b'resident\'sArticle Under the Magnifying Glass By John Stephenson, MRCA President Hopefully,the time you reado crite onalone:PRICE.Bot this;is only atime. byneri itmatter of these words, we will have electedtom d usually gets the jo NotAs many of you, ollarb.know an OSHA the 43rdpresident of theUnitedthe "lowest competitivemindinspection is neither aed bid"welcomStates. No Ieintention ofyou,just thelowest bid,period.or pleasant experience,nyou w,hav noeve if spacepolitica ut. turning thisinto alThelack of scrutiny in this sce are prepared for one.B if you forumforthepurposeofdis nario is obviously n for usare going to cond business in ot gooduct c sing camp schemes or thegood guys, right? Wo youl this industry, you haveobligaus aignuldwe an in es of ourncome such close examination, ortion a atowithin the tricaci electio system,nddutydo so sob r with me.Besides,I\'venot?If so,couldyourproposalrules and regulations man by ea dated alreadyhadenoughofpolitics,pass the test?authorities su as OSHA. These ch yohaven\'tu?I believethat all ofuswouldrulesareoftenconfusingand Mypoint in bringingupthebenefit from su scrutiny, espe extrem burdensome.Would chely presidential election is todrawc in those cases where weyouwelcomesuchscrutiny? iallydo TheMRCAhasyour attentionthe issue of thenot g an o o to presentCoulduthe test? toetpp rtunityyo stand close scrutiny that the bal The g dn isthatthe oo ews programs and toolslots havergoneMRCA haslp for you in each of unde sinceheese available to you thatNovember7.Ahyes,th scenarios. coun r and manualOver theyears, the t,ecountpast several will ensure that yourecount.Examineu aMRCA has introduced ar of ndernumbemagnifying glass, no less,exceptionalB n Manage)are well equipped tousi ess to determine the "intent" ofment forms for use by members. ~stand the test.the voteronThe forms include numerous bid basedwhether or not someth called aproposalforms andwarranties. ing "ch is pregn orThese forms are available to our ad"ant dimpled.m bers in booklet or disk form emObviously, a presi from the MRCA office or on-line in dential election is ari- the MRCA"Members Only"secseo issue,anditistion at www.mrca.org. I urge yusou important thatall properlyexe ourin p Toto carefully review these forms and proposalserson.stand cuted b are counte On onethetest, our bids must bethor considerimplementingthemin allotsd. hand,the Republicanswanttheough, must meet a of the require their entiretyorby incorporating ll recountsstopped,whileonthementsoftheproject,whetherthe appropriateage into your languoth hand theDe wantspecifiedordefinedbyexistingown proposals, contracts and warermocrats them toOne side fearsconditions and must be presentedranties.e ofl continue.Us the proposa forms losing votes, the other certain th inunderstandablefashionusingcan at least ensu that your proeyre willgain.One sidewelcomescontra termsthat a fairandposals are presented in reasonable ctre scrutiny,other rejects it.e itable to alles.is meanstermsandtheMRCAwarranty thequ parti ThSo, what does this h to dothat we must be responsibleforms are second tonone,each aveand with roofing? Well, let\'s look at anprofessional contractors.affording the contractortection proexam where I think most of usN let\'slook at anexamplefromarranted claims. pleow,unwwouldwelcomes closewherewemightrejectcloseEvenmoregood news for our uch scrutiny: T Competitive Bid.scrutiny: The OSHA Inspection.membersis th the high sucheatly waswou wagerbe thatnd Whenthe last time you hadIldatthe vastcessful a well-respected MRCA one of your proposals examined inmajority of you have had at leastSHAR p am is undergoing Progrde il by aential customer? Ifonewith OSHA in theIfsign icantc e.Overthe ta pot brushpast.if hangyou\'re keand like many con youhavebeenfortunateenoughcou of theseveral weeks, li me,rsenext tractors I talkr ng pro (lucky) to avoid su event, youMRCA willbe finalizingplans to to, mostoofi ch an p ls arelyzedthearetrulyblessed.B consider osa ana onbasis ofut Continuedpage 4 on'