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

The initiative, which was sponsored and primarily underwritten by WFCA, took five years from inception to approval. The ANSI Board of Standards Review made the final decision to pass S600 barring any unresolved objections.

The lack of a universally accepted carpet installation standard posed a profound challenge across the industry, noted Scott Humphrey, WFCA’s CEO. 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.

S600 establishes a common, industry-accepted framework identifying universal procedural standards for professional carpet installation in residences and commercial settings, he explained.

“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,” Humphrey said. “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.”

The standard is not written to teach installation procedures. Numerous installation organizations, both union and non-union alike, are available to offer appropriate training.

Rather, the 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 dealing with carpet. With S600, professional installers are able to determine appropriate accepted procedures that will ensure a flawless carpet installation. S600 identifies techniques for evaluating, including carpet types, characteristics and conditions; specifications; site conditions; floor preparation and various types of installation procedures.

Every type of carpeting has unique characteristics, Humphrey said, and each installation project requires careful evaluation to determine proper application of this standard. The standard is broken into 12 twelve chapters.

According to the WFCA, certification under ANSI S600 allows industry members to:

• Offer universally accepted installation procedures for residential and commercial grade carpet;
• 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.

 “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 WFCA’s member services. “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, call (714) 978-6440, or visit  wfca-pro.org.