The Design Builder's Blog

How To Create A Ladder Of Opportunity For Your Employees

Note: This is the second article of a 3 article series on this topic (Click for article #1)

Look ahead to where you want to be

Creating a ladder of opportunity requires that you create a vision for where you want your business to go and how you will make it happen.  It also requires that you sell the vision to existing and recruited employees. Help them see the vision and growth plans of the company so they can see where they have opportunities to fit in and contribute to the growth as well as, at the same time, accomplish their own personal goals.

The Ladder of Opportunity strategy requires that you develop a career planning strategy based on a deliberate balance between how the company needs to grow and how employees envision their roles. For example, a designer who possesses previous field and production management experience will likely generate designs that are easier, more efficient and cost effective to build. Projects designed using such experience are also more likely to be consistently profitable.

Grow or get out of the way

If qualified employees do not see themselves as part of the evolution, you must either decide to keep them in their current roles, if possible, and/or realize that you will eventually need to hire someone else to fill future positions as the business grows. Be sure to seek out and retain the right people on your bus and take the wrong people off of the bus. Tolerating poor performance from some employees may give the wrong message to the more motivated workers.  

For smart employees, climbing the ladder of opportunity in a growing business means that someone else may be on that ladder rising right behind them.  Aspiring and high performance employees may become frustrated and lose motivation if they are held back in their career paths due any inability to climb the ladder of opportunity.  This being the case be watchful for the employee who tries to sabotage or hold other employees back as a way to maintain their status.

Managing career paths

Establishing employee career paths that benefit the business requires that you create a plan to Design/Build both the business and its employees. Decide where you want to take your business, what employee skills are needed to get there and how you will incorporate those abilities into your team’s existing pool of strengths.

To help manage the process of building employee skills, avoid mutual mystification. Clearly detail your vision and sell the goals involved to your team members.  Ask for a commitment for this required growth, both personal and professional, from each team member. Ask them how they see themselves fitting into this vision. Employees can choose to grow with the company, or, to be fair, perhaps they should be told that the company will out-grow them.

Be proactive with job descriptions

As an added caution, be careful not to develop job descriptions based on who you already have on the team. This would be like Design/Building a project for a client by only using the left over and miss-ordered materials that are collecting dust in your warehouse. How could you fulfill the purpose of the client’s project if you limit the design in such a way? Instead, Design/Build your business by creating job descriptions specific to your company’s vision and the path required to achieve it. 

If you are the business owner, create job descriptions for employees who will complement the skills you bring to the business.  This helps you to concentrate on what you are best at and/or prefer to do yourself.  If you plan to eventually give up certain responsibilities, keep an eye out for your replacement and include mentoring as part of that person’s career path.  Mentoring helps socialize the employee into the nuances of the already established norms and values of both the job position and the company.

Watch for the follow up to this blog (article 3 of 3) which will be titled "How To Make The Ladder Of Opportunity Happen"

Related articles:

Article #1 of this series: Successfully Grow Your Business By Creating a Ladder of Opportunity For Employees

Article #3 of this series: How To Make The Ladder Of Opportunity Happen At Your Construction Business

Government to Contractors: Start Hiring Convicted Felons!

Mentor Me, Please - Gen Y Business Owner Offers Peers Advise

Contractors: How To Work With Generation Y From One Of Them

Gen Y Member's Advice To Peers: How To Develop A Good Work Ethic

Successfully Grow Your Business By Creating a Ladder of Opportunity For Employees

Note: This is the first of a 3 article series on this topic

It has been my observation that the most successful construction businesses are the ones that plan for and achieve consistent growth. This growth is measured in two ways that go hand in hand.  The first, and probably the most obvious, is growth in revenue.  The second, and most important, is the growth of the employees who comprise the team.  These two forms of growth go hand in hand because without employees to manage and complete the work, you cannot increase your revenues. Another important consideration is that growth will be pointless unless you maintain profitability.  Adding quality employees helps you to maintain and boost your financial success.

