SSPC Announces New Coating Applicator Certification (CAS) Program

Program is first to offer certification in accordance with SSPC ACS-1/NACE 13; also meets the requirements of ISO 17024.

Pittsburgh, PA - July 25, 2008

As a leader in providing quality and certification programs for professionals in the industrial coatings and linings industry, SSPC has long recognized the need for a comprehensive craft worker training and certification program designed to develop a fully qualified workforce. In the global marketplace of the 21st century, this is more important than ever before, as the industry demands quality work - completed within a safe environment - on time and on budget. With the advances in technology and the complexity of new coating formulations, the industrial painting trade has become a highly technical profession, and the need for qualified craft workers is the greatest itís ever been.

Based on that need, in conjunction with a group of industry professionals that included coatings contractors, facility owners, inspectors, consultants, and manufacturers, SSPC developed the new "Industrial Coating and Lining Application Specialist Qualification and Certification Program" or CAS. The CAS meets the requirements of the joint SSPC ACS-1/NACE 13 standard that was ratified in early 2008. It also meets the requirements of the ISO 17024 standard. The program focuses on the needs of the Application Specialist and provides criteria for the education, training, experience, knowledge, and skills required to prepare and apply protective coatings to steel and concrete surfaces of complex industrial and marine structures.

SSPC estimates that it will take the industry ten years to develop a significant group of trained and qualified industrial painters that meet the standardís stringent criteria and the needs of owners. Therefore, in order to address the immediate need for qualified applicators, SSPC has developed an interim certification program that gives those in the current workforce the opportunity to achieve certification more quickly.

According to Bill Shoup, Executive Director of SSPC, "Even craft workers who have fewer hours of formal training and experience than specified in the SSPC/NACE standard can be eligible for the interim program by passing a qualification test. Experienced craft workers that already meet the eligibility requirements for interim certification will need to pass a written exam and undergo a hands-on skills assessment to achieve certification."

With the support of facility owners, SSPC is confident that this program can be used to develop a qualified pool of craft workers. SSPC strongly recommends that facility owners who wish to have certified craft workers on their job sites over the next several years specify a certified contractor quality management system, such as SSPC QP 1, and a ratio of craft workers to trainees, certified to the SSPC Interim Program.

SSPC believes that the Interim Program is the most feasible approach to developing a highly qualified workforce sooner rather than later. This will improve quality on the job now by giving contractors access to more qualified workers.

About SSPC
Founded in 1950 as the Steel Structures Painting Council, SSPC is a non-profit association focused on the protection of concrete, steel and other substrates through the use of high-performance industrial coatings. In recent decades, SSPC has developed certification programs to mark the achievement of professionals in the industry, including protective coatings specialists, coating and lining inspectors, applicators and blasters, as well as a series of quality programs to assess the capabilities of coating contractors (QP-1, QP-2) and coatings and lining inspection companies (QP-5). Through the development of standards, training, publications, certifications, advocacy, technical conferences, and a wide variety of information resources, SSPC supports the industry and more than 8,000 individual and 800 organizational members.

For more information on the program, please click below:
SSPC Coating Application Specialist Certification Program

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