Poll Are You Certified?

P

Przrat

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What About Being Certified By Another Certifying Company? I Was Certified In 1988. Paid For It. Black Magic Was The Company,and You Dont Even Mention Their Name. At That Time They Were The Only Certifying Company Around. Do They Still Count? Is That What Happens. They Certify You And Go Out Of Business? Does This Mean My Certification Is Null And Void. What Happens When One Of The Current Companies Gets Their Fill Of Money And Fades Into The Distance. Will Everyone That They Certified Become Orphans Of The Codes?
Wouldnt It Be A Good Idea To Have The Companies That Want To Sell You The Certifying Be Certified By The Individual State And Have Documentation? I Would Like To Start The Company That Certifies The Companies That Want To Certify The People That Want To Get Certified In My State. At Least We, The Under Educated Will Be Sure Of Qualifying For Our Own States Regulations. What If Our State Doesnt Recognize The Certifying Company We Went To? Do We Get Our Money Back? Who Pays Us For Our Cost? What If Our State Doesnt Care? Do We Still Need To Be Certified? I Am So Confused? Where Do I Send The Money?
 
there are some states that reconize certified companies. My state right now, certified or not, you may clean the system. Most of the companies around here are not certified. Because of the lapse in knowledge and times, they are not recognizing certified companies, just telling the restaurants to have it cleaned in aloted amount of time. Most health department inspectors are starting to get onto the restaurants around here to get their systems cleaned, but doesn't matter if you are certified or not. What would it matter, certified bodies don't check any members, they just take the money and run with it. The cost is pretty high to join, but why join if they are not going to govern their own. Or, if your state doesn't require it, then why spend the extra money at this point of time. I was certified under one certifing body, but I don't want my name under one body that is not doing anything to verify after the written test that their member are abiding to NFPA codes. In my mind, I certify my own work. I verify that I am doing the job correctly, and to codes put in place for the cleaning of the system. So, until the certifing bodies start doing something to make sure their members are abiding, its not worth the money just to say "I am certified".
 
Black Majic

Ed, I was Black Majic Certified in 1987. I was going thru some old boxed the other day and found my manual from the class with all my notes written in the margins.

To answer your question with a question. Are you continually educating yourself and keeping abreast with the industry? I think part of certification is continued education.
 
Keeping abreast of the times and changes are very important in any industry.

Vetrans that do things correct with the way the industry is moving dont really gain from certifications.

I can see people that have been in the business years kinda chuckling about the guy thats been on the job 3 months waving his certifcate around.

A true pro in any profession pays dues, time on the job. School of hard knox!!!

Its great we have the certofication to point the people in the right direction.
 
I have 100% more confidence in a newbie with a certificate than one without. Experience has taught me much more than any KEC program that I have studied, which would be 2, but without the program I purchased from ACS I would have never succeeded in this industry. Many others feel the same way. Certification is a great way to insure that the company is aware of the industry standards. If you hold a certificate from Phil, IKECA, CHDCA, or PWNA then you have been tested on the NFPA 96 standard and have passed an exam proving your knowledge. 30 years experience does not insure anything but the fact that you have either been cleaning wrong, or right for 30 years.
 
30 years experience does not insure anything but the fact that you have either been cleaning wrong, or right for 30 years.
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The same goes for the other, Kids graduate highschool and still cant read Mr president.
 
Ron Musgraves said:
The same goes for the other, Kids graduate highschool and still cant read Mr president.
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There is no excuse for anyone graduating high school if they can not read. How many people do you really know that have graduated and can not read?

I can assure you, that anyone that has passed a certification for KEC and is not doing their job correctly, knows they are wrong. Selling a product that never gets delivered, basically stealing.
 
so, currently what are you doing to change this?

don't you think all pressure washers face the same battle?

tradesmenship has been poor in many areas in my entire life.

Matt told me the other day that tgp eyes are open.

it merely my opinion and I don't believe someone passing a test on the correct way constitutes certification status.
 
Ron Musgraves said:
so, currently what are you doing to change this?
don't you think all pressure washers face the same battle?
tradesmenship has been poor in many areas in my entire life.
Matt told me the other day that tgp eyes are open.
it merely my opinion and I don't believe someone passing a test on the correct way constitutes certification status.
Click to expand...

Certification in the kitchen exhaust cleaning industry certainly has some merit. It proves that you at least have an understanding of NFPA 96 and safety requirements. Phil's certification covers every aspect of our trade, and proves that you know in theory how to do it correctly.

The next step after certification has never been attempted and that is what we are trying to do. I think we are making at least a little dent, I have been in touch with the IKECA Executive Director and he informed me that they are developing a system to evaluate and respond to shoddy workmanship. If I read it correctly, this means that IKECA will soon be taking action against members that are not performing the work correctly. This came in response to some photos that we sent to them.

So what are we doing about it? Well what we are trying to do is show the AHJ's and certifying bodies that there are certified hood cleaners out there who either do not know what they are doing, or simply don't care, and that these hood cleaners should be held accountable. I leave it up to PWNA, IKECA, Ackland and CHDCA what to do with these members.
 
I think that is the $64,000 question, and I am sure its much more difficult to handle than we think. From what I understand there are legal issues involved when you certify a company, then revoke their certification. This is just what I heard when I brought this same subject up to some people in the know.

I'll have Chris forward your email to me.
 
The authority is with the AHJ’s – In many jurisdictions they do in fact check. Just recently a fire marshal stated that a industry should not check and police it’s self. One thing leads to another and you have problems. The accounts pay for the work and they should check the service. Name an organization that employees competitors to check the level of work of another. The idea has merit but I see problems in the kitchen. (pun not intended)
 
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