NAPSA: Information for Sweeping Professionals

First NAPSA-Certified Sweeping Company

At National Pavement Expo West, held the first part of last December, an award was presented to Kerry and Mitch Armstrong, of Colorado-based Armstrong Sweeping, for becoming the first NAPSA-certified sweeping contractor in the U.S.

Sweeper certification will be awarded in two levels. The first, the only one yet available, is called 'NAPSA-Certified Sweeping Company' (CSC) status. This is the easier of the two certifications. A 'Master Sweeping Company' (MSC) certification is being developed that will involve all facets of the CSC, plus enhanced and more stringent requirements.

To attain CSC status, a sweeping company must have at least one manager with a minimum of 3 years experience in sweeping company operations, or a total of 5 years by the combined management team. Sweeping must account for at least 51% of total company revenues. Some of the other requirements include a minimum amount of continuing education in industry issues (such as NPE seminars), as well as performing driving record pre-checks of operators, conducting minimum operator training and evaluations, having all applicable business licenses, DOT compliance, etc. For complete information, take a look at the application at the naPSa website, located online at www.napsaonline.com.

Kerry Armstrong's company was chosen as the first to go through the certification process because Kerry was the initial president of the very first sweeping organization to be founded, back in 1979. Although he insists it was "because I went to the men's room at the wrong time," there's no question that Armstrong has remained a leader in the industry through the years. Armstrong Sweeping was also awarded the American Sweeper magazine Award of Excellence in Sweeping for 2002.

"Filling out the CSC application itself only took us about an hour and a half," Kerry told us. "However, gathering all the data was probably a day's worth of work. We knew that we met all the requirements, but had to look back for specifics, as well as provide examples showing how we complied with some of them, like driver pre-checks, etc.

"This is a great step for the association, and we're very proud to have become the first company to gain the certification. We believe this is something that definitely increases the value of our membership, and the value of NAPSA overall."

Certification is seen as a way to provide a formalized mechanism for recognizing sweeping firms that are operating in a professional manner and contributing to the overall image of the industry. Current cost to go through the certification process is $150, which covers 3 years of certification. Once a sweeping company gains its CSC status, it becomes authorized to use the logo and associated recognition materials as a part of its marketing effort, yellow pages and other ads, etc.

As members in each market area gain certification, it is expected to provide the groundwork for recognition of NAPSA certification as a condition of bidding on some jobs. In the long run it appears that, in all likelihood, certified sweeping companies will also be able to receive discounts on their insurance premiums.

For more information about NAPSA membership or the certification program, either visit the NAPSA website, send an email to amy@napsaonline.com, or call them at (269) 383-6993.

This article is reprinted from American Sweeper magazine, Volume 9 Number 1, 2003.

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