Certification of competence-general information
COCH certifies the competence of personnel operating in the field of refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pumps, in accordance with the requirements of PN-EN 13313.
Type of certified people:
- Heat pump specialists
- Air conditioning specialists
- Refrigeration specialists
Our personnel certification body for the requirements of EN 13313 offers certification of competence at four levels:
- BA (Basic Appreciation) basic level,
- elevated level WK (Working Knowledge),
- FO (Fully, Operational) high level,
- specialized level LE (Leading Edge).
Since December 1, 2014, the certification body of persons has been operating and conducting certification in accordance with the requirements of the revised standards:
- PN-EN ISO/IEC 17024:2012 and PN-EN 13313:2011, implementing a new certification program for people PR-04.1 - Certification of competence of persons operating in the field of refrigeration, heat pumps and air conditioning.
The person certification body operates in accordance with the requirements of the PN-EN ISO/IEC 17024 standard and is accredited by the Polish Centre for Accreditation (akredytacja PCA nr AC 056), an EA MLA signatory.
The certification procedure includes:
- Qualification of candidates;
- Assessment of the level of knowledge and practical skills (exam);
- Issuance of the certificate;
- Supervision of the certificate holder;
- Re-certification.
Documentation – useful information
Scheme of the certification procedure
APPLICATION AND QUALIFICATION OF CANDIDATES FOR CERTIFICATION
BA Basic Level:
- Education of at least basic vocational school level;
- Completed training in the basics of refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pumps, or at least 1 year of service or installation practice.
Elevated level of WK:
- Education of at least basic vocational school level;
- Completed specialized training in leakage checking, commissioning, operational inspection, operation, stoppage of operation of refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump equipment and installations;
- At least 1 year of practice in the operation or installation of installations.
FO High Level:
- Education of at least high school level (high school diploma);
- Completed specialized training in leak checking, commissioning, operational inspection, operation, assembly, prefabrication, acceptance, general maintenance, circuit maintenance, disassembly, refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump equipment and systems, and refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump equipment and systems;
- At least 3 years of practical experience in installation, commissioning/stopping, operation, operational review, maintenance and removal of refrigerant.
LE specialized level:
- Higher technical education and 3 years of professional experience in the design of refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump equipment and installations, or
- Secondary technical education (high school diploma) and 3 years of professional experience in the design of refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump equipment and installations, and specialized training in safe operation, health and safety requirements, environmental protection and energy efficiency.
EVALUATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICAL SKILLS
Theoretical exam:
The theoretical exam is in written form, consisting of a test of knowledge in terms of the requirements of PN-EN 13313:2011, in relation to the various levels of competence. The written (theoretical) exam is not necessary in the case of the possibility of documenting education in refrigeration, air conditioning, heat pumps at the level of higher technical school.
Practical exam:
The practical exam consists of verifying the person’s ability to apply, during his/her performance of a specific practical (professional) task, the requirements set forth in PN-EN 13313:2011, with respect to the individual levels of competence.
Successful completion of the exam is a prerequisite for certification.
The Personnel Certification Department has exam study aids available for applicants for the Certificate of Competence in Refrigeration, Air Conditioning and Heat Pumps.
The decision to certify and grant the certificate is made after the applicant has met all the requirements of the certification procedure (submission of the application, positive result of the exam, payment of the required fees, signing of the contract).
The validity period of the certificate is 5 years.
The certification body of persons shall supervise the certificate holder. This supervision includes checking the fulfillment of the terms of the certificate agreement and supervision.
At the expiration of the validity period of the certificate, the certification body, at the request of the certified person, may carry out recertification and grant a certificate for a further period not exceeding five years, however, after the certified person meets the requirements for supervision of the certificate.
The fee for certification and supervision, depending on the level of competence, may not be less than 5% and more than 20% of the amount of the average salary in the national economy, announced by the President of the Central Statistical Office (GUS) on the basis of the provisions of the Law on Pensions from the Social Insurance Fund, in effect on the date of application for certification and supervision.
- The certified person undertakes to use the certificate as intended.
- During the validity period of the certificate, the certified person is required to:
- to perform work within the scope specified in the certificate and document it in the form of entries in the “Work Experience Card”, the specimen of which the certified person receives with the certificate. Temporary breaks in work are allowed, but in total not more than 2.5 years;
- documenting the completion of at least 1 training course on applicable laws and safety standards;
- collect and keep records of all complaints that have been received about his activities covered by the scope of the certificate of competence and how they were handled, and make them available to the certification body for supervision;
- updating its mailing address (if it changes).
- In the middle of the validity period of the certificate, the certified person is required to provide the entity with the data and information required in p. 2.
- At the expiration of the validity period of the certificate, the certified person may apply for recertification after fulfilling the conditions of supervision.
The right to file appeals and complaints is available to the interested party at any stage of certification.
Appeals and complaints may be submitted by applicants, candidates, certified persons and other interested parties.
Appeals and complaints that may arise in connection with the certification procedure and the implementation of the provisions of the certification and supervision contract shall be resolved in accordance with the certification body’s appeals procedure (PCP-07).
Register of certificates of competence issued
Below you can download the register of certificates issued by the COCH Certification Department in each year: