The NECA Boston/IBEW Local 103 Industry Night and Foreman Training Update was held at the Local 103 Union Hall on February 7. The event featured a trade show, product demonstrations, seminars, and a keynote address by Mark Breslin, principal of Breslin Strategies, Inc. It was attended by nearly 500 electrical and telecom contractors, foremen, field supervisors, project managers, and estimators.
Exhibitors included electrical and telecommunications industry manufacturers and distributors: Accu-Tech, Appleton Electric, Commscope, DBI-Sala Fall Protection, Erickson Temporary Power, Graybar, Greenlee Utility Division, Greenlee Tools Electrical Division, Honeywell Fire Alarms, Klein Tools, Milwaukee Tools, Riverside Protective Apparel, Salisbury PPE, and Southwire-Maxis.
Wentworth Institute of Technology and the Arioch Center at Wentworth also exhibited. The engineering college is partnering with NECA Boston Chapter, offering an Advanced Training for Construction Management continuing education program and an annual scholarship program. The Arioch Center @ Wentworth has also joined forces with IBEW Local 103, NECA and JATC Boston to offer an Associates Degree program in Applied Science in Engineering Technology (AENT) to graduates of the JATC Inside Wiremen Apprenticeship Program
The diverse educational component of the event, which also served as a Foreman Training Update session, included a seminar conducted by Lutron Electronics, an industry leader in lighting control systems. Appleton Electric provided a product demonstration of fittings and lighting in hazardous locations. Milwaukee Tools presented a new product demonstration on innovations in electrical tools. Salisbury provided a presentation on ARC flash protection and PPE. And, DBI-Sala discussed hands-on site-specific issues relating to fall protection equipment.
Breslin, a 4th generation construction contractor, has also served as the CEO of the Engineering and Utility Contractors Assn., presented a seminar, "Foreman 101 - Our Road to The Future." The presentation centered around electrical industry foremen being professional leaders and high performance motivators, as well as coaches and mentors. He discussed the numerous critical aspects of electrical industry projects for which foremen and women are responsible: safety, materials, labor, training, schedules, client satisfaction and profit. As such, he focused on the importance to encourage innovation, boost morale, and reward productivity.