The inaugural American Concrete Institute Resource Center opens this month in San Bernardino, Calif., charged with coordinating ACI chapter or sponsoring group offerings of direct, on-demand access to all Institute certification and educational products. Managing the facility will be William “Rusty” Owens III. He previously served as quality control general manager for Kansas City-based Geiger Ready-Mix Co. and holds ACI, National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, and state department of transportation certifications.
William Owens III |
“The Southern California region has seen a large increase in demand for access to ACI offerings, including many individuals seeking to become ACI-certified,” says Executive Vice President Ronald Burg, P.E. “The Institute sees this first Resource Center as a means to support our chapters and sponsoring groups in meeting this demand, while also having a facility to conduct other hands-on training and educational programs for inspectors, contractors, designers and engineers.”
VERIFY APP ANDROID
Along with the Resource Center launch, ACI has announced new certification programs, bringing to 30-plus the total number of such offerings. To keep pace with the growing demand for ACI-certified personnel on various concrete construction projects, the Institute recently programmed its Verify app to help supervisors confirm the certification status of supervisors, technicians and other individuals on a jobsite.
Available at Google Play or in the Apple App Store, the mobile Verify version uses the same functionality of the www.concrete.org/verify web-based verification tool. |
The app debuted in an iOS version but is now available for Android devices as well. The technology harbors three options with which users can 1) verify an individual’s certification ID number, 2) search by an individual’s name, and 3) find the total number of ACI-certified individuals in an area. ACI currently maintains nearly 130,000 active certifications and offers certification programs through more than 120 sponsoring groups around the world. It has certified more than 500,000 concrete finishers, technicians, supervisors, inspectors and managers since the 1980s.
“The expectation for quality concrete construction can be seen in the growing demand for ACI-certified workers on projects spanning the globe. Our certification programs provide competent and proven individuals who have demonstrated the ability to properly test, place, and inspect concrete,” says ACI Managing Director, Certification John Nehasil.