Education comes in many formats. There is the education offered in the public school system and in the private school system; there is advanced education at the university or college level; and there is training at technical schools and other education offered by the thousands of trade and professional associations like the Door and Hardware Institute. In addition, the “School of Hard Knocks” is a great source of information – this is the knowledge picked up on a day-to-day basis from co-workers, mentors, friends, family, customers and many others who touch our lives.
Education is an ongoing process that doesn’t stop when we complete our “formal” years of high school or college – that’s really when much of our professional education just begins. Our society values the skilled, the knowledgeable, the expert. For this reason, education is the key to many opportunities, both personally and professionally.
During the past several years, the Door and Hardware Institute has been working continuously to achieve an ongoing goal: developing within the construction industry a greater value for the knowledge and expertise of DHI members. The professionals with whom we deal on a daily basis, such as architects, value continuing education. Accordingly, DHI has introduced a voluntary program for the consultant members of our industry to be recognized more readily and to attest to the effort it takes to acquire and maintain AHC or CDC certification – the Seal Program. An easily identifiable seal will be licensed by DHI for use by its consultants. This seal will become a symbol of the consultant’s high aptitude and experience and will inform the building industry of the value of a consultant.
A key component of the Seal Program is the requirement of the AHC or CDC to maintain his or her knowledge through education and adhere to continuing education requirements and business practices. These educational requirements exist to assure the construction industry that those using the seal/stamp are keeping up-to-date on technical and code developments.
As part of DHI’s advocacy efforts, DHI will continue to promote all consultants, whether they participate in the Seal Program or not, since this is a voluntary program. However, many of our consultant members are already visualizing the marketing capabilities of this new program, and more than 400 consultants have signed up in the first 90 days since its introduction to the industry.
This issue of the magazine is dedicated to the topic of codes, an area that requires a great deal of continuing education. As a matter of fact, each of the four continuing professional development events (sponsored by the DHI Education Foundation) which are taking place this Summer and Fall dedicate one afternoon to codes. It’s a topic that requires an ongoing educational attitude to be successful. Those who embrace the area of codes are considered the experts in our industry.
I recently learned how valuable our education efforts on the topic of codes and life safety have been when I had the pleasure of taking part in a security industry coalition. The coalition was comprised of associations such as DHI, all involved in the access control marketplace. Representatives from the participating organizations (including myself and DHI President Daniel J. Heinz, AHC) recently met at the ISC West meeting in Las Vegas. At the beginning of the meeting, we were asked to provide information on our industry, its members and their skills. As the last organization to comment, it became apparent to us that the main difference between DHI and the other organizations relating to the security industry is our expertise in the fire safety, life safety and fire code areas. The members of the other organizations are skilled in the security area but are not as familiar with life safety as members of the door and hardware industry. Individuals from other organizations acknowledge that life safety is an important component of the construction process and that DHI experts are in great need.
I hope you will continue to educate yourselves about various codes, life safety, security issues, the door and hardware industry in general, and other facets of your professional and personal life that interest you. Enjoy this issue of the magazine – as you read, you will realize its potential to help you become an expert in the door and hardware industry.
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