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CFCRA

CFCRA to try and join forces with others Training partnerships

At the time of writing this column the area I live in has been locked down and it’s Thanksgiving weekend. The kids are here from Hamilton and Edmonton. The streets are almost empty, the airplanes and airports are almost empty. Everything is very clean. Is there anything to worry about? The CFCRA has reached out to the ISSA-Canada group and the ISSA itself to bring their curriculum to Canada. The first education program we would like to bring in is the GBAC (Glogal Biorisk Advisory Council) Star Facility Accreditation. From the GBAC website: GBAC STAR is the cleaning industry’s only outbreak prevention, response Lee Senter, and recovery accreditation for facilities. CFCRA President GBAC STAR is the gold standard of prepared facilities. This accreditation means that a facility has: • Established and maintained a cleaning, disinfection, and infectious disease prevention program to minimize risks associated with infectious agents like the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). • The proper cleaning protocols, disinfection techniques, and work practices in place to combat biohazards and infectious disease. • Highly informed cleaning professionals who are trained for outbreak and infectious disease preparation and response.

We hope to spin this into a “dos and don’ts” when it comes to maintaining flooring. It is still quite perturbing that we are specifying sanitizers and disinfectants on moisture-sensitive flooring and such chemical-sensitive carpeting as printed nylons and the protective coatings they are treated with. Many vinyls will also yellow from overuse of quats (quaternary ammonium compounds).

The CFCRA is also collaborating with the GTTI (Georgina Trades Training Inc.). The GTTI Skilled Trades Institute is a non-profit organization providing innovative training solutions to students at its facility and campus located in Georgina, Ont. For some background on the GTTI Skilled Trades Institute, the GTTI is currently in the process of establishing tuition-free, 26-week skilled trades pre-apprenticeship programs in eight residential construction trades, (with classes scheduled to commence on January 5th, 2021). These programs are being designed to promote the skilled trades and construction industry as a first-choice career opportunity. The goal is to help prepare people for rewarding careers in the trades, while simultaneously helping our communities grow and thrive. At the end of each semester, the students will have constructed and serviced four to six modular homes to be transported to designated tracts of land and sold as affordable housing. We are hoping that the CFCRA can lend its expertise in installing flooring in these different types of homes. There are many little things that go wrong when installing flooring into modular homes. Hopefully we can get everyone on board as to why flooring installation specifications are so important. The CFCRA will also be holding our WHMIS certifications, and our IICRC certified CCT, UFT and RRT classes via virtual streaming. (These streaming classes make me feel like a video disc jockey or something.) They are being very well received by the registrants. If you have some ideas or seminars you would like to make available to the public feel free to reach out to me at leesenter@hotmail.com.

The Canadian Flooring Cleaning and Restoration Association (CFCRA) was preceded by the Flooring Institute of Ontario (FIO), a not-for-profit organization which proudly served the needs of flooring industry professionals in Ontario since 1962. www.cfcra.ca