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Winter 2025 Issue

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Highlighting Plumbing’s Past & Future with NIBCO, INC. & the Rex Martin NIBCO Interactive Museum

NIBCO INC. unveiled the Rex Martin NIBCO Interactive Museum on November 12, 2024, coinciding with NIBCO’s 120th anniversary. The museum offers a unique and enriching experience from a historical perspective, interactive learning, inspiration, community impact, and career opportunities. Not just a place to learn about the past, it’s a place to get excited about the future of plumbing and the opportunities it holds. NIBCO INC. is a major sponsor of MCAA25.

NIBCO INC.

The Promise of HDPE Pipe: F.W. Webb Explains

As communities face challenges with aging water and underground infrastructure, an increasing number of contractors are discovering the benefits of HDPE pipe to address those challenges. HDPE is a cost-effective, easy-to-install, and versatile piping material for any underground utility project—from communications, electrical, and geothermal to sewer and domestic water. Contractors have used HDPE for over 50 years, yet its applications continue to expand, particularly in water and sewer line upgrades.

F.W. Webb Company

Raising Project Quality, Safety, and Sustainability: Advice from Wheatland Tube

In an evolving industry where quality, labor shortages, safety, and environmental impact are top-of-mind, mechanical contractors are faced with critical decisions when specifying materials for their projects. Choosing domestically manufactured products like Wheatland Tube’s 100-percent domestic line of standard pipe over their imported equivalents can increase the quality, safety, and sustainability of any project.

Wheatland Tube

Explore BIM Related Cost Overrun Impacts with MCAA’s Management Methods Bulletin & New Change Orders Edition

Mechanical, electrical, plumbing and sheet metal (MEP/SM) contractors are normally at the forefront of Building Information Modeling (BIM) activities on a construction project. Substantial BIM cost and time overruns have occurred on many projects due to the fluid boundaries between coordination and design. MCAA’s Identifying, Quantifying and Preventing BIM Related Cost and Time Impacts Management Methods Bulletin explores the factors that contribute to these overruns, allowing contractors to better plan for them. The bulletin is now included in a 2024 edition of MCAA’s Change Orders, Productivity, Overtime—A Primer for the Construction Industry. MCAA members can download both resources free as a benefit of membership. Printed copies of the Change Orders resource are also available for purchase.

MCAA and Partners Team Up with Virginia Tech to Improve Head Protection

Thirteen years after releasing the first independent safety ratings for varsity football helmets, the Virginia Tech Helmet Lab is expanding into the construction industry. This summer, researchers will begin an 18-month study to develop the first ratings system for safety helmets, commonly referred to as hard hats or construction helmets, using their five-star scale. This project is being funded and guided by the John R. Gentille Foundation, ELECTRI International, the American Society of Concrete Contractors, and The Association of Union Constructors in an effort to reduce the number of head injuries in our industry.

Selecting the Right Tools for Plumbing Success: Tips from Ridge Tool Company

The complexity of longer, more elaborate pipe systems, paired with the urgency of getting a business back up and running, makes having the right tools for commercial plumbing repairs essential. You need tools with the appropriate power and size capacity to complete jobs, enough cable to ensure they can reach the end of longer pipes, and extra cable flexibility to allow navigation of longer pipe runs. Along with finding tools with these general features, here are five basic tools you should invest in for commercial work.

Ridge Tool Company

MCAA’s New Podcast Available Now

Welcome to Inside MCAA, The Blueprint to Mechanical Contracting, the podcast dedicated to unveiling the strategies and resources that power success within the Mechanical Contractors Association of America. Hosted by renowned Customer Experience Coach and NEI Instructor Frank Favaro, each episode dives deep into the wealth of educational tools, networking opportunities, and advocacy efforts that define MCAA.

Seamlessly Integrating Software & Fab Tools with PypeServer & Bassett Mechanical

Transferring data between different software programs and the fabrication shop exposed Bassett Mechanical to inefficiencies and potential for errors, so they adopted PypeServer software to streamline the process, which has saved time and cut down mistakes. A full-service contractor, Bassett Mechanical specializes in designing, fabricating, installing, and maintaining mechanical systems across several industries. Tyler Petersen, Bassett’s vice president of manufacturing, turned to PypeServer for seamless integration between Bassett’s multiple design software programs and the fabrication tools in the shop. 

PypeServer, Inc.

Simplify Tagging, Save Time Featuring Marking Services Inc.

An energy company in the Southeast teamed up with Marking Services Inc. (MSI) to replace its outdated labeling systems across their electricity generating plants, saving time and labor. Working closely with the company, MSI developed a standardized labeling system to help with safety, compliance, maintenance, and emergency response at the company’s many plants (including solar and hydroelectric facilities). As a result, the company implemented a labeling and asset management program using more than 500,000 labels. MSI’s field team ensured proper and precise installation, which in turn saved the energy company time and labor.

Marking Services Inc.

Chain Hoist Simplifies Install & Saves Labor with MILWAUKEE TOOL & Hooper Corporation

Switching from manual hoists to MILWAUKEE TOOL’s M18™ Compact 1-Ton Chain Hoist with ONE-KEY™, Hooper Corporation minimized the physical demands on its workers while making installation much easier and decreasing downtime. Using a cordless chain hoist takes less time to set up and also allows Hooper’s team to get into more tight spaces, increasing efficiency overall. MILWAUKEE TOOL is a benefactor of MCAA25.

MILWAUKEE TOOL

Small Steps, Big Wins: Staying Ahead with Cumulative Learning Featuring Tyfoom

For mechanical contractors, staying competitive is a constant battle. But that doesn’t mean you need to make big changes that take a lot of time, effort, and money—it’s about making small, steady improvements over time in processes and people that add up to remarkable results. Focusing on marginal gains and cumulative learning offers a practical way to boost efficiency, reduce risks, and retain top talent—all while building a smarter and more capable workforce.

Tyfoom

Doubling Shop Productivity with Novarc Technologies Inc. & W.W. Gay Mechanical Contractor, Inc.

W.W. Gay Mechanical Contractor, Inc. saw a 200-percent increase in shop productivity and a 12-fold increase in weld productivity by implementing Novarc Technologies Inc.’s collaborative Spool Welding Robot (SWR). They are also realizing a 100-percent pass rate on radiography tests (RTs). The SWR has reduced W.W. Gay’s dependence on highly skilled welders, of whom there is a global shortage.

Novarc Technologies Inc.