CremationBestPractices

October 2011

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Cremation Best PracticesPublished by the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association (© 2011)

www.iccfa.com � www.cremationcoach.com

CONTENTSIntroduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Section I: Cremation Phone Shoppers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Tips for an Ideal Phone Inquiry Experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Section 2: The First Call . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Section 3: The Cremation Envelope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Section 4: The At-Need Cremation Arrangement Conference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Sample Life Review Interview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Section 5: Cremation Urns and Merchandising . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Section 6: Cremation Packaging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Section 7: Presentation of the Cremated Remains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Section 8: Permanent Memorialization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Sample Two-Year Guarantee Certificate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Section 9: ICCFA Cremation Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

ICCFA's CREMATION COACHING CENTER

ICCFA’s Cremation Coaching Center at www.cremationcoach.com offers you the

resources, tools and support you need to build on your current skills and talents so

that you can better serve families who choose cremation.

� Tools: Dozens of cremation-related articles, videos and audio files sharing best

practices from leaders in the cemetery, cremation and funeral service profession.

� Resources: Sample cremation procedures, authorization forms, third-party con-

tracts and more to help you administer your cremation programs.

� Support: Online forum where you can ask our coaches questions and share chal-

lenges and solutions with colleagues from throughout the world.

Many materials can be accessed by all visitors; some are available exclusively to

ICCFA members. Not a member? Join now at www.iccfa.com or call 1.800.645.7700.

3

INTRODUCTIONWhere do you see your funeral service business in the next five to ten years? Will you be the

cremation leader in your market or will you be struggling to survive, wondering what went

wrong?

With cremation rates continuing to rise, the time to adjust to this change in the market, to

embrace it and to capture the opportunities it presents, is now.

This ICCFA white paper on “Cremation Best Practices” offers real solutions—solutions that have

been tried and tested and proven to work—shared by your colleagues from some of the most

successful funeral homes and cemeteries in North America. From how to handle that first phone

call to how to demonstrate the value of permanent memorialization, this report offers real-world

guidance that you can adopt and adapt to your location.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The ICCFA thanks the following companies for their generosity in sharing their best practices:

� Bagnasco & Calcaterra Funeral Homes, St. Clair Shores, Michigan

� Eternal Hills Memorial Gardens, Klamath Falls, Oregon

� Gwen Mooney Funeral Home, Cincinnati, Ohio

� Krause Funeral Homes & Cremation Service, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

� Lohman Funeral Homes, Cemeteries & Cremation, Ormond Beach, Florida

� Memphis Funeral Home & Memorial Gardens, Memphis, Tennessee

� Nelsen Funeral Home & Crematory, Richmond, Virginia

� Schoedinger Funeral & Cremation Service, Columbus, Ohio

Julie A. Burn, CCrE, CSE

ICCFA Director of Cremation Services

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The cremation phone shopper call, sometimes

referred to as the “price shopper call,” is

often overlooked in cremation service train-

ing, yet it presents a tremendous opportunity

to set the stage for a successful relationship

with a family.

One of the most important things to remem-

ber is that not all callers are interested solely

(or even primarily) in finding in the lowest

price. Often these callers have never made

cremation arrangements before, and they

need you, the professional, to help guide

them in making their decision by providing

education, added value and a caring attitude.

In 2010, the ICCFA developed the First

Impression Phone Shopper program to help

funeral home and cemetery owners and man-

agers examine: What is their staff communi-

cating to today’s cremation consumer? Are

they fully promoting the value of their com-

pany? Would they want to do business with

the person representing their company? And

finally, based on what they heard, is a profes-

sional phone training program in order for

their staff?

Results to date from this program indicate a

real need to incorporate a script, or at least a

document of key bullet points, that every

staff member can use when speaking with

phone shoppers. Such a document, laminated

and kept at each phone location, will serve as

a reminder to make use of basic telephone

communication skills as well as to cover all

the steps needed to provide the best possible

service.

Review ICCFA’s “Tips for an Ideal Phone

Inquiry Experience” (opposite page) to create

your own customized script/bullet-point doc-

ument, and you will find success in capturing

that cremation consumer.

