Mobile Wallet Certificate

EFNARC Launches Nozzle Operator & Examiner Mobile Wallet Certificate for Enhanced Accessibility and Verification

EFNARC has introduced a new initiative: the Nozzle Operator and Examiner Mobile Wallet Certificate. This development allows individuals to carry their EFNARC certificates as a convenient item on their smartphones, accessible through a user-friendly mobile wallet application.

The new mobile wallet certificate aims to streamline the verification process, making it simpler for clients, site managers, and stakeholders to access and authenticate the qualifications of Nozzle operators and Examiners at tunnel sites. This development is expected to significantly increase the likelihood of clients requiring EFNARC Nozzle Operator certificates on their construction projects.

Key Features of the Mobile Wallet Certificate

EFNARC-certified Nozzle Operators and Examiners can now enjoy the following features:

1. Instant Accessibility: Certificates are readily available on mobile devices, enabling quick and easy verification via a simple QR-code scan.

2. Complementary to PDF Format: Certificates will still be provided in PDF format, ensuring flexibility in usage and compatibility with conventional documentation.

3. Increased Stakeholder Accessibility: All stakeholders involved in construction projects can conveniently access the necessary details regarding certification.

Existing Nozzle operators and Examiners with valid EFNARC certificates can obtain the mobile wallet certificate for a fee of 30 EUR, allowing them to seamlessly integrate their current credentials into their mobile devices.

To acquire the Mobile Wallet Certificate, certified Nozzle Operator Examiners can head to EFNARC Mobile Wallet Certificate in the Private Examiners´ Area and add it to their cart. You’ll then receive an invitation via email and can download it to your phone. 

The mobile wallet application is available for both Android and iPhone users, ensuring compatibility across various platforms. All new issues or renewals of certificates will get the mobile wallet certificate by default.

This initiative by EFNARC marks a significant step towards modernising certification processes within the construction industry, fostering increased accessibility and ease of verification for all involved parties.

EFNARC launches the upgraded Nozzle Operator Certification

The new certificate ensures the highest quality and objectivity through mandatory simulator training and online assessment.

All new applications and renewals of the EFNARC Nozzle Operator Certification will switch to a new certification starting this January, effectively unifying all previous certificates, making VR simulator training mandatory and adding value to the whole scheme.

The new Nozzle Operator Certification brings together different qualities from previous schemes (top industry-standard training, independence, quality control) and it is opened to both experienced and inexperienced nozzlemen.

Applicants will have to go through cutting-edge virtual reality training through our simulator providers, ensuring an efficient, cost-effective and safe training environment, and take online theory tests that guarantee an objective assessment.

The course material will focus on the following topics: concrete technology, spraying equipment, designer expectations, surface finishing and curing, standards and testing as well as Health, Safety & Environment; and it will comprise 5 modules: Theory, Theory Online Exam, Simulator Training, Practical Spraying Experience and Practical Assessment.

Requirements to obtain the new certification

The New Nozzle Operator Certificate is obtained after attending and passing a 5-day course and handing in proof of minimum 40 days robotic spraying experience.

If you are an EFNARC certified Nozzle Operator Examiner, you can find specific information for you here in the members’ area.

EFNARC’s Nozzle Operator Certification Scheme was introduced in 2009 in order to set up a global professional standard for sprayed concrete operators.

THE TEMPLE FOR EFNARC NOZZLEMAN EXAMINERS CERTIFICATION

Last May, fourteen experienced nozzlemen from all over the world met at Hagerbach Test Gallery, a global hub for industrial underground expertise, to become EFNARC certified Nozzleman Examiners. Located in the Seez Valley and enclosed by the awe inspiring Appenzell alps, the gallery was founded 50 years ago by Amberg Group and it is used for avant-garde underground research and testing.

The nozzlemen came from India, Indonesia, Germany, UK, Canada, amongst other countries, to raise the bar in quality and safety in shotcrete application.

“It was a complete success. They were very nice and interactive participants. As always, everything was very well organised and prepared by Hagerbach Test Gallery, so the course ran smoothly”, said Sebastian Jehle, one of the EFNARC examiners who works for the Sika Group.

The 3-day evaluation is intended for expert nozzlemen with more than five years’ experience in wet, robotic concrete spraying and offers a mix of a practical and theoretical assessment. Applicants have to inform EFNARC of projects they have worked in and professionals with whom they’ve worked, then, the EFNARC Examiner Assessment identifies and accredits the shotcrete operators’ skills and knowledge. Nozzleman Certification will follow the successful accreditation of Examiners.

“EFNARC's goal is to achieve the highest standards in robotic wet sprayed concrete worldwide. Having earned the certification from EFNARC, the Nozzleman is at the forefront of technical development in the industry and can work worldwide”, said Christina Buxtorf-Hey, Project Manager at Hagerbach Test Gallery.

“It is very important that there are as many certificates and trained professionals for sprayed concrete as possible to ensure high-quality standards and thus safety underground worldwide”, added Jehle.

The examiner certificate is run by the Switzerland-based International Center for Geotechnics & Underground Construction (CUC) on behalf of EFNARC. CUC was founded by long-established companies with great expertise in the sector, like Sika, Amberg, Holcim, Putzmeister, Hilti, Georoc, Master Builders Solutions, Synthetic Industries and Herrenknecht.

EFNARC ensures its certification is based on technical specifications and guidelines endorsed by the International Tunnelling Association and derived from the technical and professional standards of the industry.

The fourteen newly certified examiners are now eligible to conduct:

• Nozzleman Assessments targeted towards operators with minimum three years of experience, and to hold

• EFNARC C2 training courses targeted towards both novice and experienced nozzlemen.

The next EFNARC Nozzleman Examiner Certification at Hagerbach Test Gallery is scheduled for September 20-22, 2022.

Meanwhile, Hagerbach Test Gallery will continue its cutting-edge research on tunnelling, mining, underground green farming and data centres, fire resistance tests and prototyping.

Please get in touch with us if you are interested in EFNARC certifications.