Making a Great Program Even Better: Dave Morgan Appointed as NEIEP’s New Executive Director

The International Union of Elevator Constructors (IUEC) recently selected David Morgan to serve as the new Executive Director of the National Elevator Industry Educational Program (NEIEP). ElevatorInfo visited the NEIEP Instructor Training Center in Warwick, RI, to speak with Dave about his new role and his plans for NEIEP’s growth and advancement.

“When the opportunity arose, I was excited to be part of making a great program even better,” he said. Dave comes to the NEIEP program with experience that gives him a broad and unique perspective on the educational needs of the elevator industry today. “My experience in the field working on elevators, and then subsequently becoming a Business Agent/Financial Secretary and a Business Manager of a good-sized Local (IUEC Local 4 in Boston), allows me to understand the program from the ground up,” he said.

Dave became an IUEC elevator constructor in the mid-1990s. After completing the NEIEP program he became a NEIEP instructor, teaching Boston-area apprentices and mechanics the fundamentals of the elevator trade for 21 years. While working days as a mechanic, he enrolled in night classes at Boston’s Wentworth Institute of Technology – a college that NEIEP now has a partnership with – and earned a degree in electronic engineering. He has also held positions as a National Coordinator for the Elevator Industry Work Preservation Fund, a National Organizer for the IUEC, and an International Vice President.

ElevatorInfo asked Dave about how the NEIEP program has changed since his days as an apprentice. “My experience as a helper was prior to the apprenticeship program,” he said. “The program that’s in place now is far superior…(it requires) 4 hours per night per week for 18 weeks, resulting in 72 hours per semester. In the days of old, it was a two-hour program for 15 weeks, which is approximately 30 hours’ worth of training. So we’ve doubled the training, we’ve doubled the experience.”

The amount of time students spend in the classroom isn’t the only thing that’s changed – the classroom experience for IUEC apprentices and mechanics is different as well, with a shift toward experiential learning through the use of hands-on labs and virtual simulators. Especially with the type of work an elevator constructor does, it’s important for people who work on elevators, escalators, and other conveyance systems to be able to safely practice working with complex and dangerous equipment in a controlled setting before encountering it in the field. “Back in the day, the instructor stood at the front of the classroom and read from a book…now we’ve got a multitude of labs, learning aids, interactive whiteboards, computer-based programs – in addition to the hands-on labs, there’s 3D animation that actually allows for our students to train on the equipment for the elevator industry without the risk of being injured.”

New continuing education courses for mechanics, recent updates to the national apprenticeship curriculum, and a more comprehensive training program for NEIEP instructors have given the program a boost forward in recent years. Dave plans to continue that momentum by modernizing NEIEP classrooms across the country and bringing in more advanced technology to keep NEIEP at the forefront of the industry’s education and training programs. “We have over a hundred training facilities all over the United States (and Puerto Rico), and our goal is to build a classroom that’s the same no matter where you go…whether you’re in Albuquerque, New Mexico, or in Alaska, when you walk into a NEIEP classroom you’ll know you’re in a NEIEP classroom.”

The NEIEP Instructor Training Center, a 98,000 square-foot facility located near Rhode Island’s T.F. Green International Airport, will be training hundreds of NEIEP instructors in the upcoming year. OSHA Trainer Courses, American Heart Association Heartsaver First Aid CPR AED, Scaffold and Access Industry Association (SAIA) Competent Person for Framed and Suspended Scaffolding, forklift operation, and Basic and Advanced Train the Trainer courses for classroom instructors – along with training on how to use new, specialized lab equipment for apprenticeship and continuing education courses – are just some of the classes conducted there year-round.

The NEIEP Instructor Training Center also houses NEIEP’s Development Department, where subject-matter experts from across the country gather with engineers, writers, and mechanical designers to produce new courses for elevator constructor apprentices and mechanics. Incorporating new technology, including a Virtual Reality component, into these courses is a priority for Dave as well. The first step toward that involves updating the NEIEP website, a project he’s already got underway.

