A major shift towards designing roofing systems rather than individual components came in response to a hurricane Andrew, according to an an article from Building Operating Management on the FacilitiesNet website.
This incredibly destructive hurricane demonstrated how lacking the construction industry in general, and roofing in particular, were in mitigating storm damage.
This led Miami Dade County, where the damage was the worst, to reevaluate how roofs were designed and installed. Roofing manufacturers were required to test systems as a whole.
This was the start of roofing as a science, as the focus turned to calculating wind uplifts, drainage areas, and air conditioning stand attachments.