An evaluation of the safety content in the National Association of Industrial Technology certification exam

Abstract

This study addresses the safety portion of the National Association of Industrial Technology (NAIT) Certification exam. NAIT promotes the field of industrial technology in education, business, and industry. Certification is the recognition of voluntarily achieved standards by the profession that created the proposed standards. Certification programs are used to define a required body of knowledge and skills, and establish common performance standards. The NAIT certification exam began its initial development in the 1990s. Since its development, the safety portion of the certification exam has not been reevaluated critically. A survey with an expert panel was used to determine if the safety content of the NAIT certification exam was still appropriate. Participants, made up of members of the NAIT Safey Division, identified 30 safety topics as being important enough to be represented in the safety portion of the NAIT certification exam. This study concluded that while terminology may have changed slightly, the safety topics covered on the NAIT certification exam are still relevant and current. Introduction NAIT is a professional membership organization dedicated to the establishment and maintenance of professional standards for industrial technologists, and the certification program was established to acknowledge an individual’s knowledge, skills, and professional development in the field of industrial technology (Field & Rowe, 2001). The NAIT certification exam was initially developed in the 1990s under the direction of Dr. Clois Kicklighter using a Delphi method to determine the appropriate content for the exam. The Delphi method was used to collect data from the various academic institutions across the United States that had industrial technology programs, without bringing participants to one central location. Three iterations of the Delphi process were conducted. The results of the study were reported internally to NAIT in October 1991. Eight major exam content areas were identified from that study: (1) Quality Control; (2) Production Planning and Control; (3) Industrial Supervision; (4) Industrial Finance and Accounting; (5) Industrial Safety Management; (6) Plant Layout and Materials Handling; (7) Time and Motion Study; and (8) Industrial Communications (C. Kicklighter, personal communication, October 10, 1991). These eight content areas were reduced to six by eliminating “Industrial Finance and Accounting” and “Plant Layout and Materials Handling” as stand-alone content areas during the initial developmental cycle of the exam between October 1993 and March 1995. Ultimately, the number of stand-alone content areas was reduced to four by dropping “Time and Motion Study” and “Industrial Communications” as stand-alone areas during final pretesting of the exam. The remaining areas of concentration included: (1) Production Planning and Control, (2) Quality Control, (3) Safety, and (4) Supervision/Administration. A modified Delphi method was used by Rowe (2001) in her efforts to identify core content, subject area, and competency information needed to update Dr. Steven A. Freeman is an associate professor in the Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Department and assistant director of the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching at Iowa State University. He coordinates the occupational safety option of the industrial technology degree program for the department and serves as the director for graduate education. His research interests are in agricultural and workplace safety and the scholarship of teaching and learning associated with safety, engineering, and technology curricula. Dr. Dennis W. Field is an Associate Professor and Coordinator of the Graduate and Undergraduate Industrial Technology programs in the Department of Technology at Eastern Kentucky University. He has been actively involved in the development of the NAIT Certification exam and served as Chair of the National Association of Industrial Technology Board of Certification for nine years. His research interests are in high-technology manufacturing start-up and transfer activities. Ms. Chandra Lott is a former graduate student of Iowa State University where she received her Masters of Science degree in Industrial Education & Technology with an emphasis in occupational safety. She is currently pursuing a career in her chosen field of study. Dr. Charles V. Schwab is a professor in the Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Department and an Iowa State University Extension specialist in farm safety. He provides leadership for Safe Farm, an Iowa State University (ISU) Extension’s program helping to make Iowa farms a safer place to work and live. Dr. Schwab serves as the Iowa State University point of contact for the Extension Disaster Education Network (EDEN). He is also the professor in charge of the Safety Training Instruction and Research Center at Iowa State University.