You can jeopardize consistent growth by constantly replacing employees or forcing new hires into management positions. The fact is that as a business expands, you will need additional employees and skills to maintain the growth. Employee retention and improving upon their skills are easier and quicker ways to grow. Creating a ladder of professional and career opportunities for your employees helps facilitate a long-term design strategy for your business.  The ladder of opportunity is created by moving employees forward into new positions and bringing on new team members to fill the positions they leave vacant.  You maintain the ladder of opportunity by helping new hires to grow in this same way.

Reasons for using a "Ladder of Opportunity"

Evolution Vs. Revolution?

It’s not easy to replace employees as they leave your team or to bring on new hires that possess the necessary skills to ensure your business grows. Doing so also delays the rate at which you your construction business can grow.  You need to also consider whether you feel it is really fair to existing employees if you don’t give them the opportunity to move up within the company. If you are not developing employees as the company grows, you will eventually face a revolution, rather than an evolution.  If this happens, you may be forced to replace these employees with others who already have the skills the growing business needs.  This approach can be very risky and expensive.

Offering a ladder of opportunity helps keep good employees. 

I always found that great employees are far more motivated by opportunity, responsibility, accomplishment and a sense of personal fulfillment than by the use of short-term incentives, such as cost of living wage increases, one-time bonuses, or an occasional pep rally. The right strategy, as long as it is sensitive and relative to the career path of your employees, will help keep those employees on the team.  It can also steer your company in the direction of recognizing who can move up the ladder and how to train them to ensure that your business evolves. The effects of such strategies are longer lasting and often permanent for the business and its employees.  Additionally, this strategy works well because existing employees are familiar with your company’s systems. They already fit into the culture and know how and why you do business the way you do.  It will take longer for new employees to learn about your culture, adapt, adjust and become productive dedicated members of your team.  Having employees start their career paths at the bottom of the ladder affords the business owner the advantage of limiting the expense and risks if the employees do not fit in or decide to leave the business.

Read the follow up to this blog (article 2 of 3) titled “How To Create A Ladder Of Opportunity For Your Employees”

Related articles:

Government to Contractors: Start Hiring Convicted Felons!

Mentor Me, Please - Gen Y Business Owner Offers Peers Advise

Contractors: How To Work With Generation Y From One Of Them

Gen Y Member's Advice To Peers: How To Develop A Good Work Ethic

Free Webinar: Help For LBM Dealers Planning Contractor Education Events

One big win-win for building material dealers and their contractor customers is offering contractor education.  By helping contractors improve their businesses, and advance the trade skills of their employees, contractors can do more business and improve profitability.   If the contractor can increase the amount of business he or she does, the supplier benefits as well because that contractor will likely need to buy more products and services from the dealer.  Helping contractors grow their business is also a great way for LBM dealers to initiate and expand upon the creation of mutually beneficial relationships with their contractor customers.

For suppliers and manufacturers, planning a successful educational event for contractors takes a lot of work and time.   Many factors go into planning, promoting and executing an event that will provide value for the attendees, the dealer as well as any event sponsors.  However, if planned and executed correctly, educational events for contractors will not only attract attendees for the first time, the events should also make attendees want to keep coming back for more!

If you are a LBM dealer thinking about holding your first educational event, or want to improve results at your next event, consider attending an upcoming webinar I will be presenting on April 11^th, 2013 titled “Planning and Delivering Educational Events to Maximize Your ROI”  The webinar will be hosted by BuilderLink.

 Click here now to register for the webinar

If you are a contractor looking to encourage educational events at your lumberyard or supplier, consider forwarding this article to them.  By attending the webinar dealers and their staff can learn how to plan a great event, choose topics and speakers that will help you grow your business, and make sure the event will be fun and entertaining to attend.

Here’s a partial list of how attendees will benefit by attending this webinar

• Learn some creative ways to promote the event, attract contractor attendees and get them to show up!
• We will explore seminar topic ideas that can be beneficial and profitable for the contractors as well as the dealer.
• Learn several very important things to consider before choosing a presenter/speaker.
• Learn several ways to maximize the investment for the dealer and sponsor(s); before, during and after the event.

