Continuously Improve Your Snow & Ice Control Crew With Ongoing Training
Created July 30, 2020
Ongoing education is important for all industries, but knowing which classes or certifications are right for your specific role may be hard to determine. Learn more about the key snow and ice control growth opportunities that can help advance your career, enhance your business and mitigate risk.
Create Confidence with Snow & Ice Control Certifications
Field experience only gives you so much credit. By obtaining certifications, you can gain a competitive advantage that is measurable. At some point, a certification may be the only thing standing between you and the competition. Here are the most prominent certifications that snow and ice contractors should look into obtaining.
- ASCA Certification: This is an annual certification for individuals, focused around industry best practices to support Approved American National Standards (ANSI) in the snow and ice management industry. ASCA is the only industry education course recognized by insurance agencies that help businesses improve company standards, reduce company risk and properly document work. This certification positions companies as reliable, professional and trustworthy while protecting them and their clients.
- ISO 9001/SN 9001: The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001 is the most common standard for quality management. Tailored to commercial snow and ice management, the SN 9001 guidelines limit exposure to slip-and-fall disputes and focus on end customer satisfaction. This is a company certification that stays with the employee as long as they are still employed there. It’s important to keep record of any employee training since it is prone to independent and third party audits on an annual basis to hold companies responsible.
- Certified Snow Professional (CSP): This program educates business owners and top executives in all aspects of snow and ice management. Candidates need to meet certain criteria, complete an application and once approved by SIMA, a 200-question exam is required that tests the contractors knowledge in 6 key areas: Business, Human Resource Management, Marketing, Sub-Contractors, Snow & Ice Science, Snow & Ice Operations and Technique’s. A CSP accreditation is for individuals and can be a useful sales tool that should be renewed annually.
- Advanced Snow Management (ASM): The purpose of this ANSI-accredited program is to engage personnel and operations management in receiving core knowledge about safe and responsible snow and ice control services. Individuals can sign up for four courses through SIMA that are designed around core principles, plowing operations, sidewalk operations and ice management.
Attend FISHER’s Annual Service School
Gain hands on experience with interactive modules and quizzes available through Fisher Engineering. Learn how to troubleshoot snow and ice control equipment in a series of technical training modules that cover basic electrical and hydraulic fundamentals as well as tips and tricks of how to maintain and run your equipment properly. These intermediate level training courses are specifically designed for FISHER® snow and ice control technicians and are typically offered in late summer.