Issue link: http://psai.uberflip.com/i/1135954
W EEKLY EDITION JUNE 26, 2019 PSAI Anno unces Updates to Its Certification Program for the Portable Sanitation Industry By Karleen Kos, PSAI Executive Director • protect their own safety, as well as the health and that of the people they serve; • deliver service consistent with established laws, industry standards, and best practices; and • safeguard the natural environment. D e ve l o p me n t o f a J o b De s c ri p ti o n f o r t h e P o rt ab l e S a n it at i o n F r o n t Li n e Pr o f e s s i o n al . The PSAI - CC was charged with developing and validating an up - to - date job description for the portable sanitation industry frontline professional. This description needed to: • be consistent with the mission of the PSAI - CC; • further the PSAI - CC's goal of mo dernizing the legacy certification program to positively impact the profession, its frontline workers, and the portable sanitation industry as a whole; and • focus primarily on the English - speaking North American market, where commonalities of language, law , and infrastructure provide enough uniformity for a credentialing program to be successful. Beginning in 2014, the PSAI - CC has done a thorough analysis of the positions typically held by those holding the legacy credential. Most often this role is calle d something like "service driver," "portable sanitation technician" or some combination of those terms. One of the things the PSAI - CC learned was that the titles vary a great deal, and so do the job descriptions used by companies. The PSAI - CC surveyed comp anies to find out what portable sanitation professionals — regardless of their title — actually do that is common across the industry. The PSAI - CC collected dozens of job descriptions and distilled the commonalities that appeared to be present. Because ther e wasn't always a written job description, this part of the process also involved interviewing owners and managers. The point of this was to check the PSAI - CC's understanding and to dig deeper in areas of major significance to the role. Eventually, the P SAI - CC created a draft Job Analysis and presented it at the PSAI's Annual Nuts and Bolts Educational Conference in 2015. The PSAI Executive Director also published an article in the most widely - read industry publication, PRO Magazine, requesting input from the industry - at - large. The Commissioners hoped for feedback that would help the PSAI - CC settle on a description that would fairly represent the frontline job requirements common across companies. Once the PSAI - CC received input over a period of months, th e Commissioners updated the Job Analysis draft. Then they formed a group of qualified subject matter experts to review it. In mid - 2016 the PSAI - CC finally settled on the description of the Portable Sanitation Professional position that has been the basis f or the further development of the certification program. P AGE 10 CONTINUED ON PAGE 1 1 Whats New? • Two levels of certification: portable sanitation apprentices and portable sanitation professionals • Updated requirements for eligibility • New exam questions • Continuing education hours for recertification • Exam available online beginning August 1, 2019 (local proctor still required)