The IICRC hosted the semi-annual instructor symposium in mid October. This is where all IICRC-approved instructors gather for specialized “train the trainer” activities designed to sharpen and improve teaching skills. More than 100 instructors attended the symposium, seeking to improve their skills and maintain the highest level of training anywhere.

The next day, after the instructor symposium, the IICRC Certification Council met. This is the group made up of over 150 industry participants that oversees all of the technical activities of the IICRC. There is a Technical Advisory Committee for each of the IICRC certification categories, responsible for keeping the class curriculum current and revising certification exams as needed. During this meeting, a new TAC met for the first time working on the specialized category of “Commercial Drying.” This certification training will cover correctly dealing with large commercial water-damage losses. It is the hope that the TAC will have classes and exams ready for presentation in the spring-summer of 2008.

A TAC has also been formed to work on the development of an IICRC certification program in the specialty area of sewage remediation. This group is actively preparing course curriculum and hopes to have a progress report and predicted presentation date by spring 2008.

Work continues on the latest revision of the S520 Mold Remediation Standard and the S100 Carpet Cleaning Standard. The S520 is now in the final stages of approval by the American National Standards Institute, with hopes to publish very soon. The S100 is in the early stages of revision and publication is still over a year away. Waiting in the wings is a brand new standard on carpet installation. This is being proposed in conjunction with the Carpet & Rug Institute and the World Floor Covering Association, along with several other installation-related groups.

IICRC has been very active in getting the word out regarding proper remediation and restoration following the recent terrible wildfires in Southern California. Contact with media groups, insurance companies and restoration companies helped get people together and restoration underway.

The IICRC Certified Firm program continues to gain in prestige and recognition. Several state legislatures are currently considering proposing bills that would require IICRC certification on fire and water damage remediation in their states. Many of the largest insurance companies are also now recommending IICRC certification as a requirement on their losses.

Thanks to the efforts of Dave Dybdahl and ARMR insurance, specialized business liability insurance for restoration companies is now available to IICRC-certified firms. Information and details are available on the IICRC registrant Web site, www.iicrc.org .