers like Angelus are already supporting some of the new requirements."

Angelus Block's EPD is available for download at www.angelusblock.com/docs/Angelus_Block_EPD.pdf. The initial release is an internally verified report. A Type III, third-party verified report is planned and pending the adoption of a CMU-specific Product Category Rule (PCR) currently in development. A PCR provides instructions for data and reporting in the creation of an EPD.

ABC, Synergis to Deliver BIM Training for Contractors

Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) announced a collaboration with Synergis Engineering Design Solutions, a provider of Autodesk products, to bring Building Information Modeling (BIM) training to ABC contractor members to make them more productive, efficient and profitable. The training is part of a larger effort known as Project Virtual.

"This collaboration is the foundation of an idea that will enable ABC members to work with their clients, eliminate waste and rework, more effectively plan for project success, minimizing design conflicts in a 3D environment, and ultimately deliver that work safely, ethically and profitably for all involved," says ABC President and CEO Michael D. Bellaman. "Together, ABC and Synergis have created Project Virtual, which will provide a customized training and design BIM solution specifically for ABC members."

"We are excited to enter into this partnership with ABC to provide the construction industry access to the latest solutions, tools and training," says Synergis Engineering Design Solutions VP Kristen Tomasic. "Project Virtual extends Synergis' reach and allows us to educate ABC members, raise industry awareness and provide our expertise to further the adoption of BIM."

Registration is currently open for classes that will be held in early-2014. Classes are designed specifically for contractors, and will be conducted in an online, interactive format with a live instructor. The initial set of classes will focus both on fundamental and advanced areas of BIM.

To see a complete schedule, pricing and information on the classes, visit abcprojectvirtual.com. The training is only open to ABC members and students must have access to the software to participate, so as part of the program, Synergis is offering a discount on most Autodesk products to ABC members.

Learning in a Green Environment: Global Coalition for Green Schools

The Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), in conjunction with the World Green Building Council (WGBC), announced the 29 founding members of the Global Coalition for Green Schools. The Global Coalition for Green Schools works collectively to shape schools and communities to fundamentally change the way students learn about the world around them.

Each of the 29 founding members have committed to establishing and a national coalition for green schools within each of their respective countries. The goal of these coalitions is to promote a shared vision of green schools for all within this generation. Members of the coalition will share best practices, resources and case studies, provide tools and infrastructure to this growing network, and introduce programs, initiatives and campaigns that can be replicated around the world.

Current members of the Global Coalition for Green Schools include: Argentina GBC, GBC Australia, Botswana GBC, GBC Brasil, Canada GBC, Chile GBC, China GBC, Colombia GBC, Croatia GBC, Egypt GBC, Emirates GBC, Global Communities, GBC Ghana, Hong Kong GBC, Indian GBC, GBC Italia, Israel GBC, Jordan GBC, Kenya GBC, Mauritius GBC, Namibia GBC, Peru GBC, Qatar GBC, Romania GBC, Singapore GBC, GBC Slovenia, SUMe, Turkish GBC, USGBC.

Because schools look different from country to country around the world, the Coalition has identified three pillars by which to define a green school – minimize environmental impact, optimize human health and performance, and foster a generation of environmentally literate students.

By highlighting how sustainability can be woven into infrastructure, culture and curriculum, the Global Coalition aims to foster these ideals in schools around the world. The Coalition facilitates information sharing that will help build these values into the education system in innovative ways.

National coalitions will bring together influential leaders in their country’s green schools movement including non-profits, corporations, community members, universities and government.

To learn more about the Global Coalition for Green Schools and the Center’s international efforts, please visit centerforgreenschools.org/globalcoalition.