Contents Presidents Report January to December 2006 GO to article 8th Biennial Golden Trowel Awards announced GO to article
	PRESIDENT’S REPORT
	January – December 2006 Presented at Annual General Meeting – 15 March 2007
	The past year has seen the Concrete Masonry Association of Australia (CMAA) continue to support and extend the overall masonry market by providing technical information and advice to architects, engineers, specifiers and educators. The CMAA and its membership hold a clear operational vision – increased acceptance of the industry’s products and systems working in partnership with CMAA members, regulatory bodies, educators and customers.

Some of the major activities for the year supporting the achievement of our vision include:

Regulatory

• Representing the industry at some 25 Standards Australia meetings on 16 active main code committees
• Representing the industry to the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) on the Technical Committee and associated working groups in the major area of energy provisions

Building Products Innovation Council (BPIC)

• CMAA is a founding member of BPIC and is represented on the BPIC Board
• BPIC strategic objectives include:
  • Supporting and lobbying government to move towards national consistency in building regulation
  • Being involved at national government policy level on sustainability and all its issues
  • Becoming involved in changes to building products driven by economic and socio-political factors, ie life-cycle assessment issues

Publications

• Revision of MA55 – Design and Construction of Concrete Masonry Buildings
• Revision of MA45 – Concrete Masonry Handbook
• Revision of DS3 – Concrete Masonry Lintels
• Revision of DS4 – Compressive Load Capacity of Concrete Masonry

Education

• Participating in and supporting 13 national seminar presentations
• Participating and presenting expert papers at one international and three national conferences
• Regular liaison with TAFE and national universities
• Provision of a national technical service to member companies and customers
• Development and maintenance of national CMAA web site – most publications are available in downloadable electronic format
• Completion of research project – James Cook University – Truss Cleat Hold Down Capacities

Brick and Blocklaying Initiatives

• CMAA worked closely with the clay industry at the national level to support and endorse the training organisation, Australian Brick and Blocklaying Training Foundation (ABBTF)
• A voluntary training levy system has been introduced in Queensland, NSW, Victoria and South Australia to fund apprentice brick/blocklaying initiatives which are aimed at reducing the current shortages of skilled brick/blocklayers
• I represent CMAA on the ABBTF Board

The activities of the CMAA are geared towards benchmarking a generic approach to principally regulatory, technical and educational issues. In the medium to long term, these activities strengthen the technical and image base of the industry as a whole in a global effort to maintain, support and increase the use of concrete masonry products.

The CMAA achieves its objectives well with limited resources, staffed by a small professional team:

• Alan Pearson, Executive Director
• Tiere Morgan, Administration Manager
• Wilma Robinson, Administrative Officer
• Rod Johnston, Consultant
• Brian Shackel, Consultant
• Bob Lenstra, Consultant

Their professionalism, focus and passion continue to produce results that support and enhance the industry.

Moving Forward

The concrete and masonry industry is currently under considerable pressure from alternative products and this is seen more clearly in those States where building activity is subdued. The continued viability of our industry is dependent on the innovation of its participants and the ability of the industry to educate and provide appropriate tools for architects and engineers to design using masonry.

The CMAA is currently funding two crucial projects:

• Design software for permeable pavements
• Design software for concrete masonry walling

These projects and others are essential to ensure that our relevance as a viable design alternative are stabilised and developed.

Whilst the support of the Sponsoring and General Members, and their staff, is acknowledged and essential to the success of the CMAA, if the industry is to progress and stay relevant then the level of this support may well need to be encouraged and developed.

Colin Kupke
C & M Brick
President
Concrete Masonry Association of Australia
2007


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		8th Biennial Golden Trowel Award
		The Concrete Masonry Association of Australia NSW Promotional Committee in co-operation with TAFE NSW invites TAFE and other bricklaying colleges in Australia to take part in the 8th Biennial Golden Trowel Award. This two-day event is held by the CMAA to encourage excellence among apprentices and recognise the skills of young people in the brick and blocklaying trade.
8th Biennial Competition - 6 to 7 August 2007 TAFE NSW—Illawarra Institute Bricklaying Section Foleys Road Wollongong NSW		For further information see the promotional brochure:
					Promotional brochure
		For details on the benefits of becoming a sponsor, see the Sponsorship brochure:
					Sponsorship brochure

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