NFRC RoofTop Podcast

RoofTop was originally started in 2020 to help communicate with the UK roofing sector in the midst of Covid. In this podcast, we review some of the key themes which have been presented over the past 17 episodes of RoofTop. There are some fantastic discussions and points covered by our special guests, and so we are encouraging listeners to recap on any episodes you've enjoyed and listen to those which you've not had a chance to hear yet. Whilst we pause production of RoofTop for the time being, we also welcome your comments on RoofTop and any suggestions you have on how we might take it forwards in the future.

As we approach the end of the tax year we talk through some of the up-coming tax changes on the horizon with Wendy Bradley, author of the JTC Newsline. In this podcast we discuss the upcoming rise to National Insurance Contributions, COVID Sick Pay and Making Tax Digital amongst other topics.

In this episode we interview Professor Patrick James, Professor of Energy and Buildings at the University of Southampton. Professor James is the author a new report commissioned by the NFRC Charitable Trust, Future (P)roof—Building resilience of roofing technologies in a changing climate. We discuss the importance of this research with Professor James, what is means for our industry as well as government policy. Download the Future (P)roof report

The NFRC/Glenigan State of the Industry Survey for Q3 2021 found that over three quarters of roofing contractors are now facing recruitment difficulties, and skill shortages had become as much as a concern as material availability. NFRC’s Head of Careers, Ruth Scarrott, joins us for this episode of the podcast to discuss what can be done about this. She also discusses some of the exciting initiatives she has been working on to promote careers in the industry.

What is expected to happen to the roofing and construction industry in Q4 2021 and into 2022? Will workloads continue to rise? What will happen with material shortages and prices? What sectors are likely to grow the most? Which regions? We discuss all these questions and more with the Economics Director at Glenigan, Alan Wilen

In this episode, we are joined by Lee Jones, Head of Manufacturer Solutions at NBS. Lee helps businesses in their adoption of digital technologies within the construction sector. Lee talks to us about how the pandemic has fast-tracked the construction industry’s move to digital and what this means for the future of the industry. We discuss how digital technology interacts with building safety through the so-called golden thread as well as in other areas such as net-zero. We discuss what both manufacturers and contractors need to be thinking about when it comes to digitisation.

Net Zero Special The UK has a legally binding target to reach ‘net-zero’ carbon emissions by 2050. What is meant by net-zero, and what does it mean for the roofing industry? The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) has tried to make this more tangible for construction by setting out a framework of nine principles based around the three themes of transport, buildings, and construction activity—this initiative is known as CO2nstructZero. In this episode, we talk to Stuart Young, from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), about this initiative and how businesses can sign up to become CO2nstructZero Champions. We also go through the nine principles in detail and what they mean for our industry with NFRC’s Safety, Health and Environmental Officer Gary Walpole.

In this episode of RoofTop NFRC Chief Executive, James Talman interviews the highly esteemed civil and structural engineer Dr Bill Chan. Bill has played a critical role in the development of various UK, European and US standards, particularly in the roofing industry since 1971. In 2019 he was awarded the NFRC Pin of Honour for services to the roofing industry. Now in his 90s Bill still plays an active role in the sector.   We also discuss how to stay safe in the Sun with NFRC Safety, Health and Environmental Officer, Gary Walpole.

Ahead of World Green Roof Day on 6 June 2021, we interviewed green roof expert and former UK Roofing Award judge, Dusty Gedge. Dusty is the president of the European Federation of Green Roof Associations (EFB) and founder of Livingroofs.org, and is a recognised authority, designer and consultant on green roofs and green infrastructure. In the podcast we discuss with Dusty the importance of green roofs, what World Green Roof Day is all about, and even some tips on entering a project for the UK Roofing Awards.

This episode features Emma Lindsay, Director of Criminal Enforcement at the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). Emma discusses the work the CMA undertakes to raise awareness of competition law in the construction industry, and in particular, what lessons can be learnt from the recent CMA case in the lead industry. Links to useful information from CMA are available at https://bit.ly/3dY03tv