IN MEMORIAM: Long-time industry colleague, Dennis Haatvedt, passed away on March 23 at the far too early age of 58. Dennis was diagnosed with brain cancer about a year ago. Dennis was a long-term director with the Architectural Glass & Metal Contractors Association and for the last year of his working life, he served as their Executive Director. Prior to that, he spent about 35 years with AGC Glass, many of those as head of their glass shop division. Dennis was one of the good guys in our industry and he will be truly missed.

Barbara Jones, wife of Al Jones for the past 66 years and mother of Steven Jones of Parkway Glass, left us on April 10. Al worked for Sealite Glass back in the late 50s and early 60s. Both Mr. and Mrs. Jones have been close to many in the industry for more than a half century.

CLA UPDATE: We’ve been duped. For where things stand please check out Frank Fulton’s You Bet Your Glass column in Glass Canada Magazine.

SPRING SEMINAR: On Wednesday, April 12, 2017, Sergei Mihhailenko, P.Eng, and Les Szcepanski, P.Eng., presented an informative and entertaining presentation on the application of the new “CSA A500-16 Building Guards” standard at the Richmond Hill Golf Club. The standard, which will soon be adopted into building codes across Canada, governs the use of glass in railings and balustrades. The OGMA extends its appreciation to our co-sponsors for this event, Trulite Glass & Aluminum Solutions and Kuraray America Inc. Over 100 people from across Ontario attended.

TOP GLASS: OGMA welcomed members and visitors to this year’s Top Glass event held on Thursday, April 20, 2017. The show was the largest to date, was well run with many informative presentations and a lot of enthusiastic traffic. Everybody who’s anybody was there, including many glass industry dignitaries.

Angelo Cairo, OGMA President, and Steve Gusterson, OGMA Director, presented the 2017 OGMA Award of Excellence in Architectural Glass & Metal Execution to Noram Building Systems for their work on the Vaughan Civic Centre Resource Library in Vaughan, Ontario.  The 2017 OGMA Award of Excellence in Architectural Glass & Metal Design was presented to the team at Diamond Schmitt Architects for their work on Lazaridis Hall, Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario.

SPRING GOLF: OGMA members have had nothing but rave reviews for the Pipers Heath Golf Club so we’re going to be holding our spring golf tournament there again on Thursday, May 25, 2017. Watch out for the flyer and make sure to book early. It’s always a sellout.

FISHING DERBY: Our annual fishing derby is back by popular demand. Plan on attending on August 10, 2017. Mark your calendar now, consider booking a boat for your company and a group of your best customers, and watch your email for details.

FALL GOLF: The OGMA will once again hold our fall tournament at the prestigious Country Club in Woodbridge on Thursday, September 21, 2017. Mark your calendar now. Details will follow as the date approaches.

AODA’s NEXT HURDLE: Companies had until the end of 2016 to put accessibility policies and procedures in place for the communication of information and employment practices. To find out your legal obligations, go to https://www.ontario.ca/page/accessibility-laws, then contact WSPS to help you put it in place if you have not done so already.

OGMA/WSPS SAFETY PLAN: If your company isn’t managing your workplace safety policies, if you have any injured employees on WSIB (40% penalty per dollar of wages), or if you are found liable for a workplace accident (average penalty between $60k-$120k), we have developed a program to assist you.

For the past three or four years, the OGMA has worked with WSPS to create a health and safety plan designed specifically for glass shops and glazing contractors. WSPS is offering its plan to OGMA members for about half what they usually charge for similar plans; the companies who have signed on so far have had nothing but great reviews for the program.

It’s a matter of time when, not if, you will have any accidents or fines. Being proactive, being up to date, being compliant with all the workplace legislation is a job you don’t have time to do, so let WSPS manage a big chunk of it for you. It’s a small price to pay for a lot of insurance. Contact the OGMA and we’ll provide you with contact details.

Categories: OGMA News