Spray Application Certification (C12)

Spray Application Certification (C12)
3 Day Course
5 Year Certification Term

Spray Application Certification (C12)

This program assesses the skills of sprayers who have a minimum of 800 hours applying protective coatings with airless/conventional spray in an industrial or marine environment. Candidates are certified through a brief, written certification exam and a practical, hands-on skill assessment. This course is designed to train and certify marine/industrial applicators to operate airless/conventional spray equipment.

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Who should apply  |  Course learning objectives

How to achieve certification

  1. Enroll and complete course requirements

    Register for a Spray Application Certification (C12) Course offering
    Note: Registering for this course includes the written and practical certification exams

  2. Ensure all prerequisite forms are filled out and returned to AMPP

    C12 Prerequisite Form

Start Your Journey

Prerequisites

Students wishing to achieve the C12 Certification must pass the written and hands-on exams.

Each student must also obtain written confirmation from his or her employer's human resource manager that the student has done a minimum of 800 documented hours experience applying protective coatings with airless spray in an industrial or marine environment prior to qualifying for the C12 Certification.

The written multiple-choice exam is worth a maximum of 100 points. The hands-on evaluation is also worth a maximum of 100 points. Candidates wishing to achieve the C12 Certification and CEU's must attend all 16 hours of the certification and pass the written exam with a score of 70% and the hands-on exam with a score of 90%.

The following items must be submitted to AMPP no later than two weeks before the scheduled course:

What Happens to Students that do not Meet the Prerequisites?

The student without the 800 hours of spraying experience is allowed to take the C12 Training and exams.

The student would be sent a letter after the training stating that they took 16 hours of training.

If the student without the experience passed the C12 test, they would be allowed to submit a new experience form in the future (i.e., after they get the required hours of experience). This new experience form must be submitted within 1 year of the class date.

Once we receive this letter they would then take a C12 online written exam. If they pass the exam with an 85% they will then be issued a wallet card from the date the exam was graded. The fee to take the exam is $250 for SSPC Members and $350 for non-members.

Before they have the C12 Certification, the student would not be considered airless spray certified, but would be allowed to work under supervision of an individual with a C12 certification to gain the required experience.

If they take the C12 Training and fails the exam, they would have to retake the class.

Course prerequisites

Required
C12 Prerequisite Form

Related courses

Abrasive Blaster Certification (C7)

Who should attend?

Contractors, facility owners, contractor personnel who wish to obtain certification, and others who wish to learn about dry abrasive blast cleaning of steel.

Benefits of Attending

After attending this course, you should be able to:

  • Discuss the advantages of airless/conventional spray technology
  • Recognize the importance of when and how coatings are mixed prior to airless/conventional spray
  • Apply airless/conventional spray coatings to steel and concrete to meet the requirements of a given job specification

Course/Exam content

  • Introduction/overview of airless/conventional spray equipment operational systems
  • Proper mixing techniques
  • Proper spray techniques
  • Conventional spray (optional)
  • Troubleshooting

Course format/notes

Classroom
The classroom session consists of training on the fundamentals of airless/conventional spray technology: spraying protective coatings using airless/conventional spray pumps (e.g., material ratio, material viscosity, mixing, ambient conditions for application and curing, product data sheets, material safety data sheets, spray technique), equipment operation, troubleshooting basics and lessons learned, coating materials appropriate for airless/conventional spray, and quality control basics.

Certification Exam and Hands-On Assessment
On Day 2, a written certification exam is given. Once the written exam is completed, a tailgate safety meeting is conducted to review safe gun operating procedures, including troubleshooting and signals, before the hands-on session takes place.

The hands-on assessment requires each candidate to spray coatings on a steel test panel constructed in accordance with ASTM D4228 and to meet the coating manufacturer’s product data sheet (PDS) requirements. Candidates must wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) during the hands-on session and must be able to answer questions about troubleshooting if things go wrong with the spray pump operation.

Those who successfully complete the C12 certification program will receive a certificate and wallet identification card from SSPC. Candidates wishing to achieve the C12 certification must pass the written exam with a score of 70% and the hands-on exam with a score of 90%.

Note: Students who do not want to receive the C12 Certification can receive a certificate of attendance by attending the lecture portion of the training and observing the sprayer demonstration.

Additional information

SSPC CAS - C7 / C12 EQUIVALENCY

Note 1: SSPC offers the option to obtain a C7 / C12 equivalent certificate for members holding an active Level 2 CAS. These certificates can be helpful for projects requiring or specifying C7 or C12 certifications of employees. The equivalency certificates are issued in a project specific manner, for example if an employee has an active CAS and is on a job running from 12/31/16 until 6/25/17 he is able to submit this information to SSPC who can grant him a certificate for this timeframe. At the end of the job date 6/25/17 the certificate expires and must be renewed if the project is not finished.

Note 2: The purpose of this equivalency certificate is to allow workers with CAS certification to show their competence in areas covered in the C7 and C12 course on a short-term basis while not requiring  the C7 or C12 course itself.

Note 3: A craft-worker that is SSPC Coating Application Specialist (CAS Level II) Certified is considered to have met and exceeded the qualifications of an individual who is SSPC C7 or SSPC C12 Certified or both.

Note 4: Candidates who took their C7 and C12 hands on exam after January 1, 2012 may substitute their C7 and C12 hands on exam results for the CAS Level II hands on blaster and sprayer exam, if they have achieved a score of 90% or greater on each exam.

Note 5: At this time the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) does not accept CAS as an equivalent to C7 or C12.

Note 6: Candidates who took their C7 and C12 hands on exam before January 1, 2012 and scored a 90% can still substitute their hands on exam results for the CAS hands on exam. But the candidates would have to retake the CAS hands on exam at their three year re-certification date.

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