This paper on "Registered Analyst (R.A.): A Qualification for the Analyst" was presented at the 5th International Conference on Reliability of Finite Element Methods for Engineering Applications - 10-12 May 1995, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Summary

This paper outlines the background, basis and organisation of the Registered Analyst Scheme being implemented by NAFEMS. The demand for a register of analysts has come from the membership of NAFEMS. The qualification Registered Analyst (R.A.) - which is a distinctive means of recognising the experience, competence and capability of an individual analyst - is achieved by assessment of performance, to a standard, in a real working environment, which is supported by an appropriate level of underpinning knowledge and understanding.
The scheme has benefits for both employer and employee. It verifies and records an individual's skills and competence and therefore worth to an organisation; simultaneously it gives formal evidence of the requirement stated in the NAFEMS Quality System Supplement (QSS), Ref [1], that: “Personnel engaged in finite element analysis ..... shall have qualifications and training appropriate to the scope and importance of the analysis or software application".