SSPC, AISC announce joint standard for paint shop certification

(Pittsburgh, PA) - SSPC: The Society for Protective Coatings and the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) are pleased to announce a joint certification standard for shop application of protective coatings.

The standard, "Certification Standard for Shop Application of Complex Protective Coating Systems," was the culmination of several years of work by a joint committee of coatings and steel industry professionals representing both organizations. The standard describes requirements for certification of firms that shop apply complex painting systems.

According to Michael Damiano, Director of Product Development at SSPC, "The strength of this standard is that it enables paint shops and steel fabricators to meet the qualification criteria of two major organizations at one time, while giving owners and specifiers a single governing document to reference."

Jacques Cattan, VP of Certification for AISC added, "The jointly sponsored certification will confirm to owners, the design community, and the construction industry that a firm has knowledgeable personnel and the organization, experience, procedures, and equipment to provide surface preparation and application of complex painting systems in a shop facility according to contract specifications."

The joint standard is available now for free download on AISC's web site at www.aisc.org/JointPaintStandard and SSPC's web site at www.sspc.org, for inclusion into project specifications and contract documents. Starting on June 1, 2011, participants will only be responsible for the criteria of the current standards but will be informed of changes or possible non-conformances that will take effect with the new joint standard during their next annually scheduled audit. Full implementation of the new joint standard will be complete in 2012.

About AISC

The American Institute of Steel Construction, headquartered in Chicago, is a not-for-profit technical institute and trade association established in 1921 to serve the structural steel design community and construction industry. AISC's mission is to make structural steel the material of choice by being the leader in structural steel-related technical and market-building activities, including: specification and code development, research, education, technical assistance, quality certification, standardization, and market development. AISC has a long tradition of service to the steel construction industry of providing timely and reliable information.

About SSPC

SSPC is internationally recognized as the leading society in the field of protective coatings. Its surface preparation and coatings standards have been governing the use of coatings worldwide since 1950 when it was founded as the Steel Structures Painting Council. SSPC is dedicated to the use of high-performance protective coatings for the protection and preservation of concrete, steel and other industrial structures. Since the early 1990s, close to 40,000 coatings professionals have been trained by SSPC. In addition to certification, standards and training, SSPC offers a variety of technical publications, advocacy, the Journal of Protective Coatings & Linings, and a wide range of information resources. Membership in SSPC includes over 8,900 coatings professionals and over 800 industry-related companies. For more information, visit www.SSPC.org.