RCDD qualifications becoming highly sought after - local training available
16 June 2004, News

The RCDD (Registered Communications Distribution Designer) is a qualification that is much sought after. RCDD training was started by BICSI (Building Industries Consulting Services International) in the '80s, and currently, there are about 7000 RCDDs globally.

Candidates for the RCDD qualification (from left): Wayne Momsen, Cabling for Africa; Dewald Booysen, Dimension Data Advanced Infrastructure; Iain Ure, Datanet; Hennie Faurie, FCE; Roger Crighton, Datanet

Eugene Botes, an RCDD/LAN BICSI master instructor, says that the course consists of attending a 6-day Designing Telecommunications Distribution Systems course plus a 4-day Review course. There is a 7 week break between the two, during which time students are expected to do a minimum of 100 hours self-study. The course manual, called TDMM or Telecommunications Distribution Methods Manual, covers all aspects of data and voice communications. It includes design requirements for telecommunication rooms, equipment rooms, grounding and bonding requirements, firestopping, wireless networks and even how to install cabling in marinas.

The exam consists of 280 multiple choice questions and the interesting thing is that all students write their own unique exam. The questions come from a database of 1100 questions and are randomly selected by a PC. People that fail can re-write and will get a complete new exam with new questions. The pass mark is high at 78%, and there is no human influence in marking the papers as the answer sheet is scanned in electronically against the student's exam number. Globally the pass rate is around 40%, so the 50% achieved in South Africa is remarkable, says Botes.

According to Botes, in other parts of the world, 40-60% of tenders that come out require that the company be a BICSI member and that the voice/data system be project-managed and signed off by an RCDD. This process has already started to happen in this country too, and as the RCDD numbers grow, we can expect to see it happening more often, he adds.

Botes is licensed to offer these courses through BICSI ( www.bicsi.org) and is the only BICSI master instructor in the Middle East and Africa. BICSI's membership in South Africa has been growing steadily - two years ago it was less than 10 members and now it stands at almost 60, says Botes. In that time RCDD growth has gone from 2 to 12, with a few more now expected after the exams in June.

The next course will be held from 5-10 July. For more information contact Eugene Botes, 012 654 4297, 082 854 1505, ebotes@alit.co.za

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