CFA Board Drives Forward Towards 2015

Top 10 Current CFA Board and Staff Work Initiatives   An energized meeting of the CFA Board took place recently in Washington DC during the Fall ACI Convention. Board members not only participated in afternoon scheduled to steer the next months of the CFA, they also participated in the new ACI committee for Foundation Certification […]

OSHA Extends Compliance Date for Crane Operator Certification Requirements

Industry News OSHA Extends Compliance Date for Crane Operator Certification Requirements WASHINGTON – The Occupational Safety and Health Administration today issued a final rule extending the deadline for crane operator certification requirements in the Cranes and Derricks in Construction final rule* published Aug. 9, 2010 by three years to Nov. 10, 2017. The rule also […]

Identify Your Employees by the Theory of 21

“FOR EVERY PERSON WHO WILL SAY YES, THERE ARE TWENTY WHO WILL SAY NO. FOR A POSITIVE RESPONSE YOU MUST FIND THE TWENTY-FIRST PERSON.” – THE THEORY OF 21 by Chuck Reaves The CEO of an electronics company had an idea. He was a solid business person but was not as well-versed in electronics as […]

Letter from the Director: We’ve Learned Our Lessons – and Now We Are Stronger

This month’s letter from the CFA Executive Director: We’ve Learned Our Lessons – and Now We are Stronger Another winter is on its way but otherwise things are heating up in the residential concrete industry. Growth is slower than we would like to see but the trend is there. Credit is tighter (as it should […]

Letter from the President: Learning from One Another…Being Friends

This month’s letter from the CFA Board President: Learning From One Another…Being Friends David Martinson Martinson Construction davem@martinsonconstruction.com   It gives me great pleasure to write to you as your president. As a third generation concrete contractor and a member since 1993, I have experienced first-hand what the Concrete Foundation Association has to offer. It was […]

Management Corner: Drug and Alcohol Testing Clearinghouse Comments

CFA MEMBER, FOLEY CARRIER SERVICES HAS SUBMITTED COMMENTS TO THE FEDERAL MOTOR CARRIER SAFETY ADMINISTRATION REGARDING THE PROPOSED DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING CLEARINGHOUSE. While there was a lot to like about the rules, they feel that FMCSA needs to make some practical changes before they are ready. This update is republished from their Fast-FaxTM to keep you better […]

40 Years of Evolution Another Milestone

The CFA will celebrate its 40th year of service to the residential concrete foundation industry at this year’s Summer Convention in Sandusky, Ohio. I have been with the CFA for just over half of that time. During that period, a lot has happened to the nation; the concrete industry; technology; our member businesses, and the […]

This Experience Has Served Me

Isn’t it enjoyable to see good people do good work? We are blessed to have a strong team of impressive individuals at our foundation company. Our team has a nice blend of people in different stages of their lives, and their careers. To be successful, we need a mix of new learners, skilled workers, coordinators, […]

CFA Foundation Fundamentals

Positive Drainage…Curing Compound…Fluid Pressure? What were those words the foundation contractor used during our meeting yesterday? Construction projects, like so many other business endeavors, are not without communication problems between parties. Many are associated with terminology that is common to the contractor, yet distinctly foreign to the customer or owner. Although the following list of […]

Contractor’s Footing-Form Innovation Becomes a Competitive Advantage

Published by Concrete Contractor Magazine, April 23, 2014   In the early 1990s Barry Herbert, then president of Otsego, Mich.,-based concrete contractor Herbert Construction Co., learned an alternative method for forming footings. Barry spoke with Ron Colvin, a concrete contractor from Berrien Springs, Mich. about footing construction. The two had become friends through their membership with the Concrete Foundations Association of North […]