Navigating the evolving labor market

By Emma Peterson.

Learn how to balance efficiency, quality and profitability as labor costs rise.

In a new episode of Roofing Road Trips®, Heidi J. Ellsworth spoke to David Beiler of Equipter about the labor challenges that contractors are facing and how having the right equipment in your arsenal s more important than ever. Over those two decades, David and the rest of the team at Equipter have watched the roofing industry shift and change. As the VP of sales and marketing, one of the big things he has noticed during that time is that the necessary tools and installation methods used to get the job done have changed. David elaborated, “At the end of the day, you still need to get a job done. It's still a service-oriented process, and so you can't get away from that, but one of the trends I see is moving to more of a subcontract type of landscape.”  

When considering why this shift has happened, David believes it is directly linked  to  the industry’s ongoing labor shortage. He explained, “The challenging part, or maybe even why the landscape has shifted, is because of the labor shortage. Now more than ever, hiring good laborers and managing that, that's challenging in and of itself.”

Continuing to face this challenge today, many contractors are looking for ways to make their processes more efficient and safer, so that crews can complete more jobs, quicker. That’s where having the right equipment, like Equipter’s trailers, can make all the difference. David shared, “The Equipter is able to lift your container up near to the roof edge so you're not throwing debris near as far and it’s safer. This also makes everything more efficient, if you're collecting the debris before it hits the ground it makes your crews’ job easier.” Further, having Equipter tools and trailers can help you with the interpersonal relationship part of working with subcrews. David explained, “You need to take care of your subcontractor or employee. Showing up with the right equipment, providing them with the right equipment, really helps them know that you care.”  

Read the transcript or Listen to the entire episode for more about how Equipter can help you manage your roofing business better.