NASSCO has introduced an Inspector Training and Certification Program (ITCP) — a standard national program that provides field construction professionals, such as consulting and municipal engineers and contractors, with comprehensive learning and tools to understand and inspect trenchless pipeline renewal technologies.
The first training program focuses on cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) lining, with the first class set for March 18-19 at NASSCO headquarters in Owings Mills, Md. With this program, NASSCO is fulfilling an urgent need for better-informed inspection personnel. The program consists of two days of classroom learning in six areas:
• Introduction to pipe defect identification
• Pipeline renewal technologies and applications
• Cured-in-place pipe — its proper use and application
• Writing and understanding performance specifications
• Quality assurance and testing for cured-in-place pipe
• Effective use of warrantees for pipeline renewal technologies
Attendees who complete the training will receive a comprehensive course manual and CEU or PDH credits. Upon passing the examination, they will receive a certificate of completion. Each student will also receive a copy of the NASSCO Trenchless Assessment Guide for Rehabilitation (TAG-R) computer program when it is finalized later this year.
TAG-R is an easy-to-use, interactive software for evaluating alternative rehabilitation methods. Project requirements are entered into the program, and the software selects the most applicable technologies. After the engineer designs the selected technology for each specific application, these methods can then be employed in the renewal of gravity and pressure, water, sewer, drain, lateral pipes and manholes.
As the ITCP evolves, the multi-day education will include hands-on field installation training and will cover additional technologies, such as manhole coatings and linings, folded pipe, pipe bursting, lateral rehabilitation, slip lining, and grouted-in-place liners.
This program will provide much needed training for professionals who supervise and inspect CIPP construction and are instrumental in standardizing the quality assurance and testing required for these projects on a national basis. To register for the ITCP for CIPP, or to learn more about upcoming courses, visit www.nassco.org or call Heather Myers at 410/486-3500.
Irv Gemora is executive director of NASSCO. He can be reached at director@nassco.org.
