Chairman's Message: Staying Current and Having Vision

Words: Dick Dentinger

As I prepared for my 8th-grade graduation, I opened my closet and very carefully removed the shining new suit I would wear to the ceremony. I was excited and thankful that my parents purchased it, because if they hadn’t, I would have stood out like a sore thumb as the only foolish boy out of uniform at the big event. Before putting the suit on, I stood there for a moment holding up the hanger and envisioning how sharp I would look at graduation and the party that followed. How could I not, as it was a spectacular beige leisure suit? It included bell-bottomed slacks that perfectly matched the stylish jacket. But best of all, it included a funky multicolored patterned dress shirt that featured wings on the collar that nearly reached the edge of my shoulders. Glorious, if not priceless, back then for all the Travolta wannabes. Once upon a time, the leisure suit was a trendy fad for essentially only a minute. Today, such a spectacle only holds value as an artifact or costume. Thankfully, like many other trends and fads we’ve all lived through, it hasn’t lasted the test of time.

The masonry industry, on the other hand, has been around for thousands of years. How’s that for a segue? Masonry is perhaps the foundation of the entire construction industry. It has endured, grown, and prospered all along the way through history. It has done so even though our industry constantly faces a continuing onslaught of new and competing products, as well as every other challenge that came about during those thousands of years.

Specifically, in the past few centuries, numerous industrial revolutions sparked incredible periods of invention, introducing engineering and architectural design changes. These changes had a dramatic influence on the buildings we constructed, our infrastructure, and the appearances of our cities. There was a barrage of new competing construction procedures and products. Like the fad of the leisure suit phenomenon, many of these new products came and went. We were fortunate that our products are inherently very reliable and dependable, as we are reminded of when we marvel at centuries-old monuments throughout the world that are built of masonry. It’s impressive that through all that has transpired since those monuments were built, masonry has thrived and survived so many periods of change and new trends. This is the result of our industry always looking to embrace new ingenuity that provides opportunities to prosper.

With every decade, creative producers of our products have continually introduced a seemingly endless menu of sizes, shapes, patterns, textures, and varieties of our products, which has allowed architects to keep masonry as a fresh choice in design. Entrepreneurial minds have developed new tools, equipment, and ideas that improved our ability to be safe, competitive, and on time while we build.

For the last 74 years, our association has played a significant role in masonry’s remarkable endurance in remaining a relevant and popular product. MCAA has kept contractors current as the overall construction industry changed and always worked to connect the installers with the producers and designers, all to ensure masonry continues to thrive.

Beyond product changes and equipment ingenuity, MCAA was front and center when computers and software suddenly showed up as an affordable option for small businesses. A committee of contractors formed to develop a smart and efficient way to use a spreadsheet to price masonry responsibly. It sounds silly now, but at the time, a spreadsheet and computer seemed more suitable for MIT students and Fortune 500 companies than for the calloused fingers of a seasoned contractor and a small business.

These new ideas, industry trends, and opportunities continue to develop. Just flip through any issue of Masonry magazine and you’ll find something fresh and full of potential; more new tools, robotics, and safety and training ingenuity come to mind, for sure. Perhaps the most interesting trend of ingenuity circling around just about any industry is the prospect of artificial intelligence. A.I. is something that no matter who I ask, they often give different answers on what it is, why it is important, or why it is alarming. Nonetheless, there is likely an enormous amount of opportunity available if our industry can find a way to utilize A.I. as a tool for every mason contractor, no matter if you have a crew of five or a crew of hundreds.

The critical part of utilizing new ingenuity and ideas that are introduced is to make certain you don’t wait too long to lasso the technology and mold and finesse it into a tool before others beat you to it. MCAA staff have been abuzz with a vision of how A.I. can benefit our members and the industry. They have been corralling the potential for many months and are already deep in the work of making A.I. a valuable resource at MCAA that will only grow in its purpose and value to our membership.

Many of us on the MCAA board have been given brief peeks at the A.I. project our staff has been developing, and it is extremely interesting and exciting. At the midyear meeting this month in Park City, Utah, attendees will be given a sneak peek of how A.I. will be incorporated into MCAA. Midyear is always the best convention of the year; it’s no surprise MCAA will be showcasing yet another opportunity for contractors.

About: Chairman’s Message
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