On 04/02/05 00:57 ET, bcf1963 said...
Ladies and Gents,
I believe a major point has been missed here.
It seems that many think that Certification can
mean something, if the Certifying Agency has good
reliable standards. I believe this is only of
use if those certified have their jobs inspected
on a regular basis.
I like the idea of weeding out the hacks, but who's paying for these inspectors??
The local government pays for the inspectors for structural, electrical, and plumbing, and they require building permits to help subsidize the expenses. It is a revenue source for the city, county or township that issuesthe permits, but the major reason they get involved is because when construction isn't sound, or when plumbing or electrical systems aren't up to standard, injury, death, and major property damage are the result.
When CI goes bad, the plasma is off center on the mantel, the speaker holes are cut into a cavity filled with duct work or plumbing, or the cable jack is an inch lower than the receptacles in the same room... nobody dies from inept a/v or data cabling, or poor system designs.
BTW, do you want to have to pull a permit on each job to pay for these inspections??
Let's look at another area, Electricians. Here's
a group with a specialized skill set. Yes, many
in this forum refer to them as Cable pullers,
but they can have some highly specialized training.
An electrician gets his license after taking
a test. Much like Cedia certification. Does
this mean that I should trust any electrician
to wire a service entrance for a business with
3 phase power at 1000Amps? Electricians in most
places in the country are licensed for a specific
type of work.
Hmmm.... just about anyone can get an electrical license, but to become a fully accredited Master Electrician, you have to put serious time in and go through a series of tests over time. With CEDIA, if he studied really hard and paid attention during the class, an insurance salesman or garbage collector could become "certified" as an entry level installer.
