Certification

Certification Information

Certification Sponsorship is Available to One Member

Section 0505 has a member sponsor that will reimburse the certification exam fee for a Section 0505 member who completes an ASQ certification during the fiscal year. The reimbursement requirements are as follows:

1. Applicant must be a Section 0505 member with up-to-date ASQ membership.

2. They must complete an ASQ certification and submit documentation of the completed certification and exam costs with their request to have the certification exam fees reimbursed.

3. The member must assist the Section 0505 Membership Committee welcome new members for at least three months during a fiscal year (July to June). The Membership Chair will send the candidate the necessary information to complete this task. Typically this involves calling about five new members in any given month and gathering responses to five brief survey questions. The information on the new members is forwarded to the Section 0505 Membership Chair each month.

4. The maximum dollar amount of the certification exam fee that can be requested for reimbursement is $300 per fiscal year.

All certification exam fee reimbursement requests are to be submitted to Chris Connors within six months of completion of certification.

What is Certification and How Do I Obtain It?

ASQ certification is a formal recognition by ASQ that an individual has demonstrated a proficiency within, and comprehension of, a specific body of knowledge. Nearly 150,000 certifications have been issued to dedicated professionals worldwide. Invest in your career and your future with an ASQ certification. Gain an advantage over your competition and increase your potential for a higher salary.  

Certification Exam and Application Deadline Information Certification exams are held the first Saturday in March, June, October and December of each year. The dates for the exams and the application deadlines are listed on the ASQ Web site. Several weeks before each exam date, ASQ will send you specific information about the examination location, date and time.

The examinations are held at Upper Merion High School in King of Prussia, PA. Click here for location information and directions.

The Philadelphia Section is dedicated to providing a location and exam proctors for these exams. The Section cannot register you for the exam nor does enrollment in a Certification Preparation course constitute an application for an exam. To view the registration details click here. Questions? Contact the Certification Chairperson Mr. Alfred Altopiedi.

Recertification

Two Ways to Recertify :

Recertification Journal: Obtain a minimum of 18 recertification units during your three-year certification period. Document them in your recertification journal. Click here to download a Recertification Journal (.pdf).

When completed, send to:
John Bielski
6 Walters Road
Glen Mills, PA 19342

John will review your Journal for a complete and correct submission and will notify ASQ National that you have met (or not) the criteria for recertification.

Examination: Sit for the exam. (Required if your certification expired and is past the six-month grace period.)

Do I Need to Recertify? ASQ requires that you recertify the following certifications every three years to ensure that you maintain the same level of knowledge demonstrated in your first exam.

•  Biomedical Auditor
•  Calibration Technician
•  HACCP Auditor
•  Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence
•  Master Black Belt
•  Pharmaceutical GMP Professional
•  Quality Auditor
•  Quality Engineer
•  Reliability Engineer
•  Software Quality Engineer
•  Six Sigma Black Belt
•  ASQ/DON Lean Six Sigma Black Belt

NOTE:  Quality Inspector, Quality Improvement Associate, Quality Process Analyst, Quality Technician and Six Sigma Green Belt are lifetime certifications. They have no recertification requirements.

Retire Your Certification

If you retired from full-time employment, you may wish to also retire your ASQ certification.  If you are an ASQ-certified professional who has retired from full-time, active employment and have reached age 55, you may request a “retired” status to be designated on your certification wallet card(s) and other certification records. You may apply for retired status up to one year before or after your certification(s) expiration date. Click here for information.

Benefits of retiring your certification(s):

• You are not required to collect and submit the 18 RU credits or recertify by exam to retire your certification.
•  Your certification will be left in “good standing.”
• Your certification will not lapse and be deleted from your records (in case you need to reinstate it).
• To reinstate your certification, you are not required to submit 18 RU credits or recertify by exam.

Once you retire your certification(s), you will receive a new certificate and wallet card. The only difference from the certificate and wallet card you receive is that it will no longer have an expiration date, but will show "retired". If for some reason you need to go back to full-time or part-time employment, you may reinstate your certification(s) by contacting the ASQ HQ Recertification Coordinator and stating your situation.

From the date you are reinstated, that will be the beginning of your new three-year recertification period and you will then begin to accrue the required RU credits needed to recertify your certification(s) by your new expiration date.

NOTE:  Certification retirement option is not to be used as an alternate method of retaining your certification due to hardship or some other reasoning for not obtaining the required 18 RU credits or recertification by exam. Please contact the Recertification Coordinator for further assistance if you are unsure or do not qualify for certification retirement status.