Defining a “Quality” Roofing Product

A roof replacement is a large-scale purchase with a positive, long-term effect on your home’s value. Therefore, it’s to be expected that you consider the quality of the roofing materials and the reputation of the manufacturer when planning your project. However, quality can be hard to define, meaning different things to different people and industries, from homeowners to manufacturers, and government officials.

To fully understand what quality means to Owens Corning, we’ve met with engineer Matt Lustig. In his role as Business Quality Leader, Matt is responsible for ensuring asphalt shingles and other roofing components meet or exceed the company’s and industry’s expectations.

Learn why Owens Corning sets such stringent criteria for its roofing products and how this benefits you as a homeowner.  

Quality Control Equals Value for Homeowners

As a homeowner, you’re concerned about quality, but you also want value. Owens Corning provides the quality roofing products you’re looking for by ensuring our products meet company specifications, industry standards, and customer expectations around fitness-for-use.

Our best-in-class warranties help ensure customer satisfaction after installation because we stand behind the products we make. Thanks to in-depth quality control testing at every stage of production, Owens Corning can help ensure products such as asphalt shingles, self-adhered underlayment, and synthetic underlayment exceed product warranties and, consequently, customer expectations.

Consistency in Roofing Products

We use the term quality frequently when referring to a good or service. What is the quality of work? Is this a quality product? A quality roofing product works as it should, and lasts as long as expected, helping to protect what matters most to the homeowner – their home and their family within it. But how do manufacturers go about achieving a product that meets these requirements?

That’s where quality assurance and control come in. According to Matt, you must first have product specifications in place before assessing quality. Essentially, you need a target to aim at and ways to measure how successfully you hit that target. Products that meet or exceed the target are approved, while those that fall short are discarded.

Owens Corning sets their targets high. 

“The product needs to meet our product specifications, and our product specifications are designed in such a way that the product meets both industry standards and customer expectations.”

Roofing Standards 101

Roofing industry standards are represented in product specifications. These standards typically fall into one of three categories but often overlap.

Composition

Industry standards regarding composition ensure that a product has the required materials in the required amounts. For example, Matt remarked, “Owens Corning makes asphalt shingles which have a certain composition that requires specific quantities of materials that make up a shingle.”

Composition standards are relatively straightforward when it comes to ingredients in the product formula; you have them in the correct concentrations, and if not, then it doesn’t meet the quality standards.

But they can also be more complicated. For instance, according to Matt, the amount of loose shingle granules is a widely tracked standard. Too many loose granules can both decrease the life of the shingle and make it difficult for contractors to navigate the roof surface, causing safety issues. In this test, you’re not looking for a required amount or type of granule but for the granules to adhere as specified.

Performance

The second standard category concerns how a product performs, and these standards can be generic or specialized toward specific product attributes. Some examples of specialized performance standards include:

• Tear strength
• Impact resistance
• Wind performance

Customer Fitness-for-Use

From a product manufacturing perspective, fitness-for-use refers to how well the product meets the customer’s needs in terms of performance and safety. Frequently, fitness-for-use standards coincide with industry standards. For example, as mentioned above, granule adhesion is an industry standard but also a huge concern for fitness-for-use due to worker safety.

Owens Corning sets product safety specifications based on several viewpoints — the homeowner, roofing contractor, and distributor. This enables them to ensure fitness-for-use at each step in the life of an asphalt shingle.

Roofing Industry Standards vs Owens Corning’s Standards

It’s important to mention that Owens Corning product standards may be stricter than current industry standards. Part of the reason behind this is the scope of Owens Corning warranties. Matt explained, “We need to make sure that we can exceed our product warranties, just like exceeding your customer expectations.”

Innovative Testing at Each Stage of Production

Setting specifications is just the first step in quality control. The second phase involves testing. Owens Corning uses a variety of testing procedures — standard and proprietary — to ensure each roofing component matches or exceeds expectations. In addition, the company seeks independent evaluations and analyzes customer responses.

Plant Level Assessments

Quality assurance and control during the manufacturing process is ongoing. Matt noted, “All of the testing essentially is done in the plant simply because of the volume we produce and the frequency at which we test. We need that fast turnaround time. We need to know the results quickly. We also monitor hundreds of data points throughout the process to monitor the quality as the product is being manufactured.”

Some assessments measure against industry standards, using common testing equipment, while others are proprietary testing methods and unique to Owens Corning.

Testing frequency is determined by the duration and capacity of the process, and detailed schedules are provided to managers and line workers. For instance, some checks are performed every 30 minutes, others every four hours and others at the end of a shift.

If a product fails to meet specifications, workers investigate to determine what is happening and when the error began. It could be that the manufacturing process needs adjustment or there is an issue with materials. Either way, the problem must be addressed before production can continue and to ensure that the product meets or exceeds all specifications, and customer expectations.

The Role of Third-Party Audits

To help with quality assurance, Owens Corning uses an independent, third-party auditing agency — PRI. Professional auditors from PRI take product samples from the plants and distribution areas. They then test it in their laboratories on their equipment to make sure the results agree with Owens Corning claims.

PRI reviews onsite documentation for test frequency and results and verifies the testing equipment in the manufacturing facility is calibrated correctly. 

In some areas, regional testing authorities also review Owens Corning products. One example is in Miami-Dade County, Florida, where official certification is required on asphalt shingle products sold and used.

How Roof Warranty Claims Help Drive Improvement

Finally, homeowners themselves are part of the quality system. Matt and his team work closely with a warranty group that addresses the concerns of contractors and homeowners. Owens Corning follows up on warranty claims through onsite inspections, which allows Matt and his team to see firsthand any product issues and better understand the cause of the issue. At the same time, they can educate and reassure the homeowner that Owens Corning stands behind its products. 

Lasting Roof Performance Relies on the Whole System

While Owens Corning is concerned with individual product integrity, the company is also committed to its Total Protection Roofing System®. So, when Matt’s team tests for quality, it’s not just about the fitness-for-use of asphalt shingles or underlayment, but the entire system. “We need to make sure that all of product category A works with product category B.”