Maintworld Magazine 4/2021

CERTIFICATION
• Development of validation
questions for EQF level 6 and
7 based on the structure of
required qualifications.
• There are four categories of
maintenance personnel addressed
in the project:
• EQF level 7: Maintenance
managers,
• EQF level 6: Maintenance supervisors
and engineers,
• EQF level 5: Maintenance
technician specialists,
• EQF level 4: Maintenance
mechanics, electrical and automation
electricians,
EQF stands for European Qualification
Framework. The EQF system
concerns eight reference levels
describing the learning outcomes –
what a learner knows, understands
and is able to do. Levels of national
qualifications will be placed at one
of the EQF reference levels.
The EQF levels ranging from
basic (Level 1) to advanced (Level
8) can be roughly assigned to levels
of education (academic, secondary,
primary) or achieved degrees
and diplomas (as shown in the
diagram below). However, what
really defines various EQF levels
is the learning outcomes, not an
education level achieved by an individual.
For personnel in the field of
physical asset management and
maintenance, EQF levels between
3 and 8 are generally expected.
EQF Level 3 is sufficient for Mechanics,
usually the professionals
on the lowest level in the maintenance
organization structure.
Multiskilled Mechanics are professionals
with significant experience
and flexibility to be able to perform
various advanced tasks in the field
of maintenance. For Multiskilled
Mechanics EQF level 5 is considered
adequate. Maintenance Managers
then typically recruit from
professionals on EQF levels 6, 7 or
8, with suitable academic training
combined with sufficient experience
with maintenance processes.
Besides managerial functions,
EQF level 6 also includes teachers
at vocational schools educating
maintenance technicians and mechanics.
EUROPEAN COOPERATION OF SIX COUNTRIES AND ONE
FEDERATION
Six team members - national maintenance societies federated within the EFNMS
- have been involved in this project working hard to introduce a complete system
for qualification, validation and certification for maintenance personnel throughout
the 23 member countries in the EFNMS. All project partners are members
of the EFNMS, European Federation of National Maintenance Societies, and are
responsible for maintenance developments in their own country.
By mixing experts and technical specialists from different countries and backgrounds,
a truly creative and forward-thinking team was formed.
The leading project partner responsible for project management was the Swedish
Maintenance Society, SvUH (Riksorganisationen Svenskt Underhåll). SvUH is
a non-profit organization owned by the industry, energy sector, universities and
maintenance suppliers. More than 140 companies, organisations, universities and
schools are represented as members.
The Slovenian Maintenance Society (DVS) and the University of Maribor are
responsible for training in maintenance and the associated certifications. Thanks
to the great experience of handling several Erasmus+ projects Slovenia was an
important partner in this project.
The Hungarian Maintenance Society, Magyar Ipari Karbantartók Szervezete,
MIKSZ, was founded by professionals involved in industrial management, service
and equipment distributors, and universities.
The Czech Maintenance Society (CSPU, Česká společnost pro údržbu, z.s.) is a
non-profit association for individual professionals and corporate members aiming
to improve industrial and facility maintenance.
The Finnish Maintenance Society, Promaint, is an organization of members
from industrial production and maintenance departments. Promaint has approximately
1 400 members, of which about 200 are companies or communities.
Iceland is a new member in EFNMS and the Icelandic Maintenance Society,
EVS, has a very active role in introducing new maintenance management solutions
in the country. The members cover various industries and include aluminium
smelters, power generating, engineering and IT companies. The project partner of
the Erasmus+ project on behalf of EVS was DMM Lausnir.
Last but not least, The European Federation of National Maintenance Societies,
EFNMS, acted as an umbrella organization and a body of EU political and professional
importance.
The EFNMS is the initiative organization for developing qualification and competence
for maintenance personnel in Europe. The idea for planned competence
development came from the EFNMS Training and Certification Committees.
The EFNMS has a leading role in validation and certification of European maintenance
managers since the year 1993 and European maintenance technician specialists
since the year 2005. Over the years more than 500 maintenance managers
and more than 300 maintenance technician specialists have been certified in
Europe.
The EFNMS, as a leader for 23 national maintenance societies, also plays a
key role in dissemination of this project´s results to establish maintenance as an
important factor for European industry´s continued development and improvement.
THE AUTHORS:
TOMÁŠ HLADÍK, ČSPÚ, Czech Republic
GUÐMUNDUR JÓN BJARNASON, DMM Lausnir, Iceland
MARIA BRUS LUNDELL, SvUH, Sweden
MIKAELA MALMRUD, SvUH, Sweden
INGEMAR ANDREASON, SvUH, Sweden
ILKKA PALSOLA, Promaint, FInland
ISTVÁN PÁLL, MIKSZ, Hungary
ZSOLT NYESTE, MIKSZ, Hungary
46 maintworld 4/2021