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ECA Industry Update
Please Click Here to Enter Your Project

2023 Merit Awards Project Entry

DEADLINE is December 21, 2022

The Chicago Building Congress Merit Awards Committee invites CBC members and non-members to submit entries for CBC's 2023 Merit Awards competition. This program recognizes the most outstanding construction projects from the past three years in the Chicagoland area and surrounding counties.


ENTRY GUIDELINES:

  • Projects must be completed by December 31, 2022.



  • If you have entered a project in the past, you are welcome to enter it again (As long as it is within 3 years of 2022).


Please do not enter the same project in more than one category.

Early Bird pricing ended

December 1, 2022!

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

2023 MEP Innovation Conference 

January 11 -13, 2023 

Austin, TX

NECA, MCAA, and SMACNA have partnered together to host the 2023 MEP Innovation Conference in Austin, TX on January 11-13, 2023. This three-day event will include innovative presentations, collaborative roundtable discussions, and hands-on exhibitor demonstrations highlighting the recent technologies that can improve MEP contractors' productivity and profitability. With over 30 breakout sessions, 5 demos, 4 general sessions, 3 facility tours, and plenty of networking opportunities, this is a pivotal event to learn from the industry's best & brightest!


Sessions Include:

• Bringing Lean Concepts to Fabrication Workstations

• How Taking Your Jobsite Virtual Can Help You Improve Process, Culture, and Strategy

• Running a Business that Intersects Service and Construction Work

• Process Driven Profitability

• Mapping Your Tech Stack: A Practical Guide

Please Click Here for the Veto Session Update

IMSCA Legislative Update

(12/2/2022)

Please click on the link for the IMSCA November 17th Legislative Update. This report includes a review of Week 2 of the 2022 Fall Veto Session. 


If you have any questions, please contact Jessica Newbold Hoselton, Executive Director, Illinois Mechanical & Specialty Contractors Association (IMSCA) at: (217) 523-4361.

First, this Wednesday, December 14th at 11 AM Eastern ELECTRI will host its second IT & Coffee. The topic will be “IT Staffing - Finding the right size for you” –with Matt Lamb, Rosendin’s Chief Information Officer. In this session, Matt will continue to lead this casual interactive conversation so IT staff can get more comfortable with the IT issues and opportunities that come across their desk every day. These conversations are for all size companies. Whether or not you have a dedicated IT person, there can be great value to gained. Please click this link on Wednesday if you want to join the conversion.


Next, many of our Chapter contractors work closely with our ELECTRI partners - Border States, Graybar, Mayer, Sonepar and Wesco. Distributors want to be sure they have the right options in place to meet your members’ business needs. They want to know how ECs reach out to their distributors to order a part, get a spec sheet, or check ship dates.


ELECTRI and NECA are working closely with the National Association of Electrical Distributors on a special project: Contractors: Purchasing and Inquiry Preferences. Working together, we can make progress on the critical matter of supply challenges impacting all electrical contractors and your industry partners. NAED has asked us to reach out to all NECA contractors to gather information about their purchasing preferences. Now we are asking for your help in reaching your chapter members.


Please click here for the link to a simple five-minute survey. Your responses and recommendations can have a real impact on our relationships with our distributor partners.

 

A SMART MOVE – Congratulations! 44 NECA Chapters will each receive a $5,000 Wendt Scholarship credit from ELECTRI simply for offering a NECA education course for their members during 2023. This represents a 37% increase in the number of chapters that applied for an award – including nine first-time recipients.


IT’S A LIFESTYLE – In our recent Think Like A Leader conversation, Randy Maddox, President of Maddox Electric, told ELECTRI that he sees leadership as a lifestyle, not a technique. He describes the company’s commitment to its workforce as central to the firm’s success and explains how doing the right thing – popular or not – is always the right thing. Click here for the full interview.   


THE PROJECT LIFECYCLE – Take a few minutes to listen to ELECTRI’s December 6th Council Room session. Follow Jonathan Marsh (Steel Toe Consulting) as he discussed the value of process mapping, detailed the rules that make mapping valuable, and warned of the pitfalls that can cause process mapping to fail. Here’s the link to a very informative Council Room.


LAST CHANCE – On December 16th, the hotel room block for our January 17-19 Council Meeting will close. Please don’t miss out on getting a room at this fantastic Scottsdale location. Here’s the link to register for the Council meeting and access the Room Reservation form.


KEEPING HIS WORD - In our recent Think Like A Leader interview, Scott Bringmann explains how he relies upon advice he received early in his career – “Your word and your reputation are key.” Scott has led Alcan Electric and Engineering, based in Alaska, and has now prepared the next generation of leaders to continue the firm’s 50+ years of service. Click here for the ELECTRI interview and learn how Scott focuses on keeping his word as an essential part of leading by example.


WHAT DO YOU PREFER? – Many of our contractors work closely with our ELECTRI partners - Border States, Graybar, Mayer, Sonepar and Wesco. Now, we can help them. Distributors want to be sure they have the right options in place to meet your business needs. They want to know how you reach out to your distributors to order a part, get a spec sheet, or check ship dates. ELECTRI and NECA are working closely with the National Association of Electrical Distributors on a special project: Contractors: Purchasing and Inquiry Preferences. Working together, we can make progress on the critical matter of supply challenges impacting all electrical contractors and your industry partners.