Other LBM Dealer Related Articles:

Lumberyard Ambassadors - Partnering With A Lumber Dealer’s Yard Staff

Understanding and Selling the Many Shades of Green

EPA Finally Going After Firms Not Certified Under RRP Rule?

The EPA’s Renovation, Repair and Painting rule (RRP) came into effect in April of 2010. Since that time over 100,000 firms have been lead-safe certified by EPA, and about 20,000 more have been certified or licensed in the twelve states authorized by EPA to take over the rule.  And, approximately 450,000 individuals are now Certified Renovators after having been trained in lead-safe work practices.

These numbers might sound impressive to the lay person

Even EPA has continuously touted these numbers as great progress.   However, there are at least 650,000 businesses in the United States that claim most of their revenues from renovation work.  And, many other businesses from industries other than construction and many landlords also perform work that falls under the RRP rule.   I estimate there are at least one million entities that should have been certified to do RRP work by now if EPA was actually enforcing the RRP Rule intended to protect children from lead poisoning.  

Report card update

Last year at this time I posted a blog on RRPedia that was a report card on how I thought EPA had been performing regarding the RRP Rule.  I just finished re-reading it and, unfortunately, not a whole lot has changed in the past year.  

The lack of adequate enforcement leaves a false sense of protection for parents and citizens who believe their government is protecting our young children from the dangers of lead.  Many contractors and others believe EPA’s lack of enforcement has actually caused an increase in the poisoning of children as a result of the rule.  This very same consideration was shared with EPA by stakeholders well before the rule went into place.  Their argument is that illegally operating businesses are getting an unfair competitive advantage because they can sell jobs at a much lower price by avoiding the required work practices.  Homeowners unaware of the rule and or the real dangers of lead poisoning, looking to save money, buy from these illegally operating businesses.

Here is one contractor’s way of assessing the situation and his opinion about the rule:

Has EPA finally taken action?

Recently EPA has finally publicly recognized that too many firms are still operating without the required certification, have not following the required lead-safe work practices and “may” be putting children at risk for lead exposure. 

EPA claims it wants to level the playing field for those contractors who are already certified. But, rather than go after these firms and bring them into compliance, EPA has decided to send them a post card.  You heard that right, rather than do enforcement, they are sending out a post card.

EPA is mailing a postcard to non-certified contractors in target areas around the country in states that have significant amounts of older housing.  According to EPA, their goal is to “remind” these contractors of their obligation to become certified.  I guess EPA assumes they forgot to become certified so they need to be reminded. 

How effective do you think their “reminder” campaign will be?

Note: Thanks to Paul Lesieur for his musical talents and humor in the video above. 

Guest Blogger:  Paul Lesieur is a 203K consultant/contractor and writer within our industry.  If you are interested in learning more about the 203K opportunity you can go to his  websites www.203kloanmn.com and 203kcontractor.  There you can also find some links to the HUD website where you can learn more.

203K Loans Mean Business Opportunities For The Right Contractors

A HUD/FHA 203k loan is an insured loan where one loan payment covers the purchase and remodel costs.  The 203K has been around for years and is by owner occupants to purchase, repair, and renovate a home.  Or, it can be used to refinance if you are looking to do a remodel on your existing home.

Learn about these loans and you can have another revenue stream for your business, and we’re talking major opportunity. I know one contractor who did 2 million in sales related to 203K last year and another who will do over a million in sales on just the203K work while still doing the high end kitchens he is well known for.

If you understand meat and potatoes contracting this is an opportunity, and the most successful 203K contractors are organized and detail oriented. The 203K requires patience and good communication skills and isn't for sloppy operations.

How to get 203K jobs

Best way to get going is to find a lender who does 203K loans, they are always looking for competent contractors.  Realtors can get you some leads also, and advertising like I do gets me very good results.  Just type 203K loans in your local search and see what comes up; those listings are your target.

