December 09, 2008 8:15 AM CST

Take Your Know-how to a Higher Level at the MCAA Convention

Over 70 educational courses to be offered

By Tim O’Toole

The MCAA Convention at the World of Concrete/World of Masonry is the industry's premier event for educational opportunities. Earn Masonry Certification credit while gathering the resources and information you need to stay competitive. Come for a week and spend the rest of the year building your business. Over 70 courses will be offered including:

Masonry Foreman Development Course

Monday, February 2, 7:00 AM - 5:00 PM & Tuesday, February 3, 7:00 AM - 5:00 PM

The Masonry Foreman Development Course has been designed to provide your key employees with the skills necessary to become an effective job foreman and profit center for your company. This 2-day intensive course will teach the key areas of responsibility for foremen such as communication, leadership, problem solving, accident prevention, cost awareness, planning and organizing, production control, and contract documents.

Masonry Quality Institute

Monday, February 2, 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM & Tuesday, February 3, 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

This program will provide you the ability to measure your company's level of quality. The Masonry Quality Institute (MQI) is a two-day course that assists masons in evaluating their services, meeting stringent customer expectations, and improving their profitability. The course agenda will include an introduction to the quality process and detailed implementations of the basic principles of quality on the first day. On the second day, attendees will interact with the course instructors in discussing the quality process and learn strategies for team building and problem solving.

Understanding Masonry Codes & Standards

Wednesday, February 4, 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM

This intensive seminar will guide you step-by-step through the recently updated masonry specification provisions included in the consensus masonry standards. At the same time, it will cover basic masonry design and construction examples that contractors need to know, using both the Code and the Specification. By the end of this seminar, you will have a real feel for the Code, so that you can put the new Masonry Code into practice.

Basic Masonry Estimating

Thursday, February 5, 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Learn the basics of masonry estimating or refresh your memory in this eight-hour Basic Masonry Estimating seminar. This session will include a step-by-step approach to the estimating procedure including direct and indirect costs, materials, labor, equipment, project and office overhead and, of course, profit.

Visit convention.masoncontractors.org for more information or to register for these classes and the World of Concrete 90-minute and 3-hour seminars. Prices will increase after December 30, 2008. Register for these great courses today!

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About the Author

Tim O’Toole is the Director of Marketing, Education, and Information Technology for the MCAA. He has a Masters in Business Administration from Webster University and has worked in the masonry industry since 2003.