My Other Site

In support of my campaign for CSI Vice President, I have established another website.

Go over to www.RobertDye.us

There I have a "mirror" blog to this one, along with some information about me (yawn) and some of my recent projects.

Thanks.

School Days

I have the good fortune to be able to travel around the country as part of my work. It is not too often that my travel schedule coincides with a local CSI Chapter meeting, but I always check my local listings, so to speak, to see if I can attend. Recently, I was able to make two Chapter meetings.

In October I was in Houston and was able to attend the CSI meeting there. The speaker was Mr. Mark Lemanno of Franklin International speaking on moisture problems in concrete floor slabs. Mark gave a very interesting presentation. My field is roofing, so you might think that would not share much in common with floor slabs. Actually, there were a lot of familiar concepts. Moisture moves through systems from “wet” to “dry”, whether the system is a floor or a roof assembly. And when it does, it can make serious problems.

In November I was in Omaha and attended the Nebraska Chapter meeting. The speaker was my friend Ms. Joy Davis of CSI. Joy is the CSI Web Content Manager. Not only does she know her way around a website – which was the topic of her presentation – she is also an excellent public speaker. I am somewhat hesitant to share that two of the examples she referred to in her presentation were: 1) my blog and 2) a website called “Web Pages That Suck”. She used my site as an example of one that doesn’t suck. At least, I think that was her intent.

One other thing that really excited me about both these Chapter meetings: they had a large contingent of college students attending. Each of these Chapters had reached out to a local college and invited the students to attend. I do not know if these were Student CSI Chapters, but they certainly were well represented at the meetings. The students were majoring in Architecture and Construction Science. While so many of us are asking how we can keep CSI relevant in our industry, these chapters have the answer. Go back to school!

Here's How We Do It

Kansas City’s Guide to Membership

There are so many ways to promote membership in CSI. CSI has several resources on-line and our Region Chair is always available to help with ideas. Most chapters have a Membership program, or if they don’t they will soon be heading in the wrong direction!

We consider the Chapter Membership committee to be the “marketing” department, not a recruiting office. There is a difference. The Membership committee sets the stage for our members to “sell” the benefits of CSI membership. The Membership committee is not responsible to recruit new members any more than any other chapter member.

It is important that we work with the other “growth” committees, namely the Certification, Education and Technical committees. These committees do the work that CSI is known for in the construction community. They do a great job of attracting and bringing potential members to our CSI chapter. They can also invite people to join.

Help your Programs committee set up impressive presentations at the monthly meetings. These will draw members and guests. You will be ready to “ask for the sale”.

Every Chapter meeting or event is also a membership recruiting event. Make it a point to “ask for the sale” at each meeting or program. If a potential member has made it all the way to you, the least you can do is to invite them to join. Our chapter has a tradition of introducing new members and presenting their CSI pin at Chapter meetings. This past month we had a joint meeting with another construction organization and we took the opportunity to introduce our new members. Since we had not presented our new members since last Spring, the list was impressively long. There was a buzz going through the crowd about how many new members we had. That is what we want.

That is our approach. Yours may vary, but it really doesn’t have to be hard. Delegate the tasks, get others involved, and keep pushing. You’ll be surprised at your success. Good luck.

Are you LinkedIn?

It is well known that people join CSI for one of two reasons:

1. Networking
2. Education

Here is a website that makes networking as simple as a mouse click.

LinkedIn.com is an online network of more than 19 million experienced professionals from around the world, representing 150 industries.

When you sign in, you create a profile that summarizes your professional accomplishments. Your profile helps you find and be found by former colleagues, clients, and partners. You can add more connections by inviting trusted contacts to join LinkedIn and connect to you.

Your network consists of your connections, your connections’ connections, and the people they know, linking you to thousands of qualified professionals.

Through your network you can:

• Find potential clients, service providers, subject experts, and partners who come recommended
• Be found for business opportunities
• Search for great jobs
• Discover inside connections that can help you land jobs and close deals
• Post and distribute job listings
• Get introduced to other professionals through the people you know

LinkedIn is free to join.

What would you do if you had the current, up-to-date business information on everyone in our Chapter? How could you expand your network? What would a potential client find if they Googled your name?

LinkedIn is a great way to take control of your on-line identity. There are many social networking sites, but LinkedIn is for business.

Click over to LinkedIn to see how it works. If you want to check out an impressive network, go to LinkedIn and search for our North Central Region Institute Director, Mr. Sheldon Wolfe.

