Oct. 4, 2013: BPI Earns ISO Accreditation for Home Energy Professional Certifications
ISO 17024 Is the International Benchmark for Personnel Certifications
MALTA, N.Y. — The Building Performance Institute Inc. (BPI) announced it has earned ISO 17024 accreditation of its Home Energy Professional (HEP) certifications by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). BPI noted the four certifications — Energy Auditor, Retrofit Installer, Crew Leader, and Quality Control Inspector — are the only credentials available to the home performance and weatherization industry that are supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and its National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and accredited by ANSI.
ISO 17024 is the international benchmark for personnel certifications across all industries, designed to ensure that certifications are developed in a consistent, comparable, and impartial manner.
“ISO 17024-accredited certifications provide an important measure of quality assurance to employers, to programs, and to consumers by verifying competency of the worker — their ability to do the job right,” said Dr. Richard Knaub, project leader specializing in workforce development at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
BPI said the four HEP certifications demonstrate competency through work experience prerequisites, as well as rigorous written and field exams administered by participating test centers.
“Industry experts from across the nation, all selected for their knowledge of multiple regional best practices, came together through a consensus process defined by ANSI to determine competency for these certifications,” said Larry Zarker, CEO of BPI. “The knowledge, skills, and abilities specified represent best practices for energy auditing, retrofit installation, quality control inspection, and crew leadership across all regions of the United States.”
ISO 17024 accreditation was based on analysis of exam results from BPI and NREL’s pilot exam program launched in June 2012. A network of 38 BPI Test Centers and Weatherization Training Centers administered the pilot exams to qualified candidates.
ISO 17024 is the international benchmark for personnel certifications across all industries, designed to ensure that certifications are developed in a consistent, comparable, and impartial manner.
“ISO 17024-accredited certifications provide an important measure of quality assurance to employers, to programs, and to consumers by verifying competency of the worker — their ability to do the job right,” said Dr. Richard Knaub, project leader specializing in workforce development at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
BPI said the four HEP certifications demonstrate competency through work experience prerequisites, as well as rigorous written and field exams administered by participating test centers.
“Industry experts from across the nation, all selected for their knowledge of multiple regional best practices, came together through a consensus process defined by ANSI to determine competency for these certifications,” said Larry Zarker, CEO of BPI. “The knowledge, skills, and abilities specified represent best practices for energy auditing, retrofit installation, quality control inspection, and crew leadership across all regions of the United States.”
ISO 17024 accreditation was based on analysis of exam results from BPI and NREL’s pilot exam program launched in June 2012. A network of 38 BPI Test Centers and Weatherization Training Centers administered the pilot exams to qualified candidates.
BPI will officially launch the HEP certification program on October 14, and professionals are encouraged to apply to take the exams. Applications are available at www.bpi.org/HEP.
Publication date: 9/30/2013
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