NRCA Rolls Out Metal Roofing Certification

by Paul Deffenbaugh | 1 February 2023 12:00 am

The roofing industry, by way of the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA), has also been providing certifications through its ProCertification program. In April 2022, that program expanded to include metal roofing. NRCA now offers two certifications for metal roofing installers: metal panel installer and metal shingle installer.

I love it when a company honors their workers when they earn their certification. Some companies put up their picture on a wall of fame in their office. Others will have a little ceremony howing how proud they are of the installer’s accomplishments. I have a video of one worker shouting ‘I have a diploma!’ It’s awesome to see.

Program Development

The metal certification program was developed by a cross section group of the metal roofing industry, including manufacturers, specification writers, contractors and installers who came together to determine what knowledge and skills are required to be considered a quality installer. The Metal Construction Association was instrumental in providing support for the development of the certification.

The outline of the certification is in the Job Task Analysis (JTA). “This cross section group of metal industry then took the JTA and produced a list of tasks to be performed on a mockup where an assessor will watch and give their assessment,” says Jared Ribble, NRCA vice president, certification.

Shawn Bellendorf, owner and executive vice president of Kulp’s of Stratford, participated in creation of the certification. The Stratford, Wis.- based company offers a variety of roofing services including metal installation as well as wall cladding and spray foam installation. He explains that the NRCA asked people at Decra Metal Roofing, Corona, Calif., for a recommendation and they identified Bellendorf.

“I jumped at the opportunity,” he says. “I went to Chicago for three days to help the team create the certification criteria. We had to determine what it was someone had to do to acquire this certification.” The result was the JTA, which is available on the NRCA website.

Contractor and Industry Benefits

Certification programs always beg the question of why should a contractor pursue certifying their installers. Among the benefits, according to NRCA, are it gives contractor independent proof of their claims of quality, which always the hardest thing to differentiate your company. In addition, it gives them a reason why bids could be higher.

In this time of labor shortages, the certification program provides two other benefits. Certified employees tend to stay with the company longer than non-certified and companies with these programs can attract more highly qualified candidates.

As a result, the industry benefits because it can compete with trades that have more defined programs such as HVAC, electrical and plumbing in the competition for kids coming out of high school. Also, consumers have higher levels of confidence in the industry when they see an established certification program working to ensure the quality of work. “I’m a big believer in training,” says Bellendorf, “and the metal industry as a whole has not done as well as other trades have done when it comes to training.”

Requirements

NRCA is careful to point out that the certification program is not a training program, and Bellendorf backs that up. He offered his company’s shop to help pilot the performance assessment, and, as part of that, he sent six employees of the company’s 30 field employees through the program who were joined by workers from another roofing company.

Not just any worker can qualify to be assessed. Candidates have to have a minimum of 36 months of experience installing metal roofing and they have to have passed the steep-slope knowledge exam. It’s not for new employees. “It’s meant to be for more experienced people,” says Bellendorf. “We did have one person who didn’t quite meet the criteria. We did that as part of the piloting. To see how someone who wasn’t quite as experienced would handle that certification. He didn’t perform well primarily because it was too new to him.”

Results

The feedback from the Kulp’s of Stratford workers has been positive. “They enjoyed it,” says Bellendorf. “They learned a couple of things to add to their own skill set.”

A trained and certified workforce has benefits just for quality and performance, but the company can also leverage the fact of certification. Kulp’s of Stratford has a very detailed proposal document that is about 10 pages long. One of the reasons for the certification of field employees was to be able to add that to the proposals. “It definitely creates a situation where we’re setting ourselves apart from our competition,” says Bellendorf. “It creates a lot of credibility.”

Ribble says that specification writers are already adding certification requirements to specs. “Across the country,” he says, “specification writers are beginning to specify a percentage of the crew has to be a ProCertified Metal Panel Roof Systems installer or ProCertified Foreman. In March, MasterSpec section 074113.16 Standing Seam Metal Roof Panels will be updated with ProCertification language. Last year that section was opened by 10,200 MasterSpec subscribers.”

Source URL: https://www.metalconstructionnews.com/articles/nrca-rolls-out-metal-roofing-certification/

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