Remember, you only have one chance to

make a first impression.

CREMATION PHONE SHOPPERS

CREMATION PHONE SHOPPERS:HOW DOES YOUR STAFF RESPOND?

Tips For An Ideal Phone Inquiry Experience

� Smile before picking up the phone. It will come through in yourvoice.

� Politely ask for the caller’s name at the beginning of the conversation.“Do you mind if I ask to whom I am speaking?” A sincere connectionwith the caller is vital!

� Inquire as to whether or not the caller has ever been involved inmaking cremation arrangements. “May I ask if you have ever beeninvolved in making cremation arrangements?”

� Learn more about the caller’s needs. Ask open-ended questions.

� Educate the caller on cremation basics and don’t forget about theimportance of final disposition. Too many people don’t know whatcan be done to permanently memorialize a loved one.

� When explaining your offerings, start with your most complete pack-age. “We have options that range from $8,995 to $2,995.”

� Take your time. Callers know when you are rushing the call. It makesthem feel as though they aren’t important to you.

� Don’t assume anything. People may be shopping around for the bestprice, but will ultimately end up doing business with the person/firmwhere they perceive value and feel appreciated.

� Remember, many people are calling you to inquire about one of theirmost costly expenditures in their lifetime. Treat them accordingly.

� People buy people. Your first impression can make or break every-thing.

www.cremationcoach.com www.iccfa.com

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The first call is an important service that sets

the tone for your future interaction with a

family. Bagnasco & Calcaterra Funeral

Homes strives to make an impression

through each element of service we provide,

and this includes our first call care.

With the continued growth of the hospice

movement and the realities of insurance

issues today, we are seeing more home

deaths than we saw a decade ago. As they

say, “everything old is new again.” For gen-

erations our predecessors in funeral service

spent more time at houses than in hospitals,

and though we have not quite returned to

those days, home deaths are on the rise.

To meet this growing need, we have created

a first-call care package for home deaths.

This package includes:

� Information sheet—This sheet offers

information on our funeral home, includ-

ing contact information; a list of materials

the family will need to bring to the

arrangement conference; and a website

address where loved ones will be able to

view service information, photographs,

videos, etc.

� Suit bag—A garment bag with our logo

on it for the family to place clothing in

when they come to the funeral home.

� Sundry items—Amenities such as a small

bag of coffee, mints and some cookies.

Use your imagination; include anything

that will bring some comfort to the family

and show them you are thinking about

them.

For families who choose cremation, we rec-

ommend including a brochure with attractive

visuals showing different ways to memorial-

ize. This gives the family some things to

think about before they come in to make

arrangements. Families want to “do some-

thing,” so providing them with information

on their options helps stimulate thoughts and

ideas and sets the stage for a successful

arrangement conference.

When we make a call at a nursing facility,

we understand that in many cases the staff

may be as close to the deceased as their own

family members. We take special care to han-

dle the deceased as if we were on a house

call, and when appropriate, we leave a card

that states, “Please know that we will care as

you have cared.” The card includes our

phone number and website address, noting

that service information will be available

through those resources.

Nursing facility staff often serve as gatekeep-

ers and can have an influence on which

funeral home their client families will select.

Beyond that, recognizing their importance in

the life of the deceased is simply the right

thing to do.

Don’t underestimate the power of the first

call. Remember, as the old adage goes,

“Someone is always watching.”

THE FIRST CALLShared courtesy of Bagnasco & Calcaterra Funeral Homes, St. Clair Shores, Michigan

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How does your funeral home, cemetery or

crematory keep track of the paperwork

required for cremation? Krause Funeral

Homes & Cremation Service uses a simple

yet highly effective 9-by-12-inch white enve-

lope designed to ensure that all necessary

steps prior to the actual cremation process

are followed and reviewed multiple times.

The cremation envelope helps you and your

staff make sure each step of the cremation

process is followed and recorded, all proper

procedures are followed, all authorizations

are signed and secured and all property that

is being either cremated or retained goes to

the right places.

