CHARLESTON, S.C. – As part of its continued push for professional growth, two Knight’s Companies Quality Control employees recently passed their American Concrete Institute (ACI) certifications to earn the title of Concrete Strength Testing Technicians.
Ansley Jones and Miles Carr are the newly certified technicians.
“I’m really happy to have this certification,” Carr said. “I think it will help me in my role as a QC professional at Knight’s.”
Jones and Carr’s supervisor, Vice President of Technical Services George Kuhn, explained how concrete companies are all required to adhere to a multitude of strict standards of quality.
“There are requirements that we have to follow. Standards for the materials, how the mixes are put together, how the mixes must perform, how they are to be tested and used in the field,” he said.
Jones and Carr join several of their coworkers who also hold the strength certification, including Kuhn.
This certification verifies that Jones and Carr have received the appropriate training and are qualified to properly perform strength testing of concrete cylinders cast from samples taken from produced concrete loads.
ACI is the leading authority and resource for the development, distribution and adoption of standards, technical resources, programs and expertise relating to concrete.
Since many local, national and even international building codes require ACI-certified personnel, the certification was an obvious next step in the Knight’s employees’ professional journey.
Not all ACI-certified people work in the construction industry specifically, however, as some hail from design and material supply fields. This diversity of experience allows them to pool their expertise to create high-quality materials to continuously improve ACI certifications, ranging from online articles to training programs.
Testing for the ACI Concrete Strength Testing Technician certification involves a written test and a hands-on exam to test knowledge on the procedures used in the Knight’s Central Lab to break the cylinders made to determine strength of mixes.
“Accuracy in the work you perform is essential. That’s why we stress verifying slumps when the truck gets loaded,” Kuhn said. “We’ve really expanded our toolkit over the last few years with the inclusion of new technology like the probes inside the mixers.”
Most of the ACI certifications last for five years before needing renewal. Kuhn said this puts an emphasis on the importance of professional development at Knight’s.
“I’m very proud of Ansley and Miles for this accomplishment,” he added.
Strength certification adds to other ACI certifications held by other Knight’s employees including the Concrete Field Testing Certification – Grade I, which is held by Field Technicians as well as many of the plant operation managers. The goal is to continue to add to the number of certified personnel and could even see Redi-Mix drivers acquiring ACI certification in the future to expand the expertise of Knight’s overall.
Kuhn praised ACI as a valuable resource for concrete professionals and encouraged anyone in the industry to look into the various certification options available.
To learn more about quality control at Knight’s, visit knightscompanies.com.