SSPC Inks Deal for Malaysia Training

MONDAY, MARCH 20, 2017

SSPC: The Society for Protective Coatings announced Friday (March 17) that it has signed an agreement with the Institute of Materials, Malaysia (IMM) to provide SSPC training in Malaysia.

Courtesy of SSPC

The contract was signed (Friday) March 17 at a cermony featuring (from left): Muhammad Hawari Hasan, IMM board member and principal engineer, corrosion with Petronas; Mohamad Azmi B Mohd Noor, IMM president and senior manager, KPOC; Bill Worms, executive director, SSPC; and Bob McMurdy, business development, SSPC and SSPC past president.

Courtesy of SSPC

The contract was signed (Friday) March 17 at a cermony featuring (from left): Muhammad Hawari Hasan, IMM board member and principal engineer, corrosion with Petronas; Mohamad Azmi B Mohd Noor, IMM president and senior manager, KPOC; Bill Worms, executive director, SSPC; and Bob McMurdy, business development, SSPC and SSPC past president.

Under the agreement, IMM will be the exclusive provider of SSPC training in the country. SSPC certifications to be offered by IMM are:

• Surface Preparation and Paint Application for Power Tool Cleaning and Brush and Roll Paint Applicators (C6);
   
• Abrasive Blasting Program (C7);
   
• Spray Application Certification (C12);
   
• Coating Applicator Specialist Level 1 (CAS Level 1);
   
• Coating Applicator Specialist Certification Program (CAS Level 2 Interim Status); and
   
• Coating Applicator Specialist Certification Program (CAS Level 2 Full Status).

According to SSPC, these certifications will replace programs previously used by IMM. All participants in the programs will meet the same prerequisites as in the United States. Also as part of the agreement, SSPC says, IMM will translate the SSPC materials into Bahasa Malaysia.

Petronas, the national oil company of Malaysia, has already included SSPC C7 and C12 in its paint specifications, according to SSPC. Craftworkers on Petronas projects in Malaysia are required to be certified by either IMM or SSPC; under a transition program, workers who have been previously certified under IMM will be certified with SSPC over the next few years.

Similar Goals, Easy Alignment

“We are excited to formalize this agreement with IMM,” said SSPC executive director Bill Worms. “The synergy between our organizations and our similar goals to train and educate the industrial coatings workforce made the idea of aligning our programs relatively easy.”

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© iStock.com / loveguli

Under the agreement, six SSPC certifications will be available in Malaysia through IMM. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT

“We have been discussing this possibility with SSPC for some time,” added En. Mohamad Azmi Mohd Noor, president of IMM. "It’s a great opportunity to bring such widely recognized programs to the workforce in Malaysia. We look forward to a long relationship between our organizations.”

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The signing ceremony was held at the Malaysian Petroleum Club in Kuala Lumpur City Centre on Friday, March 17. Guests in attendance included En. Chen Kah Seong, vice president, Centre of Excellence, Development and Production, Petronas Upstream, and SSPC board member Mana Al Mansour, chairman of Saudi Aramco Coating Standards Committee and SSPC Saudi Chapter chairman.