Address Issues, Make Claims, and Get the Most Out of Your Assets with Comprehensive Warranty Management
05/26/2021
In: Blog Lifecycle Management Portfolio Management
Once a roof replacement project is complete, it’s critical that you maintain your investment to extend its service life as long as possible. Unfortunately, what we uncover at the beginning of many of our partnerships is that facility owners are overwhelmed with trying to dispute claims between the roof contractor and/or manufacturer—or in many cases not fully understanding the warranty claims process.
Communication breakdown is the essence of the problem. Multiple parties (you, the contractor, and the manufacturer) all trying to figure out what their responsibilities are can be a huge challenge. Technical Assurance’s programmatic approach and comprehensive asset management solution, ON-PNT®, can help facilitate the warranty management process to help you get the most out of your investment and your warranty coverage.
Contractor Warranties vs. Manufacturer Warranties
When it comes time to submit a claim, there can be some undeniable confusion regarding who you submit the claim to. When a new roof system is installed, it typically comes with two basic warranties—a contractor warranty and a manufacturer warranty. But which party has responsibility?
In reality, it’s not black and white. Even though contractors’ warranties may still be in effect, there’s still some responsibility for the manufacturer during that warranty time period. What often ends up happening is that you (the owner) gets stuck in an endless loop between the two.
Understanding the limits of your manufacturer warranty is important.
Warranty terms vary; there are warranties out there ranging from 10 to 30 years, and there are even some that are in place for 50 years. Additionally, some manufacturers’ warranties cover labor and materials while some only cover materials. Others may include a No Dollar Limit (NDL)/Full System Warranty whenever all roof system components are made or provided by the manufacturer. This type of warranty does not limit the dollar amount for labor and materials to fix roof leaks or other issues, provided they can be rightfully claimed under the warranty.
Ultimately our team can work with you to understand what your terms are so you can make claims with confidence.
Your contractor warranty should not elapse without an assessment.
Contractor warranties typically last anywhere from one (1) to five (5) years. Something we see happen is that when the contractor warranty expires, the asset hasn’t been assessed since installation. But because the contractor warranty is now ineffective, many issues lurking that would have been the contractor’s responsibility are now left to be negotiated with the manufacturer—and that’s when issues ensue.
Historical documentation of issues is key.
Our proprietary building system asset management platform, ON-PNT®, includes data management features to organize and store robust data and documentation from routine roof assessments and defect maintenance that can help you build a case when submitting a warranty claim. This historical data helps eliminate confusion around who is responsible for repairs.
Quality assurance and accountability measures are built into our process.
At Technical Assurance, we do things differently than many other consultants out there. With our team’s vast experience in the industry, we’ve seen the struggles of facility owners and we’re intentionally proactive to help you succeed.
This is where the ON-PNT® platform can be utilized to assist in every phase of a building envelope asset management program. Features within the platform allow us to set up a series of workflows that help you stay on top of your warranties, routine assessments and preventative maintenance. Any issues found during an assessment are logged and stored so that you’ll later be equipped with the right information to make a claim.
After a claim is submitted and repairs are complete, we don’t close out a claim until we have the warranty assessment report and check everything off of the close-out list. Accountability measures are baked into every phase of your program and project.
Explore comprehensive asset management with Technical Assurance.
Interested in taking control of your roof system with proper management, documentation, and guidance from an experienced team? We’d love to tell you more about ON-PNT®. Contact us today to schedule a consultation!
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