More than half of all Americans make New Year’s resolutions. It seems natural at the end of a year and the beginning of a new one to make a pledge to pursue healthier or more productive habits. There is no reason construction professionals shouldn’t take advantage and set positive goals for 2015. Here are a few New Year’s resolutions worth consideration by members of our industry whether you are a CEO, owner, skilled craft professional, or brand new construction apprentice just starting a career.
September is National Preparedness Month, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) encourages everyone to make disaster preparedness a priority.
“National Preparedness Month serves as a reminder that we all need to prepare for disasters and emergencies,” says FEMA Region V Acting Regional Administrator Janet Odeshoo. “Make disaster readiness manageable by taking one step at a time—start by learning your specific risk; then gather supplies for an emergency kit; and finally, develop a family communications plan. By taking these small but critical steps, over time, you can be prepared for disasters.”
Severe weather and other emergencies can strike with little or no warning and have disastrous effects. Already this year, the Midwest has experienced several waves of destructive severe storms, including severe flooding in parts of Minnesota. Additionally, other parts of the U.S. currently are fighting flooding and other emergencies that threaten the infrastructure people depend on every day. Everyone should learn the steps necessary to make preparedness part of their daily lives.
“As a nation we are seeing disasters increase in their size and complexity, and they are occurring with greater frequency,” Odeshoo says. “The impacts of these events are a reminder that everyone should be prepared for the hazards faced in their communities or even while traveling. Make preparedness a priority for your family and help encourage a culture of preparedness in your community.”
Throughout the month, FEMA will offer tips to help you be disaster-ready, including ways you can stay safe during a disaster and steps you can take to protect yourself and your family when traveling. Follow FEMA Region V online at twitter.com/femaregion5 and www.facebook.com/fema to receive the latest preparedness updates.
For detailed information about how to prepare for severe weather in your area, including a list of items you will want to have in your emergency kit, visit www.ready.gov or FEMA’s Spanish site at www.listo.gov.
Additionally, be sure to share NRCA’s consumer website, everybodyneedsaroof.com, with your customers. The website contains information about how to cope with natural disasters, including how to select a professional roofing contractor following a natural disaster.
Welcome to OSHA’s Campaign to Prevent Heat Illness in Outdoor Workers
HEAT ILLNESS CAN BE DEADLY. Every year, thousands of workers become sick from exposure to heat, and some even die. Heat illnesses and deaths are preventable. Employers are responsible for providing workplaces that are safe from excessive heat.
The body normally cools itself by sweating. During hot weather, especially with high humidity, sweating isn’t enough. Body temperature can rise to dangerous levels if precautions are not taken such as drinking water frequently and resting in the shade or air conditioning. Heat illnesses range from heat rash and heat cramps to heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Heat stroke requires immediate medical attention and can result in death.
The roof of a home is one of the most important components to the structure, yet it often goes without care until an emergency. That’s why a national organization is taking a week to put the roof at the forefront.
The National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) is hosting National Roofing Week July 6-12. The goal is to educate the public about the importance of a roof and regular maintenance.
Most roofs last 20 years or more, but experts say to get the full potential from the structure, routine upkeep is necessary. Experts recommend hiring a professional to replace a roof or for serious work because of the risk associated with it. The Occupational Safety Health Administration (OSHA) now requires roofers to wear harnesses among other regulations.
There are simple tasks homeowners can do themselves to prevent major damage in the future. One of the easiest prevention tools is checking the gutters.
“Gutter cleaning is a fairly basic thing to do but it’s important,” said Bill Good, the Executive Vice President with the National Roofing Contractors Association.
“Our recommendation is it makes sense twice a year to have your roof looked at. Once would be in the fall before winter,” said Good. “Then we recommend you take a look after the winter, in the spring, to see if there is any damage that has been done.”
OSHA campaign addresses heat illness for outdoor workers
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has announced the launch of its annual Campaign to Prevent Heat Illness in Outdoor Workers.
