Since the AKHCA has gotten a little negative publicity on this sight, I'd like to set the record straight. The American Kitchen Hood Cleaners Association is the creation of a former business associate and I (see site for experience and qualifications). We were inspired by the fact that the most recent fire codes require us to be certified by some authority with way less know-how and experience than we have, at an exorbitant and usually recurring fee. I personally would prefer no certification to be required at all. I have done fine for 23 years without it. I don't see how a certificate can verify someone's integrity, which in hood cleaning is at least as important as know-how. Apparently the bigger "players" in this industry who have input on the fire codes disagreed.
I can certainly understand the general snide attitude toward certification schools and associations. Hood cleaners, being mostly loners working by the light of the moon, value their independence a lot. I know I do. We work hard for our money. So when we put AKHCA together, we set up a basic association format, subject to revision by future members. Our purposes were lined out clearly and honestly, (personal profit not among them). We polished up our writing and photography, and web development skills and set to work. Since this was a seat of the pants operation, we saved some money on professional web development and slapped together a passable if not artistic site. We figured given the realities of certification, there needed to be an alternative to the high priced spread. We both have done pretty well at hood cleaning and don't mind working for a living. We are not trying to make a killing teaching others how to do it, but training and writing does take time, so a fair exchange to compensate us for our time in training people should be expected. Perhaps in the future othe AKHCA members can take on the function of training as well. For existing companies who don't really need training a small administrative fee for certification should suffice.
Any membership fees or dues are banked in the name of the association and spent on association promotion and expansion. Anyone's comments about fee structure and what benefits would be desired in exchange will be well received.
Tidy Wash's Dave Olson, investigating the AKHCA for this bulletin board, gave me a call the other day and brought up some interesting suggestions about educating Fire Department inspectors about hood cleaning and about establishing the credibility of the certifiers. Both good points. We at the AKHCA are totally open to recommendations and suggestions as to how to set up an association that all hood cleaners would benefit from joining. If we accomplish nothing else, we would minimally like to provide a valid and affordable certification authority so we can all continue doing what we do best, cleaning hoods.
I can certainly understand the general snide attitude toward certification schools and associations. Hood cleaners, being mostly loners working by the light of the moon, value their independence a lot. I know I do. We work hard for our money. So when we put AKHCA together, we set up a basic association format, subject to revision by future members. Our purposes were lined out clearly and honestly, (personal profit not among them). We polished up our writing and photography, and web development skills and set to work. Since this was a seat of the pants operation, we saved some money on professional web development and slapped together a passable if not artistic site. We figured given the realities of certification, there needed to be an alternative to the high priced spread. We both have done pretty well at hood cleaning and don't mind working for a living. We are not trying to make a killing teaching others how to do it, but training and writing does take time, so a fair exchange to compensate us for our time in training people should be expected. Perhaps in the future othe AKHCA members can take on the function of training as well. For existing companies who don't really need training a small administrative fee for certification should suffice.
Any membership fees or dues are banked in the name of the association and spent on association promotion and expansion. Anyone's comments about fee structure and what benefits would be desired in exchange will be well received.
Tidy Wash's Dave Olson, investigating the AKHCA for this bulletin board, gave me a call the other day and brought up some interesting suggestions about educating Fire Department inspectors about hood cleaning and about establishing the credibility of the certifiers. Both good points. We at the AKHCA are totally open to recommendations and suggestions as to how to set up an association that all hood cleaners would benefit from joining. If we accomplish nothing else, we would minimally like to provide a valid and affordable certification authority so we can all continue doing what we do best, cleaning hoods.
