Vol. 5, No. 25 – December 4, 2006 

 

 

TWO TIMELY EDUCATION PROGRAMS IN DECEMBER

 

Forklift Training: New Information & Triennial Evaluations

Thursday, December 14, 2006 – 1:00 pm EST

 

In December’s Training without Travel Teleconference, NLBMDA will discuss all you need to know about OSHA's rules for proper forklift use and training. If your company utilizes forklifts in daily business operation, this seminar is ideal for you. We will cover a variety of issues including compliance enforcement and operator qualifications, as well as the rules and standards surrounding triennial forklift evaluations. We will also delve into what qualifications OSHA mandates trainers need to administer forklift training.

 

Don’t leave your company vulnerable to an OSHA citation for improper forklift use, register for NLBMDA’s December teleconference today!

 

To download a registration form, go to: http://www.dealer.org/docs/TelReg12-14.pdf

 

Energy and Noise Solutions Day

Tuesday, December 19, 2006 – 11:00 a.m. CST

 

Owens Corning is sponsoring a program from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. for builders, contractors, distributors and lumber dealers at the Kansas City Insulation Plant, 273 Sunshine Rd., Kansas City, KS 66115. The day will include a plant tour, education, lunch and great giveaways. For more information, contact your Owens Corning representative.

 

 

MLA Offers Popular Estimating Workshops

 

MLA is pleased to announce that we have engaged Mike Butts, LBM Solutions, to provide our popular estimating training in 2007. Mike is one of the most recognized trainers in the lumber and building material industry. The training will be offered in Wichita, Kan. on Feb. 20-21 and in St. Louis, Mo. on March 6-7.

 

Day 1 leads participants through a typical blueprint format, scale and content. Students will develop an understanding of architectural symbols such as wood, concrete, insulation and electrical schedules, knee walls, wall sections and cantilevered joists. They’ll also learn about “specification and general notes” – their necessity, importance and how they relate to retail sales. In addition, the seminar teaches participants how to approach reading a blueprint to ensure thoroughness and accuracy when completing an estimate of materials.

 

Day 2 focuses on the skills necessary to calculate the framing lumber requirements of the complete shell of the house through comprehensive study of each construction item. Included in this is a review of contemporary “cut roofs” and their unique estimating requirements. Attendance at Day 1 is mandatory for attending Day 2 or the student must have proficiency at reading blueprints.

 

Mike Butts is the founder and President of LBM Solutions.  His abilities and experience have been called "unsurpassed by other consulting firms in the industry.”  His experience has been gained through extensive work in the field at "street level," implementing the programs and practices he teaches.

 

When/Where:

 

February 20-21 – Wichita at The Best Western Airport Inn & Conference Center

March 6-7 – St. Louis at the Embassy Suites Hotel St. Louis Airport

 

Member Pricing:

• Sign up for Day 1 or Day 2 separately at $225 per day.

• Two-day workshop package - $395 for the first person from a member firm -- $375 each for additional personnel.

• Sign up by February 1 – a $50 per person surcharge will be added for late registrants.

Nonmember pricing is available.

 

Complete information and registration forms are available upon request from MLA at 800-747-6529. Or, simply reply to this email and we’ll send complete information today! Information and a registration form also are available at www.themla.com.

 

Note: Attendance at Day 1 is mandatory for attending Day 2 unless person has proficiency at reading blueprints.

 

 

 

 

OSHA Cites Building-Products Supplier in Fatal Forklift Incident

 

A building-products supplier faces $47,000 in proposed fines from OSHA. The company was cited for two alleged serious and two alleged repeat violations of safety standards for the use of forklifts following the March 17 death of a worker who was crushed between a load of drywall on a forklift truck and a stack of drywall boards.

 

OSHA’s inspection found that the forklift truck’s brakes had not been set to prevent its movement, and several employees who operated forklift trucks had not been trained to operate the vehicles safely.

 

Two serious citations carrying $12,000 in proposed penalties were issued for these conditions. OSHA issues a serious citation when death or serious physical harm is likely to result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.

 

Two repeat citations carrying $35,000 in fines were issued for failure to inspect forklift trucks daily and for failure to identify any defects and to remove a defective forklift truck from service. A repeat citation is issued when an employer has been cited for a substantially similar hazard in the past and that citation has become final. The company was cited in March 2005 for similar hazards.

