TRI/Environmental hosts a few Construction Quality Assurance (CQA) and Training Weeks each year at its Austin, Texas campus. The next CQA Week has been announced for the week of 2-6 May 2011, and this installment will include two two-day professional development offerings (though any single-day event can be taken as a standalone, one-day course).
A PDF brochure is available:
https://www.geosynthetica.com/Uploads/GS_TrainingCQAWeek_May2011.pdf
In an interesting departure from the most recent CQA Weeks, TRI is pairing drainage design and slope stability/interface friction as the first of the two-day offerings. The second pairing of days will focus on the installation of geosynthetics and compact clay and geosynthetic clay liners. On the Friday of the week, participants will have the option of sitting for the Geosynthetic Institute’s (GSI) Geosynthetic Certification Institute CQA (GCI-CQA) technician certification exam. (NOTE: Those interested in the GCI-CQA certification must register independently with GSI. Details below in the course descriptions.)
Attendees of CQA Week learn or further a diverse range of topics to improve their engineering knowledge. Engineers, contractors, regulators and others attend. Topics within this next edition of CQA Week include how to ensure structural stability of geocomposite cores for landfill life, transmissivity testing, determining and using shear strength, friction tests (ASTM D5321 and D6243), specifying and reviewing friction tests, avoiding problem specifications, case histories of litigation related to poor specifications, failures and lessons learned, and construction quality assurance of landfill construction materials.
Brief course descriptions follow. Participation is more economical with pairing two days of courses and/or multiple registrations.
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
Structure and Drainage Design with Geosynthetic Drains
Monday, May 2
- This day will offer an overview of drainage geocomposites and explore manufacturing quality control/assurance issues, standards and testing procedures, stability issues, writing winning specifications, and case studies. Plenty of time will be given for question and answer with the instructors. THIS COURSE IS PAIRED WITH the May 3 event “Interface Friction Evaluations and Slope Stability Issues” to create a 2-day course with a rounded view of design with geosynthetics. INSTRUCTORS: Dhani Narejo, Sam Allen.
Interface Friction Evaluations and Slope Stability Issues
Tuesday, May 3
- This day will offer an a comprehensive look at interface friction issues, from lesson learned from failures to standards/testing developments and real-world application successes. THIS COURSE IS PAIRED WITH the May 3 event “Structure and Drainage Design with Geosynthetic Drains” to create a 2-day course with a rounded view of design with geosynthetics. Register for the 2-day structure for the most economical deal. INSTRUCTORS: Sam Allen and Bob Gilbert.
CQA of Geosynthetic Installations
Wednesday, May 4
- This day will examine construction quality assurance principles and philosophies, the background of geosynthetics and their manufacture, and issues such as HDPE, LLDPE, fPP, and PVC geomembranes and seams. A welding demonstration will be included, protection and soil covers will be discussed, paperwork and record keeping will be examined, and a tour of TRI’s laboratory will be offered, as well as an end-of-day dinner. THIS COURSE IS PAIRED WITH the May 5 event “CQA for Compacted Clay and Geosynthetic Clay Liner Installations” to create a 2-day intensive course on installation CQA. Register for the 2-day structure for the most economical deal. INSTRUCTORS: Sam Allen, Mark Sieracke and other guest speakers to be announced.
CQA for Compacted Clay and Geosynthetic Clay Liner Installations
Thursday, May 5
- This day will explore liner and cover systems, factors affecting compact clay layers, construction of compacted clay with cover systems, CQA for compact clay liners and covers, a history of geosynthetic clay liners (GCLs), the role of bentonite, and installation of GCLs. THIS COURSE IS PAIRED WITH the May 4 event “CQA for Geosynthetic Installations” to create a 2-day intensive course on installation CQA. LEAD INSTRUCTOR: Bob Gilbert.
GCI – CQA Exam
Friday, May 6
- The Geosynthetic Certification Institute’s (GCI) exam is part of the GCI CQA technician certification program. It will be offered on May 6 at the conclusion of CQA Week events at TRI/Environmental’s Austin, Texas campus. Because GCI certifies this exam, interested exam takers MUST REGISTER with the Geosynthetic Institute (GSI) and pay their required certification fee in order to take this exam. TRI does NOT collect this fee, it must be paid directly to GSI. GSI phone: +1 610-522-8440
Additional information is available at TRI’s website: www.geosynthetictesting.com.
Send your news to Geosynthetica’s editor, Chris Kelsey, at chris@geosynthetica.net.
