Issue 80 Crossword Puzzle Information

Answer Key

Across
2. EMULSION In roofing, a coating consisting of asphalt and fillers suspended in water.

3. BALLAST Weight used to protect single-ply roofs or to prevent blow-off of systems, which are not adhered.

5. BLISTER An enclosed raised spot evident on the surface of a roof. They are mainly caused by the expansion of trapped air, water vapor, moisture or other gases.

7. POLYMER A substance consisting of large molecules that which have been formed from smaller molecules of similar make-up.

9. DECK The base surface to which a roof system is applied.

10. KETTLE Equipment used for heating bitumen to a flowing consistency.

11. DUCT A cylindrical or rectangular 'tube' used to move air from either exhaust or intake.

12. HATCH An opening in a deck; floor or roof. The usual purpose is to provide access from inside the building.

Down
1. GALVANIZE To coat a metal with zinc by dipping in molten zinc after cleaning.

4. ASPHALT A dark brown to black, highly viscous, hydrocarbon produces from the residue left after the distillation of petroleum, used as a waterproofing agent.

6. EAVE The part of a roof that projects out from the sidewall, or the lower edge of the part of a roof that overhangs a wall.

8. MASTIC A heavy trowel applied bitumen used for flashings or patch work which remains elastic and pliable.

 

Keep your Roof-Life-Cycle Healthy.

 During the recession of 2008, many begrudgingly postponed maintenance on their facilities to stay afloat. Now the economy is coming back along with growing commercial construction activity. According to CMD group and Oxford Economics, the faster-than-projected economic recovery is pushing material prices higher than general inflation. Alex Carrick of CMD group stated the U.S. economy has been performing better than generally acknowledged since the second quarter of  2014. Eventually, as construction in all sectors rise, labor cost will jump in accordance with the demand. These potential cost increases will focus our efforts on becoming even more efficient in managing our resources.

Roof Life Cycle
Perceptive building owners or facility managers understand the Roof-Life-Cycle (RLC) costs of
maintaining and operating their facility(s). They do not ignore routine up-keep and repair. They
implement a plan to regularly service their roof(s). The RLC is the analysis of alternatives that
influence both pending and future costs. It compares initial investment options and identifies the
least cost alternatives for the life of the roof. The RLC considers material, installation, use,
repair, maintenance, and replacement. The key consideration is the impact of both pending and
future costs. As a current building owner or manager, your facility’s stage within the RLC might be
major roof repairs, replacement, or maintenance.

Proactive vs Reactive Maintenance
Protectively maintained roof systems last an average of 21 years compared to an average lifespan of
13 years for reactive maintenance. Those who react to problems as they occur, pay an average of 25¢
per square foot annually for maintenance. Proactive owners and facility managers who inspect and
repair routinely spend an average of only 14¢ per square foot annually.

The best place to start is to discern the difference between proactive versus reactive maintenance.
If you do NOT have a proactive maintenance plan in place, your plan is reactive. Building Owners Best Practices describes reactive maintenance as a doubled-edge sword. Waiting until something needs repair limits  the  up-front  expenses for proactive maintenance. However, waiting for a leak or other damage to occur reduces the overall life cycle
of the roof system, increasing

Detecting the ProblemIf the facility is in need of some attention because of reoccurring roof leaks, choosing between a quick fix, re- roof, or restoration is a quandary. Finding the root cause of a leak is a multifarious effort. Compare it to locating the tooth causing displaced pain without conducting a physical exam or x-ray. RAMCON provides sophisticated analytical tools capable of detecting the location of the current  problems and potential problem areas. Infrared scanning and membrane testing accurately detects the location of unperceived damage. Diagnostic testing can outline the current condition of your roof to determine if roof repair, restoration, or roof replacement is necessary.

The maintenance stage of the RLC means your roof is currently leak free; to keep it that way routine inspection for potential problems is paramount. Implementing a proactive maintenance plan with an authorized roofing contractor that regularly evaluates the roof in accordance to its warranty reduces repair costs and extends the roofs-life-cycle.

RAMCON is authorized to install all nine major roofing systems and more than 60 subsets. Because of our extensive experience, we are able to tailor a plan that works for any facility. When it comes to dealing with building codes, energy solutions, and various roof systems, RAMCON stays on top of it. We also offer several types of proactive maintenance programs. Please contact your Service Account Manager at 813.663.9667 for information and any other roofing request.

DIY – IS NOT FOR ROOF MANAGEMENT

SCENARIO: You have a roof leak. Tenants are complaining, liabilities are increasing and assets are being damaged. You have to respond…and you need to do it now. What should you do, send a maintenance technician to repair the problem or call a qualified roofing contractor? How you choose to respond to this situation is vital. Sure, you could send up a maintenance technician or facilities engineer. Do they know what to look for? Are they equipped to solve the problem? Can they determine whether they should use SBS or APP modified materials or whether the material is PVC or TPO? ALMOST UNANIMOUSLY THE ANSWER IS NO.

While many materials look and feel the same, they are not compatible. Apply an APP to an SBS membrane and may cause warranty voids. Repair a PVC membrane with TPO and you’ll think it sticks…for about a day or two. Then it will come apart and you are back to square one.

Perhaps the maintenance technician sees a hole in the metal and of course caulks it. They think they’ve found the point of water intrusion, not knowing they sealed a weep hole and now you have a condensation issue. Now a nuance problem is a costly emergency.

With this information in mind, you need a professional roofing contractor that has the highest standard of safety, quality, service, integrity and approved by the roofing material’s manufacturer.  Resist the urge to send up a maintenance person and try to do it yourself. There are specific repair processes and materials used that will ultimately determine whether the repair will last for a few weeks, or serve as a core component of the roofing system throughout the duration of its service life.

In fact, when RAMCON does warranty repairs, the repairs are also included under your manufacturer’s warranty throughout its term. Repairs completed by unauthorized persons who are not certified by the manufacturer will not be warrantied, and could put your warranty in jeopardy (read your warranty carefully). The manufacturer keeps detailed data of all roof repairs completed on your facility and it’s obvious whether or not repairs were completed to their specifications. Avoid the ‘leak – fix – repeat’ cycle and let RAMCON do a comprehensive evaluation at no expense to you.

Comprehensive Roof Evaluation Will:

• Detect developing issues, why they are occurring, and how to eliminate them. How much to budget over the next year for remedial and emergency repairs? 
• Budgeting projects for future roof replacements and/or retrofits.
• Recommend cost saving measures that increase the return on investment you’ve made on your roof.

Moving forward is simple. Give RAMCON a call. We have dedicated customer service representatives and experienced survey teams whose entire mission is to evaluate your roof’s performance and conditions. We’ll visit the facility, complete a comprehensive evaluation and provide you with a detailed roof analysis at no cost.

Our roof evaluation team exists solely to provide you with the resources you need to make the best decisions possible regarding your roof.  We even warranty every repair we complete, so you will be set through the entire summer. Let us do the legwork, and you can reap the benefits of lower lifetime service cost and effective budgeting.

Budgeting For Roof Expenses in 2015

Building owners and managers, commonly include the cost for roof replacement, and roof retrofit (re-cover major repair/restoration) as capital expenditures. While yearly preventive maintenance and minor repairs are typically expensed during the course of the business year.

Planning for large expenditures are critical elements of the long-term, successful management and operation of most large businesses. Accurately identifying required large expenditures in advance allows top management to factor them into the overall business plan during the planning period.

Budgeting for the next business year is paramount. It is also crucial to identify the expenditure amount with a high level of accuracy. Moderately over-budgeting the cost of a project is generally accepted (even sometimes valued) by top management, if the project comes in under budget.

  

Alternatively, with the high cost of roofing materials, under-budgeting project costs especially after approval can result in serious repercussions upon the project initiator. When talking to building owners/ mangers about projects that have come in over budget, it is usually the result of an ill-equipped contractor. They either ignore building codes, neglect insurance requirements, poorly evaluated the existing conditions and/or implemented inadequate design.

During our decades of roofing experience, the most common mistakes made in identifying roof
replacement costs include:

Misidentifying the existing roof system/building components and the condition/function of each.

• What is the existing roof assembly make-up? How are the components attached to themselves and the deck?
• What is the condition of and thermal resistance (R-Value) of the insulation components? 
• Can this roof be effectively recovered with another roof system? What type of roof deck exists and what is its condition?
• Does the deck provide structural slope or is slope/drainage presently provided/enhanced by tapered insulation?

Not accounting for non-related roof work.

• Are there obsolete roof fixtures/equipment that would best be removed and deck openings closed?
• Is there roof equipment that need to be raised or remounted on new supports  to allow effective flashing height and/or methods to meet Florida’s new code requirements?
• Are there older pieces of roof-mounted equipment that needs replacement?

Contractors who do not comply with various building codes.

• Building codes are “the law of the land” and an owner risks incurring penalties for non-compliance.
• Many building insurance policies have specific rigid requirements owners must follow to avoid cancellation or at a minimum, higher premiums.

  

 

YEAR END ROUND UP

In looking back at 2014 and the many accomplishments RAMCON has achieved, our thoughts first turn gratefully to those who have made our progress possible. You are the reason for our continued success and the drive that keeps us moving forward.  As we race into 2015, we want to thank you for everything you have done to make our progress and success possible. With a strong and motivated team working together, we can make our goals happen. We have not made it to our place in this industry by happenstance or accident. Our success is a direct result of hard work and the trust each of you have placed in RAMCON.

