Photo courtesy of Tecta America Central Florida, Sanford, Fla. 
Photo courtesy of D.C. Taylor, Cedar Rapids, Iowa 
Photo courtesy of DRI Cos., Irvine, Calif. 
Photo courtesy of GMS Roofing, Ephrata, Pa. 
When LEED® was founded by the U.S. Green Building Council in 2001, one of its primary objectives was to "transform the built environment." Looking back at the past 10 years, signs of this transformation are obvious: 10,000 LEED buildings have been certified across the globe; more than 100,000 LEED Accredited Professionals have been certified; and almost every building material supplier offers some type of LEED checklist for its products. It is rare to encounter roofing contractors who aren't involved with a LEED project or LEED-based requirements for roof systems.
But 10 years ago, the beginning of the green building transformation was less obvious. In the same way, it may also be easy to overlook the beginning of a similar transformation taking place in the roofing industry.
A year ago, I had the opportunity to introduce Professional Roofing readers to a new sustainable rating system for roofs called RoofPoint (see "A roof rating system," December 2010 issue, page 24). RoofPoint was developed by the Center for Environmental Innovation in Roofing and, like LEED, embraces a goal of transformation. During its first year, RoofPoint has demonstrated its potential to change the roofing industry.
A new way of thinking
Since its inception, RoofPoint has had:
Photo courtesy of Tecta America Central Florida, Sanford, Fla. RoofPoint's process-based requirements delineate a path to be followed rather than an arbitrary measure of performance or physical attribute. |
Most important, RoofPoint is helping fulfill a long-awaited need for comprehensive roof system standards by introducing a new way of thinking about standards. For many years, roofing professionals have argued about the value of prescriptive versus performance standards with credible advocates on each side of the debate. But RoofPoint cuts through this argument by introducing a new approach: process-based standards.
Drawing on management principles used in modern quality standards, such as ISO 9000, RoofPoint's process-based requirements delineate a path to be followed rather than an arbitrary measure of performance or physical attribute.
For example, RoofPoint Durability Credit D3 Roof Traffic Protection does not specify where and how many walkway pads should be installed on a roof or how many pounds of force the roof surface must resist. Instead, the credit requires the roofing project team to develop, implement and document a comprehensive traffic management plan that can employ a wide variety of protective measures.
A similar approach is incorporated in RoofPoint credits addressing project moisture management, installation quality assurance, roof drainage, durability enhancements and roof asset management.
The primary benefits of using process-based standards include a team approach to roof system design and the development of tailored solutions for every roofing situation. Process-based standards also encourage continuous improvement, in effect setting a self-raising bar for roof system performance.
Additionally, though RoofPoint originally was designed to recognize only the best in sustainable roofing practices, the projects identified during the pilot program have demonstrated how many of these best practices actually are employed every day on thousands of roof systems across the U.S.
For example, consider the pilot program results for RoofPoint Credit E1 High R Roof Insulation. When this credit was undergoing public review, several industry stakeholders expressed concern that the R-value requirements were too high to realistically be applied on a wide variety of roof systems and may not be economically justifiable for building owners. But the pilot program's results suggest otherwise.
Not only did more than 90 percent of the pilot projects meet Credit E1's minimum R-value requirements, but nearly half the projects also exceeded the R-values by more than 10 percent. The logical conclusions are that more insulation than RoofPoint requires frequently is being installed on roof systems and building owners appear to be satisfied with the economic payback from those insulation levels.
A new value proposition
As the RoofPoint Pilot Program has progressed, I've had the opportunity to talk with key roofing industry stakeholders about the value RoofPoint can bring to their businesses.
For building owners and facility managers, RoofPoint targets an important construction segment effectively ignored by whole-building green rating systems—the more than 2.5 billion square feet of annual nonresidential re-roofing activity. Not only are complex whole-building rating systems difficult to apply to reroofing, but the certification costs also are far too expensive to apply to the average reroofing project. As a result, many building owners are increasingly interested in RoofPoint.
Additionally, almost every facility manager I have talked to during the past year confirms that before any reroofing contract is awarded, the facility manager is asked by upper management with regard to sustainable building: "Are we doing the right thing?" That's why roofing contractors and roof system manufacturers are constantly being asked by facility managers: "Is this a sustainable roof system?"
With the RoofPoint program, we can answer this question by providing tangible evidence that a roof system meets well-defined sustainability criteria, and we can document and recognize this achievement in much the same way LEED and similar programs do for entire buildings.
In addition to targeting reroofing and validating sustainable roofing practice, RoofPoint delivers several benefits to building owners.
Because RoofPoint embraces every major type of nonresidential roofing in a nonproprietary manner, the program supports building owner demand for competition and choice in selecting roof systems. Compared with whole-building rating systems, RoofPoint is simple, affordable and can be easily integrated into almost any roofing project with minimal expense. Finally, many owners of large buildings whose organizations have embraced Total Quality Management systems, such as ISO 9000, appreciate RoofPoint's process-based approach to roof system sustainability.
With a solid value proposition emerging for building owners and their representatives, RoofPoint's value to professional roofing contractors also is emerging as a powerful business driver.
Because RoofPoint emphasizes teamwork and process management, roofing contractors become valuable team members who can lend unique experiences to sustainable construction decisions. RoofPoint also can be effectively integrated into local contractor marketing efforts to help build stronger customer relationships based on consultative selling. It is easy and affordable to include RoofPoint in roofing proposals, and, in terms of paperwork, the RoofPoint evaluation form is as easy to complete as a typical manufacturer's pre-job notice. And the center anticipates the registration fees associated with RoofPoint will be much lower than the costs for any available green rating system.
It's important to note a majority of projects evaluated during the RoofPoint Pilot Program were submitted by roofing contractors who are leaders in the industry, including several past NRCA presidents and many active members of NRCA's leadership.
Up next
Starting in 2012, we look forward to moving RoofPoint to a new level of public awareness and application. Building on the results of the RoofPoint Pilot Program, we plan to expand the RoofPoint evaluator base and initiate an expanded marketing effort to reach out to building owners and facility managers.
After achieving our pilot program goal of evaluating 100 RoofPoint projects, we will set new, more ambitious goals for the future. Based on this year's experience, our goal for 2012 is to evaluate at least 1,000 RoofPoint projects during 2012 and expand to tens of thousands of annual RoofPoint evaluations within a few years.
Join the transformation
For building owners, RoofPoint helps validate the roofing industry's ability to be a full partner in building a sustainable environment. And for roofing professionals, RoofPoint helps establish superior but attainable goals for sustainable roofing performance.
To better understand the value RoofPoint can offer your company, visit the RoofPoint Project Database Web page at www.roofpoint.org. There, you will see a variety of roof systems installed by leading roofing contractors across North America. Although some of these installations are more complex than the average project, I think you will notice a majority of the roofs are no different than what you may provide your customers on a daily basis—projects that save energy, conserve resources and provide long-lasting value.
I encourage you to join the RoofPoint team and help build the professionalism of your organization and the entire roofing industry. Download the RoofPoint evaluation form and see how it works for outstanding roofing projects you have installed during the past year. And if you need assistance, call on the center's manufacturer and consultant members who also support this transformational program.
Dr. Jim Hoff, DBA, is research director for the Center for Environmental Innovation in Roofing and president of TEGNOS™ Research Inc., Carmel, Ind.
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