New Ammonia Certification in United States

[Randy Williams]

Thought that you might like to know this.
My name is Randy Williams
One of four Industrial Refrigeration Ammonia Operator Trainers.
We here at Garden City Community College are pleased to announce the
culmination of over 2 years work on a Certification Standard for
Refrigeration Operators and the formation of IAR (Industrial Ammonia
Refrigeration), an organization to oversee the quality and maintenance
of the Standard.
This standard is designed to provide guidance on training and
certifying ammonia refrigeration system operators. With a systematic
approach for screening, training, and verification of training for
personnel responsible for operating ammonia refrigeration systems, the
certification process includes formal education based on a blend of both

classroom instruction and hands-on instruction. Safety is a common
theme throughout both classroom training and hands-on training. The
Standard is available for download from the Garden City Ammonia Program
web page at www.nh3gccc.com.
Any feedback on the Standard is welcome and anyone interested in being
a part of IAR or the test building committee should contact us on the
web page, by phone, or by letter.
We are very excited about the potential of this Standard and hope to
receive input from other Trainers, Owners, Managers, and Operators.
Thank you.

[JerrydNH3]

i was wondering about the new CIRO certification, I passed the CIRO test in jan. of 06, on laser grade at lanier tech, will i have to re-test with the new certifications that reta has been working on?

[US Iceman]

I'll me look into this and get back to you.

[US Iceman]

Jerry,

I forwarded your question to RETA Nation headquarters, below you will find their response.


The test that has been given on Lasergrade since its inception is the ANSI “certified” test. His certification is valid for 3 years from his pass date. The official answer is NO. There is no need for him to re-test.


That clears it up for me too. When you are reading the RETA Breeze newsletter, do you have any comments on the column "You Asked For It"? I'm looking for comments and feedback on old topics and new subjects for discussion. Thanks.

[JerrydNH3]

great, so what is required at the 3 yr. mark?

[US Iceman]

You can keep your certification current by attending RETA meetings to get some hours of instruction, or other classes too I believe.

This is similar to PDC's (Professional Development Credits). By taking some different classes, these help to contribute to maintaining your certification.

Are you a RETA member?

[frank]

great, so what is required at the 3 yr. mark?

This seems very similar to our system. When you take City & Guilds training & exams the qualification last for life (say refigerant handling) but if you take the same training under CITB (Construction Industry Training Board) your qualification only last for 3 years.

Is this a rip off or what? Same training, same fees but one must be renewed for extra cash? Prove me wrong.

[US Iceman]

Is this a rip off or what? Same training, same fees but one must be renewed for extra cash?


That's the problem I have with some of these programs.

In some respects, once you are trained and certified you should be OK, right. I could maybe go along with a reasonable annual fee to maintain the certification in active status.

The downside to this argument is that after sometime has passed, people tend to get lazy and cut corners, forget something, etc.

Having to be re-certified every couple of years forces us to keep current to pass the exam the next time.

This presents somewhat of a dilemma, and I am not sure what the answer is. I am however, opposed to just paying a fee every year, if all it serves is to collect money.

An interesting problem. What do others think about this?

[mr cool]

its a catch 22 if you have to renew every 3 yrs then its not so bad as things change v fast in our industry if you do it once then its hard to keep up with new legislation.

[JerrydNH3]

Yes i am a RETA member, also PSM requires training so hopefully that will cover the requirements

[slsammoniaman]

Once you pass the "current" CIRO or CARO tests, you will need to show Continuing Education Units (CEU's) or Personal Development Hours (PDH's) prior to the end of your three year cycle. RETA is working on the details right now and more information will be forthcoming.

As I'm sure there are other CIRO and CARO questions, I'd encourage you to visit the RETA Website and Forum for more information along these lines.

[The MG Pony]

I too agree with having to get recerted after 3 years how ever the fees should be kept to an absalute minimum for renewals!

[slsammoniaman]

RETA is working on what these fees will be. We'll need to wait just a little longer to see what comes out of this process, but hopefully they will be kept at a minimum.