Building trade, developer
The ACERMI search engine
A resource like no other
For contractors, the Acermi search engine is the fastest way of identifying the best product for a particular application, and accessing all the technical and quality assurance guarantees required. UMPI-FFB Chairman Bruno Garabos lists the benefits...
Chairman of the UMPI (the Plastering and Insulation Trade Association of the French Building Federation) and former Chairman of the FFB for the Gironde region, Bruno Garabos is first and foremost head of a company based in Florac, which specializes in the hospitality industry and employs 40 people. "Our member companies have been fitting insulation for a long time now, and individual plasterers are increasingly required to do so. Recently introduced regulations have given particular prominence to this construction component, so to respond correctly to all the thermal, acoustic and fire resistance requirements, it's absolutely essential to fully understand the technical characteristics of the materials we are required to install. Added to that, the requirements regarding the use or otherwise of a vapor barrier in conjunction with insulation and the different levels of performance delivered by different thicknesses of insulation mean that manufacturers' ranges are expanding all the time."
So contractors must therefore be certain of their ability to identify the right product for the project. And given the diversity of products on offer, it is crucial to check that the product comes with the necessary assurances of regulatory compliance. "It's something I often remind people of when I visit UMPI members," emphasizes Bruno Garabos: "Legal assurance is just as important as technical assurance. And it's my opinion that the safest way of finding such a product is to make sure that it has Acermi certification. Which is why the Acermi search engine is so useful; in fact, it's top of the list of professional resources I recommend to my colleagues. The technical pages of the UMPI website have a direct link to the Acermi website."
Contractors often receive requests expressed solely in terms of thermal resistance, so they have to be able to find out if the thickness of insulation required to deliver a particular level of performance is compatible with the project specifications. "The Acermi search engine can answer those questions very quickly," continues Bruno Garabos. "So it's quick to find out whether or not the specified performance requires a thickness greater than that you hold in stock. But this search engine goes a lot further than that, because in addition to product specifications, it also lists suppliers. I'm an expert in this industry, but even I have found manufacturers I'd never heard of before. Contractors' established ways of doing things, accepted routines and a perceived lack of time to do the necessary research can tend to discourage any kind of research at all. The ACERMI search engine makes the whole process much simpler. Our profession now has a very valuable resource, even though we would like to see it improved further. So we're working on the development of a new resource that will provide valuable support for the design process by making it possible to check whether a vapor barrier is needed or not for a given insulation product, and the structure on which it should be laid."
Bruno Garabos hopes eventually that the search engine will be extended even further to include the option to search by type of construction work.
