What do we say to those men and women who fought for our freedom?Words cannot describe the tears that are shed as we watch those we love go off to defend our country.Words cannot describe the worry etched on a parent’s face, the dried tears on a spouse's pillow, the longing look at kids who have both parents safely at home.There are two words that… read more
Accidents occur for many reasons. In most jobsites people tend to look for "things" or “people” to blame when an accident happens, because it's easier than looking for "root causes,"Failure to Pre-Plan the Work:There is a lot of talk today about Job Hazard Analysis. JHA's are an effective way to figure out the smartest ways to work safely and… read more
Mobile (also known as rolling) scaffold setups require you to use the same common sense safety rules that apply to the use of stationary upright scaffolding. You should always keep the planks clean; never overload the unit and watch where you are walking.In addition, they require a separate set of cautions that are particular to their design.… read more
Source: WFAA 8Students often hear about the necessity of going to college. But Wednesday, a large group of DFW area students heard an alternative message – you don't need to go to college to get a great career.They filed into a cavernous warehouse where hundreds of skilled laborers of all sorts hammered and welded and sawed. It was a demonstration… read more
Our national security and energy independence are at risk because the United States has yet to address workforce issues critical to the Texas Gulf Coast. Let me explain.I recently attended a conference in which two very informative speakers shared their perspectives on the oil and petrochemical industries. The first speaker gave an eye-opening… read more
Notice to Supervisors: Read and be prepared to answer questions. Every employee should know to report near misses to their immediate supervisor.At the Marek Family of Companies we expect everyone to report unsafe conditions and actions, as stated in PROJECT SAFE. A near miss is always considered an unsafe condition that needs immediate… read more
Notice to Supervisors: Read and prepare for safety meeting. Make sure all employees understand the importance of following our Hazard Analysis and the procedures to work around sprinkler and electrical areas. Electricity has long been recognized as a serious workplace hazard, exposing employees to such dangers as electrical shock, electrocution,… read more
In any company, whether differences among members are great or small, functioning as a team is critical to success.In today’s meeting, we want to focus on behaviors that violate these principles in the worst way. We are speaking of verbal and physical confrontations, more commonly known as "having words” and fighting.Our company’s response to… read more
Marek Dallas Division President John Hinson wrote the following President’s Message for AWCI's Construction Dimension magazine. Hinson is the 2015-2016 President of AWCI.I am privileged to attend several regional association events throughout the coming year in my term as president of the Association of the Wall and Ceiling Industry, and I hope to… read more
Working in confined spaces can be pretty common in construction. If you’ve ever had to run conduit in a crawl space or install insulation in a cramped attic, you have worked in a confined space. If that crawl space or attic had some kind of hazard in it- such as volatile fumes from spry insulation or high temperatures caused by the heat of a… read more
Bob NoPay has a problem that affects a lot of employees; he is speaking to his Production Manager on Friday about a short check. When all the facts are reviewed, Bob finds out that his attendance is the problem, not a clerical error from his foreman or payroll.Absenteeism impacts the Marek Family of Companies in many ways. Your foreman and… read more
Marek Dallas Division President John Hinson wrote the following President’s Message for AWCI's Construction Dimension magazine. Hinson is the 2015-2016 President of AWCI.I am honored to serve our industry for the next 12 months as president of the Association of the Wall and Ceiling Industry. I have worked in the wall and ceiling… read more
Source: SpringISD.orgStudents from the technology academy at Carl Wunsche Sr. High School gave a loud round of applause as representatives from Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) delivered boxes of construction supplies last week. The boxes contained a donation of hard hats, gloves, safety glasses and reflective vests for students to use… read more
On August 21, 2015, Marek recognized our outstanding partners in the industry for 2015. Each year, Marek awards a General Contractor, Architect, and Supplier, Vendor, and Manufacturer of the Year to honor our partners whose work quality, professionalism, and innovation demonstrate the integrity each company brings to the entire construction… read more
Noise is one of the most common health problems in workplaces today. Right now, about 30 million workers are exposed to high noise levels. If you’re one of those workers, you may be losing some of your hearing. And, you might not realize it until it’s too late!!!Most of us take hearing for granted. When we go home at the end of a workday and when… read more
Let's take a quick test. How many basic senses do we have at birth? Name them. Is it one.... two.... four? I'm sure we all agree the answer is FIVE. These five senses are SIGHT, HEARING, TASTE, TOUCH and SMELL. If you were faced with sacrificing four of these five basic senses, which ones would you keep? Most people would keep their sense of SIGHT… read more
Marek Dallas Division President John Hinson wrote the following President’s Message for AWCI's Construction Dimension magazine. Hinson is the 2015-2016 President of AWCI.I take great pleasure in complementing our craftsmen’s work. They have the talent and artistic ability to build today’s landmarks, and it takes years of training and… read more
A chop saw is essentially a lightweight circular saw mounted on a spring-loaded pivoting arm, and supported by a metal base. Chop saws are considered the best saw to get very exact, square cuts. Compound miter saws have been developed due to the limited cutting capacity of the chop saw. These are basically chop saws that can make bevel cuts as… read more
Safety rules are a nuisance. They restrict you from doing what you want to do in the way you want to do it. You would think that the person who wrote safety rules must have been an old fuddy-duddy who couldn't stand to see people having fun--that they sat down with their aching corns and wrote the safety rules much the way some musicians compose… read more