The requirements for manufacturer certification were compiled by a group of your peers (MIC Board). They used research from
the "Uniting the Boating Industry for Growth" Action Plan for Manufacturers. Marine manufacturers must demonstrate the ability to meet the following criteria to become a Marine Industry Certified Manufacturer. Manufacturers must submit an application for each subsidiary company or equivalent.
1. Demonstrate commitment to the marine industry Code of Conduct and Delivering Hassle-Free Boating-An Industry Responsibility courses.
A minimum of 50 percent of the personnel assigned in the following job categories must complete these courses. Job assignments appropriate to this requirement include: - Customer Service Representatives
- Field Sales/Manufacturer Representatives
- Sales and Marketing Personnel
- Service and Warranty Administrators
The manufacturers enrollment application will help you determine how many employees need to attend these courses. Holding these mandatory courses can be done as part of your regularly scheduled internal training for employees. The manufacturer can reduce costs by sponsoring an employee
to become a MIC-Certified Instructor to teach one or both of the mandatory courses. The sponsored employee attends a Train-the-Trainer Workshop to become a MIC-Certified Instructor. This seven-hour workshop equips the sponsored employee with the tools to instruct the three-hour Code of Conduct course.
| To find out how to sponsor an employee to become a MIC-Certified Instructor, please contact the MIC Department at 312.946.6200 (info@marinecertified.org). |
2. The manufacturer must have its products NMMA Product Certified and NMMA Type Accepted and demonstrate adherence to ABYC Standards,
or where that does not apply, adhere to any other recognized industry standards (SAE, UL, IEEE, etc.).
3. The end product supplier (boat, engine or
trailer) must offer MIC-approved product knowledge training (boats, motors, trailers and key components) and technical or service training to its dealers.
| To submit each training program to become MIC approved, please contact the MIC Department at 312.946.6200 (info@marinecertified.org). |
4. The manufacturer must have a professional and dedicated commitment to support its dealersí service efforts. This can be demonstrated by:- A written, published product warranty.
- A dedicated service support department or personnel for dealer and customer service.
5. A formal customer feedback mechanism must be in place where applicable. For example, a Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) feedback device or Warranty Feedback Review would be methods of meeting this requirement. 6. Manufacturers must have a compliance specialist on staff. - Boat builder manufacturers must send at least one employee per plant or location to the NMMA Engineering Compliance Seminar each year.
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