NATE, GOVERNMENT, AND LEGISLATION

 WHY DO WE NEED TECHNICIAN CERTIFICATION AS A COMPONENT OF CONTRACTOR LICENSING LEGISLATION?

 There is a nationwide shortage of HVAC/R technicians; worse, there is a more severe shortage of verifiably trained HVAC/R technicians. 

 The 2004 American Home Comfort Study revealed that 88% of home owners said having a certified technician repair or install their home comfort system was important to them.  It was so important that 8% of homeowners wouldn’t let a contractor work on their home unless that contractor employed certified technicians.

Utilities note that poorly installed and badly serviced units waste energy and cause consumer electric bills to soar.  Half of consumers defer having retro-fits or new installations because they don’t know which contractors have competent technicians—translation, they are living in less than “comfortable” situations because they don’t know which contractors they can trust to do the job properly.  Manufacturers note that a third of units returned as defective were installer error.

Certification is not just about contractor professionalism, it’s about customer assurance.  Contractors whose technicians are NATE certified have a marketing advantage and can legitimately claim that their technicians have passed a stringent certification test which is national in scope. 

 CONTRACTOR LICENSING

Some states have HVAC contractor licensing; others don’t.  Some contractors like the licensing requirements in their area; others feel it is too lax.  Seventeen states have no requirements for HVAC contractor licensing.

 Utilities and municipalities are faced with escalating energy costs without commensurate energy savings.  Compounding this problem is how to ensure that licensed contractors do work that reflects competency and a familiarity with industry standards.  Linking technician knowledge with contractor licensing is a logical step.  The bottom line is that the homeowner needs the assurance that contractors employ technicians who will knowledgeably address a homeowners wants, needs, and heating or cooling problems. 

 Many contractors see certification and licensing as one way by which they can verify a technician’s proficiency and through that, create a greater degree of contractor professionalism.  Too many contractors note that sometimes they are called “to clean up” another contractor’s installation or service mess.  HVAC Contractor licensing will encourage professionalism and adherence to proper unit sizing that will in turn improve energy efficiency.  Even high efficiency units will not function properly if they were poorly installed and poorly serviced.   When consumers pay for a high efficiency unit, they can reasonably expect cost-efficient energy expenses and more comfort at a reasonable cost.

 Municipalities, utilities, consumers, and the HVAC/R industry need verifiably knowledgeable technicians, and we need them fast!

 WHERE DOES NATE FIT IN?

Why redesign the wheel?  NATE is already well-known in the HVAC/R industry.

 NATE has a nationally recognized series of tests that were created and backed by all segments of the HVACR industry.  Governmental entities using the NATE test get a valid, legally defensible test which has already been developed.  It is national in scope.

 Valid certifications test the actual knowledge a technician should have to do a specific job.  It should be relevant, derived from industry consensus, and be independently administered so that a disinterested third party assesses the technician’s knowledge. The test and knowledge elements should be evaluated and validated by a psychometrician to verify that it covers relevant material.  Tests should have an appeals process and be analyzed regularly to keep it current and accurate.  Furthermore, there should be a firewall between training and testing thus eliminating the spectre of anyone “teaching the test.”

 The cost to design a knowledge-based test may be in excess of $150,000 per test.  NATE has already borne this developmental cost.

 NATE has a valid series of tests of technician knowledge that cover:

• Core competencies (fundamentals of electricity and fundamentals of heat transfer
• Air Conditioning
• Air Distribution
• Forced Air Gas Heating
• Forced Air Oil Heating
• Heat Pumps
• Hydronic Oil Heating , and
• Hydronic Gas Heating

NATE wants to be a component of HVAC contractor licensing in the legislative process.  A contractor supported by a workforce of certified technicians means a consumer’s HVAC problems are being addressed by verifiably knowledgeable installers or service providers.

 HOW SHOULD LICENSING WORK?

Holding a contractor license is supposed to be an assurance to consumers that the contractor doing the work on their home employs technicians who know what they are doing.

Most contractors feel that certification is important to the success of their business.

 Licensing should have several considerations that affect consumers:

• The individual performing the work is knowledgeable
• The contractor has met city, county, state, or national requirements at a minimum level to engage in the particular type of work
• The contractor has gone through a vetting process with the city, county, or state.

By certification being a part of the legislative process of creating licensing requirements, legislators (whether municipal, county, state, or national) raise the bar and insert a standard minimum of competency assurance into the process.  Certification means technicians have the verified knowledge of heating and cooling to properly install or diagnose a consumer’s home comfort system.  Licensing creates minimum acceptable standards for a company to do business. 

Many taxpayers think they are protected, but some states in effect limit licenses to individuals who belong to a particular association—and within that association, training takes place, but without third party verification of competence.  Where is the consumer protection and assurance that third-party verification brings?

