ACPA Certification 2020

by Doug Marquis, Chairman - ACPA Safety Certification Committee

Your association has been working towards improving and elevating the ACPA Operator Certification Program for over two years now. In July of 2017, we held a Safety Summit in which ACPA members gathered to discuss a vision for the future of ACPA safety training and certification. Since this time, there have been many meetings and discussions to get our wide-ranging membership to agree on the direction we should take with the program. Some favor a live training format, others prefer online and still others envision a third-party-accredited safety/training and certification program. Although the general consensus did finally concede that our industry is not quite ready for such stringent requirements as third-party testing and practical assessments, the mandate to “step up our game” is clear.

At the Spring Board Meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona, the ACPA Board of Directors formally approved “ACPA Certification 2020,” a plan which would elevate the quality and effectiveness of our concrete pump operator safety training and add integrity into the certification testing process.

ACPA Certification 2020 mandates ACPA operator safety training and certification may only be administered by ACPA authorized personnel who graduate from the ACPA train-the-trainer program or through an ACPA-approved medium. Below are examples of methods an operator can use to obtain ACPA safety training and certification:

• Attend a live ACPA seminar
• Acquire it through their company’s ACPA authorized personnel (graduate of ACPA train-the-trainer program)
• Obtain it from an ACPA-authorized person willing to administer the program
• Learn through an ACPA-approved medium (ClickSafety)

ClickSafety is an online learning and testing program with which many of you may be familiar. My company uses Click- Safety for our OSHA 10, 30, fall protection, confined space and other safety training programs, and we have recently developed our own internal program for training on our company policies and safe practices.

Development of an ACPA online medium for safety training and certification through ClickSafety will make the process easily accessible. It allows your operators to take the course at their leisure, starting and stopping when training time allows, or on down days from inclement weather. It can be taken anywhere you have internet access. And since not everyone learns by the same method, some may find online training more effective than a live presentation.

We also believe this method could be more economical due to the elimination of travel time and expenses for an authorized trainer and may reduce overtime pay for after-hours training, such as a Saturday live safety seminar. However, online programs—especially one as comprehensive as the ACPA Operator Training Presentation— are expensive to develop and must also be translated for the benefit of our Spanish-speaking workforce.

The estimated cost for ClickSafety to develop an online training and certification program, which includes Spanish translation, is approximately $145,000. My company, Conco Pumping & Belting, along with 16 other ACPA member companies listed below, are committed to bringing online safety training and certification to our industry and have pledged contributions to help bring this project to fruition. I am asking all other ACPA members to consider donating to this worthwhile endeavor, which we believe will enhance the quality of our ACPA Safety Training and Certification program. Any amount would be greatly appreciated!

Please consider joining all of us below who are providing financial support:

• Andrews Equipment Company, Inc.
• Cherokee Concrete Pumping
• Conco Pumping & Belting, Inc.
• Concrete Materials Placement
• Concrete Pump Partners
• Construction Forms, Inc.
• Fritz-Pak Corporation
• JJ Albanese
• Longhorn Line Pumps
• Otsego Ready Mix
• Preferred Concrete Pumping, Inc.
• Putzmeister America, Inc.
• San Diego Concrete Pumping
• Schwing America, Inc.
• Tri-Way Concrete Pumping

For Spanish translation:

• Almeida Concrete Pumping
• Florida Concrete Unlimited

If you would like to pledge your support or have any questions and/or comments, please email me at dmarquis[at]concopumping[dot]com or you may contact Christi Collins at the ACPA National Office: christi[at]concretepumpers[dot]com or (614) 431-5618.

Thank you for your support!