Flashings

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Green attributes affect roofing material selection

Interviews performed by Ducker Worldwide LLC, a Troy, Mich.-based market research and consulting company, indicate sustainability and green design are the most influential trends affecting roofing material selection.

Conducted among various roofing industry segments, including suppliers, manufacturers, contractors, architects/specifiers, general contractors, builders, building owners/facility managers and consumers, the interviews also indicate energy efficiency affects roofing material selection more than any other environmental trend. Additionally, the interviews indicate the difference in design and availability of alternative materials, such as higher R-value insulation, cool roofing materials, vegetative roof systems and integrated solar roof systems, have the most significant effect on roofing material selection.

The interviews show the use of green roof systems has become increasingly important since 2002, particularly for roofing contractors and end users. In 2008, it was estimated that less than 10 percent of roofing projects were constructed using green materials and/or systems. By 2013, this number is expected to triple though current economic conditions could slow such growth. More than 75 percent of interview respondents claim to have experienced growth in green roofing practices during the past five years, and all respondents believe growth will continue through the next five years.

Homeowners receive tax credit for asphalt shingles

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act offers homeowners a tax credit for purchasing reflective asphalt shingles. Homeowners can receive as much as a 30 percent tax credit for reflective shingles up to a maximum of $1,500 through 2010.

To qualify for the credit, shingles must meet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's ENERGY STAR® roofing requirements for initial and three-year-aged solar reflectance. State and local agencies may offer additional incentives and rebates for installing energy-efficient roofing products. The Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency (DSIRE), maintained by North Carolina State University, Raleigh, provides a searchable database of offers in states and local areas. DSIRE is available at www.dsireusa.org.

Homeowners should claim the tax credit on federal income tax forms. Homeowners must have completed a shingle manufacturer's certification document and possess all receipts or itemized bills from the contractor showing the amount spent on the specific reflective shingles between Jan. 1, 2009, and Dec. 31, 2010.

Report predicts decreased construction activity

McGraw-Hill Construction, a division of The McGraw-Hill Cos., New York, has released its 2009 Construction Outlook Spring Update, which provides updated 2009 construction starts forecasts.

The report estimates new construction starts at $463.1 billion, which is a 15 percent decrease from 2008 but is cushioned by support from the economic stimulus package. It also forecasts institutional building will decrease 6 percent as the struggling economy affects educational and health care facilities.

The report predicts commercial building will decline 27 percent compared with 17 percent reported in 2008 because tight lending has led to more projects being delayed or cancelled. All commercial building types are expected to decline in 2009 with hotel construction being the most severely affected. Residential building is estimated to decline 31 percent with single-family housing falling 30 percent and multifamily housing falling 31 percent. However, measures taken in 2009 to address the foreclosure situation should help ease housing's rate of decline.

"The construction industry is facing divergent forces in 2009," says Robert Murray, vice president of economic affairs for McGraw-Hill Construction. "The economy has weakened substantially, and despite all the efforts last fall directed at thawing frozen credit markets, there's yet to be any sign that lending conditions for construction have improved. On the plus side, the federal stimulus bill is now in place, which will provide quick support to public works this year."

Public works are expected to benefit most from the economic stimulus package with construction starts increasing 10 percent, including a 15 percent increase for highways and bridges. Without the economic stimulus funds, public works would have been expected to decline 10 percent.

How to handle a bully

If you suspect or are told an employee is bullying his or her co-workers, you must respond quickly. Bullying can involve violence, threats, intimidation, slander, or withholding resources or information and can lead to psychological damage and harassment lawsuits. Following are some tips for handling a bully:

• Separate the bully from the victim, and make sure the victim doesn't suffer continued abuse. If separating the two parties is not feasible, consider paid leave for the victim.
• Watch for patterns in the bully's behavior. Bullies usually have bullied before, and there may be records of past complaints.
• Take appropriate action. Make the bully aware of the consequences of harassment. Serious bullying can be punished by forced transfers, suspension or dismissal. Simply warning a bully may put other employees at risk.

Source: Adapted from The Manager's Intelligence Report, May issue

Details

Tim Blue

What is your position within your company?
I am president of Blue's Roofing Co., Milpitas, Calif.

What is the most unusual roofing project you've performed?
Roofing over electrical rooms on the piers of the Richmond San Rafael Bridge on San Francisco Bay

Why did you become a roofing contractor?
I went to work for my father shortly after he started Blue's Roofing.

What was your first roofing experience?
Loading cedar shakes on housing tracks

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A mathematician

What is a motto that you live by?
Your customers expect you to know what you are doing, so don't blame them when a problem comes up.

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Northern Italy

What three items are always in your fridge?
Milk, cheese and wine

What is the most high-tech thing in your house?
My college-age daughter's Wacom digital drawing pad that allows her to sketch on her computer

What's your favorite book?
Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransom

If you could invite any three people to dinner (dead or alive), whom would you invite and why?
My father and two grandfathers. My father was one of the most enjoyable people to be with, and I never met my grandfathers.

What are the most challenging aspects of your job?
First is family dynamics, and second is finding the right balance in giving managers independence to make decisions.

What is your roofing industry involvement?
I am past president of the California Roofing Contractors Association and have been on the board of directors of the Associated Roofing Contractors of the Bay Area Counties for 20 years. I am beginning a three-year term as an NRCA director this month.

People would be surprised to know …
I have a fear of heights.

OSHA issues rule for combustible dust

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) i­s initiating a comprehensive rulemaking for combustible dust.

OSHA will issue an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and convene related stakeholder meetings to evaluate possible regulatory methods. OSHA also will request data and comments about issues related to combustible dust, including hazard recognition, assessment, communication, defining combustible dust and other concerns.

Combustible dusts are solids that have been ground into fine particles, fibers, chips, chunks or flakes that can cause fires or explosions when suspended in air under certain conditions. Types of combustible dust include metal (aluminum and magnesium), wood, plastic or rubber, coal, flour, sugar and paper, among others. OSHA's combustible dust rulemaking could affect roofing contractors who perform work at paper mills, laundry services, food processing facilities and wood processing facilities where combustible dust may be present.

According to OSHA, more than 130 workers have been killed and more than 780 have been injured in combustible dust explosions since 1980. These include 14 people who were killed in a dust explosion Feb. 7, 2008, at an Imperial Sugar Co. plant in Georgia and three workers who were burned in April in a dust explosion at an Illinois pet food plant.

"Over the years, combustible dust explosions have caused many deaths and devastating injuries that could have been prevented," says U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "OSHA is reinvigorating the regulatory process to ensure workers receive the protection they need while also ensuring that employers have the tools needed to make their workplaces safer."