ROOF REPORT

With several brands and a diverse line of kitchen, laundry and home products, Whirlpool is one of the country’s major suppliers of home appliances. The company is in the process of transforming its supply chain into a more agile, responsive and efficient organization to better serve retail customers and consumers. As part of this initiative, Whirlpool is building several large regional distribution centers, includ-ing an 891,600 sq. ft. facility on 50 acres in Frederickson, Washington. The LEED registered project, devel-oped by Panattoni Development Co., of Sacramento, Calif., and designed by Ware Malcomb, based in Irvine,

Calif., is expected to be completed by the second quarter of 2009. The Whirlpool Distribution Center is a concrete tilt-up structure that features 32 feet of clear height, 100 dock doors, 60-ft. staging bays, as well as two drive-in doors. In addition, a 50-ft. wide canopy approximately 450 ft. long protects the docking bays from the region’s inclement weather. Besides the massive warehousing space, the facility also houses administrative space. The roof is a low slope (1⁄2:12) 22 GA. corrugated steel deck, with one layer of 3.55-in. thick polyisocyanurate insulation, and

a 10-ft. wide, 60 mil white TPO roofing membrane over the top. A parapet wall around the perimeter of the roof ranges in height from 1 ft. at the peak, to more than 8 ft. over the office space. In addition, there are approximately 375, 4- x 8-ft. translucent smoke hatches, a dozen large exhaust fans, and six, 20-ton air conditioning units on the roof. A mechanically fastened roofing system was installed by Wayne’s Roofing, Inc., of Sumner, Wash., a 40-year-old full service contractor licensed in Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada and Utah that focuses on commercial, industrial, retail and warehouse projects.

WHIRLWIND INSTALLATION FOR WHIRLPOOL DISTRIBUTION CENTER

The 891,600 sq. ft. roof is a 22 GA. corrugated steel deck, with one layer of 3.55-in. polyisocyanurate and a white 60 mil TPO membrane over the top.

P R O J E C T S P E C

P R O J E C TWhirlpool

Distribution Center

L O C A T I O NFrederickson, WA

C O N T R A C T O RWayne’s Roofing

Sumner, WA

O M G P R O D U C TAccuTrac

AccuSeam

ROOF REPORT

“Historically we use pre-assembled fasteners and plates for mechanically attached applications,” said Don Guthrie, president of Wayne’s Roofing. “Our guys are very comfortable with the ASAPs and they have worked well for us for a long period of time.”

So when the local field representative from OMG Roofing Products of Aga-wam, Mass. suggested that Wayne’s Roofing consider using the AccuTrac and AccuSeam stand-up installation tools for the Whirlpool project, the initial answer was simply ‘no thanks.’

AccuTrac is a stand-up insulation attachment tool that aligns and installs the fastener and plate all in one motion. It is easy to use and operate and does the job that typically takes two to complete. As such, AccuTrac helps to improve installation efficiency and because it does not require roof mechanics to kneel or bend to install fasteners, the tool helps to prevent

MSDs (musculoskeletal disorders). MSDs are injuries to muscles, nerves, tendons, ligaments, joints, cartilage, spinal discs and other soft tissue that are especially common among roofers. These injuries can occur over the course of months or even years, and frequently result in life-long debilitating damage.

C H A N G I N G D I R E C T I O N

However, after spending some time evaluating the AccuTrac tool, reviewing productivity data and understanding the health benefits of the ergonomically designed stand-up tool, Guthrie and Dan Johnson, vice president of operations for Wayne’s Roofing, decided to use AccuTrac on the wide open 900,000 sq. ft. project.

“Before Wayne’s Roofing decided to use AccuTrac on this project, we went out and spent time training their crews and getting them comfortable with the entire AccuTrac system on a smaller job

“A happy crew is a productive crew,” said Guthrie, “plus, the pricing on AccuTrac screws and plates was more cost effective and allowed us to be very competitive in our bid.”

first,” said Dan Genovese, productivity manager for OMG.

“A happy crew is a productive crew,” said Guthrie, “plus, the pricing on AccuTrac screws and plates was more cost effective and allowed us to be very competitive in our bid. The fastener and plate packaging is less bulky and easier to handle on the roof, and we saw great productivity from our crews on this project.”

In fact, for this project, Wayne’s Roofing used four AccuTrac insulation tools and three AccuSeam tools, and the productiv-ity was very positive. The 10- to 12-man crew was able to install up to 265 squares a day, and they became very comfortable with the stand-up tools.AccuSeam is specifically designed to install 23⁄8-in. round EyeHook seam plates used for membrane attachment. One crew would install the insulation, while another would roll out the TPO

AccuTrac and AccuSeam tools help improve installation efficiency and, because they do not require roof mechanics to kneel or bend to install fasteners, the tools help to prevent musculoskeletal disorders.

ROOF REPORT

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and fasten it so the seams could be welded. Using both tools freed up several mechanics that could be re-assigned to handle the detail work on all the curbs and penetrations on the roof.

“One of the real benefits of this technology is the consistency of the installation,” said Johnson. “The fastener is installed perpendicular to the deck and to the correct depth,

so once you adjust the tool for the application, you don’t need to worry about overdriving fasteners, which can be an issue on projects without this type of tool.”

The roofing system was installed per FM Global requirements and included six fasteners per board in the insula-tion, and 12-in. on center membrane fastening. In total, Wayne’s Roofing installed 170,000, 5-in. fasteners in the insulation and 140,000, 5-in. membrane fasteners with 23⁄8 in. plates in the seams of the membrane.

“Our crews quickly became very comfortable with the stand-up tools,” said Joe DiCarlo, project manager for Wayne’s Roofing. “We saw great productivity gains, especially when you consider that half of the labor normally required to install fasteners can be reassigned to other tasks. The guys did a better job, had less back fatigue and strain and we ended up with a better quality installation where each fastener was driven straight and to the proper depth.”

In the end, AccuTrac and AccuSeam earned high marks by the crew and the project consultant alike, and Wayne’s Roofing is already using them on its next big project.

“One of the real benefits of this technology is the consistency of the installation,” said Johnson. “The fastener is installed perpendicular to the deck and to the correct depth.”

The 900,000 sq. ft. Whirlpool Distribution Center sits on 50 acres in the shadow of Mt. Rainier.