North American Technician Excellence (NATE) held its biannual Technical Committee meeting Monday – Wednesday, August 27-29, 2012. Members of the Committee traveled from different areas throughout the country to attend the summer meeting that was hosted by Regal Beloit in Fort Wayne Indiana.
Joel Owen, Chairman of the NATE’s Technical Committee and Manager, HVAC Training Center with Alabama Power, Verbena, AL presided over the meeting. Denny Smith, Director of Certification, was officially introduced to the Committee and provided updates on NATE’s certification program.
The Technical Committee has the responsibility for all exam and certification policies and procedures. The Technical Committee participants are tasked with improving the abilities of the HVACR Industry technician workforce by making specific decisions related to the knowledge, skills, and abilities of the HVACR Industry technician workforce. The HVACR knowledge in conjunction with the Technical Committee Subject Matter Experts (SME) training (received at committee meetings) allows the SME members to make decisions for all aspects of the credentialing process.
The committee is empowered to make such decisions regarding the:
- development and maintenance of all NATE exams;
- approval of the passing score of all NATE exams;
- criteria for being granted NATE Certification and Recertification;
- development and approval of any job task analysis for new and existing certifications;
- development and approval of all test questions and testing specifications;
- approval of policies and procedures for the operation of the Testing Organizations and Proctors;
- approval of policies for suspension and revocation of certification(s), testing organizations and proctors; and
- additional policies and procedures as necessary to maintain the program.
Meeting participants included:
Bennie Barnes, Jack Bartell, Steve Brown, Patrick Bundy, Dave Callender, Bob Feathers, Raymond Granderson, Frank Granville, Sonny Hampton, John Hill, Chris Hughes, Ed Janowiak, George Kusterer, Warren Lupson, Jason Mangos, Ryan McLean, Christopher A. Mohalley, Pat Murphy, David Negrey, Chuck Otto, Joel Owen, Sena Philen, Thomas A. Robertson, Dave Rousayne, Jeffrey T. Rozga, Andy Schoen, John Sigerson, Denny Smith, Tony Spagnoli, Paul Sullivan, Wesley D. Taylor, Alan Veek, Charles White, Richard Wirtz.
The next NATE Technical Committee meeting will be held in Spring 2013.