In the early 1980's, a young captain in the air force engineering group stumbled onto a roofing system that appeared to have some enviable qualities. As Captain Dean Kashiwagi prepared to reroof some Air Force buildings with sprayed polyurethane foam (SPF), he found himself inundated with both positive and negative information about the SPF system he was attempting to specify.

"With all the negative feedback I received there was no way I was going to go against the tide and specify a relatively obscure product." Somewhat later, performing his own analysis as to the true capabilities of the system, Kashiwagi discovered that most of the negative information he had received was due to improper application, and that if installed correctly, SPF roofing had high performance characteristics, comparable to other performing roofing applications (Professional Roofer, Jan. 1996).

T his discovery led Captain Kashiwagi to a startling conclusion. In the construction industry very few decisions are made based on true performance information. Kashiwagi discovered that the construction industry sold products based on marketing.

T oday the Del E. Webb School of Construction at Arizona State University has developed a highly successful program which assists consumers to select products based entirely upon performance, rather than "marketing hype".

D r. Dean Kashiwagi has been the leading pioneer in the implementation of "The Performance Based Procurement System (PBPS)". "As an Air Force engineer, I was a consumer, constrained by a procurement system that had no safeguards for assuring performance. I felt certain that there had to be a better method for providing quality construction materials and practices. I have since made it my life's work to provide such a system.

T oday Dr. Kashiwagi's PBPS is providing a better system of procurement for entities such as IBM, Honeywell, Motorola and the State of Wyoming. The system is based on "intelligent processing", which allows the consumer to buy the best product services for the best cost. The cornerstone of the program is a method for collecting actual performance data on prospective systems and contractors and allowing the performance based procurement ranging from floors to roofs, and almost anything between.

A s Dr. Kashiwagi reflects back he says, "the problem with negative publicity of the SPF roofing systems opened my eyes to the need to protect the consumer purchasing facility systems and services. Here was a roofing system, equal to other premium roofing systems, that was being avoided due to a lack of understanding of the system and due to the lack of marketing dollars to compete in a construction industry driven by marketing efforts. In the roofing industry, as with all construction products, there are performing contractors and suppliers as well as nonperformers.

W e have amassed a database that weighs and tracks relative performance. Our clients access this information over the Internet to assist them in their bid evaluations. Today at Del Webb School of Construction we feel we offer a unique information system that provides a method to document and purchase performing construction systems.

For further information contact the PRSRG at:

(602)965-4273
(602)965-4371 FAX