He says CUFCA also works with all provincial building of- ficial associations and participates in their annual general meetings and educational sessions to increase knowledge of SPF for their inspectors. Cole says the association operates a consumer com- plaint resolution process for any end users of members’ products. “If there is any concern that a job is defective, we will be involved in the inspection and remediation process. CUFCA also has an independent warranty program at no cost to our contractors.” He says, as is the case with many trades, the greatest challenge is ensuring staff are well trained. It is a struggle, he says, for contractors to invest in developing their employ- ees. Once trained, many will take their newfound skills and seek higher pay elsewhere. “There is little loyalty these days and yes, we know this is a two-way street, but the fallout is that many contractors simply cannot afford to continue to fund training programs for their staff only to have them leave.” CUFCA offers skills training specific to the industry and is currently working to develop innovative lower cost deliv- ery systems. CUFCA is an ISO-17024 accredited certification organiza- tion for installers.The certification process includes a written exam component to validate a candidate's knowledge and a practicum spray out evaluation to confirm skills and abili- ties.”CUFCA started to offer an optional training program in response to, what we felt, was a clear lack of training being offered by manufacturers of spray foam systems.” Since 1926, Graco Inc. has been a leading provider of premium pumps and spray equipment for fluid handling in the construction, manufacturing, processing and maintenance industries. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Graco works closely with distributors around the world to offer innovative products that set the quality standard for spray finishing, paint circulation, lubrication, sealant and adhesives dispensing, process application, and contractor power equipment. These best-in-class products are manufactured in the U.S. and China and supplied through our distribution centers in Minnesota, Belgium, Japan, Korea, China and Australia. What sets us apart from our competitors is our history, a focus on highly-engineered, quality products, industry- leading innovation and the solid partnerships we form with customers and suppliers around the world. Phone: 800-328-0211 www.graco.com/Reactor The association operates a fully equipped training centre in Mississauga, with both 2lb closed cell and .5 lb open cell SPF products. “It is still a challenge to take a student who may have had no prior experience and teach them to be- come proficient in only four days. Our training program used to be two weeks and was quite expensive but due to man- ufacturers with other QAP programs wishing to offer half day courses we were forced to change our program.” This is one of the reasons members are encouraged to implement an apprenticeship style training program within their own workplaces. Cole says the industry as a whole suffers when its mem- bers do not take field quality assurance seriously. The in- creasing failures, he says, will ultimately negatively impact the larger market. “Thankfully CUFCA members are commit- ted to the ideals of a higher quality spray foam industry.” Other issues facing members include the influx of new and inexperienced installers that have entered the market- place. “Spray foam is growing from a niche business to be- coming more mainstream. This rapid growth does result in some difficulty for the industry to keep up with demand.” He says an increase in competition and the variety of skills needed and available is also a challenge. “The con- struction industry, with its “low-bid” system of contractor and sub-contractor selection really is problematic,” Cole said. “How can good quality flow from a system that is set up to pay the least for any trade?” He says the quality control issue is so great that it has spawned an entire industry of third party inspection providers working for architects to ensure that systems in- stalled meet the codes. CUFCA also provides these services to its members and their clients. As an impartial third party to both the manu- facturer and the contractor, he says CUFCA will ensure that the SPF work installed meets the standards and codes. “We have very good templates for specification writers that can be taken from our website in order to ensure they have a sound starting point when contracting for spray foam.” Cole says CUFCA also works to build the spray foam in- dustry as a whole, offering impartial education to building officials, architects and other design professionals to pro- vide a greater knowledge of the various spray foam prod- ucts and their applicable standards and installation process. “Products all have strengths and weaknesses and there is a great deal of confusion in the market that needs to be clar- ified.” He says a good relationship with building departments across Canada ensures CUFCA can answer questions or concerns quickly and correctly with no commercial interest resulting from working for any one manufacturer. “We are passionate about the products and see tremendous poten- tial in achieving energy saving targets and carbon reduction targets when installing such a superior air sealing and ther- mal insulating product.” He says the association is always working on ways to continue to build a stronger community within the SPF mar- ket in Canada and has made progress. The association also continues to make progress in sup- porting its members. –––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Continued on page 51 50 – July - August 2016 — The Canadian Design and Construction Report