Suppliers and

Q&A Forums

Author	Comments
mason Posted: Oct 17, 2008 09:38 AM	Suppliers and "Bad" Foam A recent topic spurred me to comment on suppliers and "bad batches" of foam. Having been around the foam industry for close to 40 years, I have personally sprayed millions of lbs of foam from more than a 100 different suppliers. Every supplier will have a bad batch occasionally. The important factor is how they respond to a problem and if they work with you to help correct the situation or try to stonewall you. I have heard both good and bad stories from contractors about virtually every supplier that makes foam regarding their responses to a perceived "bad batch". There are a few that consistently duck responsiblity, but it is not the norm in the industry. I have found that the more documentation that you have of your application of a supplier's foam, the more likely they will work with you if a problem develops. So keep good jobsite records, weather, substrate conditions, equipment settings, maintenance and troubleshooting, application data, lot numbers, yield, spray pattern, storage and handling procedures, application data, lift thickness, and record any anomalies during application. Contact your supplier if you run across something during application that is out of the ordinary or if the foam just doesn't spray the same as before. Realize also that your crew may not give you the total unvarnished truth about a material problem. Once I had a good customer call me about a batch mix polyurethane coating that didn't set up right. He had good job records and a good track record of high performance. Our quality retain samples were fine. But, since he was a good customer, we gave him the benefit of the doubt and replaced the material. Some years later, I was talking to his main foreman who had since gone to work for another contractor. He told me that they forgot to put catalyst in the coating and that is why it didn't set up. He was afraid of being fired and didn't tell the owner. So, when your supplier asks for more information and documentation, remember that they have seen a lot of contractors blame the material for their own mistakes. It is up to you to convince your supplier that there is a real problem. Good recordkeeping can help.

Author

Comments

mason

Posted: Oct 17, 2008 09:38 AM

Suppliers and "Bad" Foam

A recent topic spurred me to comment on suppliers and "bad batches" of foam.

Having been around the foam industry for close to 40 years, I have personally sprayed millions of lbs of foam from more than a 100 different suppliers. Every supplier will have a bad batch occasionally. The important factor is how they respond to a problem and if they work with you to help correct the situation or try to stonewall you.

I have heard both good and bad stories from contractors about virtually every supplier that makes foam regarding their responses to a perceived "bad batch". There are a few that consistently duck responsiblity, but it is not the norm in the industry.

I have found that the more documentation that you have of your application of a supplier's foam, the more likely they will work with you if a problem develops.

So keep good jobsite records, weather, substrate conditions, equipment settings, maintenance and troubleshooting, application data, lot numbers, yield, spray pattern, storage and handling procedures, application data, lift thickness, and record any anomalies during application.

Contact your supplier if you run across something
during application that is out of the ordinary or if the foam just doesn't spray the same as before.

Realize also that your crew may not give you the total unvarnished truth about a material problem. Once I had a good customer call me about a batch mix polyurethane coating that didn't set up right. He had good job records and a good track record of high performance. Our quality retain samples were fine. But, since he was a good customer, we gave him the benefit of the doubt and replaced the material.

Some years later, I was talking to his main foreman who had since gone to work for another contractor. He told me that they forgot to put catalyst in the coating and that is why it didn't set up. He was afraid of being fired and didn't tell the owner.

So, when your supplier asks for more information and documentation, remember that they have seen a lot of contractors blame the material for their own mistakes. It is up to you to convince your supplier that there is a real problem.

Good recordkeeping can help.

You need to login to reply to this topic. Please click here to login.