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How I Earned My CCCA: A Conversation with Jarrod Mann, FCSI, CCCA®, CDT®

By CSI HQ posted 24 days ago

  
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In this certification spotlight, you will get to know Jarrod Mann, a seasoned architectural engineer who's leveraged the power of CSI certification to enhance his professional practice. Jarrod shares his passion for the built environment and journey towards achieving the Certified Construction Contract Administration (CCCA®) certification. 

This interview will explore:

    • The benefits of CSI certification for A/E professionals
    • Effective study strategies for exam preparation
    • Real-world applications of CSI knowledge in construction projects 


Tell us about your career and why you chose to work in this industry. And why earn a CSI certification?

I love the built environment, and I love understanding how and why it was built. I have felt this way for as long as I can remember, and that's the simplest explanation for why I chose to work in this industry. I've been a practicing architectural engineer for nearly 25 years focused on building systems. I currently lead the MEP Engineering team for my company.

The education and knowledge that are integral to CSI's certifications fill a crucial gap that exists in the formal education and degree programs of most A/E design professionals. Most architects and engineers end up learning a bit more about this through study for licensure but mostly learn it "on the fly" through doing the job, and that kind of learning tends to include gaps in knowledge and a lot of "that's the way we've always done it" explanations. Learning the right things to do and the reasons we do them in the project delivery and construction administration spaces is the best reason to earn CSI certification.


How did you study or prepare for the certification exam?
For my recent CCCA exam, I utilized all of the CSI materials available to study. I joined a CCCA study group that was organized through the CCCA community page on the CSI website and participated in weekly sessions that walked through and reviewed each chapter of the CCCA Practice Guide. I also used CCCA study flash cards that were shared with our study group. I found the flash cards and study questions to be most valuable in studying, as they allowed me to determine what areas I was not as strong in so I could focus my study efforts in those areas.

The exam process itself was simple and based on conversations I had with others after taking the exam, I think that if you are well-prepared for the exam, there is more than enough time to complete it.


How has earning your CCCA certification informed how you approach new projects, especially when developing, administering, and enforcing construction documentation?
Having been a practicing engineer for a long time, I can't say that the certifications or the knowledge gained radically changed how I approach projects. However, they have prompted me to improve some of my processes and documentation, and to shed some poor practices of the past.

Probably the biggest change that I continue to work on implementing is to not take anything for granted, but to always go back to the source—the contract documents—for guidance in situations that come up or when questions are asked.

Keeping the contract documents front and center throughout the life of a project, both through writing them and administering them, leads to better project delivery. Period.

Ready for more? Read all about Hana Nguyenky’s certification journey.

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