Remember, “Building and maintaining good relationships with other people is an important component for job success.” Krumholtz and Levin in “Luck is No Accident.”

Flint Hills CSI Product Show follow-up

The Flint Hills CSI Chapter held a very impressive Product Show! This was the first time the held the Show outside of their hometown, and it was a great move.

I was pleased to offer the first of the technical presentations. The program was well attended and the questions were spot-on. It is always fun to have the audience engaged, and good questions are the best indicator.

Thanks to everyone who worked so hard to make this event a success. Thanks to all the exhibitors for making the finances work. Special thanks to Suzette, Nance, and Will for their planning and organizing.

Superdome Presentation, March 11, 2008

The Flint Hills (Topeka) Chapter of the Construction Specification Institute will have their annual Product Show on Tuesday March 11, 2008. The location will be the Holiday Inn Conference Center.

I will be speaking about the Superdome re-roofing project. This will not be the usual, dry roofing presentation, however (pun intended). Previous offerings of this presentation have been offered sans bullet points. No “death by PowerPoint”. There is a wonderful new book entitled “Presentation Zen” by Garr Reynolds. The author captures what I think are the essential aspects of successful presentations. This book will definitely influence my presentations from now on.

The Flint Hills Chapter is putting a great deal of effort into making this event a success. Locating the Show in Lawrence is in recognition of the fact that many of their members are in the Lawrence area. There is also the School of Architecture at Kansas University in Lawrence. This will be a great way to share with practicing architects and students.

If you will be in the area on March 11, plan to attend the Flint Hills Product Show.

Using CSI Certification

Recently had a telephone call from a friend at a nationally known roofing contracting company. They were investigating the advantages of continuing education for their key employees. As with many companies in the construction industry, attracting and keeping quality-minded employees is a challenge. The education and work experience of each individual employee is variable. How does a company bring all the employees “up” to a consistent and measurable standard of knowledge?

For this company, the Construction Specifications Institute offered an answer. The CSI Certification program is an industry-recognized standard of construction knowledge. It has been in place, and validated over many years of use. It provides an excellent overview of the construction process along with the rights and responsibilities of all the parties involved.

The CSI Certification program begins with the Construction Document Technologist designation. This is open to all applicants, there are no pre-requisites other than a willingness to devote time to study and preparation for the exam. The successful CDT candidate will have a good understanding of the construction delivery process and documentation. It is not simply about the construction phase, however. The life cycle of any building begins with a schematic design and continues through to decommissioning or re-use. This is a lot of information to cover, and the CDT candidate will have a good working knowledge of all the subject matter. The CSI Project Resource Manual and the American Institute of Architects’ General Condition document A201 are the main documents of study.

The CSI Certification Program also includes three Certifications. These are more specific than the CDT Program is and emphasize the application of information. The successful Certification candidate must be able to solve problems using skills or knowledge presented in the reference materials. The CSI Project Resource Manual is again the primary document of study.

The three Certifications and their applications are:

CCS, Certified Construction Specifier. This is for those individual whose primary work task is the preparation of Construction Documents. This is typically the “plans and specifications” used in the bidding and construction phases of a project. The prerequisite for this exam include successfully passing the CDT exam and providing evidence of relevant work experience.

CCCA, Certified Construction Contract Administrator. Once the agreement between the Owner and Contractor is signed, the construction phase begins. This is the phase of the project where the Contract Administrators do their work. Contract Administrators can work for or represent the Owner, the designer (Architect or Engineer), or the Contractor. An in-depth knowledge and understanding of the content and application of the Construction Documents is required.

CCPR, Certified Construction Product Representative. The CCPR candidate typically works for a manufacturer or product representation company. The CCPR actually works through all the phases of a building’s life cycle from conception to decommissioning. Product selection, substitutions, quality assurance, and maintenance are some of the tasks addressed by the product representative. They understand their role in working with the designer, contractor and building owner.

Back to the Contractor who initiated the call, since they operate on a nation-wide basis, having CSI study groups and exam administration nationally was a great benefit. CSI typically offers the exam nationally in late March or early April. In 2008, the CDT exam will be administered as a computer-based test for the first time. Many CSI Chapters around the country have study groups formed to help the candidates in their preparation for the exam. Not only are these groups a great motivator to stay on task with the reading, but they are excellent learning opportunities. Group discussions provide the benefit of different perspectives on the industry and study materials.

