In light of those statistics, The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) last week issued a 20-page nail gun safety guide for construction contractors.

The guide does not include new regulations for manufacturers or jobsite supervision. Instead, in the spirit of encouraging companies to provide a safe and healthful workplace environment (as they are mandated to do under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970), the guide discusses common causes of nail gun injuries and offers practical steps to prevent them.

Given that many experienced carpenters have left the housing industry or went out of business during the recession, the guide arrives at a time when builders and framing contractors might be reconsidering how best to retrain their remaining field workers.

OSHA concedes that it’s difficult to quantify the breadth of nail gun injuries because a certain percentage goes unreported. But using different field studies as its measures, the agency estimates that 68% of all nail-gun related emergency room visits involve workers. More than half of reported nail gun injuries are to hands or fingers, and one-quarter of hand injuries involve structural damage to tendons, joints, nerves, or bones.

The guide implies that injuries are often caused because workers aren’t trained sufficiently to use nail guns with varying trigger mechanisms that can fire nails at different speeds and sequences, and have different safety contacts.

Indeed, unintended nail discharge from double fires or knocking the safety contact while the trigger is squeezed are two of the seven major risk factors that can lead to nail-gun injury, the guide states. Others include nail penetration through lumber pieces or ricochets after hitting a hard surface; awkward position nailing, such as toe-nailing; and bypassing safety mechanisms, such as removing the spring from the safety contact tip, which can elevate the chances of an unintended discharge.

Among its six safety steps, OSHA recommends contractors use nail guns with full sequential triggers, which will fire a nail only when the controls are activated in a certain order. OSHA concedes that the nailing time of nail guns with contact triggers is 10% faster. But it also cites one study that found “the trigger type was less important to overall productivity than who was using the tool; this suggests that productivity concerns should focus on the skill of the carpenter rather than the trigger [of the gun].”

Consequently, the second safety step recommends that companies provide better equipment training, including how the guns work and how they can malfunction or cause injuries. Companies should also establish nail gun work procedures, provide personal protective equipment, encourage reporting and discussions of injuries and close calls, and provide first aid and medical treatment.

Contractors looking for more information about the safety guide can go to OSHA’s website or call 800-321-6742.

John Caulfield is senior editor for Builder magazine.

This article was originally posted on Builder Online.

“Both companies manufacture highly engineered, low-maintenance, exterior products that offer exceptional performance and longevity,” said Eric Jungbluth, CEO of CPG International Inc., Azek’s parent company. “Vast Composite Masonry products represent the future of alternative paver materials, a category with enormous growth potential.”

Vast is a manufacturer of composite masonry products that are produced with 95% post-consumer recycled rubber and plastics. Azek produces composite exterior products including decking, trim, and mouldings.

“This partnership elevates the Vast brand and brings it to a much larger audience of architects, project planners and contractors,” said Andy Vander Woude, CEO of Vast Enterprises.

This article was originally posted on ProSales Online.

As part of its comprehensive suite of market research services for building product manufacturers, the NAHB Research Center offers a quick, thorough, and cost-effective method to evaluate the field readiness of new products. Evaluation like this can be invaluable to manufacturers in preventing unforeseen installation or usage problems before market launch—and invaluable to the builders and contractors who ultimately use the products and materials and require a seamless transition.

The Research Center’s service is unique to the home building industry because it is based on our 1) state-of-the-art observational research facility that allows clients to observe, record, and analyze building material installation or tool usage in a controlled environment; 2) extensive experience in evaluating new construction products, installation practices, and forensics of building material failures; and 3) expertise in observational research methods specific to the construction industry.

There are four key benefits to this type of pre-launch evaluation:

1. It’s quick. The evaluation can be completed in a short period of time, typically less than a week.
2. It’s confidential. All research is conducted in one private location, and all materials are controlled by one project manager.
3. It’s thorough. The Center’s extensive experience assisting manufacturers develop and launch new products, observational research facility, experience in field evaluations of building materials, experience in forensics of construction defects, and relationships with the industry/contractors all add up to provide a turnkey evaluation experience for manufacturers.
4. It’s cost-effective. Travel for research and development staff is minimal compared to conducting multiple site visits. It’s also possible to have participation from a large group of both on- and off-site staff, accommodated by cameras, streaming video on secure websites, and observation rooms behind one-way glass.

The process for this type of research is relatively straightforward but is customized for each client’s needs. The first step is to define the objectives and scope of the desired evaluation. These are influenced by where a product is in the new-product development cycle and the unique nature of the product that will be evaluated. From there, a research plan is established. Once the plan is approved, the Research Center organizes the construction of any mock-ups needed, recruits participants, and coordinates the audiovisual capture of the evaluation.

This article was originally posted on Builder Online.

This is the second time in a little more than two years that the company reorganized. In April 2009, it splintered its four regional operations into six to meet customer demand and allow the company’s branches to operate on a more local level.

