AMERICAN SOCIETY CERTIFIED ENGINEERING TECHNICIANS
June 28, 2012 Meeting
Frank L. Lindsey, Speaker
Vice President of Keller's, Inc.
INTRODUCTION
I
appreciate the opportunity to participate in the organization of an ASCET
chapter in Wilmington. And hopefully you will find it a rewarding experience
and encourage your associates to support this venture.These are challenging times. And, I am concerned, albeit
fearful that the impact of these challenges are not recognized nor responded
to. I have worked in the Fire and Security Industry for a lifetime. So forgive
me if I relate these challenges to the industry I am most familiar with.
However, I would be surprised if your experiences are much different. When I first started,
technicians for the most part understood off/on, relays, and if it was a really
sophisticated application, Boolean logic. Today's technician works with
microprocessors, utilizes software, and understands protocols and transmission
technology. Having lived through this transition I have witnessed the evolution
of technicians from apprentices learning a task oriented skill to technicians
who understand theory and applications. The foundation for these skills is
education.
COMMITMENT TO EDUCATION
Our company is totally
committed to education. Every technician we have is NICET certified. We have
six NICET Level IV certified technicians, two of which have Level IV
certification in two areas, Alarm and Suppression. When the City and County
fire services sponsored the organization of The Fire Alarm Alliance we made our
training facilities and programs available to anyone who wanted to participate
including competitors. Philosophically, I can compete with knowledge, I can't
compete with ignorance.As most of you are aware our program was
adopted by CFCC, driven by the skill and dedication of Paul Inferrera. CFCC offers on line distance learning for Basic and
Advanced Fire Alarm System Training, recognized by the City and County Fire
Services as meeting the NFPA 72 "qualification"
requirements.
PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION
Professionalism is based on two
fundamentals, knowledge and conduct. Generally, a technician's success is based
on a perception of his professionalism. In my industry this is a catch 22. The
technician frequently is not recognized on the professional level. The result
is that planning, design, and commissioning generally exclude the technician.
He is scheduled at the last minute, isn't allowed proper preparation, but is
held responsible for the operation and acceptance of the system. This creates a
problem for the AHJ or the client's representative.They
have exposure to liability on one side and are under pressure on the other to
expedite operational capability or facility occupancy.The National Fire Protection Association has developed a
new standard specifically design to encourage the
participation of the commissioning technician at an early stage in the design
and installation of fire protection systems. NFPA 3 calls for
the development of a commissioning team including the owner, designer, AHJ and
test entity. That's currently the technician. If technicians fail to meet the
challenge a new group of third party testing entities will emerge. So the issue
of professionalism is very personal.
FUTURE
All certifications
require attaining a level of proficiency, and their maintenance requires
continuing education. Unfortunately, it is frequently seen as an inconvenience
rather than an opportunity. In order to be competitive, a buzz word for secure,
technicians need to be leaders in technology and focused on producing the
highest quality work at the lowest cost. As a nation we are struggling to
maintain this lead. India graduates 650,000 engineers a year. In the US we
graduate 65,000 engineers a year. While the Indian population is only four time
the US population, they graduate ten times as many engineers.I
recently had a conversation with an officer in the leading architectural firm
in Wilmington. He commented that they used to go overseas to secure engineers
because they were cheaper. Now they go overseas because they're good.
Tragically, in a time of great unemployment we have a shortage of qualified
engineers and technicians in this country. My company and many other company
owners I talk with indicate they would hire a technician if they could find one
who is qualified.Unfortunately, most
people don't understand what has changed in our economy. The jobs that were
lost will never return. As a society we have to understand where the new jobs
will come from, how to prepare for them and most important how to perform them
competitively. In plain language we need to learn how to do things better and
cheaper. Those are not opposed conditions. They don't imply lower standards.I read two journalists,
George Will and Thomas Friedman. They represent both ends of the political
spectrum. I don't always agree with either. I read them because they have
ideas. For example Friedman talks about "sustainability".
One of the foundations of competitiveness is sustainability. The longer our
work performs the more competitive we are. The more efficient our maintenance
procedures, the more competitive we are. For example, remote diagnostics may
eliminate the need to travel to a site or at least better prepare us once we
are on site. All of the issues I mention are driven by education.
