Quality First, During and Always
By Mark Robins, Senior Editor,
Posted
10/01/2012
A quality emphasis produces better buildings
By Mark Robins, Senior Editor
A significant problem with metal buildings can be improper
installation caused by a lack of effective quality practices. Not
stressing and monitoring quality from a building's research and
development, all the way throughout its life can lead to system
failure, warranty invalidation, liability and lawsuits.
Without a quality emphasis, serious building problems develop
over time. Limited expansion and contraction, penetrating-through
fasteners, poor detailing and reliance on exposed sealants can lead
to serious performance issues long after the installer's limited
warranty is up.
For instance, a metal roof can represent 10 to 25 percent of a
building's cost. But 90 percent of improper installation procedures
are concealed and unviewable upon work completion and their
resulting defects will not be identified until problems occur at a
later date. Without a quality emphasis, metal building deficiencies
can be so serious a metal roof may have to be torn off and replaced
at great expense. "A $100,000 metal roof can cost $500,000 or more
to correct when it is in place on an occupied building," says
Robert Stanford, president of Robert Stanford & Associates
Inc. Metal Roofing Consultants, Missouri City, Texas.
Without quality…
One of the most common failures of metal buildings, according to
Stanford, and the single largest allegation in lawsuits resulting
from a lack of quality emphasis is waterproofing.
"Water leaks will involve time to investigate, and the removal
or ripping out of panels and components, and their replacement and
repair," says Dr. Denis Leonard, ASQ Fellow and president of Business
Excellence Consulting LLC, Bozeman, Mont. "Leaks create
associated damage to the building which may include nonstructural
or worst off, all structural components. The leaks can also damage
materials stored by the owner of the building which can become very
expensive."
Joe LaFave president of LaFave's Construction Co.
Inc., Landis, N.C., has a lifetime of experience seeing metal
structures installed with and without a quality focus. He believes
most problems come at the hips, valleys, curbs and other roof areas
where the panel runs are interrupted.
"We have seen work from unqualified contractors who have
fastened panels at both ends not allowing movement from thermal
movement," he says. "This condition manifests itself into panel
tearing, clip disengagement and seam separation resulting in leak
locations and possible structural instability. In general, as long
as a qualified contractor is utilized, who has experience in the
details associated with metal, these problems are all
avoidable."
Without a quality management emphasis, other problems like wind
damage resulting from failure to follow wind design requirements
can occur. "Poor installation in areas with high winds or that have
high rainfall or snowfall annually can result in catastrophic
damage," says Leonard. "The ramifications of poor installation need
to be clear to the owners, managers, supervisors and installers of
all roofing businesses."
Early quality emphasis
A quality program must begin in the initial project planning
stages. It starts with the owner's selection of a design team and
the design team's attention to detail. Then, final-approved
installation drawings, schedules and specifications must be
reviewed with a cross-functional team of client, architect,
installers, manufacturer's representative, the main contractor and
representatives from other trades that will be involved in work in
and around the roof.
All parties should be held responsible for their respective
portions of the construction process to ensure a quality finished
product. Early on, all those involved must agree with what is
designed. Understanding the problems and logistics involved will
prevent defects and find root causes during and after construction.
Time spent at this planning stage is not wasted.
"The majority of problems can actually stem from the wrong
design, product or profile being specified during the design
stage," says Leonard. "At the design stage, live loads, dead loads,
snow loads, wind loads, thermal impacts and rainfall levels need to
be considered; membrane components, flashing, sequencing of
installation and other trades all need to be discussed and agreed
upon. Ensure communication about the advantages and disadvantages,
and the additional cost or problems with certain systems during
installation. This will be a final opportunity to raise a
fundamental design or specification issue."
"The design team must understand the effect each trade has on
another, as well as have experience in the design of quality
projects," says Shahn Corter, vice president of operations, BRB Roofing and
Manufacturing, Muskogee, Okla. "The most common design errors
we see are usually based on a 'one design fits all roofs' attitude
where a designer uses the same design and 'canned' details/specs
for all situations. Vague specifications, and specifications
prepared by one supplier are very common and often confusing. More
importantly, from a roofer's standpoint, quality assurance begins
by gathering the proper information to accurately estimate a
quality system."
Stanford insists quality installation can be ensured by proper
specification of metal panels and materials. For instance,
"Hydrokinetic metal roofing systems and profiles should not be used
or installed on any project that must be covered by a
weathertightness warranty, regardless of the issuer of the
warranty," he says. "Hydrokinetic systems are, by definition,
subject to water infiltration. Despite this, many architects and
design professionals will specify a hydrokinetic metal roofing
panel profile because they like the way it looks: appearance over
function."
QA officer and a punch list
A quality assurance officer is a critical component of building
quality management. His responsibilities include substantial
completion inspections and final inspections to ensure metal
buildings are installed as per the design and engineering
documents, manufacturer's requirements, building code requirements,
owner's insurance requirements, as well as in accordance with sound
and accepted roofing practices. Additionally, although safety
oversight is not a direct responsibility of the quality assurance
officer, most building owners expect their quality assurance
officers to assist in ensuring that safety standards are met.
To assist a quality assurance officer's function, "punch list
inspections, which are performed after substantial installation
completion, should reveal issues with water tightness, fastener
concerns, seam concerns and proper flashing, and they provide an
opportunity for the contractor to make repairs to ensure
satisfaction for warranty purposes," says Deirdre Dolgin, vice
president, Roof Resources
Inc., Palm Coast, Fla. However, it does not ensure the proper
installation of the underlying components.
A properly written quality assurance punch list establishes
plans and inspection for a quality project. "Integrity is built on
these steps," says Jerry Spores, president of AARA Construction Inc.,
Phoenix.
The punch list should be linked directly to the inspection forms
and should be a key point of debrief at the end of the project.
Sometime issues end up on the punch list due to other trades or
because of a delay at the request of the client. But it is
essential that everyone involved in the project knows what those
punch list issues are so that they know they have yet to be
completed. Leonard stresses that if any punch list issues are from
a construction or scheduling problem, find out why and attempt to
ensure that they can be corrected before the next project.
Manufacturers' quality role Manufacturers' information and
involvement are integral to the punch list, the quality assurance
officer and overall quality building delivery. "Nearly all
manufacturers provide engineering, specifications, details,
training and quality assurance inspections during installation, as
well as provide technical assistance to architects, consultants and
contractors," Dolgin adds.
Manufacturers should inspect structures to ensure they meet
their standards prior to issuing their warranty. In fact, for
warranties, most manufacturers require the contractor to retain
their services for a technical service representative to inspect
the project at the beginning, midpoint and at the completion of the
project.
"Manuals, websites and instructions are important reference
information, but the manufacturer needs to be intimately involved
with the application of its products," insists John Pierson, PE,
engineering services manager, The Garland Co. Inc.,
Cleveland.
For effective coordination and communication between
manufacturers and contractors, installation manuals are important,
but of more importance to quality building delivery are specific
installation drawings for each specific project.
"Installers can get confused looking at a standard manual that
do not quite match their application," says Corter. "The same goes
for websites and other information. These avenues, especially in
this day and age, are the first source for most people, but
standardized information should never take the place of project
specific information."
To further ensure quality and stop defects, make use of any
training materials the manufacturers provide. Their online training
materials and videos can be incorporated into regular ongoing
training. This is important in understanding installation
procedures and staying up-to-date on new materials, methods and
techniques. It is also critical for new employees.
Manufacturers willing to travel to training on-site or in
offices give a unique hands-on opportunity for all employees to
learn quality building principles. Employees get hands-on practice
and can ask the trainer questions, raise issues about problems on
the job and hear lessons learned from other businesses.
Quality inspection
The cornerstone of building quality may be in-process
inspection. Conducting ongoing inspections at regular phases and
stages during installation, and making whatever corrections and/or
adjustments need to be done at that time is critical. "Inspections
should be conducted routinely throughout the installation of a
project," Pierson says. "Inspections should be performed several
times a week during installation. During critical detailing, work
inspections should be as often as once per day. The more often an
inspection occurs, the earlier deficiencies can be addressed and
corrected."
Unless the quality inspection process is conducted on a
scheduled and continual basis during construction, there will be
uninspected "gaps" that simply cannot be certified as being
installed in compliance with industry standards for proper
installation and waterproofing.
In-process quality checks should be documented by reports
prepared by the consultants/experts in writing. Inspections can be
recorded at stages with digital progress photographs and video
showing both proper and improper installation. Digital storage and
backup is easy today. Videotape key component parts, noting with a
simple sheet of paper the exact location of the component and the
time recorded.
"Immediately inform the contractor of any conditions that are
contrary to the accepted design and contract documents," LaFave
says. Improper installation should be corrected (and documented)
before proceeding with the next stage of the work.
Finalizing quality
As a conclusion to an effective quality building program, there
should be a final inspection. Again, since the majority of work has
now been covered up, rely on the pre- and in-process inspections
that caught errors. This is a final check on obvious and visual
issues. However, this also means there is no reason for overlooking
something at this stage, such as missing fasteners or flashing. "An
outside consultant experienced with metal buildings can also be
hired to do an independent study," Spores says.
Leonard agrees, saying: "at the end of every project there
should be a debrief, find out what worked well and incorporate that
into your process, or if something didn't work well ensure a
solution is found. Do you know what your fellow trades, your client
and the building owner actually think of your work and what it was
like to work with your team? Many forget this stage. Create a
simple survey, and sit down and talk with your contractor to learn
what went well and how you can improve. I have seen companies
rehired for other work simply because they cared enough to ask this
question."
This quality building post-mortem does have an upside. It's an
opportunity to ensure defects never happen again. Reviewing
construction processes to find how they can be improved is a great
way to save costs in the future. Don't just fix the problem and
move on, ensure quality by making sure it never happens again.
Sidebar
A contractor's quality process
Metal Construction News asked a roofing contractor to
describe in his own words how he ensures quality.
Attention to detail is critical. If you don't pay attention, you
are going to be going back to make repairs and try to make it up to
an unhappy client. A lot of people feel that they have time to go
back and fix their work, but they don't have time to do right the
first time. Quality is pretty important start to finish. Metal is
not always forgiving. If you don't have every move planned ahead
like a chess game, you're going to mess it up. You've got to have
plans. Without quality, problems can include leaking and metal
panels blowing off the roof. If panels are put together too
tightly, they'll buckle or oil can and then eventually just fail.
If they are moving around too much, the cleats will actually loosen
up and then loosen nails in the substrate. It could even loosen
screws. Metal has a lot of movement to it. You go in a building one
day with an exposed fastener roof, sit back and read a book, and
you are going to hear things like pops and twangs and sounds you've
never heard in your life, especially once the sun hits it. It
doesn't matter how much insulation is in there. With exposed
fasteners, there's nowhere for that metal to move.
One error is exposed caulk. If you have a lap joint where the
metal just laps over and the joint is caulked, you've created a
spot where in six weeks the caulk will just separate from one panel
to another. The water is just going to wick up there as if you were
hosing it. Never have your caulk exposed. Personally, I crawl onto
every penetration and wall. I watch what others are doing and see
if it goes with my plans or not. If not, or if it is being done
wrong, or if they don't have a clue, I will attempt to teach that
in a class.
If you are paying attention to installation, you don't need much
instrumentation. I carry with me a 1-inch extension mirror, so I
can look at standing seams. With a single-lock panel, when the seam
is folded over, it looks like a "T." I use a mirror along those
seams and if the metal isn't reflective enough, I look at the
bottom side. Stop the water from getting in there in the first
place. Water will run 2 to 3 feet uphill when two metal panels are
tied together. You can stop that by putting beads of caulk down,
across the panel, inside the lap. By doing so, you can stop the
capillary action of the water and make the roof last longer.
Overlapping panels that stay wet will rust out eventually.
Frank Albert, owner and operator, Albert's Specialty
Roofing, Richmond, Va.