In Alberta, many people often ask us if “certification” equals “qualification,” and, if not, what the difference is.
The main difference is the level of testing required. Qualification is done by the employer (think along the lines of competency), and may or may not involve formal testing; It is at the discretion of the employer’s qualified evaluator.
Certification requires third-party testing to provide a consistent and accurate means to determine a person’s technical knowledge and hands-on skills related to the task.
If you would like to know more or have more questions, such as: “Is picker training mandatory?”, or “do I have to recertify my picker operators every 3 years?” All great questions and we get that a lot.
In Canada, there are provincial standards that are taken from the CSA standard or in some cases where there is no CSA standard, there may be an ASME standard used instead. Either way, every standard in the OHS provincial books are not all “mandatory”, but they ARE standards or best practices and should be considered a minimum standard to achieve. Do you want to provide less than for your equipment or your operators? It’s up to you!
So you don’t need to renew ANY of your certificates for any of your previous training, until something happens then of course the cost to address THAT will far outweigh the cost to recertify.
Think about getting a home built, would you want the builder to simply slap up some boards and sheeting, toss in a little insulation and some shingles and call it a day, hand you the keys and tell you to enjoy it. For some it’s just a way of life, for us, cranes are a passion and we just won’t scrimp, nor should you.
Give us a call or send us an email to discuss your certification needs, nothing is mandatory, but safety!
(844) 334-8847 | EMAIL