NFCA’s first Annual General Meeting and Fall Social

On September 14th 2017, in Vancouver British Columbia, over 50 people attended the National Floor Covering Associations’ first Annual General Meeting and Fall Social event. Attendees included NFCA members, representatives from the architectural and design community, and Division 3’s Concrete and Formworkers Association.

We were also very pleased to have Sally Mills, Principal of Kasian Architecture and Vice President of the Interior Designers of Canada, speak at our event.

On the agenda was a recap of NFCA’s objectives:

• To unite our industry across the country with recognized, generic industry standards that all construction parties should refer to.
• Provide ongoing education for all construction professionals.
• Present a membership platform that will unite flooring related companies who believe in, and can deliver, best practices.
• Increase the awareness and use of our industries Quality Assurance Program.

Some of NFCA’s key activities over the past 12 months were reviewed:

• Education events in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
• Working with leading manufacturers’ technical representatives, to update the NFCA Floor Covering Reference Manual’s Carpet Broadloom and Carpet Tile Specification Guides.
• Attending conferences and speaking engagements, which included Construction Specifications Canada's (CSC) National Conference, the Canadian Healthcare and Engineering Society Conference and the Education Facility Managers Convention.

Two new Board members were successful in their application to join the NFCA Board of Directors. We welcome Will Houghton, Canadian Commercial Hard Surface Marketing Manager for Shaw Industries and Don Brletic, Western Regional Manager for ARDEX Americas. We look forward to their participation on our Board.

With the meeting adjourned, we moved on to our guest speaker. Sally Mills shared her experience and the design communities’ perspective on the challenges we all face delivering complicated flooring products into an increasingly fast-paced construction environment.

She offered insights into the value of our industries Floor Covering Reference Manual, how best to connect with interior designers through education, the value of our Quality Assurance Program and where to start to bring about much needed change regarding the disconnect between Division 3 and Division 9 - an ongoing problem that so often leads to slab rejection by the flooring contractor at the eleventh hour.

We thank Sally for giving her time and sharing her experience and knowledge.

If this event was any indication, there’s a renewed energy and desire for change. There is a growing feeling that the industry is really coming together as a community with common interests that will move us towards more quality floor installations and enhanced experiences for all construction parties including our clients. 

This isn’t something that happens overnight. As we all know, it is a gradual process, it will meet with resistance from some and will require a sustained effort. This is how we change a culture and a history of doing things a certain way – with respect, by listening, through conversations and education.

Thank you to all who attended and to the sponsors, listed below, that made it possible. We appreciate your support and look forward to an ongoing relationship.