 

“The OSHA standard governing forklift trucks is specific and stringent,” said Brenda Gorden, OSHA’s area director for Southeastern Massachusetts. “It requires that employees be effectively trained and equipment be inspected and kept in proper working order. Failure to ensure these safeguards leaves employees vulnerable to accidents such as this one.”

 

Source: JJ Keller and Wisconsin Retail Lumber Association, November 2006

 

LUMBER NEWS – QUICK GLIMPSES

 

Changes Coming for Business Travelers… The U.S. State Department recently ruled that PASS cards, a portion of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), could be sold to American travelers and work similar to a passport. The card would be used for land and sea travel to Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean and the wait to receive one would be four to six weeks.   The WHTI is a government plan to circumvent the difficulties imposed on international travelers by the Intelligence Reform Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, which requires citizens of the United States, Canada, the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda and Mexico to have a passport or other designated document that establishes the bearer's identity and nationality to enter or re-enter the United States. PASS cards will be equipped with radio frequency ID (RFID) technology that would make it readable from 20-30 feet away from a crossing point. The government hopes that PASS cards will allow legitimate business travelers to move across borders more easily but still maintain the nation's borders and security requirements.   The card would cost $45 for adults and $35 for children and would be about the size of a credit card.   Source: NACM and Department of Homeland Security, November 21, 2006   Mortgage Rates Take a Tumble… According to the chief economist for federal mortgage giant Freddie Mac, mortgage rates, which tumbled to their lowest levels in eight months Thursday – 6.24 percent for a fixed-rate 30-year loan – will average 6.5 percent next year. That represents improved news for a national housing market he believes will bottom out during the first quarter of 2007 and see sustained positive indicators about midyear.   Though high compared to the historically low rates of 2003, 2004 and much of 2005, 6.5 percent "is still a pretty low rate," Nothaft said in a telephone interview. "And you can expect the economy to continue to expand, and there's no recession forecast for 2007."   Source: Builder Business Online Update and Jim Wasserman, The Sacramento Bee, Calif., November 21, 2006   Duty Refund Goes to Western Forest Products… Western Forest Products Inc. received the nearly $110 million softwood lumber countervail and anti-dumping duty deposits refund Friday, which comprises almost all of the funds the Company is entitled to under the agreement.   Source: LBM Daily, November 27, 2006   Kansas News… By a vote of 47 to 31, state Rep. Melvin Neufeld, R-Ingalls, was elected Speaker of the Kansas House today over Rep. Kenny Wilk, R-Lansing.   Source: Hawver’s Capitol Flash, December 4, 2006   Pending Home Sales Indicate Market Stabilization… Pending home sales are hovering in a narrow range, another indication that stabilization is occurring in the housing sector, according to the National Association of Realtors®.   The Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed in October, slipped 1.7 percent to a reading of 107.2 and is 13.2 percent lower than October 2005.  The index had trended up from a cyclical low of 105.6 in July, and a decline from year-ago levels is narrowing.  In September, the index was 13.6 percent below a year earlier, while in August the decline was 14.0 percent.   David Lereah, NAR’s chief economist, said a fairly steady pace of home sales can be expected for the next two months.  “It’s important to focus on where the housing market is now – it appears to be stabilizing, and comparisons with an unsustainable boom mask the fact that home sales remain historically high – they’ll stay that way through 2007,” he said.  “In addition, a temporary correction in prices distracts from the fact that it is primarily the number of home sales that affects the economy, and the number for this year will be the third highest on record.”   The index is a leading indicator for the housing sector, based on pending sales of existing homes.  A sale is listed as pending when the contract has been signed and the transaction has not closed, but the sale usually is finalized within one or two months of signing.   Source: National Association of Realtors, December 4, 2006

 

MEMBER NEWS

 

Brad Isdell, Town & Country Building Supply, Higginsville, proudly announced today that Owen Derald Isdell arrived at 11:51 a.m. on Monday, December 4, 2006.  He is 19 1/2" long and weighs 6 lbs 13 oz.

 

Mom Jennifer and Baby Isdell are both doing fine and resting comfortably at the Medical Center of Independence. MLA joins in celebrating the birth!

 

 

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY