CRCM --Certified Refrigerant Compliance Manager

The CRCM designation is a professional credential that recognizes an individual's competence for managing refrigerant compliance within an organization. A CRCM candidate should possess the skills and knowledge to coordinate and manage environmental and safety compliance related to refrigerant purchasing, handling and use, storage, and disposal. The four criteria used by NREP to determine if the qualification requirements have been satisfied are detailed in the following sections.

CRCM Required certification: Valid EPA Universal Technician certification from an EPA-approved training provider

CRCM Education: Any of the following educational criteria are acceptable:

• Bachelor's degree in environmental or engineering discipline (3 years of acceptable work experience may be substituted for each year of an academic degree program)
• Completed an approved technical college program related to heating, ventilation, and air conditioning

CRCM Work experience: A combination of 5 years of education and related work experience as a service technician is required. This combination may consist of any of the following:

• A Bachelor's degree and one year of work experience
• Three complete years of college study and 4 years of work experience
• An Associate degree and 7 years of work experience
• One year of college and 10 years of work experience
• No college education and 13 years of work experience.

All work experience must relate directly to servicing refrigerant-containing equipment as a Universal certified technician, actively managing refrigerant inventory, and/or auditing refrigerant-related operations. At least one year of the requisite experience must be in a management capacity. All college/university education must relate to an environmental or engineering discipline, such as environmental science, environmental or mechanical engineering, chemistry, physics, or other subject approved by NREP.

Related CRCM management experience may include but not be limited to the following typical CRCM job functions:

• Be familiar with and understand the current regulations pertaining to the handling, control, and proper disposal of ozone-depleting substances and other refrigerants;
• Assume the responsibility as the organization's or facility's regulatory representative to the Environmental Protection Agency and other applicable environmental authorities for refrigerant compliance;
• Provide supervision and oversight for servicing refrigerant-containing appliances;
• Establish and update organizational compliance programs and designate compliance managers, as needed;
• Manage and/or coordinate the refrigerant inventory and oversee the recordkeeping system for all ozone-depleting substances and other refrigerants, as needed;
• Assist in implementation of future refrigerant policy changes, as needed;
• Conduct periodic audits of refrigerant records to review compliance;
• Maintain audit records;
• Coordinate ongoing training for employees involved in repair, recovery, or recycling of refrigerant including identification of regulatory or university policy changes; and
• Ensure compliance with organizational procedures and regulations by service contractors

CRCM Exam requirement: 2-hour, timed multiple choice, open-book exam

The CRCM exam establishes a baseline level of knowledge of environmental impacts, EPA regulations, management planning, best practices, and safety, as these topics relate to refrigerants. The approximate weight of exam topics is as follows:

• Environmental and health impacts
  
• EPA regulations
  
• Management planning
  
• Best practices
  
• Safety