Expanding Your Foam Insulation IQ

SPRAY FOAM MAGAZINE – The Spray Polyurethane Foam Alliance (SPFA) began as a national trade association in 2003. Their core mission is to support the health of the industry and to serve its participants, promoting best practices, and growth through a number of core initiatives, educational resources, events, and much more.

The SPFA has developed extremely valuable webinars that contractors cannot afford to miss. Whether new to the industry, or a veteran, these sessions have great advice and provide expert insights with valuable knowledge and strategies to enhance a contractor’s skills and efficiency in the application of spray foam insulation. From equipment maintenance and troubleshooting to optimal spraying techniques and safety precautions, the SPFA Tech Tuesday Webinar Series covers a wide range of crucial topics to ensure a contractor’s success. Each live webinar can be viewed on-demand and will meet the continuing education requirements of the SPFA PCP Certification Program. Below we provide a glance of several of these informative, valuable, webinars, and where to find them.

Fire Safety for Contractors

This webinar was presented by Rick Duncan of SPFA on June 13. It provided some statistics underscoring the impact of fires and the importance of fire safety. It included the basic elemens of a fire, including fire types and selection and use of fire extinguishers. It also addressed fire prevention in both the spray zone on the job site and on a spray rig. It concluded with a checklist on emergency preparation and fire prevention.

Heat Illness

This webinar was delivered by Chris King, Safety Director for Anchor Insulation (SPFA Safety Committee Co-Chair). It began by discussing the current OSHA National Emphasis Program on Heat Illness that is targeting the construction industry. It then described symptoms of heat illness, including heat rash and cramping, syncope, heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Preventive measures were also provided including regular monitoring of workplace temperature and humidity, as well as equipment options, including supplied air compressor selection, air chillers, cooling tubes, and PPE options.

Respiratory Protection

This webinar was presented by Dan Dorneanu of Palmetto Spray Foam (SPFA Board Member) and Tom Ludwig of Bullard. It covered respirable hazards encountered by SPF installers, OSHA standards for respiratory protection and NIOSH standards for respiratory protection. It reviewed different respirator types, as well as responsibilities, including regular fit testing, medical monitoring, proper cleaning, storage of respirators, and the importance of having a written respiratory protection program.

Make sure to mark your calendar and set your reminders for these TECH TUESDAY webinars:

Sept 12, 2023

Personal Protective Equipment

3:00 - 4:00 PM (EDT)

Presented by Brian Cote from IBP (Installed Building Products). This webinar will be full of PPE, minus respiratory protection, which was discussed in the August webinar. Brian will be looking at proper clothing, gloves, hoods, shoes etc.

» ICYMI: www.sprayfoam.org/techtuesday

Sept 19, 2023

Angi Best Practices +

Keys to Success Webinar

3:00 - 4:00 PM (EDT)

SPFA members will receive exclusive benefits and discounts with their partner, Angi. Learn how Angi can help the contractor connect with more projects, boost their online presence and reputation, and grow their business. This webinar will also help the contractor learn how to maximize their return on marketing spend, profitability and ROI with Angi’s tools and services.

» ICYMI: www.sprayfoam.org/techtuesday

Oct 3, 2023  

Drum Disposal  

3:00 - 4:00 PM (EDT)

Presented by Christopher E. King from Anchor Insulation, this webinar will focus on the crucial matter of drum cleaning/decontamination and disposal options. It will also include what to do with expired chemicals.

Nov 14, 2023  

Chemical Spills and Cleanup  

3:00 - 4:00 PM (EDT)

Presented by Brian Cote from IBP (Installed Building Products), this webinar will be full of useful tips on what to do when a chemical spill occurs.

Expect some great guidance from the above webinars provided by respected industry veterans. As with these, the SPFA continues to create more ways to advance those in the spray foam industry and elevate their expertise. Through technical resources, professional certification programs, legislative advocacy, and more, they are making spray foam great again!  

Make sure to check the SPFA's Upcoming Events list on SprayFoam.org to sign up for future Tech Tuesday webinars.

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