ABC Brings Certification Professionals Together
Last week, despite unexpected cold and ice, more than 100 certification professionals gathered in San Antonio to participate in the ABC National Conference. Titled ABC Innovation in Certification 2018, the Conference provided attendees from state drinking water and wastewater programs, tribal certification organizations, and Canadian and other international interested parties an opportunity to interact with their peers and discuss a range of issues and initiatives.
Presentations and discussions ranged across topics such as the legal aspects of certification, setting the certification standard, tech tools for the certification process, and workforce challenges and solutions. Participants also heard from EPA’s Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water about ongoing projects and from AWWA about upcoming projects and priorities for 2018.
Some of the more interesting discussions looked at drivers for good certification programs – coordinate with trainers, review deficiencies, communicate with stakeholders, and play a leadership role. Discussions also focused on root causes for operator shortages and noted that, in many locations, the shortage relates more to operator retention rather than a lack of available operators. Of course, an aging workforce also plays a large role in the shortage scenario. Another discussion centered around drivers for certification standards. John Solvie, ABC’s C2EP Chair, noted that standards are not developed in a vacuum but rather that significant influencers are regulators, legislators, and industry organizations. Joe McClary of IACET spoke to participants about the need to make data driven solutions. He also suggested that certification programs should create a quality of service benchmark; ask for feedback from the operator community; and then act on that feedback to make improvements.
ABC plans to post presentations from the Conference within the next few weeks at www.abccert.org. Next year’s ABC Conference is planned for January 8-11 in Savannah, GA.
