Subject-matter experts
Contribute Expertise
AGSI’s certification scheme is stronger when independent practitioners challenge the published standard. The SME Workbench is live. Participation is by invitation through SME Desk—not open self-serve signup.
What an SME is in AGSI’s scheme
Subject-matter experts are practicing professionals and adjacent specialists who review Body of Knowledge sections and examination items. Their role is input-only: reviews, proposed edits, and suggested items enter a structured workflow with an audit trail. They do not publish the BoK, activate live bank content, or award credentials.
Credential decisions rest with the Founder / a named human. SME contribution improves the competence framework and the defensible item bank; it is not a path to grant—or obtain—a credential by committee vote.
Who should join
Experienced grill cleaning and service technicians from unrelated companies and employers—plus adjacent experts in gas safety, metallurgy, thermodynamics, and appliance service—are the intended panel. Independence matters: conflict-of-interest awareness and attestation are part of the pathway.
If your commercial interests would reasonably call impartiality into question for a given review, disclose that. Scheme quality depends on candid expertise without pay-to-play influence.
Why join
- Shape the trade’s published standard—the public Book of Knowledge—and a defensible examination item bank.
- Advance industry maturity: shared competence language buyers and technicians can verify at /verify.
- Prestige of contributing to the independent authority—not a paid shortcut to a mark, and not education sold as certification.
Live platform
SME Workbench
sme.agsinstitute.org
Invited SMEs work in a bite-sized card queue—not a sprawling document dump. Once signed in with an SME role, the workbench supports:
- NDA once at first portal entry, then stay in flow.
- Item review cards assigned by SME Desk in waves.
- BoK section review / propose-change — view published sections; propose edits (never live write).
- Suggest a new item — draft stem and options for admin review; pending until a named human decides.
- Audit trail — proposals and dispositions stay attributable for scheme integrity.
Accounts live on the shared AGSI login. Invited SMEs start at the workbench; www account login is at www.agsinstitute.org/login. Without an SME role, the workbench will tell you to ask SME Desk to set access—do not expect open enrollment.
Express interest
SME Desk recruits and invites panelists. Email a short background note and your areas of expertise. If you have already been invited, use the workbench (and ask SME Desk if your role still needs to be set).
Honesty
AGSI designs its certification scheme toward ISO/IEC 17024 principles of impartiality and validity. That is design intent—not a claim of accreditation.
Education is not a credential. Optional study never unlocks a mark. SMEs do not grant credentials; examination performance and named human decisions do.