Are you certifiable?

Your customers will feel secure
when you have certified workers.
Credit: Distinctive Concrete
of New England

At the most recent meeting of the American Concrete Institute, I sat in on a meeting of the Decorative Concrete Finisher Certification Committee (C 601-D). This group intends to begin certifying decorative finishers within the next couple of years. The program will certify that an individual “has knowledge of the materials, equipment, and techniques required to successfully install and manage decorative concrete flatwork installations consisting of dry shake hardeners, integral colors, release agents, stamped concrete, stenciled concrete, use of retarders, sand/exposed aggregate finishes, decorative scoring, sawcutting, decorative treatment of stair treads and risers, and cleaning/sealing of basic and decorative concrete.”

Ambitious, huh? ACI estimates that there could be as many as 8000 people out there who would become certified. Are you one of them? But the important question is why you would want to become certified. Would getting yourself and/or your workers certified give you enough of an advantage to outweigh the time and expense? And if you do spend the money to certify your workers, what’s to keep them from going to work for your competition or from starting their own company? Do your customers really care if you’re certified? Will it get you more business?

These are the questions about certification that have been asked within the concrete business for years, and yet the ACI certification programs, especially for testing technicians and concrete finishers, have grown like wildfire over the past 20 years. Bottom line: customers like having third-party evidence that the people working on their jobs know what they are doing. This could especially be an advantage in the decorative concrete business where there are a few out there who claim to be decorative contractors but who don’t know the difference between concrete and cee-ment.

The other reason I’m in favor of this program is that it will elevate the entire industry. Once ACI certification becomes recognized, customers will demand it. Uncertified contractors will be forced out of business or forced into learning the basics of decorative concrete and thus become a better competitor. The prices certified contractors will be able to get should rise a bit—customers will pay a little more for the peace of mind.

Most people have an emotional attachment to their homes. If they see a badly done decorative concrete job, with mottled colors, spalling surfaces, or peeling sealers, they will decide that concrete pavers are a better way to go. But if only the good—certified—decorative craftspeople survive, the decorative concrete business will continue to thrive and grow for many years to come.

If you want to know more about this certification program, or if you have a comment, let me know!