Not sure if this would help anyone out but noticed this on NICET’s site today while looking at certification renewal info (my certs expire early next year).
It means if you have your Fire Alarm level 2 you automatically get I&TFAS level 1. OK, so then what happens when you have to re certify? Do you have to show points for both or is it an automatic renewal? NICET making life confusing once again…
i was against I&TFAS ever becoming a cert since the lower level FAS certs already covered it. i thought it dumb from the moment they started asking people if it’d be valuable to the industry or not… turns out they think it’s valuable for nicet money wise.
if you have your FAS cert, i wouldn’t bother with the I&TFAS cert. that document is good enough to prove to anyone who requires an I&TFAS (which is currently noone) that your normal FAS nicet cert is better. I say better because getting a level 2 in I&TFAS won’t get you a normal FAS nicet cert.
I have to agree with you on that. I was actually asked to be involved in the process of developing the new I&TFAS certification. Interesting process but I had to discontinue my involvement because I became really busy halfway through and couldn’t commit to the time necessary. One of the conference calls we had with other technicians and a person from NICET I had expressed some concerns about the program which seemed to be dismissed. Good thing there was a mute button on the phone because I found myself yelling into it a couple of times! One of my big points was to not have a separate certification but to make the I&T part of the FAS certification. In other words, Level I would give you the certification for I&T, Level II would push you up to servicing and troubleshooting, Level III pushes you up to installation and programming, Level IV is design. Maybe not that specific, but more of the spirit of the certification - the higher the level the more your professional experience should be.
Because here is my dilemma… I have both the Fire Alarm Systems certification AND Inspection and Testing of Water Based Systems. My job, I basically do two things, fire alarm service/installation/inspection and sprinkler inspections. So if my state requires me to have the I&TFAS certification (they already require me to be level II in water based inspection to touch a sprinkler system) and I have Level II FAS already, no action is required. I don’t have to apply for a third certification (even if it is given automatically). To me, it just makes things cleaner. No extra fees, nothing extra to “prove” on my re-certification, etc.
I do think certification is a good thing. I see too much pencil whipping out there that I think it’s important to put your name on that inspection report and it should mean something. But the fees are ridiculous. Technicians don’t make a ton of money and asking them several hundred dollars for certification fees is gouging. Just look at the fee schedule for NICET - lose your wallet card, $65 to replace it. Need a copy of something you sent them three years ago, $110 for an electronic copy - $265 if you want them to print it and mail it to you. I understand things cost money, but $110 for someone to take 10 minutes to email you a form that’s already in a database, ripoff. But just my personal opinion!
I agree that if you are certified in FAS you really shouldn’t need the I&T. I was also asked by NICET to assist with the I&T certification but had too much experience to qualify. I can see the I&T be a good thing for junior techs or for just ‘inspectors’ that don’t do programming, installs, system layout, etc. which is more for the FAS certs. The I&T only has 2 levels.
I’m level III in FAS & level I water based which I need for my current position. The only reason I would get the certification in I&T at this point is it looks good on paper for performance reviews (I’m a federal employee now, so …).
I helped NICET out last year with the conversion/update of test questions to the new NFPA 72 reference (I live about 10 minutes away from their main office). To be honest, with the amount of other things they certify people for, they don’t have hundreds of people in their office space (I only saw a handful) so they may have a backlog. They are also working on having everything online so you can log into your account and update your info.
Regarding re-certification, it’s a $235 flat fee for all currently held certs as long as you show enough CPD’s in your CPD log. All CPD’s count for all certs, so you can use them on each CPD log you send in for each cert.
An important note for re-certification - you will have to update your employment history. If it doesn’t match what they have on file they will give you a hard time if things don’t add up, so keep copies of your work history.
Lambda, my company pays for my certs, seems like they all should if they require them. If not, I’d assume it’s at least a tax deduction.
i have my FAS Nicet level 3 which is design based, level 4 is more geared towards project managers.
The old company I worked for would only pay for the certification after you obtained the certification. And even then they would drag their feet on cutting the check - some guys would get paid a month after they submitted the receipts. And a lot of the younger guys in the company just couldn’t afford the out of pocket fees and have to wait months to get reimbursed, so they just wouldn’t get it. But that’s the same as things like an NFPA membership - I used to be a member but paying the $165 a year for a couple of points where I can join ASCET for $50 a year just didn’t make sense. Plus the local ASCET chapter is very active. They meet once a month and have a guest speaker from a major manufacturer (usually sprinkler related) which also includes dinner! Earn some good points that way!
Mom we are moving to Maryland! :mrgreen: