Training and Certification of Construction Inspectors for Transportation Infrastructure (2023)

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120 APPENDIX F – CONSULTANT INTERVIEW QUESTIONNAIRE The National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) is supporting a research project to prepare guidance on the education, training, certification, recruitment, retention, and career development for construction inspectors on transportation infrastructure construction projects. The goal of this research is to create guidance for state transportation agencies and their industry partners in establishing and maintaining a construction inspector (CI) training and certification program for transportation infrastructure construction. (Read more about the project here: https://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=4786). The goal of this research is to create guidance for transportation agencies and their industry partners in establishing and maintaining a construction inspector (CI) training and certification program for transportation infrastructure construction that is responsive to the changes affecting the CI workforce and their development. To ensure the research satisfies the need for CI guidance, the research objectives are: 1. Identify and analyze gaps and needs for construction inspectors in: a. core competencies, b. formal and informal education, and c. Training/certification 2. Investigate and develop training strategies to meet the needs of the transportation infrastructure CI workforce 3. Investigate and develop strategies for certification programs that are transferable across multiple STAs 4. Identify professional development opportunities for CIs to further their core knowledge and changing CI requirements 5. Determine strategies for recruiting and retaining the future CI workforce 6. Investigate technology-specific KSA requirements for CIs For the purpose of this study, transportation construction inspectors are defined as the field personnel that perform field inspections, observations, and documentation of the construction process. Transportation agencies may refer to these individuals as inspector, field inspector, engineer, technician, and others. Interview Information Interviewee(s): Firm: Title(s): Describe CI experience and relative years of experience: Time and Date: Training and Certification

121 1) Which components (e.g. materials testing, structural inspection, and soils testing) of construction inspector training, certification and development are working well for your firm at this time? 2) Which components (e.g. materials testing, structural inspection, and soils testing) of construction inspector training, certification and development at your firm would you like to improve? 3) Please explain your firm’s balance of internal and external training use. How much does your firm train inspectors and how much are your inspectors trained outside of your firm? Is the decision based on resources (e.g., personnel, funding) available? 4) What aspects of training, certification, and development of construction inspectors would you change (e.g. certifications required, passing rates, career paths)? Inspector Development 5) Are your firm’s construction inspectors trained to be specialized in certain areas of inspections (e.g., Concrete Pavements) or are they trained to conduct all inspections as needed (e.g., “Jack of all trades”)? Please Explain. 6) How does your firm train construction inspectors to use technologies (e.g. tablets, non- destructive evaluations, remote sensing, etc.) to perform inspections? 7) Is the training and certification of your firm’s construction inspectors driven by the transportation agencies that you work with? Please explain. 8) How are your firm’s construction inspectors certified? Are they certified through transportation agencies or construction organizations? Please Explain. 9) What career paths are available for construction inspectors at your firm? 10) What happens at your firm when a construction inspector fails a certification exam? Final Thoughts 11) What future challenges do you think your firm may face relating to construction inspection and the construction inspection workforce? 12) What are lessons learned that your firm has in terms of training, certification, and development of transportation construction inspectors? 13) Do you have any final information or documents (e.g. handbooks, guides, and other resources you provide for inspectors) you would like to share with the research team