Fresh off the heels of hosting a successful Certifications Review by more than 60 technical experts from the floorcovering industry’s most prominent mills, manufacturers, consultants and associations, INSTALL is ready to take the next steps in furthering its international certification program.
In December, industry experts met with INSTALL contractors and flooring instructors to review the carpet, resilient and hardwood certification programs by which INSTALL installation professionals are tested and then certified according to the most effective assessment in North America. Industry experts gave many suggestion to make the test even more expansive to cover everything that mills and manufacturers are seeing on jobsites.
“We are following up on the directions given to us by the technical experts,” said INSTALL Director John McGrath. “We received many suggestions on skill-sets that are crucial to all successful installations. Some of the suggestions covered skill-sets that are critical for every type of installation, while others addressed specialized skill-sets.”
Sub-committees of INSTALL flooring instructors with expertise in each flooring division are devising certification evaluations for each skill-set to keep the ball moving forward. The sub-committees will create skill-set evaluations; present their findings to experts from that certification area, and then work with industry experts again to establish a menu of certifications that provide a reliable solution in the search for quality installations.
“Our goal is to provide a benefit to the floor covering industry by identifyinginstallers that have demonstrated that they have mastered the necessary skill sets to install the flooring prior to arriving on the jobsite,” McGrath said. “Everyone - from the general contractor to the product manufacturer to the customer - can be confident that our certified installers can fulfill a reasonable promise: THEY KNOW HOW TO INSTALL THE FLOORING CORRECTLY! If this promise is always fulfilled, installation claims will virtually disappear.”
For more information about INSTALL, visit www.installfloors.org.
