Roy Sudipto, Global Capital, Construction and MRO Procurement Manager, Maple Leaf FoodsRoofing projects are generally considered capital projects and they go through standard budgeting, planning, tendering, vendor selection, contracting, and execution stages of a capital project execution cycle.
However, not all roofing projects can be planned in advance. There are three types of roofing projects, one of them is reactive and the other two are proactive and can be planned.
• Leak Repair Services – Reactive
• Proactive Planning - Asset Evaluations through Safety Audits, Condition Assessment
• Proactive Maintenance - Preventative Maintenance
The more proactive a roofing project is there is better the chance of controlling costs and enhancing roof life beyond its recommended life and preventable damages. Unplanned repairs lead to reduced roof life, costly replacement, disruptions, interior damage, and safety issues for employees or tenants.
Over 25 percent of all roofing dollars spent are on unplanned repairs.
Some good practices on Roofing Projects for a multi-location organization to ensure consistency across various locations and divisions or branches could be:
• Establishing a company-wide prequalified roofing consultant to oversee all projects
• Based on project scope, site conditions, and consultant recommendations, establishing predefined Roofing specifications to choose from
• Prequalify Roofing Vendors through Risk Assessment tools (e.g., Contractor Check, etc.)
• Utilizing RFP for Vendor selection and selecting only prequalified Roofing Vendors for all projects
• Establishing Standard Templates for tendering (Project Brief, Technical, and Health and Safety Standards, Price Breakdown structure) and supporting appendices (Hot Work checklist, Safe Work Plan for Hot Work, etc.) to allow for streamlined project execution
• Standardization on Contracting templates for risk management (e.g., CCDC2, etc.) Consideration for different Roof types:
• Single-ply ‘FiberTite’ mechanically fastened (Most Expensive)
• Single ply FiberTite ballasted (Medium Range)
• 2-ply Modified Bitumen (Low Cost) Cost considerations:
• Material type
• Site conditions
• Difficulty to access
• Removal of ancillary equipment General Cost breakdown for major Roofing projects:
• Material 65 percent
• Labor 35 percent (could be as high as 50 percent depending on site condition)
Roofing Industry Developing Trends:
For the roofing industry specifically, COVID impacted material and employee shortages, evolving customer preferences with sustainability, and continued innovation in technology have been identified as developing trends that will have an impact on this industry both in the short and long term.
• COVID and supply chain disruption resulted in material and labor shortages that are here to continue for some time. Roofing contractors are trying to tide over these challenges by proactively hiring labor and by buying materials in stock and in bulk whenever they can, even with the constant increases in pricing, to ensure they won’t be behind on projects anytime soon. However, these are negatively impacting their margins and resulting in inflationary impacts on roofing projects. It is also causing stress on customers, affecting the cost, timelines, and specific choices on what material would be their preferences.
“Increased usage of technology like the usage of drone technology showing the clients accurately all damage before a project, more accurate mapping for better prediction of quantities, and tracking project progression via drone footage and images have added to more advanced capabilities for roofers.”
• Sustainable roofing solutions are customer preferences and influencing roofing contractors to use eco-friendly, recyclable roofing materials, and green roof solutions. Two specific types of eco-friendly roofing on the rise are metal and solar roofing. Metal roofing has in its favor visual appeal, high durability, and functionality. Solar roofing is also becoming more popular among clients due to the increased interest in photovoltaic shingles with their ability to utilize solar energy for the home or building, while also acting as normal roof shingles. The challenges with these solutions are initial costs, material availability, and longer time of implementation. The client has to measure the pros and cons and make the choice.
• Increased usage of technology like the usage of drone technology showing the clients accurately all damage before a project, more accurate mapping for better prediction of quantities, and tracking project progression via drone footage and images have added to more advanced capabilities for roofers. Also, some contractors are trying to use AI algorithms for more predictive insights into preventive maintenance operations.
Roofing is an industry that is quite traditional, but it has seen improvements through better material utilization, better project management through material management and training and hiring skilled labor, and better planning on behalf of customers. However, this industry is reaching some watershed moments based on the above-mentioned trends. Those who stay on top of the above-discussed trends and those who properly adjust to them will be on the cutting edge of the industry at a time when that’s incredibly important.