There are two types of 203K loans

• The streamline 203K is a loan where you can do up to $35,000 in remodel or repair costs and it can include paint, carpet, furnace replacement, kitchen, bath and many other improvements. It is not allowed when structural improvements are needed.
• The full 203K loan allows structural work and just about everything homeowners want or need done. Luxury items are limited but not necessarily disallowed.

What contractors need to know about the 203K

This is a great loan with a lot of upside for contractors.  The money is escrowed and it’s insured so you don't have to worry about a homeowner gambling it away at the bingo hall Friday night.

For contractors to get 203K rehab work from home owners or buyers they must be approved by the lender offering the loan. This usually means a credit check naming a couple of suppliers, some subcontractor references, customer references , license and proof of insurance. Some banks also ask that you have cash reserves, but not all.

Watch for Paul's follow up to this blog titled " Here’s What’s Involved If You’re A Contractor Seeking To Do 203K Loan Work"

Guest Blogger: D.S. Berenson is the Washington, D.C. managing partner of  Berenson LLP (www.homeimprovementlaw.com), a national law firm specializing in the representation of contractors and the remodeling industry. He may be reached at info@berensonllp.com.

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to Contractors:  Start Hiring Convicted Felons!

Our friends at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) have recently decided that “equal opportunity” should include convicted felons.  That is according to a bizarre and confusing “guidance report” recently issued by the EEOC directing employers to hire more felons and other ex-offenders .  And if you refuse?  Well, then you risk committing a federal crime.

The EEOC was originally established to enforce Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act – allowing workers to bring suits and claims against employers for illegal hiring practices against minorities.  But like a number of federal agencies, the EEOC seems to be reinterpreting and expanding their mandate to fall into a more “politically correct” frame of mind these days. 

Some History

In the late 1980’s the EEOC sued a Florida trucking company because the company refused to hire a Hispanic man applying for an open truck driver position.  The company, Carolina Freight Carrier Corp., showed the EEOC that the man had multiple arrests and had served 18 months in prison for larceny.  “So what?” said the EEOC, that has nothing to do with his qualifications to be a truck driver.  The EEOC stated that company’s hiring practices created a disparate or unequal impact on minorities - and as a result was illegal.

The case went to court and was heard by U.S. District Judge Jose Alejandro Gonzalez Jr. (and, yes, he was Hispanic).  The judge, in ruling against the EEOC, summed the situation up nicely: "EEOC's position that minorities should be held to lower standards is an insult to millions of honest Hispanics. Obviously a rule refusing honest employment to convicted applicants is going to have a disparate impact upon thieves."

Not surprisingly, the EEOC ignored the ruling and moved ahead anyway. In 2012, the agency formally declared that that "criminal record exclusions have a disparate impact based on race and national origin."  (In plain English, that means that refusing to hire convicted criminals results in discrimination against minorities).

Catch 22?

With the most recent guidelines, the EEOC is now warning employers that refusal to hire job applicants due to a criminal past will be seen as a violation of the Civil Rights Act.  Sadly, the EEOC doesn’t tell us what to do when we hire a convicted felon, but then get sued when the convicted felon commits crimes against our customers and office workers.

For those who believe in the domino effect, stay tuned:  President Obama has just nominated Tom Perez to head up the Department of Labor. Mr. Perez currently sues banks for discriminatory lending practices in his role as head of the Department of Justice’s civil rights division.  His legal theory in these suits?   That employers are liable if their lending practices result in a “disparate impact” to minorities – the same theory now pushed by the EEOC in regard to employers refusing to hire convicted felons!

Guest Blogger: Justin Jones is a licensed General Contractor, Roofing Contractor, and Plumbing Contractor based out of Palm Harbor, FL. Justin is also a writer and speaker on topics including Contractor Sales, Marketing, and Leadership. At 32 years old, he is a member of Generation Y.

Mentor Me, Please - Gen Y Business Owner Offers Peers Advise on How to Learn From Craftsmen

Dealing with older tradesman can be tricky at times. In my own business, I've been dealing with this interesting arrangement for the past seven years. Through the ups and downs, I have managed to form some great relationships with older tradesman.

