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

Chapter: APPENDIX I KEY FINDINGS FROM CONSULTANT INTERVIEWS

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Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX I KEY FINDINGS FROM CONSULTANT INTERVIEWS." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Training and Certification of Construction Inspectors for Transportation Infrastructure. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26879.
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Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX I KEY FINDINGS FROM CONSULTANT INTERVIEWS." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Training and Certification of Construction Inspectors for Transportation Infrastructure. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26879.
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Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX I KEY FINDINGS FROM CONSULTANT INTERVIEWS." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Training and Certification of Construction Inspectors for Transportation Infrastructure. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26879.
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Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX I KEY FINDINGS FROM CONSULTANT INTERVIEWS." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Training and Certification of Construction Inspectors for Transportation Infrastructure. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26879.
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Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX I KEY FINDINGS FROM CONSULTANT INTERVIEWS." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Training and Certification of Construction Inspectors for Transportation Infrastructure. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26879.
×
Page 156
Page 157
Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX I KEY FINDINGS FROM CONSULTANT INTERVIEWS." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Training and Certification of Construction Inspectors for Transportation Infrastructure. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26879.
×
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Suggested Citation:"APPENDIX I KEY FINDINGS FROM CONSULTANT INTERVIEWS." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2023. Training and Certification of Construction Inspectors for Transportation Infrastructure. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26879.
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152 APPENDIX I – KEY FINDINGS FROM CONSULTANT INTERVIEWS This section documents the perspectives of third-party consultant firms that provide inspection services for transportation infrastructure projects regarding the training and certification, career development, lessons learned, and future challenges for construction inspectors. An interview protocol specifically focused at the consultant firms was developed based on literature review, data from consultant survey questionnaire responses and internal discussions with the project team. The data collected from the survey questionnaire was used to identify representatives of consultant firms for qualitative interviews using the following criteria: • Experience in working for STAs to provide construction inspection services; • Number of STAs they provide inspection resources; and • Willingness of the representatives of consultant firms to participate. Based on these criteria, 17 representatives from consultant firms across the U.S. were invited initially to participate in the qualitative interviews. Solicitation for participation occurred through phone calls and emails. For each participant that was contacted, they were asked to extend the invitation to other contacts within their consultant firm that might be interested in the study. Then, based on the availability of consultant staff, seven interviews with nine participants were scheduled to be conducted either via Zoom or phone calls, based on the preference of the participants. Two of the seven interviews had two participants each from within the same consultant firm. The consultant firms that participated provide inspections services in 44 states. The research team later followed up with the participants to verify the data documented and to obtain any additional information as needed. Table I.1 shows the details of interview participants. Table I.1 Interview Participant Information Title Location Experience STAs they work with Principal/Highway Construction Manager Texas 20+ years Texas Asst. CEI Manager Kentucky 16 to 20 years Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina, Tennessee Senior VP – Construction Management and Inspection Ohio 20+ years Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia Group Manager Pennsylvania 20+ years 32 states Senior Transportation Engineer Colorado 20+ years Arizona, Colorado, California Senior Construction Engineer Ohio 20+ years Michigan, Ohio Senior Construction Project Manager Louisiana 20+ years Kentucky, Louisiana, Tennessee, Texas The interview questions inquired consultants’ perspectives on components that are working well and are required to be improved regarding construction inspector training, certification, development, career paths, certification, recertification, lessons learned and future challenges of construction inspection programs. The interviews were conducted in April and May of 2021, while each interview lasted between 45 minutes to 75 minutes. To conduct the interviews, the following is the protocol used in this study: 1. Contact consultant firm representatives to invite participation in the exploratory interviews.

