The Ontario Construction Report – August 2010 – PAGE OCR B1


Ontario Masonry Contractors’ Association leads way with initiatives and innovations


Masonry textbook, design software and provincial masonry awards competition reshaping industry


STAFF WRITER – The OCR Construction Report Special Feature


Ontario’s unionized masonry contracting industry, rep- resented by the Ontario Masonry Contractors’ Association (OMCA), is developing initiatives and initiating signifi- cant projects to reshape the industry and redefine its fu- ture.


This year, for example, the association has established a masonry contractors’ awards program and is a key sup- porter of a Canada-wide textbook for apprentice masons and new and powerful software which will dramatically reduce the engineering time and workload to design and specify masonry projects.


These initiatives occurred as the association’s approx- imately 600 unionized contractors faced a recession turned “stimulus” — with urgent, time sensitive projects which need to be completed before March 2011. Contrac- tors, as they work intensely to complete projects within the deadline, remain anxious about the future. However, industry leaders such as Paul Hargest, pres- ident of the Canadian Concrete Masonry Producers Asso- ciation (CCMPA) are optimistic, especially as masonry contractors, suppliers, academics, and unions work to- gether for the common-good of the industry and its longer- term objectives.


“I’ve seen some great advancements within the indus-


try,” said Hargest, who is also President of Boehmers in Cambridge (operating under Hargest Block Inc.). “There is great industry harmonization now. The industry, finally after several years, is starting to create some commonality of thought. We’re all in it together to promote and enhance masonry systems.” The CCMPA, representing industry suppliers, is invest- ing $2 million annually to advance the masonry trade. “We are involved with 15 different universities doing re- search on masonry across Canada.” Meanwhile, the OMCA has invested heavily with the national Canadian Masonry Contractors’ Association (CMCA) (the two associations share resources and offices in Missisauga) to improve apprenticeship training, work- ing with associations, academics and contractors across the country to create the first standardized textbook for ap- prentice masons. This textbook, says OMCA Executive Director John Blair, is the first stage in a multi-faceted plan to encourage apprentice masons to see the entire spectrum of their industry and — with consistent national standards — help facilitate mobility and opportunity with the inter- provincial Red Seal program.


Meanwhile the Canada Masonry De- sign Centre (CMDC) – also a major OMCA investment– has developed soft- ware that it will soon distribute free to en- gineers and designers across Canada. “In a nutshell, this software will allow a designer to create the documentation to build a masonry building in two days rather instead of two weeks,” said Paul Hargest. “They’re going to love it.” With reduced design costs, engineers, architects and specifiers will be able to more effectively compete for work at the design/building stage. The new software is designed to be robust enough that engi- neers, wishing to verify the validity of the calculations within the software, will be able to check directly and satisfy them-


selves that the numbers and calculating formulas are cor- rect.


Meanwhile, the industry is funding chairs and support- ing research in masonry construction at engineering schools across Canada to facilitate the teaching of design professionals (and design teachers) in “best practices” for masonry design.


These initiatives, at the academic and design level cou- pled with the training and development of apprentices, are intended, say Blair and Hargest, to complete the circle and ensure a viable and strong industry. “We are showing en- gineers and designers how to properly specify masonry construction and training young apprentices in the best practices in a variety of areas including restoration, refrac- tory construction and masonry wall systems, in different climates and conditions,” says Blair. “The result is that we are securing the future for both the apprentices and the masonry contractors who employ them.” While OMCA is the mandatory Employer Bargaining Authority for union negotiations for about 600 contractors, a smaller group – of about 45 contractor members and 40 associate members – drives the association’s industry- building activities. “They are the major employers — they do about 80 per cent of the hiring,” says Blair. “They have declared themselves to be com- mitted to the highest standards of the industry.”


These standards will be re- flected and demonstrated in the first annual Ontario Masonry Design Awards, to be presented at an Awards Gala at Toronto’s Liberty Grand on November 20.


Judging is now under-way from more than 200 entries in the OMCA’s three regions, says OMCA Special Projects Co-or- dinator Daniela Webb. “We are narrowing the entries down to


five finalists from each of 14 categories in each of the three regions,” she said. As well, there are three province-wide categories including Environmental, Industrial and Mod- ernist.


“Contractors and designers have really been interested in the awards,” says Sandra Skivsky, Business Communi- cations Director of the Canada Masonry Centre. “Ontario is such a Mecca of masonry that 50 to 60 per cent of all masonry products sold in the country are purchased and used in Ontario,” she told the Daily Commercial News and Construction Record in an earlier interview. “It would be a shame not to celebrate and make an occasion of that.” In other areas, the OMCA is working to represent ma- sonry contractors’ interests in the challenging areas of prompt payment and construction lien legislation. Blair says the association is an active participant in the


National Trade Contractors Coalition of Canada (NTCCC) which is advocating legislation ensuring that trade contrac- tors receive payment for service in a timely manner. The NTCCC is seeking legislation such as in the United Kingdom and certain U.S. states requiring payment be given to trade contractors within a prescribed time of re- ceiving progress payments from the owner. “Not doing so allows for charging interest, requires the general contractor to pay any necessary legal fees and, in some cases, respon- sibility for any associated shut down or start up costs.” Masonry contractors, like other sub trades have imme- diate costs including payroll and materials and deserve to be paid when they do their work, Blair said. With innovations and leadership, Ontario’s masonry contracting industry is adapting to the changing environ- ment – in fact it is getting ahead of the curve and is now leading the changes to improve the industry. “We’re collaborating with different groups and differ- ent bodies,” says CCMPA president Paul Hargest. “Every- body is seeing how these efforts are consolidating and creating creating harmonization. “There’s no duplication and wasting of funds. Every-


body’s talking and co-operating. The result in the last five years of the effort is showing in the growth and success the masonry industry currently enjoys.”


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