At first, I expected them to complete tasks with incredible haste, but ultimately, I realized that there was no harm in taking things a bit slower. I set out to establish a mentor-mentee relationship with these older, more experienced tradesmen.

Start With Respect

Respect. From those first meetings with prospective employees, I've always been careful to offer the utmost respect, particularly when it came to older craftsmen. I respected them based on their many years of experience.  I took the time to listen to stories about the good ole' days and how things were done differently.  I'd smile and nod my head as I listened. Many of the stories were well-told and well-crafted, providing me with wonderful insights and lessons. I never questioned the knowledge of my senior tradesmen.  And if questions ever did arise, I was always careful to ask in a tactful manner.

Communication.  As I'm in the process of hiring a new individual, I always inquire about their communication preferences. For years, most individuals would indicate their preference for phone calls. But more recently, individuals have expressed a preference for emails and texts. Quick and concise “yes” and “no” communications amongst my team members have served to maintain an open dialogue platform. These open lines of communications have made my employees feel comfortable to call at any time if they need direction or they're second-guessing a decision. I feel this is an extremely important part of our business.

Questions. From job to job, I take the time to lend a helping hand, whether it's loading materials or inspecting trade tools. These interactions provide a perfect opportunity for asking questions. Many tools had the appearance of museum artifacts, but every once in a while, I got a chance to see these relic tools in action; my skepticism was squashed after viewing their quick time-saving functions. I got to return the favor as the building codes have changed several times over the past four years. I'd receive calls from tradesmen, who were wondering if there had been a code change. Sharing back my knowledge has proved to be a great opportunity to build rapport and return the favor.

Building Rapport. Last week, I approached my team – consisting of several individuals in their late 40s and 50s. I had the opportunity to get their feedback on what they enjoyed most about working on my team.  Their answers were all based around rapport. They liked the fact I support their decisions and they were grateful for my willingness to step in and help without being asked. As the leader, I've always been quick to step in and get the project back on track if issues arise. In addition, I've learned that communication with these team members must be clear, concise and written. Accommodating them in this way has led to much better productivity and the strong rapport makes for a healthier work environment.

Learn to be humble

I turn 32 this year and I'm willing to admit to my team that I don’t know everything and on occasion, I need help. Many individuals in my generation believe they know everything, but Google won’t teach you how to work as team, nor will it teach you how to maintain your focus on accomplishing a goal.

We work as a team as we complete tasks and gather referrals.  This team approach has created a wonderful synergy between me and my team members. We have built a relationship based upon trust and open communication.

My advice, what do you think?

Approach older tradesman and offer them the respect they deserve. Be willing to learn from these more experienced individuals. Adopt a mentor-mentee relationship and you may be surprised by how much you can learn from these older tradesmen.  Anything you would like to add?

New Business Owner Offers Perspective Regarding Reputation Of Construction Industry

Guest Blogger: Randy Strauss is a new handyman business owner trying to find his way in the age of social media and 30 minute pizza delivery.  When he is not repairing other people’s homes, he tries to find time to repair his own.

As a consumer, I preferred to do everything myself rather than hire someone to do it. There are times when I’ve hired people to do work when I didn’t have the necessary skills and sometimes it was just cost effective to have a crew do it in a day or two when I knew it would take me a week doing it by myself.

Most of my experience with contractors has been from a consumer perspective. Those experiences have run the gamut of “outstanding” when jobs were completed in the blink of any eye and a minimum of dust to “outrage” when an HVAC contractor told me to go “F” myself when I asked him to honor his one year warranty.

In November of 2012 I was unemployed and carpet bombing every job ad in sight was exhausting. So, I decided to start a handyman business. My experiences using contractors motivated me to do so because I saw an opportunity needing to be filled.

Using What I Learned as a Consumer

Now that I’m working in other people’s homes, I can use that perspective to manage my clients’ expectations, perform work that meets my standards, and finish the day satisfied that I do good work. When I’m not working, I do research to better myself as a business owner and contractor.

