SSPC Certified

What is SSPC?

SSPC was founded in 1950 as the Steel Structures Painting Council, a non-profit professional society concerned with the use of coatings to protect industrial steel structures. In 1997, the name of the association was changed to The Society for Protective Coatings to better reflect the changing nature of coating technology and the ever-expanding types of construction materials.

SSPC is the only non-profit association that is focused on the protection and preservation of concrete, steel and other industrial and marine structures and surfaces through the use of high performance industrial coatings. SSPC is the leading source of information on surface preparation, coating selection, coating application, environmental regulations, and health and safety issues that affect the protective coatings industry.

Painting Contractor Certification Programs (PCCP)

The SSPC Painting Contractor Certification Programs are based on consensus standards developed by a diverse committee of industry professionals. It is a nationally recognized independent contractor evaluation program, as well as a pre-qualification tool developed by SSPC for facility owners and others who hire industrial painting contractors.

Each program reviews the industrial painting contractor's primary ability to provide quality work in accordance with applicable safety, health and environmental compliance standards. The program is divided into the following categories:

QP 1 evaluates contractors who perform surface preparation and industrial coating application on steel structures in the field.

QP 2 is a supplement to QP 1 that evaluates the contractor's ability to perform industrial hazardous paint removal in a field operation. Two QP 2 categories are available based on the type of equipment and containment

• Category A - Negative Air Containment
• Category B - No Negative Air Containment

QP 3 evaluates a contracting company's ability to perform surface preparation and protective coating application in a fixed shop facility. SSPC issues three categories of shop certification:

• Enclosed Shop
• Covered Shop
• Open Shop

Disciplinary Action Criteria (DAC)

The Disciplinary Action Criteria was released in January 1998, and is the consensus document that establishes criteria to discipline SSPC certified contractors who violate safety, quality, environmental, and ethical practice standards of performance as is outlined in SSPC's contractor certification programs (QP 1, QP 2 and QP 3).

Once certified, each contractor must work within the rules and standards outlined in the program. If the standards are not met, the contractor is subject to the DAC's penalties: warning, probation, suspension, or revocation.

Facility Owners

The SSPC certification programs offer facility owners the advantage of knowing that the industrial painting contractor who is working on their project has the experience, knowledge and equipment to produce quality work in accordance with the local, state and federal guidelines for safety, health and environmental compliance.