There are numerous books and articles explaining the best practices for running companies in all sorts of different industries, but the spray foam industry has a few necessary practices unique to our market. In this post, we go to some widely crucial practices then offer some that are spray foam-specific.

GET PAID:

The very first tenet of all services in all markets is to earn money for your work! It appears so easy but lots of spray foam specialists don’t get their billings out in a prompt style and therefore have a tough time gathering the cash they worked so hard to make. Your management group ought to live by this basic motto:
> Billings Out > Collections In > Take Care of the Customer > In this order!.

STOP CALL BACKS!:

Rework, repairs, call-backs; whatever you call them, they kill earnings quicker than anything else in business. The most common call-backs for spray foam specialists are to include foam where it was sprayed too thin or is missing out on completely. All of us understand how simple it is for a sprayer incorrect PPE to miss out on a thin area or a space in foam under a window sill or next to an electrical outlet, but most spray teams have an often-overlooked team member who can almost always catch these mistakes if they’re trained to do so. The helper is the last person to see most of the foam and if he or she is trained to discover these flaws, most call-backs can be prevented. A simple list can be developed to train and establish the quality standard for the job, and this quality standard should be embraced by the whole business in order to avoid call-backs. The savvy entrepreneur will create and categorize pictures of appropriate foam applications and everybody in the company should be trained to understand the importance of the company quality standard and know how to speak about the look of the various task types. For example, spray foam might be sold to satisfy an R-20 wall cavity code with a medium-density, closed-cell foam. The stud cavities will not be full-filled, however, some contractors may not comprehend the superior thermal performance of spray foam and demand the SPF contractor coming back to full-fill the cavity. This misconception can be prevented if the salesperson includes your image with the contract signed by the builder. The same image should go to the job website for the crew to likewise understand the expectation. This is so basic and can prevent exceptionally pricey callbacks.

LISTS:

A checklist is your action prepare for every task performed by every member of your group. The sales representative has particular documents needed to start a task. A checklist needs to specify the requirements and when finished it must be submitted together with the other job documents. One of the checklist items is to leave a photo of the agreed-upon look of the foam on the job. Lists utilized by the estimator can help identify frequently missed out on areas and task conditions that might make the job harder, and a checklist for breaking down the bid will reduce misunderstandings later. The team has a checklist for prepping the rig, another for prepping your house or building, and others to cover every likely scenario they may experience. If an item on the list is not followed, speak about it and either alter the list or alter the crew’s actions. These ought to be living documents, but must be abided by in order to maintain a safe work environment and do the job beneficially.

TRAINING:

Checklists are terrific once everyone understands their significance and willingly uses them. Checklists likewise make settlement calculations simpler as task performance can be more easily measured. Comprehending and accepting utilize the checklist is a matter of training that every SPF specialist is accountable for. Training to understand the company’s quality requirement and how each employee contributes to “Zero-Defect” tasks is the fastest course to success. Including the crew in producing and keeping the lists will make adoption and steadfast adherence easier. Some SPF professionals lament they invest a lot money and time to train crew members who leave the business, however, the reality is it’s much more pricey to not train them and have them stay! Inexperienced workers cost the company time and money so training is vital. An individual training plan can be developed and a checklist created to set expectations and know when to change settlement.

USAGE AVAILABLE TECHNOLOGY:

We are so lucky these days that everybody on the crew brings a genuine computer in their pocket! Mobile phone and low-cost data storage have changed the method we operate our companies and train our teams. The sales representative can now “walk the task” essentially, either survive on as a recording for the team. She or he can mention the areas of issue and reveal the team what is anticipated. Photos prior to and after the SPF application ought to likewise be included in the job file. If the crew encounters difficulties, a quick video and some images will instruct the sales representative so mistakes and omissions can be avoided for the future. SES has a group of highly proficient service technicians simply a call, text of video-chat away. Often a number of minutes on a video-call can conserve hours of downtime. The SES tech service group can help fix most problems while they’re still manageable, before they shut-down your rig. An excellent checklist product is to have the name and contact number for your SES Foam tech representative listed on the Jobsite checklist.

A PLACE FOR EVERYTHING, AND EVERYTHING IN ITS PLACE:.
The most effective business worldwide use a system called “5-S” to organize every area of business. The office, shop, rigs, sales vehicles; everything! The rig will be much more secure when it has actually been Sorted, Set in order and made to Shine. When it is Standardized and a System is created to sustain this company, the spray rig will can reaching peak performance. Till the rig is enhanced, the crew will never ever be as efficient or safe as possible. There are excellent books and posts about 5-S, which is often called the “Toyota Quality System.” The system is simple and efficient and when the entire company works together to develop a 5-S program everybody will be happier and more productive and the business will be more rewarding.

PLAN FOR SUCCESS:
Who forecasted the occasions of 2020? And, who was gotten ready for both the bust in the spring and the boom to follow? We’ve long promoted for SPF business owners to consistently contribute to a development fund they can utilize for buying a brand-new spray rig or for funding a brand-new sales representative or middle manager up until they end up being productive sufficient to pay their own method. This growth fund might have been greatly appreciated as service pertained to a grinding halt when we went into the COVID lockdown last March. Bills kept coming and overhead expenditures didn’t decrease as fast as revenue, but the business that had a reserve got through those a number of weeks of unpredictability and had the ability to restaff to meet the increased demand for spray foam in the months because. This planning is definitely important for the long-term success of any company and vital for labor-dependent companies like spray foam.

HEAT!:

Spray foam loves Heat. The rig works best when it’s warm, the chemical flows more quickly and more consistently, the foam adheres to a warmer surface area more readily and yields can be significantly much better when everything is warmer. Adding heat is maybe the very best investment you can make in your business. Include heat to your chemical storage to save hours of prep time every day, especially with low-density, open-cell foam. Add heat to your rig for a better and safer team and to make all of the equipment operate more efficiently. Include heat to the substrate to improve adhesion and ensure your tube heat is working perfectly. Every checklist for sales and operations must deal with heat and how it will be managed for ideal performance.

UPKEEP:
Spray rigs are costly to preserve, and those without an arranged maintenance system and a list to validate completion will be much more expensive. Daily maintenance is better performed in the shop than in the field. An extra gun per rig is a very good financial investment so the team never ever needs to stop to fix or rebuild a weapon. At least one drum pump in the shop is essential. A fluid temperature sensing unit and some of the other items understood to fail ought to be kept on hand … in their proper location and constantly in operable condition. The objective of every SPF professional need to be for each rig to really spray a minimum of 6 hours a day. Using a small tip on a medium-size proportioner, a set of chemicals can be processed in under 100 minutes. It’s not unusual for spray rigs to in fact spray effectively processed foam less than three hours a day. Step your typical production rate and work with the crew to set expectations. This takes training and adherence to checklists in addition to maintenance, but without upkeep, the rig will not be generating income.

Nobody Makes Money In The Spray Foam Business Unless Someone Is Pulling The Trigger!

10. KNOW YOUR VALUE:

Those of us in the industry typically concur that spray foam is the best insulation and air seal on earth. Crafting a business worth proposition is an excellent way to get participation from everybody in the business to set the course for the business. Just as the business adds worth to the building market, the SPF business’s team members include worth to the company. Expressing appreciation when every checklist product is done well goes a long way. Teaching everyone the value the company brings to the structure industry helps them understand how they add to energy preservation, a decrease of greenhouse gasses, and slow environmental change. Everybody from business owner to the Jobsite assistant is making a severe difference, one home, and building at a time.