Security Sales & Integration March 2023 - 27

SMARTS & PARTS
Fire Side Chat by Shane Clary
smclary@bayalarm.com
NICET Needs to Recalculate
Certifi cation Times
It could
foreseeably
take several
years to obtain
just a Level I
Certifi cation,
with a Level III
or IV becoming
almost
impossible to
obtain.
▶ IS NICET STILL RELEVANT in today's
world of a contracting fi rm performing multiple
aspects of fi re protection, detection and suppression?
Th e same question also holds for the individual
technician. NICET (National Institute
for Certifi cation in Engineering Technologies) is
a division of the National Society of Professional
Engineers (NSPE). Th e NICET certifi cation
program for fi re alarms has been around for 20+
years, and is well recognized as a means to verify
that a designer and/or technician is qualifi ed.
A number of states or local AHJs require
NICET Certifi cation for those that design and/or
work on fi re alarm systems. Th e same is true for
fi re sprinkler systems. Th e organization has Certifi
cation programs for fi re protection including:
▶ Fire Alarm Systems
▶ Inspection and Testing of Fire Alarm Systems
▶ Inspection and Testing
of Water-Based Systems
▶ Special Hazards Systems
▶Water-Based Systems Layout
Added to this list this past year is In-Building
Public Safety Communications. NICET also has a
Certifi cation program for Video Security Systems
Designer/Video Security Systems Technician.
Shane Clary, Ph.D., is an
SSI Industry Hall of Famer
and has more than 45
years of security and fi re
alarm industry experience.
He serves on a number of
NFPA technical committees,
and is Vice President of
Codes and Standards
Compliance for Concord,
Calif.-headquartered Bay
Alarm Co.
securitysales.com
Multitasking Muddles Up
Potential Certifi cation Schedule
In the not-too-distant past, a fi re alarm contractor
would work within that venue. Th e same was true
for fi re sprinkler contractors and special hazards
systems. Th is is no longer the case for many fi rms
that are licensed to provide myriad fi re detection
and suppression solutions. A system designer or
technician may now be working between venues.
Th at's the crux of the present problem.
In the past, a designer or tech who only worked
on fi re alarm systems or fi re sprinkler systems
could count their total hours on their work history
report. For a Level I Certifi cation, six months experience
is required. For the Level II Certifi cation,
two years is required. Th e requirements increase
to fi ve years for a Level III and 10 for a Level IV.
While some fi rms may still operate within a
single discipline, most do not. You now have a designer
who may spend half their time working on
a fi re sprinkler systems, and half on fi re alarm systems.
Th e way that NICET looks at the work history
is through the percentage of time spent within
each system type. In this case, the individual
that may be working toward a Level I Certifi cation
for Fire Alarm Systems would require one year of
work history as only 50% was spent on fi re alarm
systems. Th e same person would require four years
to be able to obtain their Level II Certifi cation.
Th e same is true for a tech who may perform
fi re alarm inspections for 50% of their time, and
sprinkler inspections for the other 50%. Depending
on the designer or technician, the breakdown
may be even further between fi re alarm, special
hazards, other low-voltage systems, and sprinkler
systems. It could foreseeably take several years to
obtain just a Level I Certifi cation, with a Level
III or IV becoming almost impossible to obtain.
With the new Certifi cation for In-Building Public
Safety Communications being added into the
mix, it becomes even more complicated.
On the other hand, to register as a professional
engineer, e.g. fi re protection engineer (FPE), the
person after they obtain their four-year degree
only needs to pass their Engineer in Training
(EIT) exam, and then work for several years (typically
two) before they can sit for their P.E. exam.
For the FPE, while they need to stay within their
area of competence, upon passing the exam, may
practice within the full rage of fi re protection and
not be limited to a single part of fi re protection
engineering based upon a percentage of time.
Th e means of calculating work history for a
NICET Certifi cation(s) needs to be reexamined
so as to take into consideration that both a fi re
protection fi rm and the technicians that work
for them work within a variety of interconnected
disciplines and that the body of their work
should be looked at in total as opposed to percentages.
If this does not occur, the requirements
for a specifi c NICET Certifi cation may be vacated
for other means of certifi cation that do take
into account the body of work.
MARCH 2023 Security Sales & Integration 27
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Security Sales & Integration March 2023

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