September 2014, Vol. 69, No. 9
Features
Success, Growth, Industry Benefits Of NASSCO Inspector Training Programs
In May 2008, the National Association Of Sewer Service Companies (NASSCO) launched the Inspector Training & Certification Program for Cured-In-Place Pipe (ITCP-CIPP).
The program was developed by industry professionals with extensive field experience for installation of this technology. In addition to the technical overview, the “from the field” training approach was considered an important aspect of the program. The training not only provided the technical basis for the technology, but also combined that perspective with the real world or field installation aspect. This would give the students an understanding as to what should happen in the field, examples of projects that went well and others that did not, including lessons learned.
The purpose of the program is to teach engineers and field inspection personnel why inspections are considered important to ensure a quality CIPP product installation. The student learns many industry concepts including some of which may have been misunderstood and are important to fully understanding the concept of the CIPP technology, starting with the value of the resin as the backbone and structure of the newly installed pipe.
As the industry’s demands for trenchless solutions grows into a multi-billion dollar need for the reconstruction of the nation’s underground pipeline infrastructure, the necessity for trained and qualified engineers and inspectors, to verify product life and durability, becomes increasingly important. Major municipalities and wastewater agencies throughout the U.S and Canada have therefore adopted the training as a standard for CIPP inspectors. Over 1,400 inspectors, engineers and contractors have been trained and certified to date.
The program focuses on monitoring and documenting material quality and quantity, required installation standards, curing of the product and workmanship. In addition, the inspector is instructed on what essential elements should be verified after installation and curing of the product. The post-installation inspections can include such tasks as visual product inspection, physical product property testing, including size and strength of the material, corrosion resistance and leakage characteristics.
Involved
The program is interactive and provides the student with the knowledge and tools necessary to inspect a CIPP installation and verify the quality of the product being installed. The contract specifications must, however, be written to provide the inspector with the tools necessary to perform the inspections that will confirm that a product has been installed correctly. Inspectors are trained how to use these tools.
When ASTM standards are referenced, the requirements should be further defined in the contract specifications and then inspected and documented during construction.
ITCP-CIPP training includes the required key inspector tasks for product verification, documented before and during the CIPP installation, that must be included in the specifications and then inspected and documented. Some of these key inspection tasks include:
• Resin quality – through submittals, spectroscopic testing and wet-out verification;
• Resin quantity – through wet-out report and manufacturer’s recommended tube saturation requirements;
• Existing pipe condition – visual verification of the condition of the existing pipeline before installation of the CIPP;
• Curing of the product in the field – field documentation of the CIPP cure schedule, based on manufacturer’s recommendations; and
• Reconnection of the house service connections – field documentation based on industry recommended standards and contract requirements.
As required in all good contract specifications, the inspector must also be able to evaluate and document the installed final condition of the CIPP product. This program provides inspector training for a post-installation inspection that will typically provide the basis for substantial completion of the project. This inspection training also defines the basis for an inspection before the end of the contract warranty period.
Requirements
The inspector will learn about requirements for product acceptance including:
• Visual quality inspection of the installed product- defines defects, blemishes, unacceptable product and more;
• Physical properties of the cured CIPP;
• Thickness of the installed CIPP;
• Corrosion resistance testing if applicable; and
• Leakage of groundwater through the wall of the cured pipe.
The product acceptance requirements should be clearly defined and, as applicable, referenced to ASTM standards that are made part of the contract documents.
The overall NASSCO Inspector Training & Certification Program (ITCP) currently includes training programs for cured-in-place pipe, manhole rehabilitation and soon to come, pipe bursting and sliplining. Each program includes multiple training modules and requires that the student pass a certification examination at the completion of the program.
The ITCP program is part of NASSCO’s ongoing program for setting industry standards for the assessment and rehabilitation of underground structures and educating industry professionals on the inspection and documentation of trenchless technologies during construction.
All scheduled ITCP training program throughout the U.S, Canada and now also in South and Central America and Mexico are posted on the NASSCO website.
Over 12 years ago, NASSCO launched the Pipeline Assessment & Certification Program (PACP), developed in conjunction with the Water Research Center (WRc) in England, as the standard for pipeline defect assessment. This program has been embraced as the industry standard by municipalities and utility agencies with nearly 18,000 professionals and CCTV operators trained and certified to date.
FOR MORE INFO:
NASSCO, (410) 442-7473 (PIPE), www.nassco.org
EPA Stresses Importance Of Good QA/QC Practices
“Good QA/QC practices promote a healthy bid environment and ultimately lead to higher performing installations of trenchless technologies. Practitioners of a well-executed QA/QC program benefit from the overall lower cost of these improvements and the lower in-house costs of managing these assets over time. Contractors and technology vendors will respond accordingly to this call for quality once in place. Better trained construction observers and the proper allocation of their time to monitor the installation process are key elements of a good QA/QC program. As-built information that is readily available to the operations engineering team aids in the real-time performance assessment and feedback to the capital improvements engineering team for the rehabilitation technologies being utilized. Successful QA/QC programs help to ensure that trenchless technologies will meet their designed service life expectations.”
Reference: EPA/600/R-11/017 | February 2011 | www.epa.gov /nrmrl, Quality Assurance and Quality Control Practices for Rehabilitation of Sewer and Water Mains
Praise For NASSCO’s Inspector Training Program
• “One of the best courses I have ever taken!” Dean Dashiell, Senior Project Manager, Ocean City, MD;
• “Course was very informative. I had inspected one small project prior and was amazed at the amount I learned at the course.” Tanner Bakke, Bonestroo Engineers, St Cloud, MN;
• “The course is very thorough; you won’t leave the course being less than 100% qualified for field inspection.” Russell Mathews, W.T Harrison Enterprises;
• “I just wanted to let you know that I truly enjoyed the Inspector Training and Certification Program for the Inspection of Cured-In-Place-Pipe Installation that you taught at Tri-State in Primm, NV. The manual has great resources and some truly helpful visuals and you presented the information very clearly.” Aaron Yonkers, Wallace Group;
• “One of the things identified as ‘what went right’ was the inspector training that the Sacramento Area Sewer District coordinated for the inspection, owner, and design teams to attend prior to the beginning of the Central Trunk Sewer Rehabilitation Project. It gave our team an understanding of the characteristics a quality liner would possess and how to test for them. It also gave our team confidence in being able to determine the quality of the installed product. Your expertise was extremely helpful during the project when we did have concerns about quality. We appreciated your review of our data and your expert confirmation of the quality of the liner. I was able to convey confidence in the quality of the installed liner to my management citing your letter as additional confirmation. The project was accepted by our Board last May and has won seven awards so far.” Amber Parmer, Sacramento Area Sewer District;
• “What a fantastic, professional and educational course, so informative.” Scott Aguiar, Miami Dade; and
• “Thanks again for a great class. I really appreciate you taking time out of your retirement to train the rest of us who have a few more years to go. We definitely plan to have more of our team attend your sessions in the future.” Eva Mortenson, P.E. URS Corporation.
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