More information is available at www.csinet.org. Click on the “Certification” link.

Good news for the Environment!

The President has signed into law the Energy Independence and Security Act. Although I have already heard griping from some in the business community that this new law “really doesn’t do anything, because there are no tax breaks”, I think it is significant. (Tax breaks for developers are another topic for another day.)

Those of us in the roofing industry may have a greater influence in the reduction of energy use, and therefore greenhouse gas production, than is obvious.

Consider that 20 years from now, practically every building roof will be either new or recently replaced. That means that the current inventory of roofs will be totally replaced by 2030. For the designers, manufacturers, and installers of roof systems this presents a significant opportunity. We can build roof systems that are thermally efficient and high in reflectivity and emissivity. This can be done for very little, if any, added cost to the building owner. The benefits to the environment and the economy are substantial, especially when compared to the cost of replacing a roof.

The New York Times columnist, Tom Friedman would argue that reducing energy consumption is a matter of strategic importance for our country, as well. By reducing the amount of money flowing to oil-exporting countries, the cause of freedom and democracy is greatly enhanced. The rulers of oil-exporting countries are not always friendly and they can act with impunity simply because they have a great source of income – the United States!

However, we digress. Here is a press release from Architecture 2030:

After being passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives, the Energy Independence and Security Act became law yesterday with the President's signature. Section 433 of this bill requires that all federal buildings meet the energy performance standards of The 2030 Challenge. The key passage in this section states that:

“buildings shall be designed so that the fossil fuel-generated energy consumption of the buildings is reduced, as compared with such energy consumption by a similar building in fiscal year 2003 (as measured by Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey or Residential Energy Consumption Survey data from the Energy Information Agency), by the percentage specified in the following table:

-------------------------------------------
Fiscal Year Percentage Reduction
2010: 55%
2015: 65%
2020: 80%
2025: 90%
2030: 100%
-------------------------------------------

This applies to Federal buildings. Consider, however, that the Federal government is the biggest "landlord" in the country, if not the world. This is definitely a step in the right direction.

New job

Starting October 8, 2007 I will be working at:

Dressler Consulting Engineers, Inc.
4425 Indian Creek Parkway
Overland Park, KS

913.341.5575
www.dressler.net

Please update your file.

My e-mail and direct dial number will stay the same.

You Can’t Always Get What You Want

You Can’t Always Get What You Want

Moral: You don’t get what you expect, you get what you inspect. (Or, you don’t get what you specify, you get what you observe.)

Situation

In the preparation of Construction Documents, we spend a great deal of time determining the proper components for the building systems. We apply a great deal effort writing specifications and making drawings and cross checking between them.

Mistake

Rather than giving consideration to the perfect set of Construction Documents, we often overlook who will use them and how they will interpret them.

For example, for our roofing projects it is not uncommon for the foreman to have all of his instructions about how to assemble the roof system on a single 3 by 5 note card. He carries this card in his pocket.

All of the wonderful specification writing and drafting work in the Construction Documents is reduced to a single 3 by 5 note card!

Result

Some times the construction crew assembles their portion of the work by habit or “area practice”, rather than what was so carefully researched and specified.

Maybe they cannot do their work the way it was specified because of interference with other work. Maybe they were told to do their work at the wrong time in the construction sequence. Maybe the wrong materials were delivered to the project site.

The result will be a building not in conformance with the Construction Documents.

Lesson learned.

There is no substitute for timely jobsite visits. This means being at the place of work at the correct time.

For example, the roof is one of the largest field-assembled systems in a building. It is typically the assembly of multiple components. Looking at the finished roof does not show which components were used or how they were installed. For that, the Owner’s representative needs to be on the roof as it is being assembled.

Some clients forgo the expense of roof warranty premiums and use the saving to pay for a roof construction observer instead.

On Being Flexible

On Being Flexible

Moral: Be especially careful when changing roof system type.

Situation

A large retail building was being converted for a different use. In the process of the remodeling, it was decided to change the roof system type. The existing roof was a ballasted EPDM (rubber) membrane. The new roof was a coal tar built-up roof.

The roof deck was corrugated metal on bar joists. The building exterior walls were tilt-up concrete.

Mistake

Little (or no) consideration was given to the movement of the roof deck relative to the walls. Since the roof deck was attached to the supporting bar joists, it can only more in the same direction as the bar joists. Since the bar joists span from one side of the building to the opposite side, there can be a differential movement between the deck and the adjacent wall.

