Challenges of Roofing Companies

It goes without saying that roofing is one of the most perilous sectors of all. It requires an excellent management of working at height, which should naturally follow the hierarchy of controls, such as avoidance and prevention. Both fall restraints and safety netting should be considered as a last resort only if all the other safety equipment and measures cannot be used.

Roofing companies all over the world are facing similar problems on a daily basis. On top of the regular difficulties stemming from the nature of this work, the sector must now react to the post-Covid crisis, which is certainly of major concern for the roofing companies at the moment.

There is no doubt that the industry cannot go on operating as it did before: with no social distancing procedures whatsoever. There are new procedures for each market. This is why safety-related processes are now of utmost importance and must be put in place and followed in order to ensure not only a safe environment for workers but also the continuity of the roofing industry.

Learn more about Employee Safety in the Roofing Industry & How to Protect Your Employees here.

Roofing Market Challenges

Whether it’s a production industry, a construction industry or a roofing industry, the problems arise or will do so sooner or later. The latter is particularly susceptible to certain difficulties on the way due to the nature of the industry, which is rather risky and requires a great attention to details. Therefore, in order to address the problems and offer the solutions and support for the roofers, we must first and foremost, identify the specific areas, which need an immediate improvement and what directly triggers the problems.

Here are some of the biggest challenges faced by the roofing industry:

• 01

  Keeping track of the scheduling

  • Projects scheduled simultaneously or one after the other, from spring to early autumn

  • Possible delays disrupting the upcoming plans

  • Keeping up with the stages of the projects on multiple locations

• 02

  Late payment

  • Subcontractors being paid the latest possible because of a cash hold

  • Payments by stages - being paid every period of time a total percentage of the contract value:

    1. 20% - After the work has started

    2. 30% - After the completion of a certain stage

    3. 50 % - At the end of the project

  • Payments by quote valuation - a dedicated surveyor required to mark the tasks as completed on the basis of which the customer can raise a sales invoice after consultation

• 03

  Managing the roof construction process

  • Lack of the right tools to take advantage of repeatable processes and actions, such as: executing an identical type of projects, doing similar quotations or ordering the same materials each time

  • Manual intervention required at each stage of those and different processes

• 04

  Work-life balance

  • Stressful work conditions can have an impact on employees’ productivity and well-being on-site

  • High demand for work with too few employees

• 05

  Weather and roof construction

  • Unpleasant weather conditions can make it tricky to install the roofs properly

  • Extreme weather conditions can cause plenty of damage

  • Leads to rework or delays in the delivery of projects

• 06

  Lack of maintenance works

  • Very rapid deterioration of flat roofs as a result of no inspection works being done (a 30 year-lifespan with regular maintenance works provided)

  • Costly repairs in case of faulty installations

• 07

  Faulty installations

  • Bad-quality materials being used in roof installations and designs

  • Inexperienced workers lacking basic trainings

  • Leaks and other damages resulting in costly building repairs

• 08

  High competition

  • Construction works require a lot of roofing jobs, hence the interest of many professionals and businessmen in investing in a roofing company

  • Highly trained crew

  • Application of new technologies, which streamline all the processes

Each industry, without exception, has its issues and challenges to face. It is natural to have some problems and the roofing industry is no different in this respect. Keeping track of all the projects, late payments and managing processes make up just a few of the challenges this industry needs to overcome every day.

So, the question arises whether managing work at height is at all possible from the ground?
Can your roofing company prevent the problems before they appear?
And if yes, then how can this be done in a smooth way, without creating additional problems for your company?

In order to find out the answers for these and many more topic-related questions, read the following article about Archdesk’s solutions that will save you the hassle!