Global Fastener News

Training Complaint Yields 168 Titles And Counting

Jason Sandefur

A total of 168 people in the fastener industry have earned the right to use “CFS” behind their names. Certified Fastener Specialist is the advanced technical training program created by the Los Angeles Fastener Association in 1998 to fill what was seen as a critical training gap for the industry.
Two of the program’s three instructors – Industrial Fasteners Institute technology director Joe Greenslade and Carmen Vertullo of SimplyBetter – describe themselves as “self-taught.”
Vertullo was working at fastener distributor Ababa QA in the late 1990s when he noticed that there were few fastener-specific training opportunities in the industry. His “complaint” eventually landed him on a LAFA technical committee that created the CFS program.
Vertullo credits Ababa owners Jim and Cathleen Law for supporting his effort in putting the program together.
Vertullo said instructor Bengt Blendulf started off the first class “with a joke about Noah’s ark.”
Nine years and more than 550 students later, it seems clear that the CFS program plays a meaningful role in the industry.
The series of six full day training sessions include specifications & terminology, dimensional & material specifications, quality assurance, fastener testing and fastener manufacturing and secondary process plant tours. After completing the series students must pass a test.
Employers have paid to fly personnel across the country to attend classes in Southern California. LAFA also has conducted classes in Chicago, Las Vegas and elsewhere in conjunction with industry events such as Fastener Week, the National Industrial Fastener Shows and the upcoming Fastener Tech 07.
The CFS program’s success has been achieved through the work of LAFA executive director Vickie Lester and member services manager Jeannine Christensen, who handle the numerous details.
The program’s success can also be credited to the student-focused approach adopted by Greenslade and Vertullo.
The CFS program has evolved over the years, as scribbled overheads have been replaced by PowerPoint presentations and eventually 3-D modeling.
Whatever the method, Vertullo and Greenslade strive to teach a basic understanding of fastener technology, along with the knowledge of how to read specifications and where to find the information they need to help ensure customers order the right fastener. It’s a process they hope will stick with Certified Fastener Specialists long after they graduate.
“Learning isn’t over when the classes are done,” Vertullo pointed out. “You have to put it to work to really learn it.”
For more on the CFS program, see the latest issue of FIN or visit LAFA.net.

Editor’s Note: FIN contributing editor Jason Sandefur graduated from the CFS program in December 2006.