Disciplinary Action Criteria (DAC)
- The Disciplinary Action Criteria (DAC) was born out of the SSPC QP Accreditation Program Advisory Committee meeting on March 12, 1996. A task group was formed to draft Disciplinary Action Criteria for accredited contractors and procedures for administering disciplinary action. The committee members felt that new and more stringent Disciplinary Action Criteria and administrative procedures were needed to supplement the annual and unannounced technical audits used prior to the DAC as the sole method for determining whether a contractor obtains or retains accreditation status.
- The DAC and administrative procedures are intended to strengthen the reputation of the AMPP SSPC QP Program, making accreditation more valuable to both Contractors/Shops and Facility Owners who hire QP Accredited Contractors. Contractors who maintain accreditation standards will benefit from the increased recognition and opportunities that come with belonging to the QP Program.
- The criteria establishes procedures and rules for issuing warnings to certified contractors. This can include putting firms on probation and conducting special unannounced audits. These can lead to suspending, revoking, or denying accreditation of contractors who receive critical faults in safety, environmental compliance, quality/service, or an unethical practice reported and verified.
AMPP is committed to investigating reports alleging violations of the DAC. If you would like to learn more about the DAC process or to communicate a concern or file a complaint to the Program Administrator, please contact qpinfo@ampp.org and describe your issue and we will call you back in confidence about your concern.
Critical faults
This procedure defines the process for disciplining contractors for critical faults incurred. This procedure is used when a critical fault is suspected. It is also used by contractors to respond to, and appeal disciplinary actions assessed by AMPP.
The procedure includes the following topics:
- Definitions of critical faults and disciplinary actions
- Steps in the process
- Enforcement
- Special provisions and notes
Critical faults are actions associated with contractor activities that violate the requirements of the DAC. Critical faults are classified as serious, very serious, severe, and very severe.
The types of critical faults are as follows:
- Safety
- Environmental
- Quality of Work/Service
- Ethical Practice
Disciplinary actions
Four levels of action can be taken based on the severity of the contractor’s violation(s):
1. Warning
- The contractor is notified of confirmed critical faults/violations
- May be subjected to an unscheduled, unannounced audit(s), at the contactors expense
- Warning status will remain for one year (it may be lifted if the unannounced audit is passed)
- Further action will be taken if additional critical faults/violations are verified
2. Probation
- The contractor is notified
- AMPP administration and auditing staff are notified
- Board of Governors are notified
- QP Accreditation Committee Chairs are notified
- A general announcement on the AMPP website
3. Suspension and Revocation Levels
- Contractor
- AMPP administration and auditing staff
- Board of Governors
- QP Accreditation Committee Chairs
- Facility owners known to be currently using the contractor
- Contractor specifically named in CoatingsPro Magazine
- Contractor specifically named on the AMPP website
Quality and integrity within the industry
The overall quality and integrity of the accreditation programs rely upon open communication between facility owners, contractors, inspectors, and program administration. It is in everyone’s best interest to promote and maintain quality within the industrial coating profession. Contact us to learn what you can do to help.
Did you know?
- Contractors enrolled in all QP accreditation programs are responsible for maintaining the program’s standards of practice on all coatings projects. This applies even when the contract, or project specifications does not name QP accreditation as a requirement.
- All disciplinary actions are posted on the QP web page
- Disciplinary actions can escalate with additional violations. Example: A warning will become probation, suspension, or revocation if the contractor has additional violations during the warning period.
- Contractors can have a disciplinary action brought against them for not routinely filing their Job Notification forms. We advise all contractors to read the information on the form to determine when a job must be reported.
- All contractors notified of disciplinary action have the right to appeal the decision within 10 business days of official notification.