 

PROJECTS
Last year, we installed approximately 3.4 million square feet of practically every type of roofing system imaginable and our never-ending commitment to quality remains strong. Our crews installed over 400,000 watts of photovoltaic solar systems on multiple facilities, completed numerous high profile projects, including the new Amazon facilities, Top Golf, Bass Pro Shops, hospitals, and military bases. We also worked with hundreds of contractors, thousands of building owners, state, federal and local government agencies.

 

  
SERVICE

As with previous years, our Roof Maintenance Department has continued to excel. In 2014, we identified and solved over 14,360 roof leaks. Improved quality and response through efficiencies while decreasing the cost to our clients approximately 6%. On average, our clients received service in less than 12 hours and 97.6% of leaks solved on the first visit. Our clients continue to take advantage of our new roof management application MyRAMCON with over 8,400 logins.

 

PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE
RAMCON continues to expand its dynamic workforce to provide you with the best service in the industry. On each project, you receive dedicated project managers to oversee every aspect from design to final inspection. The implementation of highly trained quality control teams ensures that when we complete a project, your facility’s roof system is design to defend you against the elements and last decades. Our Risk Management teams have continued to set the industry safety standard with an above average EMR of 0.69.

 

OUR PEOPLE
In 2014, we also increased the amount of owners and managers who protect and maximize their roofing investment under our Roof Shield Preventative Maintenance Programs. The program now protects over 5.2 million square feet of occupied facilities. Enhanced training programs ensures we have the best workforce possible with the implementation of the Career Advancement Program (CAP). CAP is an intensive six-month course designed to immerse our technicians into every facets of a project from design, installation, repair, to project management.

 

This is just a snap shot of the achievements at RAMCON. We are always interested in hearing your suggestions and input on how we can further meet the range of your roofing needs, as our entire focus is on you. Once again, thank you for the trust you place in RAMCON ROOFING and have a prosperous 2015.

LOOK BEHIND THE CURTAIN

Wallace T. Carter Jr.

Employees tend to perform better when they have the autonomy to innovate without fear of rejection. The last thing anyone wants to hear is, “… that is a good idea but we don’t do it that way here and you should know that since you work here.”                        

 

Conversely, complete autonomy creates fragmented direction with individuals striking out on new initiatives pulling the company’s resources in unprofitable directions.  The Harvard Business Review article “Get more Actionable Ideas from Your Employees”, suggest fostering innovation through pro-actively directing and limiting the search for ideas.  This simple approach allows the employee to focus their energy on areas that need improvement.

 

For example, risk management and safety is a top priority at RAMCON. This area is NOT the place to reduce steps or cut corners to improve the bottom line. Focused parameters insure employees our working on the areas that need improvement.

 

Innovations starts with having the best talent coupled with the right leadership.   Meet one of RAMCON’s newest team member Wallace T. Carter Jr. He began working with RAMCON in October of 2014 as a Service Account Manager. Mr. Carter is a Florida native graduating from Land O’ Lakes High School and attended Pasco-Hernando Community College. By the age of twenty-one Carter was running crews as a foreman/supervisor. As a Reroof Manager, he was responsible for over 110 employees installing approximately 3,500 roofs a year.

 

Carter comes to RAMCON with twenty-four years of Commercial and Residential roofing experience. He chose to work at RAMCON because of its positive reputation and industry experience. He attribute his success in the industry from putting the client first by meeting there budgeting requirements and keeping them informed on services performed throughout the project. 

 

In his off time, he enjoys fishing, boating, scuba diving, motorcycles and most importantly spending time with family.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SPOTLIGHT PROJECT

Organization: Metropolitan Ministries
Project:  Miracle Place
System: Built-up Modified roofing

Miracle Place is three-phase project complex design to expand Metropolitan Ministries’ ability to serve homeless families. The project creates 125 temporary construction jobs and 24 future permanent jobs.  

Phase One: Miracle Place – Hope & Safety enables the Ministries to serve 99 families and approximately 250-300 children.

Phase Two: Includes the Chapel of Hope and the Youth Enrichment Center and gymnasium serving over 100 elementary children, 40 middle and high school teens, and support our critical after-school programs. 

Phase Three:  Partnership School will serve K-5 grades in collaboration with Hillsborough County Public School’s staff providing students the opportunity to grow academically, socially and emotionally.

Phases 1 & 2 RAMCON installed a total of 32,000 square feet of roof using a built up modified roofing system over tapered insulations.  Phase 3 is currently under construction, which will include another 15,000 sq. feet.  All phases were constructed to obtain LEED points for the envelope of the building.

Metropolitan Ministries is always open for assistance from the community. You can help families get on their feet in two ways: donating resources or volunteering your time.  Contact them at 813-209-1000.