153 2. Perform interviews with consultant firm key leadership staff to identify the construction inspector training, certification and development related components that are working well and that are needed to be improved. 3. Collect relevant documents and reports related to consultant firm specific inspector development programs. 4. The interview questions were structured around three areas: 1) Training and Certification; 2) Inspector Development; 3) Lessons learned and future challenges. The following section summarizes the findings in a similar order from the seven consultant firm interviews. The summary includes a review of the transcripts and notes taken during the interviews to determine the common themes and facts to consider in the development of the CI Guide final deliverable for this project. Training and Certification Training In terms of training, consultants have their inspectors trained through classroom, online, and on- the-job training approaches. Among the different training methods, the on-the-job training approach provides an opportunity for young inspectors to shadow experienced inspectors in the field, which proved to be effective for consultant firms. One participant mentioned, “The classroom training and other training opportunities for inspectors are good and required for certification, but the learning experience that they (inspectors) get in the field is fantastic. On-the- job field training is extremely important in inspector learning and development,” signifying the importance of field learning for inspector development. Availability of training classes and finding time for construction inspectors to attend training stood out as important components that could be improved. One participant mentioned, “Our inspectors work almost 25-30 hours over time a week on the job site, and it’s virtually impossible for them to take classes and get certified during those times.” Adding to that, another participant mentioned, “When the inspectors have time to take training for certification, the classes are unavailable, as literally, almost every class is full within three days after it opens up,” stressing the importance of making more classes available or more seats available for a class. Consultants prefer a combination of internal and external training opportunities to train their inspectors effectively. Internal training sources include providing study guides, internally developed training materials, learning management systems, and assigning an experienced inspector to less experienced inspectors for them to ask questions or state concerns. External training sources include category specific training webinars (pavement materials, structures, etc.), STA required training sessions, and training offered to obtain certifications such as OSHA, ACI, and NICET or. Certification and Recertification Consultants train and certify their inspectors based on the needs and requirements as per the contract with STAs. “The contracts that we get drive the certification. We meet the requirements of the contract. If the STA, as per contract, wants to have five certifications for the inspectors, we make sure we got those five certifications,” mentioned by a participant emphasizing on how transportation agencies drive the training and certifications for in-house and consultant inspectors. It will be helpful to provide a clear training and certification paths for inspectors based on their

154 interests rather than STAs needs, as these inspectors then would be able to work across state, city and county transportation agencies based on their passion rather than the need of STAs. Training the inspection workforce for their future will indeed result in creating high quality inspectors for all transportation projects. “We used to train our inspectors based on the needs of STAs. But, when we realized how much better it would be if we train people based on their interest, we started training inspectors accordingly. We are now able to provide inspectors that makes our clients (STAs) life easy. We create a training, certification and career path for every inspector and meet with them for annual review to talk about their goals and future growth plans. We, then implement an annual training plan,” emphasizing the importance of training inspectors, based on their interests as well as the needs of STAs. In terms of certifications, most of the consultants stated that national level certifications such as NICET, ACI and regional certifications such as NETTCP, WAQTC work well for them, while the training and certifications offered by STAs are also beneficial. Consultants mentioned that prequalification of inspectors based on experience, educational components, and some certifications with certain STAs (Florida, Texas) proved to be helpful to prequalify inspectors for the construction jobs rather than certifications alone. “Different states have different expectations. To be prequalified, some states require the inspectors to have a certain college degree or some national certification such as NICET or a combination of the two,” informing varying prequalification criteria across the states. When asked about aspects that could be improved in certification, consultants noted that inconsistency in certifications from state to state and unacceptance of national certifications for qualifications at some STAs are the primary issues that consultant inspector firms have to deal with. Some states accept national/regional certifications, whereas some STAs only accept their certifications, and some other STAs accept a combination of national/regional certifications and STA specific certifications. One participant mentioned “We have to spend a lot of efforts to understand what certifications STAs accept and doesn’t accept to know what certifications we should get for our inspectors. We have inspectors across several states, and each state have separate certification requirements. Then, we go through various websites like the concrete ACI, or STA website to sign up our inspectors individually for certifications. It gets very cumbersome at times,” strengthening that it is important to bring consistency among STAs regarding certification processes. Furthermore, it is difficult for an inspector that is certified in one STA to work in a neighboring STA due to differences in certification standards. “Our STA says they accept ACI certification, but still they require our STA certified concrete inspector to be at the job. So really, they're not accepting it, they might like it and appreciate the knowledge that it takes to get that certification, but it's still not acceptable,” noted one consultant participant. While another participant added, “If there was some nationally/regionally recognized certification process for different types of inspection categories and is accepted across different states, it would develop inspectors that are certified to work across several states, and this brings consistency among the states,” indicating that national or regional certifications would help consultants to be more consistent in their certification processes but also creates an inspection workforce that can work across state lines more efficiently.