“I’m most excited about bringing the NEIEP program to the next level. Today, it is a great program. With some help and dedication from the staff, tomorrow, NEIEP will be extraordinary.”

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With Lift for a Vet Program, IUEC Elevator Constructors and Signatory Companies Assist Veterans with Disabilities

Earlier this year, ElevatorInfo traveled to International Union of Elevator Constructors (IUEC) Local 5 in the city of brotherly love (also known as Philadelphia, PA), to talk to elevator constructors involved in the Lift for a Vet program. A Lift for a Vet is a charitable effort started by Philadelphia elevator constructors that has since grown to help United States veterans across the country. Since its inception, the Lift for a Vet program has helped hundreds of veterans nationwide.

According to the Lift for a Vet website, the program’s mission is:

…to buy and install elevators, home lifts, stair lifts or wheelchair lifts in the residence of U.S. military service veterans with disabilities from any era, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Gulf War, Afghanistan or Iraq. Veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan often require special modifications made to their homes so it is handicapped accessible. A wheelchair lift or elevator can be the ticket to getting someone back home and on the way to recovery. Many older vets, those from WWII, Korea, and Vietnam eras, have lost independence in their daily routine because they find it difficult to navigate stairs. A LIFT FOR A VET can help those veterans continue to lead independent lives with the installation of a stair lift1.

So how does this program operate? First, IUEC elevator constructors and IUEC-affiliated companies donate different types of vertical transportation equipment (including elevators, home lifts, stair lifts, and wheelchair lifts) to the program to be installed in the homes of the veterans who need it – recently, signatory companies Quality Elevator, Elevator Control Service (ELCON), and Schindler Elevator have generously contributed equipment and supplies. Then, IUEC elevator constructors donate their time, skills, and expertise to ensure the success of each installation. All equipment – and the labor to install it – are provided at absolutely cost to the veterans.

In a blog post from earlier last summer, ElevatorInfo wrote about the story of the IUEC elevator mechanic and veteran who co-founded the Lift for a Vet program, Mike Walsh.  After an injury during his last year of service in the United States Air Force, Mike Walsh joined fellow IUEC Local 5 member Ed Loomis to launch A Lift for a Vet. Their combined experience working in the elevator industry meant they understood exactly what it would take to get the program off the ground and begin providing this equipment to the United States veterans with disabilities who could benefit from it.

Walsh said, “our mission has always been to help veterans with disabilities any way we can…this is very personal. I know the name of nearly every veteran we’ve helped. This program has changed my life – it’s impacted the lives of every union member who has volunteered his or her time to help these heroes stay in their homes. At the end of the day, we’re helping these veterans maintain a sense of independence. Providing these lifts is our members’ way of giving back – it’s our way of expressing our appreciation for all these men and women have done for our nation.”

Through A Lift for a Vet, IUEC elevator constructor mechanics and apprentices have the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of those brave men and women who have served our country by giving them access to the home lift and residential elevator equipment that can help them live a better life.

A Lift for a Vet is funded entirely by donations. To support the program, in May of each year, members of IUEC Local 5 host an annual golf outing– similar to the way the IUEC elevator constructors in Local 2 Chicago host an annual golf tournament to fund the Diabetes Research Foundation. Because A Lift for a Vet has no operating costs, every dollar they raise goes directly to supporting veterans with disabilities.

All donations to A Lift for a Vet are tax deductible. “Your generosity – no matter the amount – will help A Lift for a Vet’s goal of providing the best lives possible for veterans with disabilities,” said Walsh. “Former members of the Armed Forces of the United States deserve our utmost respect and eternal gratitude, but perhaps even more importantly, fulfilling the physical needs of these men and women must be our priority – that’s critical.”

Find out more about the Lift for a Vet program or share information about a veteran you know who could benefit from it by visiting IUEC Local 5’s website.

