Flooring contractor and installation company Combined Flooring is working on a refurbishment project at automaker BMW South Africa’s head office in Midrand, Gauteng, which the company plans to complete before the end of the year.

The project started this month and entails the installation of 2 000 m2 of wood-look luxury vinyl tiles, 150 m2 of static dissipative vinyl and 4 300 m2 of carpet floor covering, says Combined Flooring director Jason Merrington.

He adds that, as a contracting company, Combined Flooring employs installers to do the installation for the company’s flooring projects.

“We source materials from the specifications that are given to us by the architects, we measure the drawings and calculate the material needed, including waste, on the specific project and we get the material delivered to site. We manage the project when installers are installing to ensure that all procedures – manufacturers recommendations and quality checks – are followed.”

The company employs installers who have received training from the Flooring Industry Training Association (Fita).

“Previously, all South African installers were trained on a system where the head installer mentored floor installers. However, Fita also introduced training programmes provided by training providers to give installers recognition for their experience,” says Merrington.

Upon completion on the training programmes, Fita awards installers with certificates.

Merrington says the installers appointed by the company have also gone through the Recognition of Prior Learning – it is an assessment based on experience, skills and knowledge of what a person already knows.

He emphasises the importance of training in the flooring industry, as there are certain types of floor covering, such as vinyl, which is specialised. “In this regard, it will be impossible to take someone who is not knowledgeable about floor covering to teach them without having received training beforehand.”

He concludes that flooring installation is challenging and requires installers to receive specialised training.