A Brief History Of CTI

A Brief History of CTI

History: CTI was founded in 1984 on the corporate philosophy of providing a full range of integrated engineering services which emphasize the highest standards of quality, reliability, safety, responsiveness, and cost-effectiveness. We take pride in meeting those standards by ensuring our engineering services satisfy budgetary and scheduling constraints. This wide scope of services enables clients to avail themselves of a unique “one-stop” package which provides a range of disciplines normally only accessible by contracting with two or more companies. This concentration of resources also enhances project progress by enabling clients to deal with one point of contact for scheduling and administrative purposes.

Having grown to 10 branch offices located in Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina, the company offers a wide range of services, including geotechnical engineering and drilling, construction quality control, structural steel inspection, soils, concrete, and masonry testing and inspection, code compliance and commissioning, environmental consulting, quality assurance, roof consulting, core drilling services, and radiographic testing.

CTI personnel include civil engineers, land surveyors, geotechnical engineers, scientists and geologists, environmental engineers, project managers, electrical and mechanical engineers, structural engineers, construction engineers and inspectors, certified welding inspectors, roof consultants, technicians, draftspersons and support staff who offer extensive experience in engineering consulting and site services at the local, state, federal, and international levels.

CTI takes a pro-active approach to its projects and endeavors to identify problems before they arise. This means that any situations which may require additional or specialized personnel can be accommodated without disruption or delay in scheduling.

University Center, George Mason University, Fairfax. VA

CTI Employee

Employee Training/ Certification

Field Observation of Technical Staff (Evaluation)

Customer Satisfaction Surveys (Data Gathering)

With a staff of over 165 employees, CTI is also able to urgently deploy personnel, ensuring the smooth continuation of projects and avoiding costly delays. Careful scheduling and deployment of resources enables CTI to consistently meet the demands of its clients without compromising professional standards. This, we feel, is the role of a consulting engineering company and we take pride in fulfilling our commitments to our clients.

CTI has been committed to an on-going quality assurance program since the formation of the company in 1984. This program is intended to be in accordance with the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) E 329-77, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), Army Corps of Engineers, and Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) requirements. The overall purpose of the services, which we provide, is to inspect and verify construction work in accordance with written standards and specifications. For this reason, it is paramount that the equipment

and procedures of the company come under strictly enforced Quality Assurance requirements.

CTI approaches all projects in a pro-active manner. We strive to identify potential problems before they arise and seek solutions to avoid delays. We believe that our experience, capabilities and pro-active approach will our clientele with a quality project constructed in the most economical fashion possible, while maintaining the design requirements and goals.

CTI’S Strategy for Excellence:

In order to accurately service a construction project to ensure design compliance, it is critical that the correct inspection/test methods are utilized. It is also critical that these evaluation methods be carried out with precision. CTI employs specific strategies to

ensure services are performed in a manner that produces thorough and accurate evaluation of site conditions so that client expectations are always satisfied. CTI achieves this end through implementation of three strategies in a consistent and balanced program.

CTI staff: qualified and experienced.

Casting Concrete Test Cylinders

Reinforcing Steel Inspection

I. Training and Certification Programs:

CTI provides all field staff with the training necessary to provide accurate and thorough testing/inspection services. All CTI field personnel must complete competency training before they provide services to clients. These programs consist of a combination of in-house training and third party classroom training and certification. Training is broken up into four base groups. CTI field personnel are required to maintain certifications in one of these groups at all times.

Group 1: Soils and Asphalt: Moisture/ density testing - nuclear method (includes nuclear safety training) - (certification by

American Technical Institute or equivalent) Density testing - sand cone method - (certification by VDOT, WACEL or equivalent) Penetrometer testing (bearing evaluation) - DCP method Standard proctor (lab and field 1-point methods) Atterberg and liquid limits (lab method) Sieve analysis Soil classification Control strip and roller pattern (VDOT)

Group 2: Concrete and Masonry: Slump (ACI) Unit Weight (ACI) Air content/ air entrainment (ACI) Placement Techniques (ACI) Hot and Cold Weather Placement Techniques (ACI) Preparation and handling of concrete test specimens - cylinders

and beams Preparation and handling of masonry test specimens - mortar

cubes, grout cubes, prisms Compressive and flexural strength testing (ACI) Field verification of reinforcing steel including grade, size,

spacing, shape and cover)

Group 3: Structural Steel: Welder certification verification (AWS) Visual Weld Inspection (AWS) Visual inspection of miscellaneous connections Bolt torque testing Column plumb verification General erection techniques

Group 4: Non Destructive Testing: NDT for welds (ASNT)

o Liquid penetrant o Magnetic particleo Ultrasonico Radiographic

NDT for Concrete (James Instruments, ACI)o Impact hammer o Windsor probe

It should be noted that CTI employs personnel trained in other specialty disciplines including EIFS and façade inspections, MEP inspections, code compliance verification, condition assessment, destructive testing and many others.

II: Employee Performance Evaluations:

CTI gathers data to verify the competency of field personnel though regular unannounced field observation by management. These observations are performed by our Branch Managers and Registered Engineers. The results of these audits are documented and discussed with the inspector during the observation follow-up meeting. In addition to observing field personnel and conducting observational follow-up meetings, CTI also employs an annual formal performance evaluation to identify areas of possible improvement for inspection staff. A key component of this annual review is to verify that inspection certifications are current and to schedule recertification and new certification enrollment for the following year. Client Satisfaction Survey (see below) results are also reviewed during the annual evaluation.

III: Customer Satisfaction Surveys:

The final step in our process is to survey our clients upon project completion. The questions asked in the Customer Satisfaction Survey (CSS) address the performance of our technical and professional staff assigned to the project. It is our goal to ensure total client satisfaction on every project undertaken.

Conclusion: CTI is experienced in handling projects of all sizes, and are comfortable managing all aspects of an inspection program to ensure our clientele receives a comprehensive QC service in accordance with project requirements. CTI’s Lab Managers are highly experienced and will be personally responsible for oversight of all CTI and Subcontractor personnel, as needed. We will manage the staff closely, controlling both quality and cost for each project’s duration. Timely reporting and data control will be a top priority and lines of communication will be held open at all times.

It is CTI’s commitment to provide outstanding service. We are confident that our approach will lead to the successful completion and delivery of the testing and inspection program to the full satisfaction of our clientele.