Setting the Standard

I've said before in the pages of Fleet Maintenance Magazine, and I'll say it again here: I have nothing but praise for the work done by the Emergency Vehicle Technician Certification Commission, Inc. (EVTCC). This group, operating out of Dundee, IL, has been setting certification standards for the technicians who maintain fire apparatus, rescue vehicles and ambulances for many years, then testing those technicians and certifying them to serve in their field. I recently received a newsletter from EVTCC announcing that 30 maintenance technicians had recently been certified or recertified as Master Technicians, and once again I am completely impressed that such professionalism is encouraged and rewarded in this industry. The newsletter also had some interesting news stories that deepened my respect for this group. The stories described how last year the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) had issued NFPA 1911, a new standard for "Inspection, Maintenance, Testing and Retirement of In-Service Automotive Fire Apparatus," and how EVTCC is now incorporating the NFPA 1911 standards in their new maintenance exams for fire apparatus and ambulances. These guys don't let their standards gather any dust, and neither should the rest of the industry. If you work in the emergency vehicle arena, you should be sending your technicians to the next round of EVTCC certification exams (they're coming up on June 7th and October 18th), and if you don't, you should study up on how EVTCC (www.evtcc.org) maintains its high standards for maintenance technicians. You could learn a lot from this group!