Tips and Takeaways from the Low-Slope National Labor Study

By Lauren White, RCS Reporter.

Commercial roofing contractors can work smarter, reduce labor expense, and maintain quality and profitability.

With the construction industry facing labor shortages, finding skilled laborers has been challenging.  Roofing contractors are finding ways to work smarter in order to remain competitive, all while maintaining profitability.  Meanwhile, “Roofing manufacturers have adapted to the labor shortage by developing labor-saving products that are easier to master and install,” as written in Roofing by Abby Feinstein, Commercial Roofing Product Manager for CertainTeed Corporation.

A five-year study was conducted by Trinity | ERD, a building envelope consulting firm.  CertainTeed commissioned the company to conduct the study titled, “Factors Impacting Low-Slope Roofing: A National Labor Study.”  Abby explains that the “study analyzed the installation of 45 different roofs with six popular roof covers in 18 different configurations in various regions of the country, isolating and timing product and task-level installation data, and observing where efficiencies or inefficiencies occurred.”

According to the study, product selection does impact labor efficiency and earnings, however, there are many other factors involved in a contractor's ability to maintain profitability.  Additionally, the study provides information on, “...how commercial contractors can improve their efficiency across any roof covering by optimizing their crew management, project management and estimating accuracy,” as written by Abby.

There are seven main takeaways mentioned in the article that came directly from the study.  These takeaways are for commercial roofing contractors to consider when trying to improve productivity.  They include: considering environmental factors, strengthening communication, using multiple crew members to complete one task, staging products for easy access, providing rooftop management, enforcing quality control, and improving the use and maintenance of tools.  

It is evident that there are more factors that impact the efficiency and profitability of a low-slope roof system installation than just the type of roof cover being installed.  “Roofing estimators and managers should clearly identify the factors impacting their crews, optimize productivity whenever possible and adjust their estimates accordingly,” Abby suggests.  The study provides commercial roofing contractors with information to assist them in making informed product decisions, improve efficiency, and make accurate estimates regarding labor and tasks.

Learn more about the labor study.

About CertainTeed

Through the responsible development of innovative and sustainable building products, CertainTeed, headquartered in Malvern, Pennsylvania, has helped shape the building products industry for more than 110 years. Founded in 1904 as General Roofing Manufacturing Company, the firm's slogan "Quality Made Certain, Satisfaction Guaranteed," inspired the name CertainTeed. Today, CertainTeed is a leading North American brand of exterior and interior building products, including roofing, siding, solar, fence, decking, railing, trim, insulation, drywall and ceilings.

A subsidiary of Saint-Gobain, one of the world’s largest and oldest building products companies, CertainTeed has more than 6,900 employees and more than 60 manufacturing facilities throughout the United States and Canada. The group had total sales of approximately $3.9 billion in 2018. www.certainteed.com.