January 2020

“It’s about us as an
industry making it
simple to understand”
Look further than a tick box
She continued: “A lot of specifiers just see if
there’s a tick in the box – ‘does it have a BBA
certificate?’, if yes they think that’s enough.
People don’t seem to realise that you still have to
read the certificates to check what the products
can and can’t do – my advice is don’t just look
for a tick box, read further.”
In the consumer world, Sarah points to
comparethemarket.com as an example of how the
LRWA’s Product Register site will work: “The user
fills in the criteria of what they’re looking for –
whether that be fire performance, length of
guarantee, inverted roof application etc. – and it
pulls out a randomised, not alphabetical, list.
The user can then scan down and pull out the top
systems that fit their requirements, and then
reduce their list again and pull out further
information such as guidance notes, Building
Regs, find out what substrate the product has
been tested on, which is all crucial to finding the
right system.
Sarah continued: “The Product Register came
about as a way of people being able to select
liquids based on product claims that have been
verified, but it’s about us as an industry making it
simple to understand – pulling out all the relevant
bits; Is it going to be inverted? Is it going to have
a green roof on it? Is it a garage roof or a
commercial project? All these questions impact in
terms of product choice and we as liquid experts
know what testing has been done and what it
actually means for the liquid in-situ.”
Trade counter expertise
Once the Product Register is up and running,
Sarah sees the next stage as raising the standard
of liquid expertise in trade counters. She
explained: “The Product Register is about raising
awareness – it’s a tool that can be used by
anybody, but it’s to say ‘look, there’s a difference,
Above, top: Pic courtesy of Kemper System. Above: the LRWA’s Product Register.
“It’s a tool that can be used by anybody, but it’s
to say ‘look, there’s a difference, liquids aren’t a
me-too product, and don’t believe everything you
hear and read – check it out first’”
liquids aren’t a me-too product, and don’t believe
everything you hear and read – check it out
first.’”
She continued: “Part two will be about developing
a network of LRWA Specialist Liquid Centres.
We’d like to find like-minded distributors who
want to do liquids properly, sign up to a code of
conduct, utilise the Product Register and work
with us. We would ensure that there is a liquid
champion in store that the LRWA has trained,
who will also have the back-up of LRWA expert
advice and help should any difficult questions
arise. We want them to only sell and stock
products from the register, and encourage
contractors to train in them.”
As we move into 2020, the spotlight is on the
wider construction sector with regards to best
practice and utilising the right materials and
products in the right situations, and all in the
supply chain are going to need access to the
correct information and support so they can
make informed choices when it comes to product
selection and installation. With the Product
Register, the LRWA is taking responsibility for its
sector and providing a free tool so users can
wade through all the misinformation, make
sense of the technical talk and have clarity that
the product will meet their project needs and
stand the test of time. What’s not to like about
that?
Contact the LRWA
0333 987 4581
www.lrwa.org.uk
@LRWAssociation
JANUARY 2020 TC 27