2023 Jul-Aug RETA Breeze

RETA TESTING CORNER NO. 37

HOW RETA EXAMS REFLECT INDUSTRIAL REFRIGERATION INDUSTRY STANDARDS Dr. Ron Rodgers, RETA’s Psychometrician (testing expert) and ANSI Accreditation Manager

CIRO exams were developed first and earned accreditation in March 2008. RETA launched CRST in 2018. CRST was added to RETA’s ANAB-accredited exams in September 2022. In April 2023, ANAB extended RETA’s accreditations for CARO, CIRO and CRST to March 2028. All three exams closely follow the ARTG that emerged from the retreat and was published in 2007. Updates of each exam have reaffirmed these criteria. CARO meets ARTG Entry Level criteria, which specified that the credential should assess skills knowledge and

CARO, CIRO and CRST have emerged from a more than 20-year effort that started in 2002 with the Ammonia Operator Certification and Training Retreat at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. The retreat led to: • Calls for national operator and technician credentialing exams. • IIAR, RETA and the International Association of Refrigerant Warehouses (IARW) jointly published the Ammonia Refrigeration Training Guideline (ARTG) in 2007. RETA also launched its effort to earn international accreditation under American National Accreditation Board (ANAB) 17024 Standards in 2002 when it hired its first psychometrician (testing expert), Dr. Ron Rodgers. New CARO and

• Take control actions only under direct supervision of a supervisor or operational level personnel CARO tests basic refrigeration knowledge as represented in RETA’s Industrial Refrig eration Book 1 (IR-1) and safety sections of Industrial Refrigeration Book 4 (IR-4). No prior experience in refrigeration is required to qualify for CARO. CIRO meets ARTG’s Operational skill level by assessing skills, knowledge and competencies for personnel who: • Have successfully performed at the Entry level • Start and stop equipment • Adjust controls and actuatge valves • Perform routine system maintenance • Assist in training Entry level personnel

competencies for personnel who: • Observe refrigeration system operations • Record pertinent operation parameters

26 RETA.com