Certification Will Provide a Much-Needed Standard
Research Triangle Park, NC (24 February 2004) – ISA announced today the Society is developing a Certified Industrial Maintenance Mechanic (CIMM) program. The program will provide recognition and advancement opportunities for maintenance mechanics, a profession often learned on the job and one for which it is difficult to assess candidates. The new CIMM will offer employers of maintenance mechanics a tool to build skill and knowledge consistency and accountability based on an objective third-party assessment. Employers will also have a way to qualify new hires and contractors, as well as a mechanism to pay for performance.
“The CIMM Program will foster the development of a well-rounded skill set for industrial maintenance mechanics,” said Kim Dunn, vice president of ISA’s Professional Development Department. “Maintenance mechanics play a vital role in industries such as chemical, refining, auto manufacturing, pulp and paper, and food and beverage. Yet, these industries have no standard to judge their work.” Rod Lincoln, a manager at Cytec Industries in Louisiana and chair of the CIMM steering team, explained that the first step in the development of the maintenance mechanic certification was to establish a blue ribbon panel of a diverse group of industry professionals representing a broad cross section of manufacturing industries.
The panel was charged with analyzing and defining key job responsibilities of maintenance mechanics. This panel met in early February to define specific job tasks of the maintenance mechanic. The next step will be to conduct a survey of potential certification program participants to validate the job tasks and responsibilities of the maintenance mechanic. Once the jobs tasks are verified, a question-writing committee made up of subject matter experts will begin developing the exam. In addition to passing a comprehensive exam, eligibility requirements for the CIMM will be a minimum of five years of education and experience combined, at least three of which must be working experience as an industrial maintenance mechanic in an industrial setting.
ISA will give credit toward education for relevant coursework completed in an accredited educational institution or through an apprenticeship program certified through the U.S. Department of Labor or an accredited educational institution. The coursework must relate to job tasks performed by a maintenance mechanic in industrial technology or mechanical maintenance. Before moving forward with CIMM, ISA surveyed maintenance mechanics and their employers to gauge the level of interest in and value of a certification program for this field.
The results confirmed ISA’s belief that maintenance mechanic certification represented a gap among technical credentials currently available. Find additional information about the new CIMM at www.isa.org/CIMM .
About ISA
ISA—The Instrumentation, Systems, and Automation Society is a 33,000-member global, nonprofit, educational organization connecting people and ideas in automation + control. The Society fosters advancement in the theory, design, manufacture, and use of sensors, instruments, computers, and systems for automation +control in a wide variety of applications. In addition to hosting the largest conferences and exhibitions for automation + control in the Western Hemisphere, ISA is a leading technical training organization and a respected publisher of books, magazines, and standards. ISA also serves the professional development and accreditation needs of Control Systems Engineers (CSE), instrument technicians, and others within the field of automation + control.
