b'Correspondence Regarding Fl\\14490 Co from page 7 ntinued proposed standard to properly placeMutual insured projects.imize the impact on their cu Sincer , stomerselythe responsibility forc orp The smaller contracspecifi ationstheirricing. and design of roofing assemblies onRespectfully,tors are already burdened with theTho s P. Billis RRC ma h, the engineers, consultants, archi fact that their insurance rates arePresident specif awf ,dance tects and otherication parties.Iowa Roofing Contractorshigher even when their loss recordsC r or Mainten & Roofing Contractors should only beAssociationare similar to the larger c tors,I Servontrac nspectionice responsible for the proper applica and consequ tlyraise their en must tionofFM- approvedroofingAto FMrates accordingly.Fl Sunrey Results Letter\\14490 assemblies as specifiedonFM Editor\'s note:MRCA received aWe are co aware of theByFnstantlyJohnullerton at anthere al MRCA Administr ive M ager insured facilities.courtesy copy offollowing letterfact that manufactu rslow large We encourage you to minimizesent by one ofmembers tovolume con special r OnSeptember 10, FM ourFac tractorsecogni Friday, the documentation requirements,tory Mutual Research Corporationtion andnsolelyadvised theR Condesignatio basedNationaloofing which add to contract costs and endregarding FM4490. The opinionson the amountproduct purchasedtractors Assoc that their inofiation up increasing the price to a con expressed in this and all lettersandupon theity of wo house c dec d it would llnotqual rk.ounselidesumers. FMRC, rather than the within are those ofauthors, andMany of those in name ap rviolate"nonprofitto con thepea totheircharter" tractors, should maintainnotofMRCA merely byfollow the highest standards but arelimit the scope of the proposed historicalthosethe projectdocumentation onFM fact ofWith permissionin reality companies who constantlyapproval standardtoonly FMpublication. theaccordaninsuredfacilities.Thesimplefrom the author, the text ofletteravoid roof installation inceinsured buildings - one of the key change would eliminateneed forappears below.with goodpractice and thep in discussions withFM theroofingointsFM. potentially intrusive audits of con stan ofeWe havealso indicated that issuance of the dardsth industry. tractors.Mr. George Smithalso experien thethat manystandard - in whatever form ii mcedfactay Thank youforyourattention.Factory Mutual Researchof the sm lm have ahfinally take - is d y by at least al co paniesmuc ela ed Please continue to work with ourCorporationgreater hands-on management style90 days. industry leaders to meet your objec 1151 Boston-Providen Turnpikethanthelarger firmsbecauseitFM is currently re-evaluating the ce tives and minimize the unwarrantedP. 0. Box 9102directly affects the ownership andentire situation, and it is willing to burden on the roofing contractor.Norwood,02062therefore are much more demandingdiscuss differ approaches to the MAent of their people than the larger com standard. However,e Smith GeorgSincerely,Dear Mr. Smith:panies that could affordimple of FM has been q ted as touo saying: IaConment your requirements."There is no que on thatere will amRegistered Roofsul sti thSteve L. Webstertant with the Roof Con Insti I h found through 29 yearsbe arfing." sultantsavestandard fo rooPresident,RoofingContractorstuteour company also performsexperienceofworking withandAs members are welljust andaware, Association of Texasindustrialandcommercialroofoverseeing roof projects thateb re thisn MRCA thos efo annou cement, maintenance work. I h thewho can pass te often do not passcreated and distributed a ave readstssurvey of Letterfrom Iowa Roofmgarticles andrequirements pro onthisinformationtothefieldroofingtors regarding the thecontracContractors Association to FMposed by the FM 4490 standard f groups in large companies whereasFM4490 proposed stan . ordard The September 10, 1999approval of roofing contractors. I amthesma companyhasmuchWestern States Roofing Co ctors llerntraconcerned that aof thistightercom flowandAssociation, the Chicagong standardmunicationRoofiagreeedand the We,the members of the Iowatype would be abused and Itherefore information is shar moreContractors Association, Roofing Contractors Association,with the Midwest Roofing Contrac readily. Large c with manyIo Roofing C orsoompanieswaontract Ass ciafeel the implementation of furthertorsAssociationthatitwouldc adiffer tionby distributing rews often havecompletelyjoined this effort regulation of ouradversely affect our industry.ent qua ity result from crew to crew,the survey to theircontracindustry is unnec Iroofing essary. We stand firmly in supportMy greatest concern is that thewhereas small companies usuallytor mem as well.Below are bers of the Midwest Roofing Contractorssmaller contractors with a lowerwillfollow onestandardfor theresults from that survey. Association\'soppositiontowork volume will be burdened withentire company.One may note that almost 90 Form.believenot FM4490 in its Version 5additional costs that will make themIFM 4490 wouldbe apercent ofcontractorssurveyed Recognizing changes in the stan evenlesscompetitivewiththeirb e to the customers, or the roof opposethedevelopment of the en fit dard may be forthcoming and thelarger counterparts in the roofinging in and that quality controlstandard, and less than 8nt dustrypercerights of individualto createindustry. The abundance of legisla and assu of proper roof appli favorit.About60perce of entitiesrancent standards in the best interest oftion has burdened allcation shouldleft to those over responden did some FM work theircontractors;bets clients, we ask that this standard bealthough those with higher volumeseeing the project directly and noteach year.~ formatted to prevent the intrusionare able to spread the costs over ato academic qualifications.Here are thelts of the resu FM into our industry on non-Factorygreat amount of work and thus min- C inuedpage 11 ont on'