As a part of the Radiant Professionals Alliance’s (RPA) ongoing program to increase professionalism and raise the bar as it pertains to installation standards, the RPA has been working with ASSE International to develop ASSE/IAPMO/ANSI Series 19000-2015 Professional Qualification Standards pertaining to the hydronic system installer and hydronic system designer certification program.
In addition to hydronic designer and hydronic installer certifications, the program will also be for the certification of solar heating system installers. There is additional room to provide for the certification of other related functions in the future. This certification program was recently recognized as an American National Standard by the American National Standards Institute. While this may not be the only certification program available to contractors in the United States, it is the first ANSI-recognized standard pertaining to hydronic system designers and installers. This will carry significant weight with those who have obtained this certification.
The standard is available for purchase from the ASSE International website at stores.assewebstore.com. The RPA has already begun the process of assisting in the development of the questions that will be asked on the certification exams, and has also begun restructuring the existing training program materials to ensure compliance to the standard. The former Radiant Panel Association had a certification program that was quite popular when it was originally developed. The only real problem, if you will, was that the certification was only recognized by people who recognized the Radiant Panel Association.
This new certification, being a recognized American National Standard, will give authorities having jurisdiction (AHJ) the ability to require this certification as a means to allow a contractor to receive licensure within a given jurisdiction. With the exception of a few larger cities, hydronic installations are pretty much unregulated. Anyone with a license can perform a hydronic installation, regardless of knowledge or skill level. This is our effort to raise the bar for the professional contractor members of our organization, and allow them to show the world that they have proven themselves to be head and shoulders above the non-certified competition, instilling a higher degree of confidence not only in the consumer, but also in the local inspectors. We intend to generate a “ASSE Certified” list on our website for both designers and installers, showing the names and companies for which these certified individuals are working.
The test will be a very comprehensive one, requiring the people who are attempting to achieve the status of “ASSE Certified” designers and installers to really know all aspects of hydronic heating and cooling. It has prerequisites pertaining to related educational requirements, as well as field experience requirements. If a person attempting to achieve this certification has spent his or her whole career just installing the radiant tubing, he or she will have a tough time getting through the test because it will cover all aspects of hydronic installations associated with a typical installation, from the beginning of the job all the way to the end.
The test will be a very comprehensive one, requiring the people who are attempting to achieve the status of “ASSE Certified” designers and installers to really know all aspects of hydronic heating and cooling.
The RPA has been working diligently over the past 2 1/2 years to create an educational system that meets the comprehensive educational needs of the certification program. We also will partner with our manufacturer members in an effort to get their instructors and facilities certified to allow them to also train potential certification candidates.
Educational offerings
We intend to hold some “Train the Trainer” sessions in our facilities in Mokena, Ill. This three-day event will cover all of the training materials that must be presented and will provide some tips from professional instructors about the ways people learn, how we need to teach in order to ensure that they are understanding the subject matter, and other education delivery-related topics.
The RPA will work with IAPMO’s Education Department in developing and delivering these three-day courses. We hope to get the first Train the Trainer class out within the first or second quarter of 2016, begin receiving applications for certifications and actually provide testing before the start of the second quarter of 2016. We are fine-tuning the delivery dates, and as soon as we have confirmation, we will make some save the date announcements. The first train the trainer class will be limited to the first 25 enrollees.
In addition to the Train the Trainer program, we will schedule numerous hydronic training programs for designers and installers around the country. We realize that not everyone learns well behind a computer screen, hence the face-to-face sessions. These sessions will run for one to two days, depending upon the nature of the course.
Some people will be going for both designer and installer certifications, and it will obviously require more classroom time to achieve both certifications. For the people who can’t afford to travel, we have already established some online courses with our educational partners at HeatSpring. You may view the current course offerings at https://www.heatspring.com/partners/radiant-professionals-alliance.
We will also be reviewing and certifying our manufacturer members course materials in an effort to make it more convenient for contractors to receive the training necessary for recertification, which will happen every three years. Previously certified contractors will be required to retest under the new certification program, but will be allowed to use manufacturer training courses as proof of having completed the necessary requisite classroom time required in order to qualify for the exam.
For questions regarding the standard, contact Marianne Waickman, ASSE International Professional Qualifications Coordinator, by e-mail at [email protected] or by telephone at 708/995-3015. For questions regarding the RPA’s training program for the ASSE 19000 certification, contact Mark Eatherton, RPA executive director, by e-mail at [email protected] or by telephone at 877/427-6601.
Lastly, the RPA will be holding its annual membership meeting and education session in conjunction with the AHR show and conference in Orlando, Florida, on Jan. 26. If you’ve never been to this show, it is truly a do-not-miss event, and we will be holding a retirement/happy birthday party for industry icon Dan Holohan on Tuesday night. This is an RSVP event. We’d love to see you then. For additional information, or to reserve space at the party, please contact Mark at [email protected].
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