If at any point in the process a staff member

discovers that one of the previous steps has

not been completed, everything stops until

that piece of information is provided and

recorded on the envelope by the person who

was responsible for it.

The end gatekeeper at Krause is the firm’s

crematory operator. The technician goes

through the entire envelope to make sure

everything is in order before the cremation

takes place.

Lohman Funeral Homes, Cemeteries and

Cremation adopted the policy in 2006,

changing it slightly to adhere to Florida law.

Putting everything in a special envelope with

a checklist on the outside took Lohman’s

process up a level in terms of being organ-

ized and taking precautions. Lohman’s gate-

keeper is a woman who is a good and thor-

ough administrator and who works in a

funeral home across from the crematory. She

reviews every single piece of paper and

every form to make sure it is complete.

A cremation envelope will keep you in com-

pliance with regulatory requirements and

help protect your firm from potential law-

suits.

THE CREMATION ENVELOPEShared courtesy of Krause Funeral Homes & Cremation Service, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, andLohman Funeral Homes, Cemeteries and Cremation, Ormond Beach, Florida

Above: The outside of Krause Funeral Homes’

cremation envelope. Right: The contents of the envelope.

WITNESS YES �STILLBORN YES �AUTH. AGENT/ FAMILY NOTIFIED

CREMATION ENVELOPEName ___________________________ Cremation # ___________

Signature

� Cremation Authorization� Cremation Tag� Cremated Remains Receipt� Container Labels� 30 Day Form

Additional Items to be added before completing cremation:� Final Disposition� Cremation Permit� Copy of signed Death Certificate� I.D. or Service with viewing completed

Authorized Signature for Cremation

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Having family members tell you the story of

their loved one is essential to the cremation

arrangement conference. Listening to their

story gives you an understanding of the fami-

ly’s frame of mind and their emotional and

psychological states at the time of need.

Very few companies have a written at-need

presentation. The emphasis tends to be on

obtaining the information needed and the

service details—death certificate information,

obituary, service type and time. And for fami-

lies choosing cremation, all too often funeral

professionals feel it is “just a cremation” and

therefore dedicate too little time toward that

family.

Today’s consumer wants and deserves more.

Families who choose cremation are looking

for better information and creative ways to

pay tribute to their loved ones.

Best practices for the at-need arrangement

conference begin with the setting. An

arrangement or selection room with a round

table, comfortable chairs and refreshments

such as coffee, soft drinks and cookies helps

put families at ease, making it more con-

ducive for them to share with you the impor-

tance of their loved one’s life.

You may wish to start the arrangement with a

value statement such as: “We have only one

opportunity to arrange a tribute/ceremony for

your mother, and I want to make sure we do

everything exactly as you desire, and that we

do not look back weeks, months or years

later and wish we had done things different-

ly.” A simple statement such as this sets the

tone for the conference and helps everyone

focus on the importance of what you are

about to undertake.

The next important step is to use a process

and presentation/interview guide. It should be

a presentation that all staff can and will fol-

low. New staff need to be trained, and all

staff should be involved in role-playing on a

consistent basis.

Part of your interview can include developing

a life review of the loved one, such as the

one shared courtesy of Eternal Hills

Memorial Gardens, Klamath Falls, Oregon

(opposite page).

At the conclusion of the life review, you will

be able to develop a tribute/ceremony sce-

nario based on what you have learned. Often

during this time, you will come to understand

fully what type of service the family desires

and you can create a scenario that offers them

opportunities to remember their loved one in

a unique way.

THE AT NEED CREMATION ARRANGEMENT CONFERENCE

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The Life Review Of: ___________________________________________

Was born on _________________________ in ___________________where she/he lived until________.

His/her parents were __________________________ and ____________________, who were married in

_____________ at _________________. His/her father was a _______________________________ and

mother was a ________________________________. He/ she was the 1st/ 2nd/ 3rd of ______ children.

