Testing Agency Qualifications

How many times have you seen project specifications call for the testing agency to meet ASTM E329? Plenty. Long ago somebody put it in a set of standard specs. Those specifications multiplied, and it became one of those items that just carry on year after year, and nobody really pays much attention to it.

What is ASTM E329 anyway? It is titled Standard Specification for Agencies Engaged in the Testing and/or Inspection of Materials Used in Construction. It is a lengthy and technical document that spells out what a qualified testing agency should be. It defines the minimum requirements for inspection agency personnel, testing agency laboratory personnel, and the minimum technical requirements for equipment and procedures utilized in the testing and inspection of materials used in construction. There is no way that an architect, owner, or developer could reasonably ascertain a testing agency's compliance without some help.

That help comes in the form of AASHTO, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. The AASHTO Accreditation Program (AAP) is the main accrediting body for testing construction materials in the United States. AAP utilizes on-site assessments, which are performed by AMRL, CCRL, or USACE special inspectors for accreditation, to visit a testing agency and give them a checkup from head to toe to verify that they are qualified to perform certain tests and verify virtually all procedures (administrative, quality control, operations, etc.). At the end of the day, if the testing agency has met the criteria established in the AAP Procedures Manual and AASHTO R18, the testing agency will be listed at www.amrl.net. Being listed means that a laboratory has established and maintained a quality system that conforms to AASHTO R18 and has been found competent to perform the tests that are listed in the directory. A few firms, such as Geo-Hydro, have gone one step further by being designated ASTM E329 compliant.

So you are wondering what AASHTO has to do with testing agencies that work on buildings. Welcome to the crazy quilt of testing agency accreditation. There are many different organizations that play a role in testing agency accreditation:

• Cement and Concrete Reference Laboratory (CCRL)
• American Concrete Institute (ACI)
• National Institution for Certifying in Engineering Technologies (NICET)
• American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM)
• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)
• American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
• Asphalt Institute
• International Code Council (ICC)

AASHTO pulls together all of the certifying organizations to create one overarching accreditation for testing agencies. The AASHTO Accreditation Program (AAP) recognizes the competency of a testing laboratory in construction materials testing. Firms that achieve AASHTO accreditation are listed in the AASHTO R18 Directory at http://www.amrl.net. The critical accreditation areas that you should look for are: soils, concrete, asphalt, aggregates, and masonry. Specific test methods are listed. Finally, AASHTO's review culminates in a determination of ASTM E329 compliance.

Geo-Hydro is proud to say that we are 2 of the 10 laboratories in Georgia as of July 17, 2007 that have ASTM E329 accreditation. The Kennesaw laboratory has E329 accreditation. The Bogart (Geo-Hydro's Athens office) laboratory has E329 accreditation in Portland Cement Concrete.