For the fourth consecutive year, OSHA’s campaign aims to raise awareness and educate workers and employers about the dangers of working in hot weather and provide resources and guidance to address these hazards. Workers in outdoor industries—such as agriculture, construction, landscaping and transportation—are at particular risk.
“Heat-related illnesses can be fatal, and employers are responsible for keeping workers safe,” says Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez. “Employers can take a few easy steps to save lives, including scheduling frequent water breaks, providing shade and allowing ample time to rest.”
This week June 2-6 2014 marks the National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction. The purpose of this prevention stand-down is to raise awareness of preventing hazards in construction.
Fatalities caused by fall from elevation continue to be the leading cause of death for construction workers, accounting for 269-775 construction fatalities recorded in 2012.
Those deaths were preventable! When there is a fall hazard of six feet or more, Diamond Roofing implements conventional forms of fall protection systems/equipment to protect our employees. Based on the type of roofing scope and job task(s) that have been identified as a fall hazard, we use the following control methods: personal fall arrest systems, guardrail systems, warning line system, and a trained safety monitor.
Depending on the task ahead, we designate a policy/procedure for the type of control method to be used and have established a standardized disciplinary policy for non-compliance. Our fall protection training consists of various National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) and Midwest Roofing Contractors Association (MRCA) Safety Meeting Topics monthly and MRCA/NRCA Toolbox Talks (job specifically). Additionally, we have an internal company representative with a Fall Protection Certification to serve as a resource to our employees, as well as, monitor for compliance and inspect equipment every six months.
Don’t trust your biggest asset to just any roofing contractor.
Choosing Diamond Roofing is your assurance that you’ll be dealing with a quality, reputable, and dependable professional contractor. We are licensed/insured, have a proven reputation, and are committed to ongoing professional training. It’s why we are your best and safest choice!
Have the DO-IT-YOURSELF mentality? Although we highly recommend seeking professional roofing services, if you happen to perform any of the work yourself, be sure to take a look at the list below to help minimize your risk of slipping and falling.
Never work on a wet roof.
Keep your work area as clean of dirt, tools, and debris as possible.
Wear safe footwear—soft-soled boots provide the best roof traction.
When working on a steeply pitched roof, protect yourself with safety equipment such as a safety harness, net, and guardrails.
Set up and climb your ladder properly.
Always wear a helmet to protect your head and prevent more serious injury if you fall.
Diamond Roofing in Dodge City – Expansion
We are proud to announce the successful completion of the construction project for our existing and new building. “With all of the growth of Diamond Roofing in Dodge City and the surrounding areas, there was no better time than now to expand” said Shawn Mead, Vice President.
Our main office building received a facelift which included the installation of Firestone Delta Series horizontal and vertical wall panels in Charcoal Gray, a new standing seam roof on the entryway canopy, Snobar Retention System, new skylights and gutters. Just north of our main building our expansion took place. A pre-engineer 60’ x 72’ x 16’ Butler Steel Structure was erected consisting of three bays and a Standing Seam White Roof giving us an additional 4,320 square feet to our property. We are excited about this expansion as it will provide us more storage for our materials, equipment, and vehicles. Rather than spending time un-stacking materials, we will be more organized and have better access to materials which will make our operations and processes more efficient, bringing more value to our customers.
A special thank you to Scott Riederer of J-A-G Construction Company in charge of the new building construction and concrete work, Frank’s Electric of Dodge City providing electrical and lighting solutions and a shout out to Diamond Roofing Employees for completing all work to our existing building.
Main Building- FrontMain Building- Front Close UpNew Building- Inside
Last fall, I was approached by Steve Little, our current MRCA president, requesting my leadership on MRCA’s Young Contractors Council (YCC) committee. Little shared with me his passion for making MRCA sustainable and modern by recruiting, embracing, and developing the young talent of the roofing industry. First and foremost, I would like to celebrate their accomplishments and thank the previous YCC chair, Cheryl McGlothlin Chapman, and the other founding young leaders for laying the foundation for such a promising future.