During this research, I read a few blog entries on this site regarding Chris Dietz’s lawsuit filed against a customer who allegedly posted libelous comments about his work on review websites.  The posts from fellow contractors were generally positive, but I noticed that supportive comments were conditional.  For instance, “…providing he’s telling the truth…” and “…as long as he’s honest…”

Regardless of the outcome of the lawsuit, which I understand may be ultimately fruitless; we are still faced with cynicism about our profession.

That is a black cloud of distrust hovering over our industry.  That sense of distrust has led us to lead generation review websites such as Angie’s List and Yelp.  When fellow contractors feel the need to put conditions on support for one of our own, it reeks of skepticism. 

I believe those doubts are founded in two fallacies:

1. The customer is always right.  No, they’re not.  They may have the right to decide the paint color or the tile selection, but when they ask us to remove a load-bearing wall because they want to “open the space” they are quite simply wrong. It’s our responsibility to educate them why.
2. Customers have a right to freedom of speech. They do.  But, that right is worthless without the responsibility of truth.  No one has the right to slander or libel another person.

To be honest, I’m terrified of working for that client that has nothing better to do than bad mouth my new found profession.  I hope I never meet them.

What can, should we do?

If you go to someone’s house to repair something that another contractor ruined, tell them to follow up with a complaint to the BBB. Follow up with that yourself.  By getting rid of the bad actors, we can ensure respect and trust in the future.  Perhaps a self-regulating entity might not be such a bad idea in light of the above.  So, my questions to you are these:  What can we do to improve the perception of our profession?  What would make the average consumer, and us at times, less likely to believe that a contractor ripped off a client? Doesn’t it make your blood boil that you are less likely to be trusted in someone’s home because profit happy thugs with hammers and a screwdrivers have ruined the reputation of our professionalism?

On Your Contractor Web Site, Qualify, Don’t Disqualify Your Prospects

When you write or have others write content for the pages of your web site and your blog, make sure what you write doesn’t offend visitors or make them feel dumb.  (Unless of course that is your plan!)  Recognizing this potential challenge can make the difference between purposely qualifying your web site visitors and making them feel disqualified.  Let me explain.

Help visitors prequalify themselves

One important and valuable way to use your web site is to help visitors prequalify themselves.  By this I mean let them use the content you post as a way to determine whether there is a good fit between what they are looking for and what your business offers.   Think beyond just products and project types.   What is probably more important, to both you and them, should be how you do what you do and how your business operates.   For example, if you charge for design and or estimates, let them know that.   If you don’t leave your proposal behind unless they sign it and give you a check, let them know that too.   Using the two examples, the point is if they want free design and your proposal, to use one or both as bidding tools, they won’t be contacting you.  Instead, they will move on to another contractor who will. 

Now, just because you tell them how you do business doesn’t mean they will be motivated to do business with you.   So, share with them why, what and how you do what you do could have a value to them.  

Never assume they know, tell stories

If they have already experienced what you offer, either from already working with you or from working with another contractor, they might already know the benefit(s).   The thing to keep in mind when you are writing is that you won’t know what they know and what they don’t.  We all know what happens when we assume.   So, don’t just tell them about what you do, tell them stories about how others you have served have benefited already so they can image themselves benefiting in the same way.  If they don’t see enough value to justify contacting you, again, they will move on.  That is how you can qualify them, through what you write, but make them feel like they have qualified you.

On the other hand how you tell your story might just make them feel you have disqualified them.  Do that and they won’t be doing business with you.  Here are a couple of examples of how the way you write your web site content might make them feel disqualified and how to avoid them:

• You talk too much about who you don’t do business with and why.   Sure this may help the people you are describing go away, but it might also make good prospects go away because they find you too negative or judgmental.  Instead, keep it positive and describe the people you want to do business with.  
• You offer your own opinions as to why people who look at or see things differently than you are wrong headed.  Forget about making judgment.  Stick to offering positive reasons for your opinions and your way of doing business.  And if possible, share what your past customers have said to back up your reasoning.
• You use technical language and or industry buzz words that consumers have never heard before and or they don’t know what they mean.  If you do this they may feel dumb, or assume that interacting with you will be over their head.  To avoid these potential challenges skip the buzz words or offer links to definitions they can understand.  

