RRP Experts?  Be Careful When Searching The Internet For RRP Information and Advice

Guest Blogger:  Dean Lovvorn is a residential remodeler who has done numerous RRP projects.  He is also a Lead Inspector, Lead Risk Assessor and EPA RRP Renovator Instructor. He is well informed about the RRP rule and it's history.

RRP Experts?

Bring up EPA’s Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) Rule around a group of contractors and the sparks will begin flying.  The debate can get as heated as discussing politics.  In fact, politics often gets brought into the discussion.  Everyone has an opinion and many times those opinions are portrayed as facts.  I’ve jumped into these dog fights and often times the line between fact and fiction become blurred.

There have been some discussions where a particular contractor talks about how RRP is impossible to follow; only to find out the contractor has never done an RRP job … or even taken the course.  Others talk about how they don’t need anyone to tell them how to clean up after a lead based paint project.  Yet, they have never done a lead dust test to see if they really are cleaning up correctly.  One contractor talked about how his employees were safe working around lead paint, but had never done air monitoring to see if it was true.  Once, I had a contractor tell me I was doing risk assessment wrong.  Yep … you guessed it.  He never had done a risk assessment, taken a risk assessor course or even taken a lead safe work practice class of any type.

I’m sure as a professional contractor you’ve had a homeowner question how you were doing something and make suggestions to you.  Amazingly, just because they watch do-it-yourself programs on TV … they start believing that they have some expertise in the subject.

Opinions vs. Facts...

There is a phenomenon called “backfire”, recently discovered by political scientist.  In an article written by Joe Keohane on Boston.com, he writes …

“Most of us like to believe that our opinions have been formed over time by careful, rational consideration of  facts and ideas, and that the decisions based on those opinions, therefore, have the ring of soundness and intelligence”.  “In reality, we often base our opinions on our beliefs, which can have an uneasy relationship with facts”.  “And rather than facts driving beliefs, our beliefs can dictate the facts we chose to accept”.  “They can cause us to twist facts so they fit better with our preconceived notions”.  “Worst of all, they can lead us to uncritically accept bad information just because it reinforces our beliefs”.  “This reinforcement makes us more confident we’re right, and even less likely to listen to any new information”.

The reality is an expert is someone who has education and experience in the subject being discussed.  I like how Wikipedia states it … “experts have a prolonged or intense experience through practice and education in a particular field”.

You would do yourself a great favor, if you find a mentor, coach or expert to learn from … even if they disagree with you.

Looking for a Mentor or Coach to help you with RRP and or your business?  Contact Shawn today to personally discuss your goals and how he can help.

Latest Survey on the Impact of the RRP Rule on Businesses

On February 1^st, 2012, Professional Remodeler Magazine released some information they collected from a December 2011 survey they did asking remodelers about how the EPA’s Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule (RRP) has impacted their businesses.   No surprise, the survey indicated negative impact.  64 percent reported they had lost business as a result of the rule.  What seems to consistently rise to the top is the impact of illegal competition from businesses that ignore the rule and its required work practices.

According to the excelent survey summary posted by the magazine’s Editor in Chief, Jonathan Sweet, 46 percent of respondents said less than 10 percent of remodelers in their local market are following the regulations and only 8 percent think more than half of their local competitors are in compliance.

The survey also asked about costs related to RRP.  The EPA says additional costs are $35 to $376, depending on the size and the nature of the project.   According to the survey results, 37 percent said the rule added more than $1000 to the cost of their average project and a full 81 percent said it adds more than $400.  So much for the accuracy of EPA’s estimates.

Again, the survey proved what many have already determined in the past regarding consumer awareness about the rule: very few know anything about it.   According to survey respondents, 65  percent of remodelers estimated that less than 10 percent of their potential clients are aware of the rule and only 5 percent think more than half of homeowners know about it.   This is despite what EPA refers to as extensive consumer outreach.

One interesting observation I made about the survey results is that contractors in the northeast tend to be much more aware of the rule and much more in compliance with the rule than the rest of the country.   For example, according to the survey results, 83 percent of remodelers in the Northeast were the most likely to be certified, compared to 75 percent in the West, 71 percent in the Midwest and 66 percent in the South.   Also, 80 percent of remodelers in the Northeast described themselves as very familiar with the rule, compared to 70 percent in the Midwest and 61 percent in both the South and West. 

In summary, although the survey didn’t seem to provide any new information, its finding are still valuable.  It did demonstrate that EPA has made very little progress getting the regulated community into compliance and with educating consumers about the rule and the reasons for it.