Avenues to stay engaged and informed

By Jenny Yu.  

Learn how the Metal Construction Association is working to help contractors and manufacturers navigate evolving standards and market demands. 

As metal roofing continues to gain market share across residential and commercial construction, the Metal Construction Association (MCA) is expanding its efforts around workforce development, code advocacy and resilient building practices. 

In this episode of MetalCast™, MCA Executive Director Jeff Henry discussed how evolving regulations and increasing demand are reshaping the metal construction industry. He emphasized the importance of industry involvement as lawmakers and regulatory agencies continue developing new requirements. 

“Having influence on where things are headed, having lawmakers and their legislators, regulatory bodies, understand what the burden is, as well as being able to design systems for meeting the requirements that are achievable, is important,” Henry said. “It’s important that we have a voice in those projects.” 

Henry noted that growth in metal roofing adoption is especially strong in the residential re-roofing market, increasing the need for proper installation training and contractor education. “Especially in the re-roof residential sector, metal’s share is growing quickly,” Henry stated. “We've seen similar growth in the commercial and industrial side of the business as well, so we need to be sure that we have people that are installing these products correctly.” 

To support that goal, MCA is continuing to invest in workforce development and contractor training initiatives. Henry said MCA’s education efforts are designed to complement broader industry certification programs. “Our vision is that the training that we provide will feed people into the NRCA Pro Certification Program,” he said. “We'll work with other contractor groups as well to be sure that we're advocating and teaching the skills in a way that meets what we believe is best practice.” 

Resiliency and performance standards also remain major priorities for the association. Henry pointed to MCA’s ongoing work around edge metal standards, wildfire-resistant assemblies and code proposals designed to improve roofing system performance during severe weather events. “That's the main goal, right? It's not just about selling a product; it's about how we make a roofing assembly more effective and perform better, especially in weather-related events,” Henry said.  

Henry added that industry collaboration will be critical as labor shortages, evolving regulations and climate-related challenges continue to impact construction. “The world we engage in, the industry we engage in, is growing more complex all the time,” Henry said. “Association engagement, be it MCA or any others, provides fabulous avenues to stay informed. People who are actively engaged see the direct benefit of that right away.” 

Read the previous article in this series, Listen to the podcast or Watch the recording to hear more insights on codes, workforce development and the future of metal construction.