Let us know your preferences by completing this five-minute survey. Click here for the link. Feel free to forward the survey link to others in your company who should take part as well. For any questions, please contact Erika TenEyck at NAED. Thank you for your participation!


10 IS THE NUMBER – Our thanks to ELECTRI’s Program Review Committee, guided by Kellie Holland, for its outstanding work to select the research proposals to present to Council for your discussion and vote at our January meeting. Written proposals and videos will be sent out in advance for your review. Please make sure to register now for our Scottsdale meeting. Here’s the link. Your recommendations and your perspective will be essential to a good research portfolio for 2023. 


ELECTRI MONITORS IT ALL – In addition to delivering all of ELECTRI’s outstanding initiatives, the Foundation also takes close care with its finances. Each fiscal year, ELECTRI goes through a comprehensive audit of its assets and expenditures. Click here to review this year’s Report to Stakeholders.

 

ALWAYS THINKING - Karen Bazela, Siemens Regional Sales Director, is enthusiastic about the opportunities and challenges of being a company leader. Her favorite advice? “A leader knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.”  Click here for our Think Like A Leader conversation with Karen Bazela.

 

ELECTRI International Quick Links

 

ELECTRI Meetings    ELECTRI Research    Council Room Sessions    Think Like A Leader

NECA This Week (12/12/22)

Please click on the link for the current edition of "NECA THIS WEEK."
CLICK HERE FOR "NECA THIS WEEK"  (12/12/22)

NECA Government Affairs Update  (12/14/22) --

Independent Contractor Status

Please click the link for a recent update from NECA Government Affairs. Please click the link for a document NECA and IBEW submitted to the Department of Labor regarding the proposed regulation on Independent Contractor Status.


 If you have any questions regarding the update, please reach out to NECA Government Affairs to: Hadlea Bender, Specialist at: (713) 870-8619 / Jared Karbowsky, Director, Government Affairs, National Electrical Contractors Association at: 443-975-2932 

CLICK HERE FOR DOCUMENT

NECA Government Affairs Update  (12/2/22) --

Week in Review

Please click the link for a recent update from NECA Government Affairs. If you have any questions regarding the update, please reach out to NECA Government Affairs to: Hadlea Bender, Specialist at:  (713) 870-8619 / Jared Karbowsky, Director, Government Affairs, National Electrical Contractors Association at: 443-975-2932 

CLICK HERE FOR UPDATE 

NECA Education - Basic Estimating and

Advanced Estimating Strategies Virtual Classroom Programs

NECA Education has announce a number of Basic Estimating and Advanced Estimating Strategies Virtual Classroom programs!

 

Registration is still very limited, so don’t delay!

 

Below are the registration links:

·        Basic Estimating: Monday, January 9 - Tuesday, January 24, 2023 | 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM ET

·        Advanced Estimating Strategies: Monday, January 9 - Thursday January 12, 2023 | 1:00 PM- 4:00 PM

·        Advanced Estimating Strategies: Tuesday, January 17- Friday, January 20, 2023 | 1:00 PM- 4:00 PM

 

Registration for these programs is on a first come, first served basis.

In the event a program sells out and you wish to be added to the wait list for that instance,

please email education@necanet.org

Learn More
Free Webinars through the Employee Assistance Program
Members are invited to take advantage of the free webinars through the Employee Assistance Program.

ECA Members may log-in to the interactive work/life web portal for information on a variety of topics. Webinars are available at any time of day and our mobile app allows employees to access services such as counseling and work life resources right from the palm of their hand.
Follow ECA Chicago on Social Media!
LinkedIn Public Page
In Case you Missed It...
Webinar recordings available online for ECA Members!
If you missed a meeting or webinar by ECA, you can now log-in to the website and view the program you missed. Many recordings are now available, and more will be added daily from webinars held over the past year. Go to www.ecachicago.com and under the "Industry Resources" pull down menu, select "Member Education and Webinar Recordings". You will be prompted to log-in, and then you are free to browse webinar recordings you may have missed. Please contact ECA with questions (708)531-0022.
Stay up to date on the latest changes for our Industry including news releases, legislation and Government mandates, workplace safety and preparation guidelines, OSHA alerts, and more that affect electrical contractors in Chicago and Cook County.
 

SAVE THE DATES



January 11 - 13, 2023

MEP Innovation Conference

Austin, TX


January 17 - 19, 2023

ELECTRI Council

Scottsdale, AZ


January 19, 2023

ECA DEI Committee Program

Hyatt Lodge

Oak Brook, IL 


January 22 - 25, 2023

NECA-IBEW Employee Benefit Conference

St. Pete Beach, FL

 

January 26, 2023

ECA Regular Membership Meeting

Drury Lane Conference Center

Oakbrook Terrace, IL


February 2, 2023

"Crew Level Production Planning and Execution: Set Goals and Win"

Drake Oak Brook Hotel

Oak Brook, IL


February 15, 2023

ECA Regular Membership Meeting

Truluck's

Rosemont, IL

(Dinner Meeting) 


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