As we enter the 21st century, there are significant issues facing the roofing industry, such as labor shortages, environmental concerns, and the depletion of natural resources. Time-tested systems are being replaced by newer systems and materials are being updated to meet the current environmental conditions. In this era of rapid change, there are many positive developments to point to in the roofing industry.
Changes to California's Title 24 recently became effective that require, among other things, significant enhancements to the reflectivity of roof coverings on many building and retrofit projects. Many other state and municipal building authorities will be watching as they prepare to make changes to codes that could affect your life in the near future.
As a small shop operator, you already wear far too many hats and handle too many responsibilities. Now is a good time to get back to basics, and these 10 sure-fire ways to simplify your life can help.
Last month's column contained a list of simple things you can do to smooth out rough spots in your day-to-day activities. Here, in no particular order, are more tips on how to run a better business.
The Hispanic workforce is unique to our contemporary business environment. As a group of people, this workforce is considered to be critical to the success of the construction industry. That being said, members of the Hispanic workforce have special training needs that their Anglo counterparts do not have.
Motivational speakers will tell you that you have the power to be what you want to be and the power to make a difference and change the world. Well, this may be true, but I am not going to use such motivational rhetoric to blow smoke at you. Besides, if it were true that you are what you think about, most 17-year-old boys would turn into a can of beer or a 17-year-old girl. Such motivational thoughts can be great to get us out of a funk, but rarely do they have any real impact on our success.
Environmental issues continue to be at the forefront of the roofing industry. These issues and regulations are having an impact on the design and application of roof systems and materials that we will be using well into the 21st century. Groups such as the U.S. Green Building Council, the Department of Energy, and the Environmental Protection Agency are forming regulations that will eventually become part of the building codes. Roofing contractors should be aware of these regulations and have an understanding of them and of the impact that they will have on the industry.
All over the United States, in thousands of companies, there are two or more very powerful (and mostly frustrated) people in the precarious position of daily choosing loyalties between management and their countrymen.
This is not the column I had planned to write for the October 2005 issue of Roofing Contractor. October 2005 ushers in changes to the roofing standards put forth in
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has estimated that 33 percent of construction trade fatalities are due to falls from heights and 6 percent of these falls originated from a ladder. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission's 1994 study, more than 90,000 people in the United States received emergency room treatment for ladder-related injuries and 300 died. Underwriters Laboratories estimates that over 222,000 portable ladder accidents requiring professional medical treatment are reported every year in the United States.
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