Kansas City, Mo, Nov. 5--Nearly 100 of the area's top architects and designers were given a sneak preview of a program that promises to improve the North American construction industry--starting in Kansas City.
The Kansas City Flooring Expo recently hosted flooring manufacturers, architects, designers, property managers and other members of the local construction community at the carpenters union training center. Kansas City's Heartland Flooring Contractors Association joined INSTALL in hosting the event. The Expo served as the official launch of INSTALL in Kansas City. INSTALL (International Standards and Training Alliance) is an international training program that places strict standards on flooring installation, with the goal of decreasing both customer complaints and profits lost to repairing incorrectly installed jobs.
The Expo featured the first annual design/installation competition among architectural and design firms. The purpose: to give specifiers firsthand knowledge of the challenges installers face when implementing a specific design. Wellner Architects, Inc. won the competition with their "cityscape" design. Gastinger Walker Harden Architects earned the "most creative design" award, while Hoefer Wysocki Architects was recognized for having the best workmanship.
"This was time well spent," said Shannon Pollard, R.A., of the design firm Hollis Miller. "Not only did I have a great time participating in the competition, but I learned a great deal about floorcovering and the types of challenges that floorcoverers face each day."
INSTALL, a program of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters, is being implemented throughout North America. Kansas City is among the first cities to take the lead in promoting INSTALL to the local construction community.
"It's important that the local design community is aware of INSTALL and how it contributes to the construction industry," said Jim Schmid, international director of INSTALL.
Added Rae White of FDC Contract, and event liaison for the Heartland Flooring Contractors Association: "Everyone has had the experience of a poorly qualified installer in their home or at work. We want to make sure that Kansas City projects are staffed with the best trained flooring installers. INSTALL can do that, and we wanted the specifier community to know about it."
INSTALL is North America's leading multi-year training program. The labor departments of the United States and Canada certify its standards. INSTALL officials believe that reaching out to the specifier community will give design professionals better leverage to ensure that projects are done correctly--and therefore on time, on budget, and with less threat of customer complaints. The bottom line: a better economic situation for the local construction industry.