Since its inception just a few years ago, YCC has grown to be more than 90 members strong. For the first time ever, the YCC Committee meetings were held in conjunction with the MRCA Board of Director’s winter meetings. While soliciting for new committee members, I was amazed by the younger generation’s willingness to become more involved in the association and their commitment to the roofing industry. I truly believe that young contractors are an untapped resource and underused within the industry. Speaking from my personal situation with an unplanned exit by my father, I’m thankful for his mentorship and commitment to engaging me in business and industry activities. I challenge our current leaders and business owners to dedicate themselves to developing the talent of tomorrow. With their dedication comes our responsibility as young contractors to devote time to building our own leadership skills. I hope you will consider becoming an active YCC member to help advance your professional development pursuits.
In the coming year, the YCC’s primary focus will be providing this opportunity for engagement and development through educational programming, mentorship opportunities, and leadership training. As part of this initiative, MRCA members can expect to see a permanent YCC column in Midwest Roofer, highlighting our success stories and failures, upcoming educational opportunities, younger generation perspectives, and YCC progress reports. Further, we are planning a YCC breakout session at the MRCA 65th Annual Conference aimed at connecting opportunities between seasoned leaders and young contractors, tailored to contractor-to-contractor learning and sharing. We encourage anyone to join us at this informative session.
I believe that these YCC initiatives are a good starting point for modernizing our association. YCC membership presents a one-of-a-kind forum for educating the industry’s future leaders while providing peer-to-peer networking opportunities at the same time. As a business owner with six employees who are currently YCC members, I’m personally invested in providing opportunities for professional growth and I’m fully committed to seeing this council thrive. By coupling YCC membership activities with our other membership benefits such as legal and technical advice, conferences and educational events, and the SHARP safety programming, MRCA is providing an unsurpassed value that not only helps our own respective businesses but provides a platform for truly making the association sustainable too. No matter your age, role, or the future direction of your company, as leaders we are all responsible for in- vesting in the future of our industry. I look forward to being a part of this commitment.
Kevin Gwaltney, president of Diamond Roofing of Dodge City and Manhattan, KS, can be reached at kevin@diamond-roofing.com. For more information or to join YCC, visit www.mrca.org.
Members of MRCA’s Young Contractors Council gather at the 2013 MRCA Annual Convention in Rosemont, IL.
Happy Earth Day! As I sit back and reflect on our efforts of “Going Green”, I can’t help but be reminded of the project we completed at Kiowa County Commons in Greensburg, KS.
As many of you might remember in May 2007, a tornado ripped through Greensburg, KS destroying 95% of the community. In an effort to rebuild the community, the citizens were adamant about making it more sustainable and to focus on “green” products, inspired by the town’s name. As the roofing contractor for this project, we installed the GAF EverGuard Extreme TPO roof system. This single-ply membrane is built to handle extreme demands that rooftop applications can place on roofing membranes. It uses proprietary stabilizers and UV absorbers to achieve weather performance far beyond current standards.
And as if that wasn’t enough, we also installed a Vegetative, LiveRoof Tray System. LiveRoof provides the natural function and natural beauty of “built in place” green roof systems but without the extensive ongoing costs of maturation.
We were so proud and honored to work hand in hand with the Greensburg community and architect involved as it provided us a since of accomplishment of doing we can to “Go Green.” Not only did it provide a sustainable solution for our customer, but it proved to be economically feasible too.
Diamond Roofing’s new building construction is in full force and we couldn’t be any happier. With the slab poured last week and the steel going up this week, it is surely looking more like a structure and less like a dirt pile. Once complete the structure you see above will be the warehouse section, a 60′ X 120′ Nucor Metal building. This will provide us ample space to store our materials and equipment allowing us to be better organized and having more efficient operations to better serve our customers. Stay tuned for updates and pictures!
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