60 2018 | TRENDS Qualification requirements and recommendations for labor Selec n premi m ality le, se n materials, mem ranes, and ro ts is also important to a pro ect s s ccess. ood materials and desi n, ho e er, are not eno h on their own to guarantee s ccess. he ate o a pro ect also rests hea ily on the s ills o the contractor and installers. Architects have a contractual duty to owners to deliver ality installa ons, hich is hy it is so cri cal to set alifica ons or the contractor and le installers in specifica ons. ile ind stry or ani a ons in the nited States ha e made strides to de elop a nified set o alifica on re irements or la or. oday, the ile ouncil o orth erica andboo or era ic, lass and tone ile nstallation has cited nion o rneyman ile ppren ce Pro rams, ro el o cellence cer fica on, I I ontractor olle e, and other ind stry pro rams as recommended alifica on criteria uch as erti ed ile nstallers and ive tar ontractors ed . asterSpec, a company ali ned ith the merican Ins t te o rchitects I , ses similar lan a e in their master ide specifica on. One o the est indicators o a alified installer is the d anced er fica ons or ile Installers er fica ons , an ind stry ide pro ram that meas res the s ills o installers in se en dis nct s ill areas lar e ormat le mem ranes m d oors m d alls sho er receptors a ed porcelain les and a ed porcelain le sla s panels and ro ts. rchitects are ad ised to re ire cer fied installers on pro ects ith a concen tra on o or in one or more o these hi h s ill areas. Quality control during construction Once the constr c on doc ments are complete and the le or is a arded to the le contractor, the pro ect transi ons into constr c on phase. rin this phase, architects sho ld o er ality control y en orcin and lfillin the re irements or ality set orth in the desi n phase. rin constr c on, the architect o ser es the or and o ersees a ariety o constr c on admin istra on processes li e re ie in s mi als, re ie in s s t on re ests and other chan es in or , and appro in contractor payment re ests. rin the constr c on phase, the architect s primary role is re ie in the le or in pro ress and chec in it or con ormity ith desi n intent. I the architect de el oped the constr c on doc ments to a hi h le el o com pleteness, precision, and consistency, it is nli ely that si nificant iss es ill arise in constr c on. I essen al in orma on in the constr c on doc ments is nclear, contradictory, or incomplete, ho e er, the architect is called on to ma e clarifica ons and to inter pret desi n intent that sho ld ha e already een clearly addressed. In this case, the architect m st ser e as an impar al ar iter et een the o ner and the contractor. For e amples o ho an architect may e called to resol e iss es d rin constr c on, lin to on ell s ll paper here h ps it.ly 2 . he speciali ed nat re o ceramic le assem lies re ires architects to ta e on the role o comm nicators and colla orators thro ho t the desi n and constr c on process. ll par es in ol ed in a le pro ect are ni fied y the shared oal o ality installa on. I I is commi ed to helpin architects complete s c cess l le pro ects. It o ers s pport thro h technical ser ices and con n in ed ca on, and pro ides s illed, hi hly trained nion la or to the le mar et. ie pcomin le ed ca on opport ni es or desi n pro es sionals at h p imi e .or tmt or contact I I at h p imi e .or 4 contact or more in orma on. A&D FOCUS (continued) ” “ Architects have a contrac- tual duty to owners to deliver quality installations, which is why it is so critical to set qualifi- cations for the contractor and tile installers in specifications. onwell said one o the best indicators o a uali ed installer is the dvanced erti cations or ile nstallers erti cations , an indus- try-wide rogra that easures the s ills o installers in seven dis- tinct s ill areas