ProBuild is ranked No. 2 on this year’s ProSales 100 listing with roughly 450 locations throughout the country and $3.05 billion in sales in 2010. – Craig Webb, ProSales

NARI’s data indicate that most consumers are not sufficiently aware of the rule and therefore are not hiring professionals certified by the Environmental Protection Agency. Further, despite the failings of the current myriad regulations in place, the EPA is poised to add another regulation, a move that will surely affect the remodeling industry as well as consumer safety.

The new amendment would require “lead clearance testing” in homes built prior to 1978, which will add even more costs for homeowners already burdened by the increased costs in place due to the existing rule. However, the new requirement will only apply when contractors do the work.

The concern is that once homeowners discover this loophole, they will do the demolition and renovation themselves to save money, according to David Merrick, president of Merrick Design and Build in Kensington, Md. “Ultimately they risk lead exposure because homeowners are not trained in lead-safe work practices,” he said.

Mark Paskell, a contractor and business coach in Sterling, Mass., says that the new amendment’s intentions are good but “Unfortunately the actual methods and strategies to release it and then get it out and enforce it have been less than desirable,” he says. “I personally believe that the amendment is going to cripple a lot of guys. Unfortunately it will cost a lot more than they think it will cost.”

But there are those who think the current EPA regulations are too lenient. “Remodelers got off easy with RRP,” says Michael Anschel, principal, Otogawa-Anschel Design-Build in Minneapolis. “I believe NARI should be lobbying to be included in future decisions so that they can help develop best practices that achieve the results the government is looking for that work. The biggest issue with [the rule] right now would be that it doesn’t go far enough and the measures it does require seem hypocritical in some instances.”

He elaborated by stating that the LRRP rules provide some significant loopholes that a “less conscientious contractor could take advantage of. Because the testing is not third-party verified, a contractor could produce ‘negative’ test results.”

For its part, the NARI has also raised a number of concerns from its findings after surveying over 1,500 remodelers between March and June. Only one-quarter of those surveyed reported doing any lead clearance testing. Regardless of cost variations, the majority of respondents reported that significant cost is added to a home improvement project with the addition of lead clearance testing.

Based on the number of concerns, NARI it is making several recommendations to the EPA:

• The EPA should revise the rule to define the desired outcomes and provide a tool box of options to address varying conditions.
• The EPA needs to educate the general public about the rule, clarify the contractor’s responsibility under this scenario, and assess the effect of homeowner-initiated projects on childhood lead poisoning.
• EPA and states with oversight should provide a regular newsletter with necessary updates.  The website should be overhauled to address the topical information needs of the user.
• The EPA should clarify the responsibilities of subcontractors and define a “certified renovator of record” as a single point of contact throughout the project.
• The EPA must ensure that training programs and materials are up to date and internally consistent.

–Mark A. Newman, senior editor, Remodeling

The first part of the four-part NAHB study, comprised of responses from 304 builders and 1,092 homeowners, shows both groups think green homes are affordable to live in, but not to purchase or to build. However, the study also shows 64% of all respondents believe reduced energy costs resulting from green features are “sometimes worth the added [initial] costs and efforts.”  – Mariko Hewer

During the phase-in period, companies complying with the old fall protection directive will be issued a hazard alert letter by OSHA telling how to comply with the new standard. Companies that do not comply with the hazard alert letters, and are found to be in violation of the directive during subsequent inspections, will be issued citations. Companies complying with neither standard will not be issued a hazard alert letter and will be issued citations also.

The directive announced last December rescinds the Interim Fall Protection Compliance Guidelines for Residential Construction, Standard 03-00-001. The directive, implemented in 1995, allowed builders engaged in certain residential construction activities to use specified alternative methods of fall protection rather than the conventional fall protection standards. The new standard requires builders to comply with 29 Code of Federal Regulations 1926.501(b)(13), which requires conventional fall protection standards for workers engaged in residential construction over six feet above the ground. The federal code does allow for alternative forms of fall protection, but only when conventional protections are not feasible.

“We want to make sure that the residential construction industry has every opportunity to successfully come into compliance with the new directive,” said Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health. “I am confident that this phase-in period will provide employers the additional time and flexibility they need to alter their work practices in accordance with the requirements of the new directive.”

This article was originally posted on ProSales Online.

“People are willing to pay a premium price for a premium experience,” Deming said. And the secret to a premium experience is not the “100% satisfaction guaranteed” tag line on your company literature. If you use that phrase, get rid of it, he urged. Instead, “ask your customer what they expect and shatter [their expectation]. That’s how you create loyalty.”

Building a brand with a cult following is not about selling a great product or building widespread brand awareness, according to Deming; it’s about your business or your product making an emotional, expectation-exceeding, personal connection with the customer.

“People remember moments,” he said. “Make that one moment they [interact with your brand] an experience they will never forget.”

–Evelyn Royer is assistant editor for Building Products and ebuild.com.