Consumers are being cheated.  Poor installation results in uncomfortable living conditions and unreasonably high heating or cooling expenses.  Consumers with high-tech units do not receive the performance they rightly expect if a unit is improperly installed or badly serviced.  Improperly-sized units (either too large or too small for the structure) result in unreasonably high consumer energy bills—the consumer is not getting the comfort he/she is paying for, and they are paying too much for the comfort they actually receive. 

Certified technicians know how to properly size units so consumers receive the unit-cost-to-comfort-expense ratio to which they are rightly entitled.  Certification means:

• Knowledgeable technicians.
• Customer assurance.
• True value received for energy dollars spent.

Items governmental bodies consider when creating licensing parameters for certification testing often include:

• Is the test inclusive or exclusionary(can anyone take it regardless of age gender, national origin, membership in an organization, length of time in business, etc…) ?
• Is the test biased toward one association, union, business group or other entity?
• Is the test relevant and an accurate assessment of a technician’s skills?
• Is there a recertification requirement that includes continuing education?
• Does it equate job/skill/task knowledge with the ability to perform that job, skill, or task?
• Does it comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)?

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

As a citizen, contractor, homeowner, or elected official you can be involved in contractor licensing.  Licensed contractors are sanctioned by a governmental body and that process will reduce consumer complaints of bad installation or service.  Even fraud will be reduced by establishing licensing that applies to every contractor doing business within the jurisdiction of the governmental entity.

For many, the idea of creating legislation is a monumental undertaking, but to meet that  If you wish, you can modify the Terre Haute, Indiana legislation to suit your needs.  Or you can use the model legislation template.

TERRE HAUTE, INDIANA

In early 2005, Terre Haute, Indiana became the first city to include NATE certification (insuring a contractor must employ NATE certified technicians on jobs in that city) into their city ordinance for any contractor seeking an HVAC Contractor license to work within the Terre Haute city limits.

A contractor association asked NATE for help--they wanted HVAC contractor licensing in their city.  Terre Haute had plumbing and electrical contractor licensing, but anyone with a truck could say he was an HVAC contractor. Potentially unqualified individuals could prey on the citizens of Terre Haute.  Spearheaded by the local chapter of ACCA, an initiative was put forward—create licensing requirements for the city to protect the taxpayers and regulate against liabilities that could be caused by the extant situation.

The city attorney, manager and others had several stipulations on licensing testing including that whatever was used had to be:

• Inclusive, and not exclude anyone;
• Renewable and not permanent to insure continual upgrading of knowledge;
• Valid;
• Relevant to HVAC (in that was being tested actually applied to skills and tasks a technician encountered); and that
• Recertification could be accomplished by continuing education and not only by re-testing.

The NATE test is available to everyone.  Certification lasts for five years and then it must be renewed by either re-testing or having 60 hours of continuing education directly relating to the certification specialty.  It is concept, not product, specific, and refers to national, not local codes.  The test is a valid assessment relevant to knowledge of the skills, tasks and items a technician should have to perform different HVAC jobs for both installation and service, including:

• Air conditioning
• Air distribution
• Gas heating (air to air)
• Heat pump
• Oil heating (air to air)
• Gas hydronics; and
• Oil hydronics.

After much deliberation the town council acting upon suggestions by the contractor fact finding committee, the city legal counsel, and city engineer decided upon using NATE certification to insure that those contractors engaged in HVAC/R work within the city limits had knowledgeable technicians.  The result?  NATE became a part of contractor licensing.

WHAT TOOLS DO WE OFFER?

NATE regularly receives calls from individuals or groups who wish to use NATE certification testing as a component of city, state, or county HVAC contractor licensing.  Usually their goal is to ensure that knowledgeable technicians are installing and servicing heating and cooling units in their area, thus raising the professional bar and keeping taxpayers and voters happy.

NATE certification and contractor licensing initiatives can be in conjunction with utility issues.  Few consumers blame their unit, or the contractor, they blame their city and/or utility for high utility costs.  Cities use licensing to identify knowledgeable technicians who can properly install units so they function properly and do not waste energy.

NATE does not lobby or seek to directly influence legislation.  We often support and act as a resource to interest groups who wish to enact HVAC Contractor legislation which use NATE as a component in the licensing process.  Grassroots groups plan and push meaningful local or statewide legislation.

Attached as tools for contractors and others interested in contractor licensing that wish to use NATE certification as a component of that licensing are:

• The KATEs
• A copy of the Terre Haute legislation to use as a model.
• NATE’s current Model Legislation template for groups to use and modify

In months to come, we will add other pieces for special interest groups.