The World Floor Covering Association (WFCA) has announced the official approval of the S600 Carpet Installation Standard developed under the guidance of the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC).

The initiative, which was sponsored and primarily underwritten by WFCA, took five years from inception to approval. The ANSI Board of Standards Review (BSR), which is responsible for the approval and withdrawal of ANSI Standards, made the final decision to pass the Standard on April 9, 2015. Official public notification of the certification will appear in the April 17th ANSI Standards Action publication. At this point, unresolved objectors have been given the opportunity to appeal the Standard to the ANSI Board of Standards Review. The S600 will become official if no appeals are received within 15 business days of the announcement.

The lack of a universally accepted carpet installation standard posed a profound challenge across the industry. Through a collaborative process with a multi-stakeholder group of manufacturers, suppliers, inspectors, installers, retailers and other industry participants, a standard that will provide the industry with a quality control system to significantly reduce issues associated with installation was born. The S600 standard establishes a common, industry-accepted framework identifying universal procedural standards for professional carpet installation in residences and commercial settings.
 
S600 is not written to teach installation procedures. Numerous installation organizations, both union and non-union alike, will offer appropriate training. This standard was created for use primarily by professional carpet installers, and secondarily for carpet manufacturers, product suppliers, building contractors, architects, specifiers, designers, distributors, flooring retailers, end-users, facility managers, institutions and others involved in the carpet industry. With S600, professional installers are able to determine appropriate accepted procedures that will ensure a flawless carpet installation. S600 identifies techniques for evaluating: carpet types, characteristics and conditions; specifications, site conditions, floor preparation and various types of installation procedures.
 
Every type of carpeting has unique characteristics, and each installation project requires careful evaluation to determine proper application of this standard. The Standard is broken down 12 twelve chapters. ANSI S600 certification allows industry members to:
• Offer universally accepted installation procedures for residential and commercial grade carpet making them preferred vendors;
• Provide a clear standard for future teaching and certification of carpet installation; 
• Save money by adopting universally accepted operational practices and business approaches; and
• Use the ANSI S600 Certified mark on their products and services and in their advertising.
 
“As the largest segment in the flooring industry, it did not seem acceptable that the carpet sector did not have a universally accepted ANSI standard,” said Scott Humphrey, CEO of the WFCA. “The S600 was a much-needed Standard achieved through a five-year journey with countless hours of work. If not for the consensus body that included all sectors of the flooring industry, this achievement would not have been possible. I commend their efforts and congratulate the selfless industry leaders who made this possible."
 
“In North America, ANSI standards are well known, recognized and relied upon by most industries,” said Tom Jennings, chair of the S600 Consensus Body and vice president of Member Services, WFCA. “The S600 provides a universal reference guide for professional carpet installation, which will benefit people in all sectors and at all levels across our industry.”
 
For more information, visit wfca-pro.org.