INSTALL Minnesota E-Newsletter May 2008
Monday, May 19, 2008
Local construction specifiers get flooring refresher
A group that represented this region’s top construction specifiers are now equipped with a host of new information about the floor covering installation industry, as well as the group behind the region’s best installers. INSTALL Minnesota floor covering professionals, which represents this area’s leading floor covering contractors, hosted the group of nearly 50 specifiers recently at the INSTALL Minnesota training center.
The group first was given an overview of the International Standards and Training Alliance (INSTALL), and how it benefits specifiers in the Twin Cities region. Then, participants were given a continuing education course entitled “Why Floors Fail,” which took an in-depth look at how moisture and alkalinity affects the installation of carpet, wood, resilient and more. Following that, expert installation instructors of INSTALL Twin Cities and program apprentices staffed five different demonstration areas to showcase various flooring installation techniques.
The event was a program of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Chapter of the Construction Specification Institute. INSTALL Minnesota is a regular host of area architects, designers and specifiers in order to keep them up to date on new floor covering installation specification information.
To learn more about INSTALL Minnesota, or to request a visit to or learning event at the training center, visit www.INSTALLMinnesota.com
INSTALL and Forbo partner to heighten skills of union linoleum installers
Forbo Linoleum’s associate mechanic certification program is one of the toughest skill tests that a floor covering professional can earn. Forbo officials also take very seriously the process of giving and assessing the exam. But in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, Forbo officials entrust their certification program to INSTALL Minnesota training coordinator Ruben Stewart. In fact, Stewart is one of the only non-Forbo employees in the country entrusted to administer the certification exam.
Over the last couple of months, Stewart has facilitated a steady stream of Forbo associate mechanic training courses and certification exams. Dozens of flooring professionals in the area have successfully completed the work and are now Forbo certified. And that means more highly qualified installers on job sites that use INSTALL Contractors. For a list of INSTALL contractors, visit www.INSTALLMinnesota.com
INSTALL Minnesota floor covering professionals are recognized for superior skills
INSTALL Minnesota is known for providing only the best flooring installers to area jobsites. That’s why area specifiers are opting more and more to include language that demands an INSTALL-certified professional for the installation of the flooring material.
To be recognized as a certified INSTALL floor covering professional, a mechanic must demonstrate his competence to experts in the industry. At the INSTALL Twin Cities program, the more than 400 mechanics are posting an aggressive drive to achieve 100 percent certification by the end of 2008. On a national level, INSTALL mechanics have four more years to achieve 100 percent certification, but INSTALL Minnesota training coordinator Ruben Stewart said his area isn’t waiting that long.
“We want to speed it up and get it done sooner so that we consistently have the manpower ready,” Stewart said, adding that contractors who hire these INSTALL professionals are taking the lead in scheduling their men and women to take the 8-hour, hands-on certification exam.
INSTALL Minnesota is approaching 200 certified members. Area contractors who have nearly all of their installers certified are St. Paul Linoleum and Becker Brothers. For a complete list of INSTALL Minnesota contractors, visit www.INSTALLMinnesota.com
About the INSTALL Certification and Assessment Program
INSTALL measures the skills of its floor coverers in a quantitative test that includes both written and hands-on examinations. The assessment is based on the INSTALL curriculum — and the curriculum is based on the manufacturers’ recommendations and guidelines.
Throughout apprenticeship, every installer must show competency at each level before advancing to the next. Therefore, assessment is rooted in the skills that are taught throughout the curriculum. Through this certification process, INSTALL leadership can identify deficiencies in an individual’s skill set and then go back and make sure that an installer gains the appropriate competence.
This assessment piece is standardized, and it’s divided into two categories: carpet and resilient. The criteria are standardization in the use of mockups, testing and grading components. For instance, written test topics include floor preparation, layout/planning, fitting, seaming, bonding and product knowledge.
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