Eight Vulcan Painters Employees Earn CAS Designation

Bessemer, AL May 16--Eight painters from Vulcan Painters Inc. have achieved the Coating Application Specialist (CAS) Level 2 Interim Status designation from SSPC-The Society of Protective Coatings. All eight took the CAS written and practical tests April 13-14, the first time the test was offered in the Southeast.

CAS, the Coating Application Specialist designation, is the first certification program for industrial painters in the United States. Based on consensus standards of SSPC, the Society for Protective Coatings, and NACE, the National Association of Corrosion Engineers, this program specifies the education, training, experience, knowledge and skills required for the professional industrial painter. It also provides a standard to comprehensively assess & recognize the skills of the industrial painter.

The written test is composed of four sections:

• Environmental, safety, and health
• Surface Preparation
• Coating Application
• Equipment/Troubleshooting

The practical hands-on test requires the painter to dress out with proper personal protective equipment, set up equipment and check it for safety, abrasive blast a panel, check it for quality, and then do the coating application using conventional or airless spray to get the correct millage.

To qualify to take the Level 2 interim exam, painters must have a minimum of 150 hours of coating related technical training, and two years of verifiable hours of on the job experience; or three years of verifiable work experience.

The CAS certification interim status lasts for three years. After two terms, painters must convert to full status. Interim status is designed for those in the work force now, who do not have the 450 hours of classroom training required for full status.

The industry has long recognized the need for a skilled workforce to apply sophisticated coatings to the required environmental durability requirements. A trained workforce is needed to apply these materials properly and safely; at the same time, standards were needed to define the industrial painter as a profession to attract young workers to the trade. Customers also demand quality work, the CAS designation represents the individual's significant commitment to training, and a level of expertise on which the customer can depend. CAS certified painters make it easier for painting contractors to pursue work in markets that require high quality work. The designation is also something a painter takes with him as he pursues his career.