As the home performance industry continues to evolve; we see increasingly rigorous standards and certification mandates.
One example is BPI’s Home Energy Professional (HEP) Quality Control Inspector (QCI) certification, which presents both unique challenges and opportunities.
QCI certification breaks new ground because it has become the national standard for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP). As of January 1, 2015, organizations that use Department of Energy funding to run a WAP must have a certified Home Energy Professional Quality Control Inspector on staff to manage the process.
This NREL-supported and ANSI-accredited certification is designed to empower seasoned weatherization inspectors to answer the call of the Department of Energy and utility stakeholders for accountability.
The QCI-certified professional is the keystone for verifying proper program implementation and the integrity of work performed by contractors and crews. Certified inspectors are equipped to monitor and correct processes to ensure that every funding dollar is spent wisely and with great results. The criteria and testing are extremely rigorous and require years of industry experience for even test consideration. It’s not surprising, then, that there are too few QCI inspectors who meet these rigorous standards.
CMC Energy Services sees this as an opportunity; we have successfully tested and certified multiple auditors who are capable of performing quality control inspections for WAP agencies and utilities in the state of Pennsylvania.
CMC has approximately 10% of the current total capacity for QCIs in Pennsylvania, and this capacity ranks among the highest in the state. We have plans to expand our capabilities and enlarge our team of certified inspectors to provide a wide range of high-quality inspection services.
This puts us in a strong position to deliver cost-effective quality-control inspections to agencies that do not have the qualified staff or budget to complete these inspections in-house.
We understand the value of proper quality control, and a culture of constant improvement permeates our organization. We always seek to find defective processes, so we will never deliver defective products.
Overall, our goal is to partner with County agencies to ensure positive reviews and monitoring experiences which, in turn, will safeguard agency funding and help transform the WAP program into a more sustainable model.
Learn more about our weatherization program and then contact us with any questions.