Today I was asked a question I hear often and seems to be a topic worth discussing. A designer is working on a specification for a college that calls for the use of Antron’s four-hole hollow filament fiber. A few mills that mainly use a trilobal fiber shape have asked to be included on the specification. It is a common occurrence; mills excluded for not using the preferred fiber system ask for the specification to be changed so their products can be included in the bid process. They claim is there is not a difference between fiber chemistry and fiber shape and the people review the carpet RFP (Request for Proposal) do not always understand carpet on a molecular level.
Unknowingly wanting to look like wise stewards of the company’s money, they allow modifications to the specification and buy the carpet based on upfront costs. This happens when one does not understand life cycle expectations and total cost of ownership and upfront costs are the only thing considered. This can be the most expensive carpet they will ever install.
In today’s particular case, I was asked about this because I recently took part of an independent carpet industry review that took about eighteen months to complete. The review asked the top 15 commercial carpet mills to provide information and data regarding their products and services. Seven of the fifteen mills elected not to participate in the review and after the first round of questions; the study focused their research on five mills.
The group conducting the review owns hundreds of light to medium used buildings and wanted to identify what carpet will last twenty-plus years. They determined a twenty-plus year life cycle best meet their total cost of ownership objectives and greatly reduced their overall operating costs. (For more information about life cycle expectation and total cost of ownership see my articles on cleanwiki.com entitled “We are too Poor to Buy Cheap Carpet” and “You Buy Carpet by the Year not the Yard”)
It is rare for a property to expect a commercial carpet to last twenty years. On the other hand, I am rather suprized by how many building owners and managers do not even know how long their carpet should last.
Several years ago, I meet the owner of several retirement homes; the first question I ask everyone I consult with is “how long do you expect your carpet to last.” He had no idea how long he expected his carpet to last; even worse, he did not know how long the carpet he uses is lasting. It was obvious he was not familiar with “life cycle expectations” or “total cost of ownership” two things a property owner should be very familiar with.
Before you can decide on what type of carpet or carpet fiber to purchase you need to figure out your life cycle expectation is. Over twenty years ago, my brothers and I cleaned a large movie theater chain. I was very impressed with this theater company because they knew exactly want they expected from a carpet. They purchased one of the cheapest carpets know to man, it was black with neon ribbons running through it. We cleaned each theater twice a year for three years. We did not clean the carpet at all the fourth year and at the end of the forth year they replaced the carpet. They cycle repeated, we cleaned it for three years, skipped the forth and so on and so forth.
In the latest carpet study, I participated in four of the five final mills when asked what fiber they would use to offer a twenty-year appearance retention warranty said they would recommend the use of the Antron four hole hallow filament fiber.
So this will be the first of several articles discussing “what
type of fiber should I use” because I cannot answer this question in one short conversation. It took eighteen months of in-depth research to get the answer for one group. There is so much that goes into selecting a carpet.
If you own a theater that replaces carpet every four years or hundreds of “light use” buildings and want the carpet to last twenty years, for now, there are three things you need to do:
- Decide and understand is what the use is
- Decide what your life cycle exception is
- Ask every mill for independent testing that substantiates their claims. You will be surprised how many mills cannot provide independent testing results. Antron will and does.
More to come soon, Cary
Cary the Carpet Guy 