IICRC Standards – Why are they important and how to use them

The IICRC published its first standard back in 1991. This was the S100 standard for carpet cleaning and was followed in 1994 with the S500 standard for water restoration. While the IICRC was working hard to standardize how cleaning and restoration services were performed, the truth was, that no one had an obligation to follow these standards. This all changed in 2006 when the IICRC became an ANSI standards developing organization and published its first ANSI accredited standard. So, who is ANSI?

Founded in 1918, The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is a private, non-profit organization that administers and coordinates the U.S. voluntary standards and conformity assessment system.

ANSI facilitates the development of American National Standards (ANS) by accrediting the procedures of standards developing organizations (SDOs) and approving their documents as American National Standards (ANS). This process serves and protects the public interest since standards developers accredited by ANSI, and the ANS they develop, must meet the Institute’s requirements for openness,
balance, consensus, due process, and adhere to ANSI's neutral oversight, assuring that all interested parties have an opportunity to participate in a standard’s development.

Acquiring ANSI accreditation not only gave the IICRC standards credibility in the United States but internationally.

Using an ANSI standard requires one to understand some very important definitions. The IICRC standards have several key action words and understanding the definition of these words allows the
user to fully comply with the documented standard of care. These key words are shall, should, recommend, may, and can. Here are their definitions.

Shall

When the term “shall” is used in a standard, it means that the practice or procedure is mandatory due to natural law or regulatory requirement, including occupational, public health, and other relevant laws, rules, or regulations, and is therefore a component of the accepted “standard of care” to be followed.

Should

When the term “should” is used in a standard, it means that the practice or procedure is a component of the accepted “standard of care” to be followed, while not mandatory by regulatory requirements.

Recommend or recommended

When the term “recommend or recommended” is used in a standard, it means that the practice or procedure is advised or suggested, but is not a component of the accepted “standard of care” to be followed.

May

When the term “may” is used in a standard, it signifies permission expressed by the document, and
means that a referenced practice or procedure is permissible within the limits of the standard, but is not
a component of the accepted “standard of care” to be followed.

Can

When the term “can” is used in a standard, it signifies an ability or possibility open to a user of the
document, and it means that a referenced practice or procedure is possible or capable of application,
but is not a component of the accepted “standard of care” to be followed.

The bottom line is, for a cleaning or restoration company to provide the accepted standard of care, they must perform the services that the standards say “shall” and “should” be completed. They do not have to perform the services that the standards say are “recommended”, “may”, or “can” be performed in order to provide the accepted standard of care.

The IICRC standards are available electronically, as a hard copy, or through a scription portal. For access
to these standards go to the IICRC’s website at, iicrc.org.

If you have any questions about this newsletter or any other cleaning or restoration related questions,
please reach out to me, Dale Dohner, at ddohner@restoration-institute.com

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