Specifically, the walls at the ends of the bar joists will stay in the same relative location since they were fastened. However, the walls running parallel to the bar joists can move relative to the bar joists/deck since they were not fastened together. As the building moves with temperature expansion or contraction, or wind loads, or foundation settlement, the roof connection from the roof deck to the wall can be strained.

Result

The roof base flashing wrinkled noticeably along the parapet walls.

The roof membrane actually split in the field of the roof.

The EPDM roof provides a flexible membrane system that accommodates building movement. A coal tar built-up roof with fiberglass ply felts does not.

Both are good systems, with unique performance attributes.

Lesson learned

Changing the type of a system should be based on relevant factors. Swapping one type for another is not always as straightforward as it may seem.

Particular care must be paid to the interface between systems, i.e. between the building structure and the tilt-up walls or between the roof and the walls.

Self-inflicted Roof Blow-off

Self-inflicted Roof Blow-off

Moral: Don’t override the safety system. It’s there for a reason.

Situation

We were asked to design a roof replacement for a small building that housed electronic switchgear and computers. The HVAC system was oversized with a backup system, because of the necessity to keep this equipment at its proper operating temperature.

Mistake

The mechanical system operator decided to test the system. In preparation for the test, the pressure relief dampers were blocked off. These dampers were spring loaded and calibrated to vent excess pressure from the building interior in the event of a problem with the HVAC system.

The HVAC system could operate by recirculating the interior air, or by pulling in air from outside the building.

With the relief dampers blocked, the HVAC system was turned on with full outside make-up air.

Result

The rise in the interior air pressure resulted in the roof system being “blown” off the building. It actually did not leave the building, but rose off the deck and came back down when the HVAC was shut off.

Lesson learned

The safety system is there for a reason. Someone has determined the need for the system and designed it for that purpose. The system may be designed for situations that may not be obvious.

Overriding the safety system can lead to unintended consequences.

Don’t Get Ahead of Yourself

Don’t Get Ahead of Yourself

Moral: Don’t take off more than you can replace.

Situation

Note: This is not one of our projects. We don’t do residential work.

There was a residential roof replacement project being done by a friend of the homeowner. The scope of work included removing the existing cedar shake roof and replacing it with an asphalt shingle roof. No problem.

The “roofer” had ordered a dumpster to be placed in the driveway. As the existing roof was demolished it could be collected and hauled away at the end of the job.

Mistake

Rather than continuing to pay the daily charge for the dumpster, it was decided to completely remove the existing roof and have it hauled away. No temporary roof was installed.

A quick pop-up thunderstorm overnight dumped an inch and a half of rain in about 30 minutes.

Result

Most of the gypsum board in the house was ruined. Some ceilings dropped. The carpeting was ruined. The electrical system was damaged, etc.

Lesson learned

Although it seems obvious when we are writing re-roofing specifications, we always instruct the roofing contractor to tear off no more of the existing roof than can be “dried-in” or replaced each day. Apparently, this instruction was not obvious to the amateur “roofer”.

No weather forecast is perfect all the time. Make allowances for the worst-case possibility. Take control of the variables you can, because there is often another variable beyond your control.

Wrong place at the wrong time

Wrong place at the wrong time, or Leaks at the Roof-to-wall Interface

Moral: Proper construction detailing is essential between building systems.

Situation

A new retirement home was built a couple of years ago. It was a three story building. The roof consisted of asphalt shingles on a plywood deck. The octagonal front entryway had stone masonry cladding. The General Contractor was anxious to get the building “dried-in” so that the interior work could be done without concern of getting wet.

Mistake

The roofer was told to complete the application of the shingles before the stone mason laid up the wall. As a result, where the stonework extended above the roof, the mortar and stone was actually laid on top of the previously installed shingles.

Result

When it rained, the rainwater ran down the slope of the roof, under the stone and mortar and into the building. A gypsum board ceiling collapsed.

Lesson(s) learned.

There is no substitute for proper sequencing of construction work. The stone mason should have completed the wall before the roofer laid the shingles.

There is no substitute for proven construction details properly installed. The flashing between the roof and the wall cannot be left out simply because the roof is sloped.

Particular care must be paid to the interface between systems, i.e. between the roof and the walls. Each trade is responsible for their own work, but not for others’. Although there were several opportunities to prevent or correct this failure, no corrective steps were taken.