Plant Certification

Summary of Changes:

NPCA’s Quality Assurance Committee recently approved the sixth edition of NPCA’s Quality Control Manual for Precast and Prestressed Concrete Plants (NPCA QC Manual). The requirements in the sixth edition of the NPCA QC Manual will be effective as of January 1, 2008, and will be used for inspection standards during all 2008 plant inspections. Most of the revisions to the QC Manual were minor and editorial in nature. Revisions related to the administration of the program or its requirements include:

• Section 6.6.3.1 was revised and now reads:

If the plant is decertified or loses accreditation the plant is responsible for all applicable fees required to reenter the program as a new plant to the program. Additionally, plants that have been decertified or lost accreditation will have their anniversary dates reset to the date of when they reentered the program.

• Section 1.1.3.7 was revised and now reads:

Plant QC Inspectors and assigned backup inspectors shall complete the following minimum training requirements: NPCA Production and Quality School (PQS) and American Concrete Institute (ACI) Concrete Field Testing Technician - Grade I.

As part of the new requirements for QC Inspectors and backup inspectors, NPCA’s Quality Assurance Committee partnered with NPCA’s Education Committee to launch PQS Online. PQS Online is available though NPCA’s Web site and allows participants to download course materials, including video, PowerPoints and the textbook, from the convenience of their home or office computer. PQS Online is another valuable tool for training and education of production personnel at your plant. To learn more about PQS Online or to take the course, please visit www.precast.org/portal.

In addition to these changes to the NPCA QC Manual, NPCA is pleased to announce the launch of its Prestress Plant Certification Program, which is included in Chapter 7 of the QC Manual. The Prestress Plant Certification Program is an expansion of NPCA’s already mature Precast Plant Certification Program, and was approved by NPCA’s Quality Assurance and Technical Committees in October 2007. Like the Precast Plant Certification Program, the Prestress Plant Certification Program is designed to raise the bar of quality within the manufactured concrete industry.

You can download a free copy of the sixth edition of the NPCA QC Manual, including the new prestressed concrete requirements, at http://www.precast.org/qcmanual. Please note that the sixth edition will go into effect January 1, 2008.