For those who do not have access to the Internet, the APICS Fax-on-Demand (FOD) delivers certification information right to your fax machine. Certification information available via FOD includes:

• Certification Maintenance (item #09033)
• CPIM/CBT Mastery Testing Explanation (item #09024)
• CPIM and CIRM Certification Exams, Understanding a Scaled Score (item #09018)
• How Certification Exam Questions are Developed (item #09023)
• Certification Test Sites (item #50005)
• CPIM/CIRM 1998 Test Dates (item #50010)

Customers can access FOD seven days a week, 24 hours a day, by calling APICS Customer Service and selecting option 5 from the main menu. The system will prompt callers to enter their membership number. A membership number allows callers to obtain APICS "express service" in ordering. However, documents can be ordered without a member number.

E&R Foundation Sponsors CIRM Simulation Workshop

The APICS Educational & Research (E&R) Foundation is sponsoring a one-and-a-half day simulation workshop that will explore the best ways to teach Certified in Integrated Resource Management (CIRM) concepts. Set for April 22-23 at the APICS Training Center for Manufacturing Excellence in Wilmerding, Pa., the workshop will introduce a new computer teaching tool, the Management Interactive Case Study Simulator (MICSS).

MICSS offers a virtual company and CIRM business scenario that simulates the chain of manufacturing functions: marketing, production and purchasing. When managing the computerized manufacturing company, every decision regarding any functional area will have an impact on other functions or departments. Thus, the total enterprise perspective must be considered in conjunction with the goals and overall business strategy of the company being simulated — the very foundation of the CIRM program.

"I'm very excited about this simulation, because it will allow participants to run the virtual exercise several times, testing different decisions and market opportunities, all of which fit in perfectly with CIRM teachings," said James A. Pope, Ph.D., CFPIM, 1998 E&R Foundation secretary.

For additional information and a registration form, contact APICS Customer Service and request item #04041. Information also is available on the APICS Web site at http://www.apics.org/E&RFoundation;/cirm_sim.htm.

Certification Maintenance: Questions and Answers

Editor's note: APICS will continue to answer questions about its Certification Maintenance Program in APICS —The Performance Advantage.

Can I apply for certification maintenance as soon as I have earned the necessary points?
APICS congratulates those CPIM and CFPIM professionals who rapidly achieve the necessary certification maintenance points. However, for the sake of an orderly procedure people cannot apply until they receive an official Certification Maintenance Application. APICS will mail this application one year before the individual's five-year deadline. The application must be submitted, along with payment ($75 for APICS members, $150 for nonmembers), to APICS by the end of each individual's certification anniversary month of that fifth year. For example, people certified before, or in, 1998 who choose to apply for certification maintenance by 2003 may begin submitting their applications in January 2002.

What is lifetime certification and how do I attain it?
Upon reaching age 62, an APICS-certified professional is certified for life. No further reporting is necessary except to send written notification to APICS with supporting documentation of proof of age. This proof includes a copy of a birth certificate or driver's license. Once APICS receives this information, the society will send confirmation of lifetime certification status.

If I reach age 62 before the year 2003, what is the first date required for me to apply for APICS certification maintenance?
Certified professionals may notify APICS anytime between now and 2003 that they have turned, or will turn, 62 within the year of their certification maintenance deadline. APICS will then consider these professionals to be lifetime certified.

Will only APICS programs and activities count toward my certification maintenance?
No. The goal of APICS certification maintenance is for certified professionals to show they are pursuing lifelong learning. Thus, APICS does not limit continuing professional development activities only to APICS events. For example, individuals may collect points for attending resource management educational programs sponsored by other national or international organizations or educational institutions. They also may attain points for training received on the job.

For more information, call APICS Customer Service and request the CPIM/CFPIM Certification Maintenance Bulletin (item #09033), select the Fax-on-Demand option and request item #50014, or check the APICS Web site, http://www.apics.org. Specific questions about certification maintenance should be sent by e-mail to [email protected]