This is a term which appears with greater frequency in letters, reports or comments from manufacturers or reps to dealers or end users. In one case of a commercial carpet there were over 3 dozen rolls of carpet shipped that had a multitude of visible flaws. There were visible mends, gaps in the face yarns (voids) and snags (high tufts). When the manufacturer was made aware of these conditions, and I can’t believe someone at the mill hadn’t already seen them, they told this dealer that what they were seeing was within industry standards. The dealer then questioned whether it was within industry standards to have nearly 50% of an order with flaws. The answer is that it is not and there is no industry standard for defects, flaws or any other inconsistency in a product. This term is being overused as a crutch to discourage putting the blame where it belongs.
There are industry standards for many things relative to floor covering and in particular carpet. There are standards for tuft bind for both cut pile (3 pounds) and loop pile carpets (6.25 pounds) laminate strength (2.5 pounds) for weight variation, colorfastness to crocking – both wet and dry, UV light and Oxides of Nitrogen. There are standards for static electricity, flammability, smoke, shade variation and dimensional tolerances. There are no industry standards for pattern match or distortion and there certainly are no industry standards for how many flaws a carpet has. For the comment to be made that there is a standard for what amounts to, in this case, defects in a carpet, is ludicrous and insane.
This term is bandied about like it really means something, especially when it comes to pattern match, for example. Does it make sense to you that a manufacturer or rep or anyone else for that matter, says that the flaws you see are within industry standards? Standards can be measured as they are with most of the items listed. Standards are governed by real tests, such as ASTM or AATCC.
Other comments can be made that something is within industry guidelines or acceptable practices. It is a guideline that the width of a carpet may fluctuate, that the shade should vary from dye lot to dye lot or that the yarn could vary. There are accepted practices for how the industry functions relative to the relationship between the manufacturer and the dealer, the distributor and the dealer or all three. There are accepted practices about how carpet should be handled, that it and other types of flooring materials should acclimate to the installation environment. That the heat and air conditioning should be on and that the substrate has to meet particular conditions to allow for a successful installation. These are not industry standards but they are accepted floor covering industry practices and guidelines. When someone says within industry standards they are saying that the condition you are experiencing or that being questioned falls within an established parameter of being ok or not ok. And, again, there are no standards for flaws, voids, snags or bad mends. If these conditions exist they exist because someone messed up in the manufacturing process and allowed the carpet to be shipped with the flaws in it.
Beware of the comment “within industry standards.” You can even go on line and see it mentioned in manufacturers information. This is wrong because they know full well if something is or is not a standard and whether what they are mentioning is even covered by a standard. If you should hear this term and you question whether it applies to what you’re experiencing, call us and we’ll tell you whether someone’s blowing smoke in your direction or not. In fact, if you have any questions on any flooring issue call us and we’ll get you answers.
Author: Lewis G. Migliore
LGM and Associates – The Floorcovering Experts