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Current projects

Following are the studies, programs and projects that are currently in progress. Regular status reports are given to Alliance members at their annual April and fall meetings.

Helping our Own (2007—funding approved on an as-need basis—$30,000 distributed): The Alliance expanded its funding initiatives to helping our own, which includes reaching out to roofing community members and helping fund projects dedicated to charitable giving. The funding mission serves to balance the programs supported by the Alliance to enable it to affect more lives in the roofing industry. Through a nomination process, the Alliance can recognize and identify the challenges associated with life-changing events and provide assistance to create sustainable solutions for individuals or families in need. To date, the Alliance has assisted two families in need.

Melvin Kruger Endowed Scholarship Program (2007—$650,000 [$400,000 in scholarship funds collected since the Alliance's inception; an additional $250,000 designated for a five-year period]): The Melvin Kruger Endowed Scholarship Program was established with a unanimous vote among Alliance members. Not only does the program recognize Melvin Kruger as a great industry leader but also as a person who has devoted much of his life to the cause of education. The ongoing goal is to create a permanent scholarship fund of at least $2 million so that a minimum of $100,000 in scholarships can be awarded annually. Annual scholarships in the amount of $5,000 are awarded to post-secondary students from NRCA contractor and supplier member firms. With the 2012-13 school year, $480,000 has been awarded to 105 students.

Roofing Asphalt Fumes Research (2009—$40,000; 2012—additional $33,333 approved): Initial funds were approved for follow-up research intended to clarify the results of the Asphalt Roofing Environmental Council Dermal Cancer Assay (skin painting study) of Type IV BUR Asphalt Fumes. The research was proposed by the Asphalt Institute, the external scientific advisory council involved in the initial study, and industry toxicologists who believed the proposed research was critical for the entire roofing industry so scientific and regulatory implications of the study could be fully understood. In October 2011, the International Agency for Research on Cancer found emissions from oxidized asphalt are "probable" human carcinogens and classified them as Category 2A. In April 2012, the Alliance approved additional funds to perform a qualitative risk assessment of asphalt fumes in the occupational setting in an effort to better understand the actual risk of exposure based on all the research performed to date. This assessment should greatly aid in ensuring that any effort to regulate exposures, for example, reflects a realistic regulatory response.

*Roof Application Training Programs (RATP) (2012—additional $100,000 approved to be disbursed in 2013-14 budget year): RATP, a comprehensive training program designed for in-house facilitators to train company employees, was the first project funded by the Alliance in 1997. It was the foresight of the Alliance that allowed this program to be completed so the roofing industry could have a standard source of training from its national association. In 2012, the Alliance approved additional funding (coupled with a similar amount from NRCA) to redo five of the top-selling modules: Administrator and Trainers Program; Overview of Low-slope Roofing; Overview of Steep-slope Roofing; Tear-off, Set-up and Equipment — Low-slope Roofing; and Tear-off, Set-up and Equipment — Steep-slope Roofing.

Committed Project funding for 2012-13:
$ 40,000 — Asphalt Fumes Research — Qualitative Research Assessment
$300,000 — RoofPoint (final installment)
$340,000 — Total

Committed Project Funding for 2013-14:
$100,000 — Roof Application Training Programs Updates