Levett-Dunn leads roofers

Fred Levett-Dunn has been elected as the new chairman of the managing committee which oversees the Flat Roofing Contractors Advisory Board (FRCAB), it was announced last week.

Levett-Dunn brings to the post nearly thirty years of experience in the building and roofing industries. In addition to having operated his own building company Birmingham Asphalt & Paving since 1968, Levett-Dunn also co-manages roofing company, Howard Evans Roofing.

Speaking at the association's AGM last week, Levett-Dunn expressed his concern at the decline in the fabric of public buildings, and the impact of reduced workload from the public sector as the result of the competitive tendering process.

He said: "It is hard to see how this can be regarded as progress when roofing work is being carried out by unskilled Direct Labour Organisations."

Levett-Dunn welcomed, however, the inclusion of built-up roofing operatives in the Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS), which became effective on 1 July, seeing the scheme as the key to the future if craftsmen are to get the work in place of the cowboys.

FRCAB's 67 full contractor members are all approved under its ten year insurance-backed Guarantee Scheme, a no quibble guarantee against water penetration resulting from defective workmanship or materials. Vetting procedures surrounding entry to the FRCAB and to this scheme have been accepted by the Department of the Environment, giving FRCAB members automatic entry to the DoE's approved list of works contractors.