155 Consultants have two perspectives on recertification. Some consultants suggested elimination of recertification because inspectors who are certified and have been doing this for a long time typically have no issues passing a recertification exam, but it takes time and resources to recertify experienced inspectors. The other perspective from consultants is that construction is constantly changing, technologies are improving and becoming more widespread in terms of use, and it is important to have CIs recertified to keep them up to date of the ever-evolving construction industry. Taking both perspectives into account, the research team believes it is still important to have a recertification process in place, but it may be beneficial to CIs to use continuing education credits or hands-on applications in the field for recertification processes. “For most inspectors, they pass the test once, especially in the beginning of their careers, and then they get to the actually doing it part. Despite doing inspections for 20 years, why should they take the same test again after 20 years? Instead, the STAs should do a hands-on or exams on what the STAs wants to emphasize in the specifications or what CIs as a whole need to work on. If we can test on those items rather than retesting the same content, the whole thing will be very helpful,” as mentioned by one participant. When a consultant inspector fails a certification or recertification exam, the firms usually support them and provide additional internal training resources to retake and pass the certification exam. “If we're going to spend the time and effort to send somebody to get certified, and they fail it, we're not just going to give up, we're going to try to figure out a way for him to succeed. We do not want the investment we’ve made so far to be wasted,” mentioned one participant regarding what they do when an inspector fails an exam. Some consultant firms pay for the training and certification fees for the first exam taken, but if they fail, it is on the inspectors to pay the fees for subsequent tests, although they would not be fired or let go. Consultants mentioned that the reason inspectors may fail certification exams is the style of exam itself. CIs are trained to be at the job site and perform hands-on tasks, and some may not be comfortable taking a written exam. One participant mentioned, “We have an extremely good inspector; he does his job well. But when you ask him to take a written test, he turns three shades of white,” indicating it is important to look at other modes of testing other than just a paper/computer-based exams. Improvements to Training and Certification Training and Certification aspects that need to be improved as per consultants perspectives for construction projects include providing a clear training and career path for inspectors (along the lines of Engineer-In-Training (EIT) and advancing to the Professional Engineer (PE) level), streamlining prequalification and recertification processes across the states, making training and testing relevant to both STA inspectors as well as consultant inspectors, and providing field training opportunities for new inspectors as much as possible. Regarding the testing relevance to state and consultant inspectors, one participant mentioned, “The testing for our STA certification is very much geared toward state inspectors. In the certification exam, they ask questions about STA internal processes, which is difficult for consultants to answer. They should develop tests geared toward both external and internal inspectors.” Some consultants opined that having two separate training streams, one for new inspector certification training and another for recertification training is essential. “Currently, for recertification, you’re going to the whole class again and you get lost in the stuff that you've already known. It will be great if the recertification training classes focus on teaching training technologies that have changed and

156 emerged recently, whereas the new certification focuses on all required training aspects from scratch,” opined a participant indicating the importance of avoiding double teaching the inspectors seeking recertification. This will result in effective use of training resources as availability of training classes for new inspectors can be increased. Further, consultants mentioned that finding young people and retaining those who are interested in the field is difficult. Providing career paths as well as good work culture are crucial for attracting and retaining people in construction inspection. “When we put the inspectors on the job, we provide them technical support, and check up on them regularly. We offer them incentives, whether it be financial or personal to encourage them to get the certifications. We outline a clear career path for them early on their employment with us where they can grow to a level of project manager. It gives them a sense of ownership, sense of career growth and motivates them to grow within construction inspection,” mentioned a participant emphasizing the importance of providing good career path and work culture to attract and retain young inspectors within construction inspection fields. Inspector Development Cross training of inspectors Consultants informed that they are inclined to cross train their inspectors to be able to work across multiple inspection areas, while they would train the inspectors to be specialized in a particular area. It is important to train the inspectors to be flexible, as specialty inspectors cannot sit idle if there are not many projects going on in their specialty area. “We train our inspectors to be jack of all trades, but we make sure each one of them has their own specialty inspection area. Some are specialized in structures, some are specialized in dirt work, while they will still be able to do other inspections such as concrete. You get them trained for everything in case you need somebody for any situation,” as mentioned by a participant emphasizing the importance of training inspectors to be flexible across multiple inspection areas while being specialized in their area of choice. “The industry should try to cross train inspectors across multiple inspection categories, because, the more flexible they are, the more efficient, more leaner, and more meaner industry would be,” added another participant signifying the importance of cross training. Recruiting new and young inspectors Most consultant firms currently recruit retirees from the STAs as they have may already possess certifications and are very valuable in terms of knowledge and experience. But consultants understand that these retirees are not going to be around long-term, and hence it is important to hire younger inspectors. To find new and younger inspectors, consultants hire high school and college students through internship programs by attending career fairs at local schools, and community and technical colleges. Typically, these students finish inspection internships with the consultants during summer of their college years, and they get hired post completion of college by the consultant firm. “We go to career fairs, and hire interns every year that work with our advanced inspectors in summer. Often times, we have full-time employees that started off as interns. So, it's pretty good recruiting tool for us,” mentioned by one participant on ways they hire young inspectors. It is wise to hire the young inspection interns and pair them up with the seasoned retirees, so that the young inspectors get on-the-job training from experienced inspectors and at the same time also nurture the future inspection workforce.

