Installer Program / Certification / Referral Network
Never stood steel before?
You will, on your own project,
with our supervisor next to you.
Ber Wilson trains framing crews on cold formed steel and certifies the ones who prove they can set it. Certified installers get a credential they can put on their site, and jobs we send them.
- Certified on a real project, not in a classroom
- No cost to apply
- Referral work once you pass
- GSA Approved Builder
- USACE Quality Management Certified
- NAVFAC
- VA
- Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force & Coast Guard
- LEED Certified
- American Steel, Made in USA
Why this exists
The steel is easy. Being the first one to try it is not.
Cold formed steel goes together with screw guns and a standard framing crew. Members arrive cut, punched, and numbered to the erection drawing, so the work is assembly rather than layout. None of that is the hard part.
The hard part is the first one. No contractor wants to learn a structural system on a job with a schedule and a penalty clause attached, and no owner wants to hear that their frame is somebody’s first attempt.
So we take that risk off the table. A Ber Wilson supervisor is on your site for your first steel structure. Your crew does the work. We watch, correct, and sign off. When the frame is standing and the checks pass, your superintendent carries the certification.
Two ways forward
Use a certified crew, or become one.
Both get your steel standing. They cost different amounts and they leave you in different places.
01
Have it installed
We dispatch a certified installer.
You buy the steel and we send a crew that has already stood it. They mobilize, erect the structure, and demobilize. You never touch the learning curve.
- Erection quoted with the steel package
- Crew has passed our installation assessment
- Fastest route to a standing frame
- Nothing transfers to your team
02
Become certified
We train your crew on your project.
You buy the steel, your crew sets it, and a Ber Wilson supervisor is on site to walk them through it. Cheaper than paying an outside crew, because the labour is already yours.
- Costs less than dispatching an installer
- Your superintendent earns the certification
- Your crew can self-perform steel from then on
- You get listed and dispatched work from us
Most contractors take the second one on the second project, once they have seen the first go up.
The process
Four steps. The one that counts is a real building.
- 01
Apply
Tell us who your superintendent is, what your crew has framed, and what project you want to certify on. No fee to apply.
- 02
Fundamentals
Self-paced coursework on cold formed steel: reading the erection drawings, member marks and sequencing, connections and fastener schedules, bracing, tolerances, and the safety requirements specific to setting steel. A few hours, not a semester.
- 03
Supervised installation
A Ber Wilson supervisor is on your site while your crew stands the structure. Your people do the work. We assess sequencing, connections, bracing, tolerance, and safety against a written checklist, and correct in real time rather than at the end.
- 04
Certification issued
Pass the checklist and the certification is issued to your superintendent by name, with a certificate, a numbered credential, and badge artwork for your website and proposals.
What you get
A credential, and the work that comes with it.
Issued to your superintendent by name, with a credential number. Usage rules come with the artwork.
- Proof you can do it
- Most framing contractors say they can work in steel. Very few can point to a manufacturer who watched them do it and signed off. That is a different conversation with an owner.
- The badge
- Certification artwork for your website, your proposals, your bid packages, and your truck. Issued to your superintendent by name, with a credential number that can be verified.
- Dispatched work
- Buyers order steel from us every week and some of them have no crew who can stand it. Those jobs go to certified installers in that region. Certification is how you get on that list.
- A capability, not a favour
- After certification your crew can self-perform structure instead of subbing it out. That margin stays with you on every steel job you take from then on.
Who gets certified
Crews who already know how to build.
- Wood framers moving into steel
- You have run framing crews for years. This is the same trade with a different material, a fastener schedule instead of a nail gun, and a certification at the end of it.
- General contractors self-performing structure
- Stop pricing a framing sub into every steel job. Certify a superintendent once and carry the scope in house.
- Framing subcontractors
- Add a service line your competitors cannot quote, and get put in front of general contractors who are buying steel and looking for someone to set it.
- Repeat program builders
- If you are running the same building fifty times, certifying your own crews is cheaper than dispatching ours, every time after the first.
Renewal
Three years, or three projects.
Certification runs three years. To renew, submit three completed steel installations from that period and pay the renewal fee. Photos, addresses, and dates are enough.
If you have not stood three, the certification does not renew on a fee. You repeat the fundamentals and the supervised installation, because a credential that survives three years of not doing the work is not worth putting on a website.
Certification is issued to a person, not a company. If your certified superintendent leaves, the certification leaves with them, and someone else on your team needs to earn it.
Questions
What contractors ask before they apply.
If yours is not here, call and ask it directly.
385-436-5507info@berwilson.comWho exactly gets certified, the company or the person?
The person. Certification is issued by name to the superintendent or foreman who ran the supervised installation and passed the assessment. Their company can state that it employs a Ber Wilson Certified Steel Installer, and can use the badge while that person is on staff.
Do I have to buy steel from Ber Wilson to get certified?
Yes. The supervised installation happens on a real Ber Wilson steel package, on your project. That is the point of it. There is no classroom-only path.
How long does the whole thing take?
The coursework is a few hours, done on your schedule. The supervised installation takes as long as your structure takes to stand, which for most buildings is days. Certification is issued within a week of the assessment.
What if my crew fails the on-site assessment?
Your building still goes up. The supervisor stays and works the problem, because the frame standing correctly matters more than the certificate. If the checklist does not pass, we tell you exactly which items failed and you can be reassessed on your next project at a reduced fee.
Does my whole crew need to be certified?
No. One certified supervisor per crew. They are the one accountable for the work, and they are the one we hold to the standard.
What does it cost?
Training and certification are quoted with your steel package, and cost less than having us dispatch a crew to erect it for you. Ask estimating for both numbers and compare them on your actual project.
Am I guaranteed work from the referral network?
No, and be sceptical of anyone who promises that. Work is dispatched based on region, capacity, and the buyer's schedule. What certification guarantees is that you are on the list at all.
Can I get certified without a project lined up?
Not yet. Apply anyway and tell us the timeline. We will start you on the coursework and schedule the supervised installation when you have a package coming.
Apply
Tell us which one you need.
Steel and an installer, or steel and a certification for your own crew. Same form, one question at the top, and an estimator responds within one business day.
Call
385-436-5507