ARLINGTON, VA – The National Maintenance Agreements Policy Committee, Inc. (NMAPC) – which administers the National Maintenance Agreements (NMA), a widely used series of project labor agreements in the U.S. union construction and industrial maintenance industry – today unveiled NMA I.Q., a revolutionary "e-learning" training and education system available for free to the public at www.nmaiq.org.
NMA I.Q. is the web-based resource for "all things NMA." It is designed for newcomers and industry veterans alike, and equally useful to all members of the tripartite community – contractors, building trades unions and owner-clients. It offers easy-to-follow online tutorials and short videos on virtually every aspect of the NMA, from a "How does it work?" general overview to detailed instructions and explanations on more technical aspects of the Agreements. No prior experience with the NMA is required; just go to www.nmaiq.org and start exploring.
"Virtually any question about the NMA that begins with 'how' or 'why,' NMA I.Q. has the answer," said Steve Lindauer, Impartial Secretary and CEO of the NMAPC.
"The purpose of NMA I.Q. is to make the NMAPC Program as transparent as possible and eliminate many of the misconceptions that exist about our industry as a whole," added Bob Hoover, Vice President of Matrix North American Construction and Vice President/Management Co-Chair of the NMAPC.
In addition to demystifying how the NMA works, NMA I.Q.'s free online format means the information is available 24/7 to anyone with a computer, tablet or smartphone. Young people interested in careers in union construction and maintenance can learn about the NMA at their own pace and schedule. "Organizations that have the ability to not only preserve institutional knowledge, but also pass it along to future generations in a practical and open manner, will be successful," Hoover said.
"Although we have been enormously successful over the years, the NMAPC Program is still one of the best-kept secrets in the industry," said Michael Pleasant, Assistant General President of the United Association of Plumbers & Pipefitters and President/Labor Co-Chair of the NMAPC. "For instance, very few people outside of the organization know that on average, more than 59 million work hours are performed using the NMA in any given year. In addition to being a great education and training resource, NMA I.Q. will also serve as a powerful marketing and promotional tool as we in the building trades, in cooperation with our contractor partners, seek to grow our market share and convince more owner-clients to use the NMA."
"The NMAPC has been breaking down barriers since it was created more than four decades ago," said Lindauer. "Our goal has always been to bring contractors, unions and owner-clients closer together by replacing confusion and mistrust with cooperation and honesty. Now, with NMA I.Q., we're breaking down a different set of barriers – those that separate the people in our industry, and the public as a whole, from the information they need to use and understand the NMA. We've gotten rid of the gatekeepers. The knowledge is available to anyone who wants to learn. It's an exciting new era, and everyone at the NMAPC is proud to be part of it."
