Roofline Roundup

The first Roofline Roundup posed the question “Have roofline installation standards slipped?” The quick answer is there are no statistics because there isn’t a benchmark to judge against. Unusually for the construction industry, there are no recognised CITB training schemes or qualifications for PVC-UE roofline installers. The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) offers training in carpentry or roofing but not a combination of both. There’s also nothing offered in any colleges to cover PVC-UE as a material or roofline system. Anyone in roofline installation will agree it’s a skilled job, requiring competence that can only be gained through education, training and experience. While short training courses make a person competent to perform a specific task, longer term education gives transferable knowledge.

 Recent changes in the construction industry made competence on construction sites relevant by introducing the Construction Skills Certification Scheme. To obtain a CSCS or affiliated card, workers must achieve an NVQ or SVQ and meet a minimum standard of health and safety awareness. However, there is no equivalent scheme that covers construction workers in the domestic refurbishment sector. And, you could argue, there is more reason to have a standardised training qualifications for installers who work on domestic properties. On a building site, overseen by qualified site managers, every step of the job can be monitored. On domestic properties, fitting teams often work unsupervised with jobs only checked on completion. Not only can this result in inconsistent quality but lack of skills and procedures can be a disaster waiting to happen.  

 In the face of no long term training, some roofline installation companies have taken matters into their own hands. Some even train installers in the classroom or onsite to a competence level based on a written specification.

 In a similar way many manufacturers also offer guidance on installation. There are written specifications on how to install correctly. Sometimes through registered or authorised installer schemes there are checks on the capability of workmanship. There are also short training courses for roofline installation, but as most installations are carried out in the domestic refurbishment sector where the diverse housing stock means that no two jobs are alike, are short courses really enough? Professional manufacturers and installers are trying to raise the standard but without a formal industry wide qualification the system is wide open to abuse. Anyone can install roofline and there is no formal way to evaluate individual competence.

 Ken Davies of Everwhite comments: “As a time served carpenter and joiner, and having trained carpenters and joiners for the building trade, I understand the importance of consistent high quality installation. It is vital that the industry is able to protect itself from unscrupulous practices. Having an industry wide qualification for roofline installation would be a first step.”