by Brianna Crandall — March 19, 2021 — The Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) recently announced the publication of a new American National Standard, ANSI/IICRC S220: Standard for Professional Inspection of Hard Surface Floor Coverings (first edition, 2021), which may be useful to help facilities managers (FMs) understand the hard-surface flooring inspection and commissioning process.
The ANSI/IICRC S220 standard describes the non-destructive procedures, methods, and systems for professional inspectors to follow when inspecting light commercial and residential hard-surface floor coverings, including stone, laminate, prefinished wood, ceramic and resilient. This standard does not specifically address the protocols and procedures for installing hard-surface floor coverings.
Professional inspection of hard surface floor coverings consists of the following components, for which procedures are described in the ANSI/IICRC S220 standard:
- Professional Hard Surface Floor Covering Inspector
- Commissioning parties
- Writing inspection reports
- Inspection tools and equipment
- Photography
- Chain of custody, storage, and handling
- Wood flooring inspection
- Laminate flooring inspection
- Stone, ceramic flooring inspection
- Resilient flooring inspection
- Limitations, complexities, complications and conflicts
Jessica Violand Bruno, S220 Standard Consensus Body chair, remarked:
The importance of the S220 is to give the industry a resource for what goes into a hard-surface flooring inspection. This is an invaluable resource to all in the floor-covering industry. The S220 is the first document of its kind by the IICRC and ANSI. We are excited to finally release this document after many years of work. We are grateful for all those in the industry who volunteered their time to make this standard a reality.
To purchase a copy of the new ANSI/IICRC S220 and other standards, visit the IICRC Webstore. IICRC standards are also available via the IICRC standards subscription website. For more information on other certification programs and standards offered by IICRC, visit the IICRC website.
The IICRC is a global standards-developing organization (SDO), accredited through the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), as well as a credentialing body that certifies individuals in 20+ categories within the inspection, cleaning, and restoration industries. With more than 60,000 certified technicians and 6,000 certified firms in 22 countries, the IICRC, in partnership with regional and international trade associations, represents the entire industry. The IICRC does not own schools, employ instructors, produce training materials, or promote specific product brands, cleaning methods, or systems.