He/she attended the following schools:

1. ____________________________ 2. __________________________ 3._________________________

He/she earned the following degrees:________________________________________________________

After graduation he/she began a career as: ___________________________________________________

He/she retired in ____________ after serving for _____ years. After retirement he/she was involved in:

_____________________________________________________________________________________

He/she lived in: _________________________________________________________________ (cities)

He/she was married to _____________________________ on _____________ at ___________________

They married again on: __________________________________________________________________

He/she was a member of _______________________________________________________ (churches)

where he/she were involved in: ____________________________________________________________

Is there anything that you can recall about your loved one’s personal religious convictions that you feel

he/she would have wanted said? ___________________________________________________________

Friends he/she had at church: _____________________________________________________________

Organizations-Clubs-Lodges he/she was involved in: __________________________________________

Activities in above (dates-events-offices): ___________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

What club activity did he/she enjoy the most? ________________________________________________

Friends and associates: __________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

He/she served in the _____________________Service from _______________ to ___________________

during _________________________________ (war), attained the rank of _________________________

and received the following medals:_________________________________________________________

His/her most important events were: ________________________________________________________

Special Family Functions: ________________________________________________________________

What best describes who and what this person was?

List five words that best describe him/her:

What were some of the most important events in his/her life?

What did he/she enjoy (hobbies)?

What did he/she do on Saturday or Sunday?

What was his/her favorite things? Color: _______________ Favorite sayings: _____________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Music (style or type): ____________________________ Songs: _________________________________

Funeral attitudes: Have you ever seen anything done at a funeral service that you found objectionable?

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Completion of interview guide: Thank you for telling me your loved one’s story. Now, if we could, we

would like to talk about his/her life so let’s begin at the beginning....

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Too many families fail to see value in pur-

chasing a permanent urn for their loved one.

The Cremation Association of North

America’s 2006 Disposition, Container and

Service Survey indicated that as many as 40

percent of cremation customers elected to

receive their loved one’s cremated remains in

a temporary container rather than purchase an

urn.

Cost may be a factor; however, lack of selec-

tion often plays a role.

From high-end artistic pieces to less expen-

sive brass and veneer wood products, there is

an incredible variety of urn products avail-

able today. Firms that achieve a high ratio of

cremation urn sales attribute their success to

their up-to-date offerings, an effective display

and the ability to guide families through the

selection process.

Evaluate your offerings. When was the last

time you took a good, hard look at your cre-

mation urn selection? Do you have old

bronze urns that have begun to tarnish or

plain hardwood urns that are collecting dust?

It may be time to revamp your offerings. Ask

your suppliers if they would be willing to

exchange some of your older products for

newer, more up-to-date models. Do you have

a variety of materials? Do you offer multiple

price points? Remember, families want choic-

es, choices, choices.

Take a look at your display. Once you have

the right products, it’s time to show them off.

An effective display should be attractive, use

proper lighting and include visual merchan-

dising through the use of colorful photos and

graphics. The display might depict family

members cherishing an urn at a memorial

service or a family gathering at a graveside

with the urn/urn vault on display at the serv-

ice. Most major suppliers have a collection of

graphic images, and in some cases, they’ll

even customize a graphic to fit your market-

place.

If personalization is available—for example,

etchings, engravings or photographs—be sure

to show samples of these customized options.

Rather than simply tell the family your prod-

ucts can be personalized, give them some-

thing to help visualize it.

Today’s consumers are exposed to all of these

merchandising techniques in their everyday

shopping excursions. Using them as part of

your display offers a certain comfort level.

The cremation products may be different than

what they are used to seeing at the store, but

the presentation technique is not.

Position your product lines in a logical

sequence, such as in the order of “good, bet-

ter, best,” or perhaps according to their

appropriateness for final disposition (burial,

home, niche and scattering).

Additional important considerations are the

consistent look of signage, displaying match-

ing keepsakes with urns and maintaining the

appearance of your display. Get rid of the

dust and make sure to replace urns that have

been removed from a shelf.

CREMATION URNS AND MERCHANDISING

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Know your products. With the many different

materials now being used in cremation urns,

it is essential for funeral arrangers to stay up

to speed on the material components. It is

important to know whether the product is

constructed of solid hardwood vs. veneer

wood or solid bronze vs. brass. Work with

your suppliers to obtain these specifications

and share them with your staff, or better yet,

ask your supplier to present the product infor-

mation at a staff meeting.

