National Industry Excellence Awards
On March 2, 2022, SPFA will host the National Industry Excellence Awards Program at SprayFoam 2022. There will be awards in several categories for projects that demonstrate excellence in our industry. A panel of industry experts will adjudicate the selection process through a blind judging process. Judges will not know to whom each of the entries belong, therefore the judging will be solely based on the merit of the project according to awards guidelines.
VIDEO: "How to Submit a Project for an NIE Award" (20 min)
ELIGIBILITY
To be eligible for an award, projects must meet the following criteria:
1. Contractor nominees must be current SPFA members to be entered into the contest.
2. The project must have been completed between December 1, 2019 and November 30, 2021.
3. ALL NOMINATIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY December 4, 2021 midnight PST
4. Digital Pictures are required.
- Note all photographs must show OSHA-compliant work environments.
- A signed release must be provided to SPFA as part of the online submission for all photographs submitted.
PROJECT CATEGORIES
The awards will be presented for 1st and 2nd place in the following categories:
| Residential Enclosure SPF | Spray foam insulation installed in a residential or multi-family dwelling in assemblies such as interior or exterior surfaces of walls, beneath floors, ceilings, under roof decks, unvented attics, basements, crawlspaces, under-slab or exterior below-grade |
| Commercial Enclosure SPF | Spray foam insulation installed in a commercial, institutional, industrial or mixed use building in assemblies such as interior or exterior surfaces of walls, beneath floors, ceilings, under roof decks, unvented attics, basements, crawlspaces, under-slab or exterior below-grade |
| Roof SPF < 40,000 ft sq | Spray foam roofing systems (foam and coatings) installed on the top surface of a low-slope or sloped roof deck on a residential or commercial building where the total sprayed area is less than 40,000 SF. Includes spray foam roof restoration and re-coating. |
| Roof SPF > 40,000 ft sq | Spray foam roofing systems (foam and coatings) installed on the top surface of a low-slope or sloped roof deck on a residential or commercial building where the total sprayed area is greater than 40,000 SF. Includes spray foam roof restoration and re-coating. |
| Specialty Applications | Novel or non-traditional applications of SPF isystems not addressed by the four categories above. These can include applications such as underground piping, storage tanks, theatrical stage sets, etc. |
| Elastomeric Roof Coatings | Application of elastomeric roof coatings designed for new roof waterproofing installations on substrates other than spray foam. NOTE: Re-coating of SPF roofs are to be included in the roofing categories above. This category is limited to elastomeric coatings defined in SPFA-102. |
The SPFA reserves the right to change the category to which a project has been submitted if the SPFA determines that there is a category that more closely represents the nature of the project.
Submissions are requested and encouraged from across the membership. While all submitted projects are proud examples of excellence, there may be a case where one company has multiple projects submitted in the same awards category. Should submissions from the same company qualify as both winner and runner up within the same category, the runner-up position will be reassigned to the next highest-judged project. The likelihood of this happening is very slim, but SPFA desires transparency on this issue. The awards program is intended to highlight exceptional projects across the industry and in the benevolent interest of doing so, SPFA believes this policy reinforces diversity and broad recognition, while encouraging and empowering a wide selection of companies to participate.
Please fill in the on-line nomination form.
NOTE: Be sure to include the signed photograph release form!
All questions regarding submission of the on-line nomination are to be forwarded to David Bradshaw david@sprayfoam.org
TIPS
How can I Increase my chances of a successful nomination and winning submission?
1. Check the TIPS page and create a draft off-line.
2. A brief history of the SPFA nominated member.
3. An exciting description of the project including:
- Address/location/city
- Type of job (cavity wall, insulation, etc.)
- Square footage of job
- Equipment used - including manufacturer
- Number of people needed to complete the job
- Number of days the job required
- Foam and coatings used
- Innovation (5%) - "New tools, new markets, new applications"
- Best Practices (15%) - "Please refer to the Best Practices Guidelines for details on earning these points."
- Problem Solving (20%) - "Did you have to do anything unusual or extra to meet the client's requirements? Special apparatus, safety concerns, difficult conditions, tight deadlines, unique scheduling?"
- Risk Mitigation (20%) - "Includes Health and Safety, as well as other risks to the client, staff or SPF contractor."
- Value of Money (15%) - "Includes energy savings, but also recognizes other values of SPF. Where the benefits are measureable and significant, your odds improve. Client testimonials are an excellent way to express the benefits of a project."
- Speed of Delivery (5%) - "Notes about the efficiency and efficacy of the application"
- Environmental Sustainability (20%) - "Ways in which the use of SPF supported environmental concerns."
5. Describe what makes the project special:
- Speed of SPF application vs. other applications
- Superiority of SPF vs. other applications
- Ability of SPF to conform to unusual/irregular surfaces
- Special safety considerations
- Quality programs used
- Uniqueness of project (heritage building, high profile project, etc.)
6. Supplier Support – Reach out to your supplier and ask their marketing professionals for help in your submission. Extra 5 points!
7. Contractor Mentor – Previous NIE Award Winners are available to mentor those new to the process. Email kmarcavage@sprayfoam.org for details
8. “How to do a Submission” intructions are being created to walk you through the process. Check back here in early July.
