The purpose of MOCA:
- To raise awareness & promote the use of magnesium oxide cement construction products.
- To increase the knowledge of MgO cements using accredited tests and research programs.
- To develop the MOCA standard(s) for MgO boards used in construction
- To work closely with regulatory bodies to gain acceptance in the appropriate sections of the building codes
MOCA has 4 main tasks:
1 – Develop Current Standards.
Standards Development. MOCA initiated and chairs task groups under ASTM E06.21.23 sub-committee. This ongoing work is separated into 3 interrelated groups focused on:
- Raw materials standards WK63286
- Board testing standards WK61472
- Uses, sizes, types and related standards. WK currently being formed
ASTM is a consensus based standards association with global acceptance. Membership and meetings are open to everyone, the task groups meet bi-annually in March and October as part of committee week. We invite interested parties to join ASTM and our task groups and assist us in creating robust standards that will allow this industry to thrive and prosper.
As a sweetener ASTM membership, at $75 per year, comes bundled with a complete volume of standards.
MOCA also develops its own standards which allows us to quickly respond to new business opportunities for our members.
MOCA is collaborating with Canadian Construction Materials Council CCMC to have a Tech Guide issued to MOCA which will then be available to members under a sub-license.
2 – Provide a Quality Assured supply channel for members
Quality Assurance. For several years MOCA has participated in the bi-annual meetings held by CMMA, visited many factories, testing labs and related entities. Our China office is located in Jinan, Shandong and is headed by Linjing Zhao is is also a Director and VP for international affairs at CMMA. MOCA relies on CMMA to provide information and resources to jointly improve the consistency and quality for exported boards. CMMA’s vested interest is to grow exports which have been hampered by repeated quality issues. We have a mutual interest in managing the consistency and quality of boards bound for export markets.
The MOCA system uses multiple factories approved by CMMA who have QA manuals consistent with ISO9001. Appropriate raw materials, formula, in-house testing and curing schedules are fully documented. After a minimum of 2 weeks curing an independent agent collects samples and takes them to the CMMA testing lab accredited through CNAS to ILAC meeting all ISO 17025 requirements. Orders that pass 8 tests* are visually inspected with the MOCA mark applied under supervision of CMMA.
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3 – Engage with related associations to increase awareness and markets for MOCA certified boards
Association relationships. This work is in its infancy, to date MOCA has participated in events with AWCI, SIPA, BOABC, ABOA, etc
It is our plan to increase this outreach as a way to introduce mago panels to more potential customers. MOCA members are invited to participate in industry trade shows and conferences.
4 – Develop Best Practices
As member companies share insights of what works and what doesn’t MOCA facilitates the distribution of this information to interested users. Mago panels are new to industry product that work best when handled, installed and finished appropriately. Fewer problems will increase the number of happy users.