The Gwen Mooney Funeral

Home in Cincinnati, Ohio,

showcases the firm’s

memorialization jewelry and

high-end urn offerings in a

display case inspired by

today’s top retailers.

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Today’s consumers are savvy. They are

accustomed to retail-oriented offerings, and

they want items presented to them in an easy-

to-understand manner.

Packaging your cremation products and serv-

ices makes it easier for families to understand

their selection options, simplifies the presen-

tation for the arranger and helps to standard-

ize the presentation. In addition, packaging

can assist consumers with the decision-mak-

ing process and create more perceived value,

which ultimately helps maximize the sale.

Nelsen Funeral Home & Crematory in

Richmond, Virginia, began offering packages

in 2002. Our cremation packages started with

three offerings—good, better and best.

Eventually, this selection was expanded to

include four offerings.

Current offerings include the following:

� Legacy CremationA personalized life commemoration

with both a set visitation time and

planned ceremonial events (a traditional

funeral service followed by cremation).

� Select CremationAn opportunity for family and friends to

come together in a planned tribute to a

loved one (a memorial service).

� Basic CremationA set time for family and friends to

visit, share memories and show support

(a visitation without service).

� Cremation Only

Our premier selection, Legacy Cremation, is

a full-service package that includes:

� Basic services of funeral director and staff

� Gathering of friends

� Facilities and staff for funeral service

� Transfer of deceased into their care

� Embalming, dressing and casketing

� Cremation casket/container

� Memorial package

� Floral allowance

� Cremation at the firm’s private crematory

� Personalized memorial urn

� Remembrance jewelry

� Basic online tribute

� Living Memorial program

Packaging works. Incorporating these options

into our funeral service offerings has led to

improved sales averages and an increase in

merchandise sales.

CREMATION PACKAGINGShared courtesy of Nelsen Funeral Home & Crematory, Richmond, Virginia

13

What type of impression does your firm

make on families when they receive their

loved one’s cremated remains? Do you place

their loved one’s cremated remains on top of

your filing cabinet until the family arrives to

pick them up? Do you hand their loved one

to them over a desk in your reception area or

arrangement office?

Funeral service and cemetery professionals

are called to serve the living by creating a

meaningful, everlasting memory through an

orchestrated tribute. It doesn’t matter if the

family is using your facility for a full service

or solely for the cremation. Everyone

deserves a dignified and respectful memory.

Cremation presentation best practices can

range from allowing the family to spend time

with their loved one in a special place at your

establishment to having a funeral professional

guide the presentation.

At Schoedinger Funeral and Cremation

Service in Columbus, Ohio, each presentation

follows a set protocol:

� The funeral home calls the family to let

them know the cremated remains have

arrived at the chapel and are ready to be

presented to the family. An appointment

time for the reception of the remains is set.

� The cremated remains are placed in a vel-

vet presentation bag and kept in the bag

until the time the family comes in.

� The container with the cremated remains is

placed in a private room on a

pedestal/podium with scented candles on

either side.

� When the family arrives, they are told that

their loved one will be resting in the cre-

mation container selected during the

arrangement conference. The family is

invited to spend a few moments visiting

with the deceased for the last time. After

this viewing, everyone is seated and the

funeral professional offers a reading

selected during the arrangement confer-

ence. Family members are then invited to

share a special memory.

� The family is offered private time for

reflection.

� The family signs the necessary documents,

and the funeral professional answers any

questions they may have.

� The funeral professional offers to carry the

urn to the car for the family. Upon arrival

at the vehicle, the family is asked permis-

sion to place the urn in the passenger or

rear passenger seat.

PRESENTATION OF THE CREMATED REMAINS

Memphis Funeral Home and Memorial Gardens

in Memphis, Tennessee, uses a table with

special lighting and candles for presentation

of the cremated remains.

