CSI
CERTIFICATION SEASON HAS ARRIVED!
by Kevin O'Beirne, P.E., CSI, CCS,
CCCA
Malcolm Pirnie, Inc. / CSI Buffalo-WNY Chapter Certification Chair
It’s time to register for the spring 2009 Construction
Specification Institute (CSI) certification exams. This article
presents some info on CSI’s certification programs and what’s
new for the spring 2010 exams. The following CSI certifications
are available: Construction Documents Technologist (CDT), Certified
Construction Specifier (CCS), Certified Contraction Contract Administrator
(CCCA), and Certified Construction Product Representative (CCPR)—information
on each is presented below.
All exams are held during the week of March 29-April
3, 2010; the early-bird (reduced fee) registration deadline is
January 29, 2010 and the final registration deadline is February
26, 2010. For complete information, see CSI’s certification
website—which is chock-full of information, including free,
downloadable study guides—at www.csinet.org/certification.
Certifications and Exams
Advance your knowledge and career through CSI’s certification
programs! For those who have thought, “There ought to be
a ‘how-to book’ for, and ways to measure knowledge
of, construction documents and the construction administration
process,” this program is for you!
CSI certification is the key to increased knowledge and career
advancement, whether you are a design professional, contractor,
subcontractor, owner, product representative, or anyone else who
works in the construction industry. Certification shows your commitment
to excellence within the construction industry. It offers a substantive,
flexible, yet practical education that can be applied directly
to the job-at-hand.
With CSI certification, you become part of a select group of individuals
with the CDT, CCS, CCCA, or CCPR designation associated with their
name ... and you receive the industry-wide respect and recognition
that goes along with it.
Learn more about CSI’s certification programs at
www.csinet.org/certifications. All the exams are closed-book,
multiple-choice, and administered via computer. CSI offers four
exams/certifications:
1. Construction Documents Technologist (CDT).
The introductory level "certificate" program, covering
project delivery systems, construction documents, procurement
(bidding or negotiating), construction administration, facility
management, and more. The CDT exam is 100 multiple choice questions
with a two-hour time limit. Preparing for the CDT exam will
also assist you with preparing to become a LEED-AP (Leadership
in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional).
A CDT certificate is required to take the advanced certification
courses (CCS, CCCA, CCPR). The CCS, CCCA, and CCPR exams are each
200 multiple choice questions with a four-hour time limit. CCS,
CCCA, or CCPR accreditation requires obtaining professional development
hours accredited by CSI or by your state’s professional
engineering licensing division, and payment of a tri-annual fee
to CSI to keep the accreditation up-to-date. An individual may
obtain more than one advanced-level certification. Like the CDT
exam, preparation for the CCS, CCCA, and CCPR exams also assist
registrants for the complexities of a LEED-accredit building project
and other elements of sustainable construction. Information on
the advanced-level certifications is presented below:
2. Certified Construction Specifier (CCS).
This advanced level certification covers the preparation of
construction documents and specifications, and requires knowledge
of industry-standard formats by CSI, such as OmniClass, UniFormat,
MasterFormat 2004, SectionFormat/PageFormat 2007, and CSI’s
Project Resource Manual.
3. Certified Construction Contract Administrator (CCCA).
This advanced level of certification covers procurement and
construction administration and requires knowledge of project
delivery systems and the contractual relationships associated
with each, and knowledge of industry-standard documents such
as AIA’s A101 Owner-Contractor Agreement; A201 General
Conditions; and B101 Owner-Architect Agreement; and EJCDC’s
C-520 Owner-Contractor Agreement; C-700 General Conditions;
and E-500 Owner-Engineer Agreement; and CSI’s Project
Resource Manual. After the CDT, the CCCA is CSI’s second-most-popular
certification program.
4. Certified Construction Product Representative (CCPR).
The advanced-level CCPR certification is for product representatives
and covers the product representative’s role and responsibilities
in the design, procurement, construction, and facility management
phases of a project.
What’s New for Spring 2010
The scope of the CDT exam has expanded to new topics.
Starting with the autumn 2009 exams, the CDT exam now includes
questions on green building design, building information modeling
(BIM), and a new project delivery system—integrated project
delivery (IPD). AIA, GSA, and US EPA study materials covering
these new topics are linked on CSI's
certifications website's "study materials" page.
While the AIA and GSA documents are somewhat lengthy (the US EPA
document is only two pages), CSI's CDT study guide helps to focus
your efforts by directing you to a limited number of specific
pages in the AIA and GSA documents. The new topics are expected
to be covered in approximately eight questions (eight percent)
of the exam.
