WASHINGTON – The Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association (ARMA) announced that the Miami-Dade Regulatory and Economic Resources Department is the recipient of the 2017 ARMA Public Partnership Award.

The exclusive award, given only for the recognition of extraordinary partnerships formed with ARMA, recognizes the strong collaboration between Miami-Dade and ARMA to update the Florida Building Code requirements in high-wind zones. Aaron R. Phillips, corporate director of technical services at TAMKO Building Products, Inc. and chair of the ARMA Codes Steering Group, presented the award to Michael Goolsby, Miami-Dade board and code administration division director. In addition, ARMA presented the staff members who worked on the project with individual certificates.

Over the past two years, Miami-Dade staff and ARMA representatives worked on updates to the roofing requirements for the High Velocity Hurricane Zone (HVHZ), during numerous meetings and conference calls to review the current provisions, develop code proposals and manage the Florida Building Commission process.

The collaboration spanned hundreds of hours to remove outdated references and coordinate the HVHZ protocols with national testing requirements. Revisions approved as a result of this effort will streamline the certification process for roofing manufacturers when launching new products or renewing existing approvals and help Miami-Dade staff better manage their product approval review process.

“Miami-Dade staff members are grateful for ARMA’s recognition of our joint effort,” said Goolsby. “It was only through our shared goal that we were able to get it done.”

ARMA and Miami-Dade representatives attended the Florida Building Commission’s Rule Development Workshop in early April in Ocala as the commission approved the final changes. The 2017 Florida Building Code, scheduled for launch on January 1, will include every one of the dozens of proposals and public comments jointly submitted by ARMA and Miami-Dade.

“This kind of cooperation between a public regulator and a private trade association is rare enough,” said ARMA’s Vice President of Code and Regulatory Compliance, Michael Fischer. “The overwhelmingly positive results are unprecedented.”   

Phillips noted that the efforts aren’t necessarily over. “We hope to build on this partnership and continue to improve the product approval process during future Florida code updates,” he said.

ARMA’s efforts in the codes, standards, and technical arenas translate to effective minimum code requirements, useful material standards, and a vast range of educational resources for the industry. Technical manuals, installation guides, fast facts, and technical bulletins are available on ARMA’s website and provide best practices for a variety of roofing topics. 

For more information, visit asphaltroofing.org.