14

Many families have never made cremation

arrangements and are unaware of their choic-

es for permanent memorialization. When a

death occurs, they often are not thinking

straight and they may be confused by the

many decisions they have

to make. In some cases,

these families take the

cremated remains home

with them and set them

aside, leaving them in a

closet or a garage only to

be discovered by a new

family with no ties to the

deceased.

To encourage families to

select memorialization

while at the same time

alleviating concerns they

may have about making

this decision at a stressful

time, Eternal Hills Memorial Gardens,

Funeral Home & Crematory offers a two-

year guarantee for families who choose niche

or ground burial in their cemetery.

The two-year timeframe allows the family to

go through the initial mourning process and

gives them an opportunity to reevaluate their

decision. Should they change their mind dur-

ing this period and decide they would like to

have their loved one interred or inurned else-

where, we refund the interment space and the

interment and recording fee.

Our certificate of guarantee is introduced

during the arrangement conference when the

funeral professional addresses the family’s

choices for final disposition.

The certificate is included on the cremation

authorization form, and families sign a cre-

mation disclosure form verifying that they

have been presented the certificate and have

been made aware of their memorialization

choices.

We first introduced the guarantee program in

March 1999. Since then, we have seen our

cremation memorialization rate grow to 60

percent. To date, only one family has request-

ed a refund, a family that already had a niche

elsewhere and worked with us to purchase a

guaranteed niche until they could transport

the remains elsewhere.

PERMANENT MEMORIALIZATIONShared courtesy of Eternal Hills Memorial Gardens, Funeral Home & Crematory, KlamathFalls, Oregon

Date_______ EternalHills Memorial Gardens Cert. No._______ 4711 Hwy #39 – Klamath Falls, OR 97603 Phone: 541/884-3668

Cremation Interment Refund Guarantee Certificate

Name of deaceased:________________________ Name of Recipient:_______________________ Eternal Hills understands that the intial mourning period can last as long as two years, making it difficult to decide on the

final resting place of a loved one. Eternal Hills offers families a written guarantee to change their mind during that two

years by refunding the interment space and the Interment and Recording Fee for those that change their minds and have

their loved one interred somewhere other than at Eternal Hills.

Counselor Eternal Hills Officer

Presented by

Eternal Hills Memorial Gardens IN WITNESS WHEREOF, Eternal Hills Memorial Gardens has caused this certificate to be signed by

This certificate, properly executed and signed by an official of the corporation shall entitle:

To a complete refund of the puchase price for the interment/inurnment right for the space and any applicable merchandise which can be returned for a period of two years from the above date of purchase. Purchase price may include such fees as endowment care, merchandise and other service fees which are

not refundable. Any merchandise which is not refundable may be taken or shipped at the request of the certificate holder. Refund will be provided upon the return of this certificate and an executed Quitclaim and

Release of Interest in said interment property. This certificate will be void 2 years from the above date.

15

Statement of Purpose

The following Cremation Guidelines have been published by the International Cemetery, Cremation and

Funeral Association to voluntarily foster professional standards of care and consideration by our members.

These guidelines supplement and complement cremation-related materials previously published by the

ICCFA, including “Recommended Procedures for Handling Human Remains for Cremation,” two “Model

Guidelines for State Laws and Regulations,” “Due Diligence for Funeral Homes Utilizing Third-Party

Crematories” and “Model Contracts for Funeral Homes and Cemeteries for Dealing with Third-Party

Crematories.”

Definitions

Authorizing agent(s): the person(s) legally entitled to order the cremation of the remains.

Certified operator: an individual formally training and duly certified in the operation of a crematory.

Crematory authority: the legal entity, such as a funeral home, cemetery, or independently owned cremato-

ry, or authorized representative of the legal entity who conducts the cremation.

Cremation chamber: the enclosed space within the crematory where the cremation process takes place.

Cremation process: the heating process that reduces human remains to bone fragments, followed by the

processing that reduces bone fragments to unidentifiable dimensions.

Remains: the dead human body prior to cremation or the cremated remains.

Handling the Deceased and Identification

The remains of the deceased shall be handled in a dignified manner which shall include the following:

� Covering of Remains: Prior to cremation, the remains of the deceased shall be respectfully clothed,

covered or protected at all times.

