ASQ CCT as a requirment for employment/promotion

Started by Whoseywhatsit, 06-30-2015 -- 10:18:29

Previous topic - Next topic
Print
Go Down Pages1
User actions

Whoseywhatsit

06-30-2015 -- 10:18:29 Last Edit: 06-30-2015 -- 10:24:28 by Whoseywhatsit
Do you think it actually holds enough weight to be used for this purpose? or is it just a joke  :-o and for "employment requirement," I mean employment at a specific technician level, assuming prior military training.

USMCPMEL

#1
06-30-2015 -- 10:56:40
I think that as an employment tool it would probably be agood idea. You have people that put whatever they want on thier resume then BS their way through the interview. At least if they have passed the test then you know they have a pretty good idea what they are doing. The company I used to work for gave you a bonus and a pay raise if you passed. They also paid you to take the test but prep time was on your dime. So much for training at most places any more. They always love to talk about it in the interview and then once you actually start it magically disappears.

flow

#2
06-30-2015 -- 11:44:03
I for one have met a lot of techs that are just good at taking test!
They study the material and pass but put those same guys in front of some hard ware all you get is Deer in the head light!
ASQ CCT is good for training but to be required for employment that going to far. 

Whoseywhatsit

#3
06-30-2015 -- 15:50:24
Does having the CCT really mean that someone actually knows what they're doing though? Sure a person could pass the test but that doesn't necessarily mean they know what they're doing on the bench. Proving you have a basic knowledge of calibration/metrology , by passing a genereal test, and knowing what you're doing in the practical arena are totally different things.

Hawaii596

#4
06-30-2015 -- 16:24:59
I have a copy of the ASQ CCT study guide here in front of me.  Matter of fact, I had an advance copy sent to me a number of years ago inviting me to review it.  I would say it has its pluses and minuses.  There is no possible way to make a single guide that certifies competence for everything a Calibration Technician does.  There could probably be a bunch of addenda to cover a wide range of disciplines. 

So the negative is that it doesn't test competency at real calibrations (using the right cable for a 26 GHz measurement - and many thousands of other specialized examples).  But what it does do is verify from a "QUALITY SYSTEMS" point of view that a technician has "SOME" competence at some fundamental principles.

It was written from the point of view of ASQ (American Society for Quality).  Maybe one of us more senior PMEL types should get on a committee and make it into something of broader value.  The only way I think a rewritten version could be truly useful is by having it broken up into a bunch of different categories.  CERTIFIED DIMENSIONAL METROLOGIST (even that might get pretty broad due to the many sub-disciplines in that field).  DC/LF Standards Lab Technician.  RF/Microwave Technician (numerous levels needed).  And so forth and so on.

Hmmmm... Maybe I'll look into getting on a committee.  Maybe someone on here already is on a committee?
"I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind."
Lord Kelvin (1824-1907)
from lecture to the Institute of Civil Engineers, 3 May 1883

dminesinger

#5
06-30-2015 -- 16:40:27
Quote from: Hawaii596 on 06-30-2015 -- 16:24:59
I have a copy of the ASQ CCT study guide here in front of me.  Matter of fact, I had an advance copy sent to me a number of years ago inviting me to review it.  I would say it has its pluses and minuses.  There is no possible way to make a single guide that certifies competence for everything a Calibration Technician does.  There could probably be a bunch of addenda to cover a wide range of disciplines. 

So the negative is that it doesn't test competency at real calibrations (using the right cable for a 26 GHz measurement - and many thousands of other specialized examples).  But what it does do is verify from a "QUALITY SYSTEMS" point of view that a technician has "SOME" competence at some fundamental principles.

It was written from the point of view of ASQ (American Society for Quality).  Maybe one of us more senior PMEL types should get on a committee and make it into something of broader value.  The only way I think a rewritten version could be truly useful is by having it broken up into a bunch of different categories.  CERTIFIED DIMENSIONAL METROLOGIST (even that might get pretty broad due to the many sub-disciplines in that field).  DC/LF Standards Lab Technician.  RF/Microwave Technician (numerous levels needed).  And so forth and so on.

Hmmmm... Maybe I'll look into getting on a committee.  Maybe someone on here already is on a committee?

That would make the CCT much more useful.
PapaBear

*'It's the Veteran, not the reporter who has given us the freedom of the press.'
'It's the Veteran, not the poet, who has given us the freedom of speech.'
''It's the Military who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag.'

ck454ss

#6
07-01-2015 -- 06:03:21
Quote from: Hawaii596 on 06-30-2015 -- 16:24:59
Hmmmm... Maybe I'll look into getting on a committee.  Maybe someone on here already is on a committee?

I have been on a committee for the CCT Tests.  It is voluntary and basically you are sent the "Next Cycle" test and you take it and submit your answers.  Then a date is set up and you travel to Milwakee, ASQ HQ, and with a group of about 10 other people who represent a large chunk of the manufacturing industry you go over each question of the test.  What we were doing was deciding if the question was "Good" and the answer was clear.  No trick questions wanted.  If it was "Bad we rewrote the question or tossed it and picked a new question from a pool of extra questions.  This was a great experience and I advise anyone who can to volunteer for it and do it.  The only requirement is that you have to be CCT Certified and cover your own expences for the trip.  I used it as a "training" for my company.

What you have to take into consideration is that the ASQ CCT is just a General Knowledge test.  What ASQ wants is that if you have passed the CCT you have the basic skills necessary to calibrate.  You need to remember that the manufacturing industry is vast and so are skills.  One person may need to be an RF Expert while onother needs to be a CMM/Surface Plate expert.  To create a gambit of tests to cover this wide range is just not cost effective to ASQ.  If a more specialized test is what is needed your company should create its own test to rate potential hires as good or bad.  I personally use the CCT for applicants that dont have PMEL School.  If you have the CCT and not PMEL you will have a potential to get into an interview because you have shown you have the basic requirements to become a cal tech.  Now if you are a good tech or bad tech is up to me to decide.

Whoseywhatsit

#7
07-02-2015 -- 15:03:29
ck454ss: I agree with you, on using the CCT for applicants who have not gone through a PMEL/TMDE school, and it seems redundant to require an employee, who does have the formal military schooling/experience, to take the test and maintain the CCT. It's almost like saying "you're military training/experience/knowledge means dick unless you have a CCT certificate."

MIRCS

#8
07-06-2015 -- 11:12:00
The rules and regulations from the military do not translate to the private sector for calibration for the most part, much looser in the private world, with exceptions.  Matter of fact the longer you spend in the military/government calibration world the more ridiculous the correct answers on the CCT test seem to be, like "Do you need an approved procedure for the calibration?"  Nope.
Print
Go Up Pages1
User actions