Metal Construction News, November 2018

EDITORS COMMENTS VOL 39 NO 12 Circulation audited by METAL CONSTRUCTION NEWS ISSN 8756 2014 is published monthly and bimonthly in March by Modern Trade Communications Inc 8833 Gross Point Rd Suite 308 Skokie IL 60077 Subscriptions are free for those in the metal construction industry in the United States For those outside the industry the subscription price is 45 per year in the United States 75 in Canada and Mexico and 150 per year in all other countries Periodicals class postage paid at Skokie IL and additional mailing offices POSTMASTER Address service requested METAL CONSTRUCTION NEWS 8833 Gross Point Rd Suite 308 Skokie IL 60077 Education on the Cutting Edge It is amazing what the design and construction industry has grown into over the last 30 years With the advent of computer aided design CAD and building information modeling BIM weve seen ever increasingly sophisticated building designs What we dream can now become reality In this issue of MCN we offer the MCN Building and Roofing Awards page 16 which showcase some of the more exciting designs in the metal construction industry This level of complexity is especially prominent due to the unique properties of metal building materials Designers are stretching the boundaries of what can be done with metal and theyre combining it with other new materials and technologies to create buildings that look and perform like nothing we have ever seen before In part architects are able to do this because they are devoted to continuing education They challenge themselves to push the design envelope and they are required to complete continuing educational units CEUs that maintain their professional standing But what about contractors trade or general Most states dont require licensed contractors to continue their education after they qualify for the license That means a commercial contractor who went into business 30 years ago could be working with the same knowledge he had back then Of course thats not true because we all have to meet this new push for complicated buildings that require difficult construction practices We couldnt compete if we didnt continue our education updating it annually Ive observed in fact that those contractors who are the most devoted to continuing their education are the ones who get the more complicated projects Those projects bring a certain level of prestige making it easier to land the next project and the next one after that The result is that a devotion to continuing education allows a contractor to differentiate himself from his quality competition and that means you compete less on price and more on value Years ago I was speaking with a contractor who was well into his 70s and he told me a story about how he needed to look something up in Architectural Graphic Standards so he fetched his office copy and was astounded to find that his copy was nearly 20 years old He laughed about it pointing out that kind of thing happened when youd been in business as long as he had But he also added ruefully that he probably needed to take a bit of a refresher course He knew that the industry was passing him by a bit and I admired him so much for the delight he took in planning his educational update It was like he was a young person coming into the industry for the first time and he was seeing everything with fresh eyes Thats the kind of benefit you get from continuing education both for you and the people in your company Dont let your job become stale Refresh your approach and take on new challenges For all of us theyre out there and how we meet those challenges with a head of full of education or fearing we wont understand them will reflect on ourselves and our companies for many years to come Modern Trade Communications Inc 8833 Gross Point Rd Suite 308 Skokie IL 60077 Phone 847 674 2200 Fax 847 674 3676 www moderntrade com www metalconstructionnews com Editorial Production Paul Deffenbaugh Editorial Director pdeffenbaugh@ moderntrade com ext 19 Marcy Marro Editor mmarro@ moderntrade com ext 25 Mark Robins Senior Editor mrobins@ moderntrade com ext 27 Christopher Brinckerhoff Associate Editor cbrinckerhoff@ moderntrade com ext 26 Quentin Brown Production Manager qbrown@ moderntrade com ext 28 Grant Kollar Art Director Business Sales John S Lawrence Chief Executive Officer johnlawrence@ moderntrade com John Paul Lawrence President jplawrence@ moderntrade com ext 21 Sarah Lawrence Director of Operations sarahlawrence@ moderntrade com ext 14 Tina Lawrence Treasurer tinalawrence@ moderntrade com Bob Higgins National Sales Manager bobhiggins@ moderntrade com ext 22 Christopher A Janos Regional Sales Manager chrisjanos@ moderntrade com ext 23 Blanca Arteaga Operations Manager barteaga@ moderntrade com ext 20 Rosa Soto Circulation Manager rsoto@ moderntrade com ext 15 Subscriptions For subscription inquiries or changes of address go to www metalconstructionnews com or contact Rosa Soto at rsoto@ moderntrade com or 847 674 2200 Memberships Paul Deffenbaugh Editorial Director pdeffenbaugh@ moderntrade com November 2018 METAL CONSTRUCTION NEWS 3 www metalconstruct ionnews com