Bill has spent his entire life surrounded by the roofing industry. During his high school years, he spent his summers working for Midland Engineering Roofing and Sheet Metal, a family business founded by his grandfather in South Bend, Indiana in 1922. After graduating from Purdue University in 1979, Bill went to work full time at the family business. During this time he graduated from the Roofing Apprenticeship Program of Local 23 of the United Union of Roofers, Waterproofers and Allied Workers and received their Merit Award for excellence in the classroom. Bill spent three years in the field working on a variety of steep slope and low slope roofing projects. He was then appointed the company safety officer and was responsible for all aspects of health and safety for a 250 + field work force.

In 1985 Bill followed in the footsteps of his father and began to serve as a volunteer for the National Roofing Contractors Association (NRCA) and was asked to serve on the Safety Committee. He continues to serve on this and other NRCA committees through the present time. Bill participated in many of the endeavors of the Safety Committee during that time, including the NRCA CERTA program, NRCA Safety Video series, the NRCA Pocket Guide to Safety, The NRCA Tool Box Talks and the NRCA Safety Manual.

Bill also participated in the volunteer leadership at NRCA, including a three-year term on the Board of Directors and a two-year term as a Vice-President. In 1995 he helped develop and was an inspector for the Roofing Industry Partnership Program for Safety and Health (RIPPSH). This ground breaking program was a joint venture between NRCA, CNA Insurance, The Roofers Union, The National Safety Council and OSHA. RIPPSH developed a standard for roofing safety excellence. Contractors who applied to the program received a thorough safety program review including an on-site inspection and once accepted, were exempt from scheduled OSHA inspections in the OSHA Region V states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin. The RIPPSH Program was phased out in 2002, but he learned a wealth of information about how different contractors put their safety programs in place and what works and what does not.

In 1996 Bill felt ready for a new challenge in his professional life and decided to leave the family business and began a professional relationship with NRCA which continues into the present time. He has worked in a variety of editorial,
consulting and teaching capacities for NRCA and is currently an instructor for NRCA’s OSHA 10 hr. class, OSHA 30 hr. class, CERTA Torching Safety class, the Roofing A to Z Fall Protection class and the Roof Repair and Maintenance class.

 

Bill is very knowledgeable and experienced with all aspects of roofing safety. Let him put his experience to work for you.