� Identification System: The crematory shall at all times be able to identify the remains of the deceased

before, during and after cremation.

� Pre-Cremation Preparation: Prior to cremation, the remains of the deceased are to be properly handled

in a manner consistent with generally accepted mortuary methods and any applicable governmental

agency policies, laws, rules and regulations.

� Positive Identification by Authorizing Agent: Prior to cremation, the remains of the deceased shall be

positively identified by the Authorizing Agent or their assignee.

� Personal Possessions: The placement or removal of any personal possessions, such as jewelry, etc., to

be cremated with the deceased, must be by written instruction of the Authorizing Agent.

� Foreign Material: Non-bone fragment foreign material that was part of the deceased prior to cremation

and recovered with the cremated remains, such as an internal prosthesis, shall be removed prior to pro-

cessing. Such material may be commingled with other material and shall be disposed of in a dignified

manner, such as burial in a cemetery, in accordance with all applicable laws.

Consumer Considerations and Expectations

A certified Operator, Administrator or Counselor shall voluntarily pledge that cremation consumers shall

be afforded the following courtesies and considerations as may be applicable:

� Good Faith: All interactions shall be conducted with professionalism, respect, dignity and in accor-

dance with all applicable laws.

ICCFA CREMATION GUIDELINESThe ICCFA Cremation Guidelines were developed in 2004 to foster voluntarystandards of care and consideration.

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� Full Disclosure: A written explanation of the cremation process including any restrictions, such as

metal caskets, will be provided to the Authorizing Agent prior to the performance of any cremation, and

any questions related to the process or potential options of final disposition will be answered. All docu-

ments required by law, including any authorizations, will be explained and copies provided for the

Authorizing Agent’s retention. In the event that a consumer feels the standards outlined herein are not

of consequence or unnecessary and prefers another provider, at their request, they will be respectfully

assisted to find a provider that might better meet their needs.

� Witnessing: The Authorizing Agent shall be advised of his/her right to witness the placement of the

deceased into the cremation chamber and shall accept or decline this offer in writing. Witnessing of any

aspect of the cremation and processing procedure shall be in compliance with all applicable law and

any safety regulations.

� Timing of Cremation: Prior to cremation, the approximate timing of the cremation shall be disclosed in

writing and acknowledged by the Authorizing Agent.

� Release of Cremated Remains: Cremated remains shall only be released, delivered, mailed or disposed

of in a dignified manner, in accordance with the law, and with expressed written consent of the

Authorizing Agent.

The Crematory Authority

� Individual Cremation: All cremations are performed individually unless there is a specific request by

the Authorizing Agent instructing to the contrary for extenuating circumstances such as the simultane-

ous death of a parent and child. The crematory authority shall reserve the right to agree or decline a

special request by an Authorizing Agent.

� Recordkeeping: Records, logs and documentation are maintained in a clear, correct, organized and time-

ly manner.

� Cleanliness: The crematory will be maintained in a clean, orderly manner and ready for unannounced

inspection at any time.

� Recovering Cremated Remains: After each and every cremation, manual means, such as brushing, and

industry-specific mechanical means, such as vacuuming, will be employed to retrieve the cremated

remains.

� Disposition of Cremated Remains: 100% of the cremated remains recovered from the cremation cham-

ber and processing equipment shall be prepared for disposition in the manner directed per the written

instructions of the Authorizing Agent.

� Animals and Pets: The crematory will not cremate animals or pets in a cremation chamber used for the

cremation of human remains.

� Applicable Law: The crematory authority and all assigned personnel will obey and operate in compli-

ance with all laws, rules and regulations of any governmental authority with oversight or jurisdiction

over the crematory.

For Administrators

� Use of Certified Operators: All cremations will be performed under the auspices of an operator certi-

fied by ICCFA or another recognized authority.

� Crematory Personnel: The crematory authority will only employ individuals of integrity to operate the

crematory, interact with the public, maintain records and engage in the recovery, handling and delivery

of cremated remains.

� Education and Training: The crematory authority is committed to provide initial training for its staff

along with continuing education and certification.