157 Training inspectors for new technologies Consultants provide training to inspectors on the use of inspection technologies. If STAs initiate the use of new software applications (AASHTOware, internal STA systems), they provide initial training and consultant firms would send their inspectors to attend the training based on availability. Several consultants have informed that, when they bring any new technologies into construction inspection, such as LIDAR, UAVs, they typically provide hands-on and on-the-job training to their CIs on these technologies. Career path of inspectors Consultant firms use a wide variety of approaches varying from monetary benefits to career progression to provide career paths for inspectors. At most of the firms, individuals start as material tester, advance to the field inspector level and typically then work toward being project manager. Some candidates with interest in engineering skills take a different route where they obtain a college degree and branch out into civil engineering after few years of inspection experience. In addition to this, the firms offer monetary paths where the individuals start with $18-$20/hour and can go up to $35/hour based on experience. Additionally, some firms also offer incentives upon attaining certain certifications as well as for high performance. Future Challenges Almost every consultant that has been interviewed mentioned that some people today are not attracted to work in the construction industry, pay scales for construction inspectors cannot compete with other industries, such as oil and gas inspectors, and finding new and young inspectors that would be interested in sticking to inspection careers and training them efficiently as future challenges. The experienced construction inspectors that are STA retirees are going to be here only for few years. It is important to provide on-the-job training to a younger generation of inspectors by pairing them with the experienced inspectors to develop a more consistent transportation construction inspection workforce. “The industry is aging out, and we should find ways to recruit new inspectors that are interested,” mentioned a participant emphasizing on the need to recruit younger generations for CI roles. Lessons Learned 1) Provide all the resources (training, experience, certifications, and other support) for CIs to be successful at the job. One participant mentioned, “Provide everything you've got to provide, with proper resources in order to do their job. And if they don't have those proper resources, you set them up to fail,” which notes the importance of providing proper resources to develop a qualified and trained inspection workforce. 2) Provide on-the-job training in the field to develop qualified CIs. “Invest in your staff before they go and get their certifications, get them hands-on experience, show them, do not send them to a class and expect them to come back and be educated and know what they're doing because they're not going to be,” mentioned a participant signifying the importance of on- the-job training for transportation inspectors. 3) Identify and recruit young inspectors and provide them with a clear view of a career path early in their employment. Train them quickly and support their educational and career aspirations. 4) Training and placing inspectors based on their interests will yield better results in inspector development and retention. As mentioned by a participant, “Find out what type of

158 construction they’re (inspectors) interested in, train and provide certifications in that. If you let them be a part of that decision, the success rate is higher. If you force it just because you have a void in a particular discipline, it generally doesn't work well. And, you might lose them,” indicating the importance of considering inspectors interest to retain them in the inspection field.

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Construction inspectors (CIs) are the frontline workforce that ensures the work on transportation infrastructure projects meets the design and contract requirements and that the finished product meets or exceeds the quality standards.

The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's NCHRP Web-Only Document 337: Training and Certification of Construction Inspectors for Transportation Infrastructure details the process for developing NCHRP Research Report 1027: Guide to Recruiting, Developing, and Retaining Construction Inspectors that presents a systematic process to establish and maintain the career development of CIs as an integral asset to the transportation infrastructure sector.

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