Short Course & Certification Exam, May 22 in Anderson, S.C.

Inspection, monitoring, and maintenance of mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) walls, berms, and slopes

Offered for the first time in the Southeastern U.S.: Classroom training plus hands-on field demonstrations at TRI’s Denver Downs Research Facility.

The explosion in MSE structures installed during the last 20 years has revolutionized the grade-separation solutions currently used in site development construction. Despite this growth—or because of it—there has been an increasing frequency of failures (excessive deformation and collapse) indicating that too many owners, site and wall designers, contractors, and inspection/regulatory agencies are not sufficiently schooled in this construction method.

The Texas Research Institute’s May 22 session in Anderson, S.C., focuses on project responsibilities, construction inspection and quality control, ongoing performance monitoring, and the challenges and costs of effective remediation.

Qualified participants can also obtain Certified Inspector status through the Geosynthetic Certification Institute’s Inspectors Certification Program (GCI-ICP) for MSE Walls, Berms, and Slopes.

The course structure includes current practices, lessons learned from failures, establishing rationale and standard operating procedures for field inspection, documenting visual observations, identifying potential problems, and hands-on construction of MSE structures.

This short course is specifically prepared for: specifying/certifying engineers, construction QC/QA personnel, project managers, installers/contractors, third-party inspectors, and regulators.

GCI Certification Exam

This short course also offers participants the opportunity to take the Geosynthetic Certification Institute’s Inspectors Certification Program (CQA-ICP) for MSE Walls, Berms, and Slopes exam. The exam will be given immediately following the MSE course on May 22 at the same location. The MSE Inspector Exam is part of the GCI Inspectors Certification Program.

Instructors

Instructors for the short course are John Paulson, president of Dison C&S LLC, and Joel Sprague, technical director at TRI Environmental.

For more information and to register, visit TRI/Environmental’s website.

Sources: Texas Research Institute (TRI) and the Geosynthetic Institute (GSI)