Does a Certification Make You a Professional Reliability Engineer?
The short answer to this question is “No, it doesn’t.”
A certification is just a piece of paper that conveys that you have mastered some body of knowledge. You most likely also committed to abide by a code of ethics. You may also have committed to continuing education to maintain the certification.
Having a certification means you know the terms, definitions, techniques, and concepts concerning reliability engineering. That’s all. Does it mean you are a professional? No.
BEING PROFESSIONAL
The dictionary describes professional as being associated or involved with a profession. You are professional by working or studying the profession of reliability engineering. Yet, we commonly consider a professional as being more than just a person with a job title. A professional, in my mind, exemplifies the essence of a noble, caring, capable engineer: one who works for the greater good. It is someone who strives to make the world a better place
This is the nature of the engineering code of ethics that professional societies draft and encourage members to live by. The following are just examples of the many similar codes that exist:
American Society for Quality Code of Ethics (http://asq.org/about-asq/who-we-are/ethics.html)
National Society of Professional Engineers Code of Ethics (http://www.nspe.org/resources/ethics/code-ethics)
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Code of Ethics (http://www.ieee.org/about/corporate/governance/p7-8.html)
There are many others and they are all similar. Their gist is to be honest, forthright, and fair in your work.
You probably already adhere to these various codes of ethics. You do not have to pay membership dues to demonstrate that you are ethical. It’s how you work, behave, and conduct your life.
You are a professional reliability engineer by the way you solve problems, continue to learn, assist others willingly, and exemplify how the reliability engineering profession makes the world a better place.
CERTIFICATIONS ARE GOOD, TOO
There are different types of certifications and many organization offer certificates. For reliability engineering there are three professional societies that I know about that offer certifications:
American Society for Quality: Certified Reliability Engineer (http://asq.org/cert/reliability-engineer)
The Society for Maintenance and Reliability Professionals: Certified Maintenance & Reliability Professional (http://www.smrp.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3578)
Association for Maintenance Professionals: Certified Reliability Leader (http://www.maintenance.org/pages/crl)
Some engineers have all three certifications; others only one. Many professional engineers do not have any certification. It’s a personal decision. You can strive to work as a professional with or without securing one or more of the certifications offered by professional societies.
I should mention that there are many other certifications offered in our industry. Conferences, software companies, and consulting & training organizations offer certifications. These, like the ones offered by professional societies, are not licenses (state licenses or charters). The various certifications simply mean that the person meets some level of experience, has completed course work, has demonstrated a body of work, or has passed a test. It doesn’t mean that the person is a professional.
If you are pursuing a certification, the question you must ask yourself is “Why?”
Bio:
Fred Schenkelberg is an experienced reliability engineering and management consultant with his firm FMS Reliability. His passion is working with teams to create cost-effective reliability programs that solve problems, create durable and reliable products, increase customer satisfaction, and reduce warranty costs. If you enjoyed this articles consider subscribing to the ongoing series at Accendo Reliability.