Info for the Buffalo-Western NY
Area
CSI’s certification exams will again be offered at over
400 Prometric test centers nationwide. Our area has two local
Prometric test centers: 1) Prometric, 4927 Main Street, in the
Snyder Place Shopping Center, Buffalo, NY 14226, (716) 565-0570;
and 2) Bryant and Stratton College, 200 Red Tail, Suite 10A, Orchard
Park, NY 14127, (716) 677-9500. Other test centers are located
in other upstate New York, Pennsylvania, Ontario, and northeastern
Ohio cities, including Erie PA, Rochester NY, Hamilton ON, Toronto
ON, Niles (Ohio), East Syracuse NY, Mentor (Ohio), Vestal NY,
Pittsburgh PA, and Albany NY. Test center locations can be viewed
at www.prometric.com/CSI.
CSI’s Buffalo-Western New York (WNY) Chapter will again
offer study/exam preparation courses online (“webinars”)
free of charge for the CDT and CCCA exams, through Malcolm Pirnie,
Inc. Participation in these courses is limited to a total
of ten people, so sign up early to get a space. The study
courses will be held during lunch hours from late January through
late March; eight CDT sessions/presentations and seven CCCA sessions/presentations
are planned. To further assist participants in preparing for their
exam, also included are free distribution by the Chapter/Malcolm
Pirnie of a practice exam for the CDT and CCCA programs, and a
daily listserver e-mail with the “CDT practice question
of the day” with answers and related commentary provided
the next business day. Program participants will be invited to
participate in a free listserver and secure Internet website where
exam preparation information will be posted. For more information
on the Chapter/Malcolm Pirnie free programs, contact Kevin O’Beirne,
(716) 667-6667, kobeirne@pirnie.com.
Online, free CDT and CCS study
courses are also offered by AEC Daily at
www.aecdaily.com/csi. AEC Daily’s courses can be taken
by the individual at any time convenient to you. On AEC Daily’s
CSI page, select the course titled, “Construction Documents
Education Program” for the CDT, and select “Construction
Specification Education Program” for the CCS; each AEC Daily
CSI course has eleven units. To access these courses, it is necessary
to obtain a free AEC Daily online account.
Unfortunately, the Buffalo-WNY Chapter does not offer a study
course for, and we are not aware of any online courses for, the
CCPR exam.
Registration Information
Registration for the spring exams opened in September. Registration
can be done online at www.csinet.org/certificatoin
or via hardcopy (PDF) forms that can be downloaded from CSI’s
certification website. Registration fees and deadlines are:
| Exam Type/Date/Cost |
Member |
Non-Member |
Studnt |
| CDT |
| Early registration (Jan 29, 2010) |
$235 |
$370 |
$105 |
| Final registration (Feb 26, 2010) |
$295 |
$430 |
$105 |
| CCS, CCCA, CCPR |
| Early registration (Jan 29, 2010) |
$275 |
$410 |
n/a |
| Final registration (Feb 26, 2010) |
$340 |
$475 |
n/a |
Registration fees are unchanged from 2009.
The registration fees listed above include a free study guide
(downloadable at www.csinet.org/certifications)
but do not include costs associated with acquiring other study
materials, such as CSI’s Project Resource Manual textbook,
or the CSI, AIA, and EJCDC standard documents on which the exams
are based.
Applicants/registrants must use their legal name, as it appears
on your government-issued photo ID that you will use to gain entrance
to the exam, on your application and in all communications with
CSI/Prometric.
Several weeks after submitting your application to CSI, you will
receive a notice ("Authorization to Test") from CSI/Prometric
via US Mail asking you to select your exam site, day, and time
in the spring exam week. The "Authorization to Test"
is your exam entrance ticket--print it out and bring it with you
to the exam.
Cancellation Policy: Cancellations received by
CSI up to 14 days before your scheduled exam date are eligible
for a full refund; cancellations received by CSI between 14 and
two days prior to the scheduled exam date are eligible for a 50
percent refund; and cancellations received by CSI less than two
days before the scheduled exam are not refundable. Registrants
have the option to reschedule their exam date or time at their
Prometric test center, provided it is within the same testing
week, and there is an available appointment at the test center.
Deferment to a subsequent exam (i.e., in a different exam week)
is not allowed by CSI; rather, a registrant seeking to defer to
a different exam week must cancel their registration and re-register
and pay the full fee for the subsequent exam.
For more information on CSI’s certification programs, and
the Buffalo-WNY Chapter’s associated programs, please contact
Kevin O’Beirne at Malcolm Pirnie, Inc., (716) 667-6667,
kobeirne@pirnie.com.
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