Construction Departments Working Hard to Certify both Department Services & Employees
by Rachel Shanteau

Soils labs across the company are enjoying a big sigh of relief. This spring our Wapakoneta, Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Columbus offices were all assessed by AMRL, AASHTO Materials Reference Laboratory, as a part of their two year lab assessment cycle. All of these labs have been assessed by AMRL before and again demonstrated positive marks by all involved. Indianapolis was assessed by AMRL for the first time this year. Just like the other labs, Indianapolis faired well. Affiliated personnel are currently implementing recommended corrective actions. All labs deserve a job well done and a special pat on the back should be sent out to Joe Haugen for his extra efforts with all of the lab assessments.

AMRL is not the only agency that verifies our soil laboratory procedures. Our South Charleston office is regularly inspected by the United States Army Corps of Engineers and our Durham office by North Carolina Department of Transportation. Their inspections are due for renewal soon and we know they will have the same success as the other branches.

Not only do our soils laboratories work hard for accreditation, but our concrete laboratories do as well. CCRL, Cement and Concrete Reference Laboratory, is in the middle of their round of assessments as well. The Durham office has completed their assessment and did very well. The Minford office will be assessed this month. The Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Wapakoneta, Cleveland, and Columbus offices will all be assessed later this summer and fall.

CTL is working hard to demonstrate our competency. These accreditations are just the first step in this process. Certifications obtained by employees are the next step. Currently, there are ten employees working to improve their NICET, National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies, certification throughout the company. We now have three Certified Weld Inspectors, four Engineering Interns, one Spray-applied Fire-proofing Special Inspector, one Structural Steel and Welding Special Inspectors, many American Concrete Institute certifications, various Department of Transportation certifications, and multiple Professional Engineers. This list is just the beginning of various CTL sponsored certifications.

All of these certifications and accreditations allow CTL to better market our services to clients allowing a better market share and value. This increase would hopefully allow an increase in profits and ESOP value.