Anyone take the UL508A MTR Qualification Exam yet?

[ndzied1]

Starting Oct. 1, 2020 UL508A panels shops have to have at least one person on staff that has passed this exam.

I plan on doing it within a few weeks.

Anyone jump in right away and take it already? Paperwork says you have up to 4 hours to take the test. Does it take that long? Any feeling of difficulty level of the test?

The letter I got does not say what a passing grade is. If you took the test do they give you a score? Tell you what passing is?

Thanks,

[Rob...]

Got any links to this mandate?

I guess I'll have to find some information about it.

[ndzied1]

I got an email and a mailed letter from UL.

[Rob...]

I've had nothing from them in the UK yet.

Maybe they're rolling out in the US first.

[jfischerr]

We got informed of the same thing. I plan on doing the test as well and had some of the same concerns as you did. I looked at the UL website and found that you get 2 attempts to pass with an 80% or higher. Free to take until Sept 30. Looks like after October the price goes up to 350 per test. It is an open book test so you can at least use the standard as a reference.

[Chattahoochee]

80 questions in 4 hours

[alfhuckett]

https://ultraining.myabsorb.com/#/on...4-2515db30b175

[rpoet]

Just another money grab from UL. $350 to take a test is absurd - it's graded by computer. They're becoming more and more desperate for $$. Other NTRL's are undercutting them on price and customer service.




-rpoet

[Peter Nachtwey]

Years ago the former president of Red Lion posted a long rant here about paying UL extortion fees for each of his devices. I can't find that rant but I agree. We must also pay these extortion fees even though our product only uses 24 volts for power. Red Lion has many more products than we do a most are much cheaper so the fees greatly increase the costs these cheaper products like small displays.

[janner_10]

Originally Posted by Rob...

I've had nothing from them in the UK yet.

Maybe they're rolling out in the US first.

Don't fret - It will mean nothing in the UK / EU.

Like any Siemens / Rockwell / anyone cert - If you can do the job and pass your 3 months probationary - you're hired!

[Rob...]

Originally Posted by janner_10

Don't fret - It will mean nothing in the UK / EU.

Like any Siemens / Rockwell / anyone cert - If you can do the job and pass your 3 months probationary - you're hired!

We build panels and ship them to the US. We still have to be inspected by a UL official.

Not that I think much of their standards or methods of working. They've got a monopoly on the market and they're screwing everyone for all its worth.

[ndzied1]

If you want a real spit your coffee out moment, ask CSA what it costs to become a certified panel shop. Makes UL look like chump change.

[ndzied1]

Originally Posted by Rob...

Not that I think much of their standards or methods of working. They've got a monopoly on the market and they're screwing everyone for all its worth.

They used to be a not for profit organization and they were focused more on safety then. When they changed to for profit it started going downhill and has ever since.

Many of the people from before the change still work there and still care but it’s harder and harder to keep the ideals now.

[BITS N BYTES]

Originally Posted by ndzied1

They used to be a not for profit organization and they were focused more on safety then. When they changed to for profit it started going downhill and has ever since.

Many of the people from before the change still work there and still care but it’s harder and harder to keep the ideals now.

It's called CAPITALISM!
Find a way to make MORE money from an already overly bloated organization. UL is a JOKE!!

[MikeGranby]

Originally Posted by Peter Nachtwey

Years ago the former president of Red Lion posted a long rant here about paying UL extortion fees for each of his devices. I can't find that rant but I agree. We must also pay these extortion fees even though our product only uses 24 volts for power. Red Lion has many more products than we do a most are much cheaper so the fees greatly increase the costs these cheaper products like small displays.

Jesse sent me a pic of this post, and my ears were burning! Yes, it was ridiculous back then. They'd adopted a policy of charging value rather than cost, which meant they'd hit you with $20K for a paper change on the basis that it was worth that to you to be able to sell the product. They then had the nerve to sneak on to a tradeshow booth of ours and leave one of their logo signs without permission, so I took it to the range, shot a load of holes in it and left it in reception at the office. The UL rep saw it, and said he felt his life was under threat. (A very early example of a snowflake, I guess.) Anyway, it got escalated to UL and I actually got a visit from a senior UL VP who was very forward thinking and wanted to better engage with customers. I was very encouraged. When I called him for a follow-up meeting, they'd fired him. Didn't fit in, I guess...