 

1 http://iuec5.org/lift_for_a_vet.aspx

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Qualified Elevator Inspector Training Fund Certification Program Highlights

Qualified Elevator Inspector (QEI) Training & Certification Program

Through the Qualified Elevator Inspector Training Fund (QEITF)’s Certified Elevator Inspector (CEI) program, experienced elevator mechanics from the International Union of Elevator Constructors (IUEC) and other eligible elevator technicians can become qualified as elevator inspectors or elevator inspector supervisors.

QEITF offers training and certification programs that are accredited under ISO/IEC 17024: 2012 by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)’s National Accreditation Board (ANAB) to certify elevator inspectors to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers ASME QEI-1 Standard for the Qualification of Elevator Inspectors. QEITF developed these programs to set a standard of knowledge and distinguish elevator inspectors and inspector supervisors who have shown they have the skill and competence to perform the requirements of the job.

To earn their certification, applicants must meet all of the eligibility requirements in effect at the time they apply, and then pass the examination. Eligibility requirements for certification as an elevator inspector include:

  • High school or GED diploma;
  • Five years of supervised experience in the elevator trade (including an 8,000-hour national apprenticeship program and one year of post-apprenticeship experience);
  • Passing score on the National Elevator Industry Educational Program (NEIEP) Mechanic Exam or an equivalent;
  • Completion of a training course on the use of current relevant elevator codes and standards;
  • Code of Conduct/Ethics attestation.

All applicants for the elevator inspector supervisor certification must:

  • Hold the Certified Elevator Inspector certification at the time of application.
  • Submit an Employer Verification Form completed by current and/or previous employer(s) to verify:
    1. The applicant’s aptitude for leadership, administration, and management.
    2. The applicant’s demonstrated ability to perform the administrative and technical job duties of an Inspector Supervisor.
    3. Five (5) years of experience as a certified elevator inspector. (Advanced education, such as technical school, college, or a degree in engineering, may reduce the number of required years by one to three years as determined by the program’s evaluation of the candidate’s academic accomplishments.
  • Code of Conduct/Ethics attestation

Candidates for certification are responsible for submitting documents or other evidence which demonstrate their compliance with these pre-requisite standards.

Once the registration process is complete, candidates for certification will receive a packet with information on how to prepare for the class and where and how they can purchase the codes and standards books they will need in advance of the course. This packet will also provide helpful guidelines to quickly access the most important sections of each code book, recommend specific sections for advance review, and provide practice questions to get them comfortable with the format of the exam before beginning the course.

Throughout the year, intensive training and examination sessions are held near QEITF headquarters in Columbia, Maryland, and elsewhere in the country. During the week-long in-person training and certification program, elevator constructors are removed from their normal day-to-day distractions – making it easier to focus their attention on learning how to navigate the code books quickly and accurately.

The training sessions are structured as follows: during the first four days, experienced instructors guide students through the course content. Students will have the opportunity to ask questions and to challenge a series of computer-based practice tests that will give their instructors instant feedback with regard to their progress. This process allows instructors to tailor one-on-one support to the areas that will help each student the most. The limited class size ensures that students will get all of the individual attention they need to succeed. Once the training is complete, the eight-hour certification exam is administered on the fifth day.

As soon as an elevator mechanic receives their certification as a qualified elevator inspector, they are fully prepared to perform inspections and report their findings to their respective authority having jurisdiction. And beyond the initial training and certification, the QEITF program provides ongoing support for code-related questions and assists certificate holders with the continuing education they will be required to complete to maintain and renew their certification.

Throughout the United States and Canada, CEI elevator inspectors and elevator inspector supervisors are recognized as respected code experts who are an asset to the companies they work for and the owners of the equipment they service, as well as the other tradespeople who work alongside them.

Are you an elevator mechanic who is considering earning your certification as a Certified Elevator Inspector? Courses, classes, examination dates, locations, and more information is available on the QEITF website at www.qeitf.org.

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