Multi-discipline engineering and consulting firm Barry Isett & Associates, Inc. will host certification testing for Pennsylvania’s leading trade group for the aggregate, ready-mixed concrete and cement industries.
Isett volunteered space in the firm’s newest materials-testing laboratory for upcoming testing offered by the Pennsylvania Aggregates and Concrete Association (PACA). The certification for Concrete Strength Testing Technician is accredited by the industry-standard American Concrete Institute (ACI).
The partnership came about when Isett’s Construction Materials Testing Department sought this certification for its associates but learned that PACA had not secured a facility for training and testing.
A project manager in the department, Nicholas Bauer, suggested that Isett’s new lab in the firm’s Capital Region could fill PACA’s need. PACA officials visited and approved the site for the performance portion of the exam. The first is set for April 28, and Bauer expects the lab to host future PACA training and certification testing.
“Opening our doors for PACA to administer training and certification testing is truly a win-win for everyone,” said A.J. Schwartz, Construction Materials Testing Department head. “PACA gains access to a lab venue and equipment, and Isett associates will have the convenience of in-house training lead by the pros in the industry. We hope this is the start of a long relationship with PACA and we will continue to support their efforts however and wherever we can.”
More information about PACA and this certification is available at https://www.pacaweb.org/certification-exams/aci-concrete-strength-testing-technician-certification-exam.
Isett opened the Mechanicsburg materials-testing laboratory in July 2020 at 2 Market Plaza Way, Suite 7. It is the firm’s second such lab; the first has operated for several years near Isett’s Lehigh Valley headquarters.
Isett can provide clients with a full range of services, both in the lab and in the field, that test and inspect such things as concrete, asphalt, soil compaction, structural fill, steel, and fireproofing material.
The Construction Materials Testing Department is among a dozen departments that lend to Isett’s approach to multi-discipline engineering and consulting. Founded by Barry E. Isett, P.E., P.L.S., F.NSPE, in 1977 in the Lehigh Valley, the company has expanded to eight offices in eastern and central Pennsylvania, in Allentown, Hazleton, Mechanicsburg, Phoenixville, Stroudsburg, Wilkes-Barre and Wyomissing, and at a soon-to-be new location in Bucks County.