ILDA Professional accreditation
The ILDA Accredited Professional Lasershow Company program identifies organizations who have experience in doing shows, who have knowledge of laser safety, and who are active participants in the industry. The purpose of IAPLC or “ILDA Professional” is to help certify top companies in the lasershow field.
If you are a lasershow company, and would like to be able to prove your experience to potential clients and customers, we invite you to apply for ILDA Professional status.
To be accredited, a company does not have to be an ILDA Member. The ILDA Professional program is for any organization or individual that produces laser light show displays.
The following are ILDA Accredited Professional Lasershow Companies:
• Lightwave International
• LOBO electronic
• Laser Production Network (LaserNet)
• Laser Spectacles
• Dynamic Lasers
Click the logo to find out more about these companies.
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How ILDA Pro works
Points system
ILDA Professional applicants gain points for various activities such as doing laser shows or attending industry conferences.
For each activity, there is a minimum number of points which must be earned. When the minimum has been earned in all activities, then the applicant can apply for accreditation. (The categories and point amounts were developed by ILDA's Professional Status Committee, and are subject to change at any time.)
Supporting documentation is required. It is not enough to state that a company did 15 laser shows; the shows must be listed along with some proof that the company did the show. The supporting documentation is mailed to ILDA for review and is kept on file at our office.
Activity areas
The activity areas are:
• Professional Performance: Shows and awards
• Professional Experience: Years in business, letters of reference, association memberships
• Volunteer Service: To ILDA, entertainment industry, laser industry, and community
• Education and Professional Development: Educational history, participation and attendance in industry conferences
• Safety: Laser Safety Officer and other safety courses, safety permits and variances held, service in laser safety groups, teaching about safety
• Statement of Affirmation: Understanding and agreeing to safe laser practices
Keep in mind the goal is to accredit a company, organization or individual as being competent to do shows. This accreditation is not supposed to be too easy or too hard to achieve. It should fairly reflect what a professional laser show producer should have achieved.
Minimum requirements
Part of the accreditation goal is that a company have minimum experience in areas that the Professional Status Committee determined are important for ILDA and the laser show industry.
To meet current requirements, a company must:
• Have done at least 15 shows, which have a minimum level of technical complexity.
• Have won at least one award (Honorable Mention or better) OR have entered at least two entries into awards competitions (the entries do not have to have won).
• Have been doing shows for at least two years.
• Have three letters of reference from clients
• Have been in industry trade associations at least four years
• Participate in the industry and community via volunteer service
• Have a certain number of education points (e.g., high school, college, etc.)
• Participate and attend industry conferences
• Have at least one employee who passed a Laser Safety Officer course
• Have additional laser safety activities
• Affirm their commitment to basic laser show safety principles-
How to apply
Who may apply: Any company, organization or individual that produces laser light show displays may apply. You do not have to be an ILDA Member, although Members do receive discounts on the application and other fees.
The accreditation process is intended primarily for companies, but if an individual or a non-profit organization produces shows then they may apply as well.The Accreditation Form spreadsheet
To make it easy to enter and review the required information, ILDA has developed an automated Excel spreadsheet. It has a Main Worksheet (shown above), plus 16 supporting color-coded worksheets where the applicant lists details about shows, awards, safety courses, and other activities.
Cells start out as red to show that not enough points have been reached. As information is entered on the supporting worksheet, points are updated.
When enough points have been reached in an activity, a cell turns green on both the supporting worksheet and on the Main Worksheet.
When all cells in all activity areas have turned green, then the applicant can submit the form. As noted above, the applicant also must submit separate documentation for most items as proof that the activity was done.
IMPORTANT: You must use genuine Microsoft Excel, version 2003 or later, in order to fill out the form. This is because the form has many automated features which do not work properly in Excel-compatible non-Microsoft spreadsheet programs. The form has been tested in Excel for Windows, various versions up to version 1903, Office 365 subscription — be sure to click the "Enable Editing" button when the form first loads. It also works in Excel for Mac, version 15.29, Office 365 subscription.Fill out the form: It is free for anyone to download and fill out the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet Accreditation Form. You should do this in order to find out the areas where you might need more work.
Gather needed documentation: The Accreditation Form lists the documentation that you must submit along with the Form. The documentation must be printed, so that it can be kept in file folders. Do NOT submit electronic documents, files, etc.
Pay the Application Fee: Once you have your completed Accreditation Form and your documentation, submit this to ILDA for processing. The Application Fee is $395 if you are a current ILDA Member, and $595 if you are not a current ILDA Member.
ILDA Review: After the Application Fee has been paid and documents submitted, your application will be reviewed by ILDA. If there is any problem such as incomplete documentation or not completing a requirement, you have up to one year in which to resolve the problem. (If the problem resolution takes more than a year, then a new Application Fee must be paid.)
Pay the Acceptance and Marketing Fee after the application has been approved. The A&M Fee is used to support costs of developing and maintaining the ILDA Professional program, to market ILDA Accredited companies, and for ILDA general support. In addition, being willing to go through the process and being able to pay the fees for the program are ways to help differentiate serious "professional" companies from others who are not willing to apply or to pay for ILDA Accreditation. There are two ways to pay the A&M Fee:
• A one-time lump sum of $1000 for current ILDA Members (on top of dues) or $1800 for non-members. The fee covers the four years that IAPLC accreditation is valid.
• Four yearly installments of $300 for ILDA Members or $500/year for non-members. If an installment is not paid when due, the company loses IAPLC accreditation until any and all back payments are received.
Note: The Acceptance and Marketing Fee rates shown above are subject to change.
Accreditation benefits: Once your application has been approved and your A&M Fee has been paid, you will be awarded with a trophy-like display. You may use the ILDA Accredited Professional Laser Company logo on your website and other marketing materials. ILDA Professional companies will be given special marketing emphasis in ILDA's directory and outreach efforts.
Re-accreditation: Accreditation is valid for four calendar years from the approval date of the previous accreditation. A company needs to reapply using the Re-Accreditation Form, to meet minimum requirements for activities during the previous four years. A Re-Application Fee must be paid, and after approval, a new Acceptance and Marketing Fee must be paid which covers the next four years. To avoid expiration, a company should reapply at least two months before accreditation expires.
Revocation: ILDA may revoke accreditation for clear and significant violations of professional conduct, including:
• Serious misrepresentation of information on the Accreditation Form and supporting documentation
• Laser safety violations or incidents which bring disrepute onto laser shows and displays
• Other gross misconduct which is unprofessional and would tarnish the image of laser shows
In case of questions, disputes, etc: All ILDA certification and accreditation programs must address required elements such as autonomy, authority, rigorousness, due process, etc. These are discussed on a separate page.
NOTE: ILDA Professional accreditation ultimately means that a company has submitted documentation indicating that they meet the IAPLC program's criteria, and has paid fees covering program and marketing costs, plus ILDA operations. Accreditation does not cover business practices or non-laser display work, and is not necessarily a guarantee of quality or satisfaction.
ILDA does not run or monitor the operations of those achieving accreditation. Persons hiring any laser display producer should check business references, review past shows and take other prudent steps to ensure a good fit between the client's needs and the laser company's experience.
For more information, visit our other ILDA websites:
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