Kim Flowers, VP of Technical Services for Southern Company Services, discusses the impact of regulatory changes on her company during the Southeast Area Tripartite Conference last April.
THIS YEAR, REGIONAL tripartite conferences will again draw leaders from the Boilermaker, contractor, and owner communities together in a mutual effort to identify and resolve issues within the Boilermaker construction industry. Similar in function to the annual general tripartite conference hosted by MOST, the regional events have a sharper focus within geographical areas of the country and the specific challenges those areas present.
In 2012, much of the attention at U.S. conferences naturally turned to the looming general elections and the struggling economy. Slow work, EPA regulations, green energy, and cheap natural gas were high-profile topics, too. Ongoing issues such as jobsite safety, manpower needs, and utilization of MOST programs remind participants of the need to continually work to ensure the Boilermaker craft is positioned at the very top of the industry, offering unmatched performance and value.
At the Eastern Canada Tripartite Conference, held in Baddeck, Nova Scotia, August 19-21, a key issue was not slow work but how to meet manpower needs for the country’s booming construction trend.
Other regional meetings are held in the Southeast, Northeast, Western States, Ohio Valley, Great Lakes, and Upper Midwest.
The Ohio Valley Tripartite Conference is the longest-running meeting of this kind, dating back to the 1980s. It is credited with being an early inspiration for the national tripartite initiative.
