Baseless Installation: The NFCA and Installation Substrates with Guest Chris Maskell

Installation standards. You can’t talk about one of Cam’s favorite subjects without also mentioning claims. The National Floor Covering Association works tirelessly to promote the former and minimize the latter. NFCA CEO Chris Maskell joins Cam and Tyler to discuss professional outreach, inspection procedures, and membership benefits. Whether you’re an NFCA-curious commercial contractor, distributor, or manufacturer or utterly unfamiliar with the organization, Chris’ case-file anecdotes and wall-to-wall explanations beautifully illustrate NFCA’s impact on the industry.

“Our job at NFCA is to get standards out there to the construction industry so that the builders and everybody involved in the mix––whether it’s architects, building owners, project managers, flooring professionals––all understand that there are actually guidelines to get good product put in so that it lasts.”

Sure, Chris makes the process sound easy, but lowering the substantial number of dollars lost annually to claims requires a concentrated effort across multiple aspects of the commercial flooring ecosystem. Consider NFCA’s membership: commercial floor covering contractors, manufacturers, distributors, and affiliates. Each entity has a hand on the same products but at vastly different stages of its usage. NFCA lends support to them all. “This is about inclusion, not exclusion,” says Chris of their focus.

Regardless of which category an NFCA member occupies, the claims process can be a challenging time. “One of the benefits of an unbiased, not-for-profit association [is] the association obviously has no skin in the game.” By ordering an inspection for a claim through NFCA, all parties can rest easy knowing that bias has been decoupled from the final report. An NFCA-backed review is about uncovering the truth. To that end, NFCA has ruled against people who’ve ordered inspections through the organization.

NFCA’s end goal is to minimize the number of commercial flooring claims by fixing the initial job spec. “What’s the point of getting a good installer on site if he just runs into a spec that doesn’t make any sense?” Chris asks. To support industry-wide quality assurance, the organization publishes a minimum standards manual available to all members. The comprehensive nationally recognized resource details protocols for properly installing myriad floor coverings and is an indispensable tool for bridging the gap between architects, materials manufacturers, and grade-A installers.

NFCA offers members peace of mind at the onset of an install and, if necessary, during the claims stage. So, the only question is: why aren’t you a member yet?

Download NFCA’s easy-to-use consultant’s design spec and pricing for Quality Assurance Program here.

QUOTES
“There’s no skin in the game for us, so we’re trusted.” – Chris Maskell

“For a small amount of money for a membership every year, we are actually a meat-and-potatoes association, not just another golf tournament.” – Chris Maskell

“A rising tide will lift all ships as they say, and it starts with specifications and minimum standards, everybody getting on that same page.” – Chris Maskell

“It’s about what’s right, not who’s right.” – Chris Maskell

“Product is only so good. If you don’t have the installers to put it down, it could be the death of a supplier, death of the industry.” – Cam Overacker
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Know Where You Stand is produced and edited by The Creative Impostor Studios.

To learn more about topics we discuss, visit https://primco.ca/ or contact your local sales rep.

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