Catch and release prospects?

Keep in mind that visitors to your site might not yet be ready to buy remodeling or construction services.  If they are in their research or discovery stage they will be looking for good information and a good contractor to eventually work with.  Make sure what they find and read on your site helps them in their research and at the same time gives them a good impression of what it would be like working with your company.  If they disqualify themselves from calling you, make sure they feel good about it.  They may come back to nibble on your bait again some day!

RRP Amendment Introduced in the Senate, Will Opt-Out Provision Return?

On March 6, 2013, Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and six cosponsors reintroduced a bill in the Senate titled “The Lead Exposure Reduction Amendments Act of 2013 “  to help ease the burden of the LRRP Rule on Contractors and home owners, while at the same time would also protect pregnant women and small children from lead hazards. (See Senate bill sent to Congress here)

 These Videos About The EPA RRP Rule Offer Good Refresher Info

According to Inhofe’s web site The Lead Exposure Reduction Amendments Act of 2013 would accomplish the following:

• Restore the “opt-out provision” which would allow homeowners without small children or pregnant women residing in them to decide whether to require LRRP.
• Suspend the LRRP for homes without small children or pregnant women residing in them, if EPA cannot approve one or more commercially available test kits that meet the regulation's requirements.
• Prohibit EPA from expanding the LRRP to commercial and public buildings until EPA conducts a study demonstrating the need for such an action.
• Provide a de minimus exemption for first-time paperwork violations and provides for an exemption for renovations after a natural disaster.
• Eliminate the requirement that recertification training be "hands on," preventing remodelers having to travel to training facilities out of their region.

Good or Bad?

Many contractors have been looking to have the Opt-out Provision restored after it was removed in July 2010.  Under the original RRP Rule, the Opt-out Provision granted homeowners the right to forego the use of the required RRP work practices if pregnant women or children under six did not live in the home.  According to the EPA’s own math, removing the Opt-Out more than doubled the number of homes subject to the LRRP Rule, and is estimated to add more than $336 million per year in compliance costs to the regulated community, which includes homeowners.  Also, without a test kit that can accurately test for the amount of lead present on a surface, many homes are assumed to have lead paint and homeowners are unnecessarily paying for RRP compliance because EPA assumed a test kit would magically appear by September of 2012.   We are all still waiting and may be waiting for quite some time.  Scientists I spoke with about this say creation of such a test kit is not impossible, just not achievable at an affordable price with current knowledge and technology.

Here are a few pull quotes regarding the amendment:

“Currently, the EPA requires contractors to follow extensive safety practices in a one-size fits all approach. Even if the home does not have lead paint or there is not an individual of the at-risk population residing in the home, contractors are required by the EPA to follow the LRRP safety measures which in turn dramatically increase the costs of renovation work.  My bill would allow homeowners to opt out of the rule if the home does not place those in the at-risk population in direct harm of lead exposure. It would also require the EPA to develop working test kits to ensure that contractors have the ability to determine whether lead paint actually exists in project homes.”  

U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.)

"While we support the goal of protecting pregnant women and small children from lead hazards, EPA's effort to expand the Lead Rule beyond its original intent, its aggressive pursuit of paperwork violations, and its failure to approve a lead test kit meeting its own rule has been an extreme burden on a residential market that is just starting to recover from the recession. We commend Senator Inhofe for his continuing leadership on this issue and will make the legislation a focus of our upcoming Legislative Conference in Washington."

NLBMDA chairman Chuck Bankston, president of Bankston Lumber in Barnesville, Ga

"The Inhofe bill is a common-sense response which will refocus efforts on protecting pregnant woman and small children and we applaud Senator Inhofe for his leadership on this issue."

WDMA President Michael O'Brien

(Read this RRPedia post for clarification regarding the legal definition of Lead paint and why the test kits currently recognized by EPA cannot be used to accurately determine if lead paint is present; based on how lead paint is defined by EPA)

In addition to Senator Inhofe, the cosponsors of the amendment include Senators Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), and David Vitter (R-La.).