IBC Certifications ? 2

[rjmc]

Knowing how to use the building code is not as important as having a certification that says you have passed the test. I am now in a position that I need the "Special Inspector" cert's (our client requires it), and I suck at taking tests. Does anyone know of a good study program that can help?

 

[SB63]

Just go in and take the ICC exams. I went in and passed them and am a Building Code Official now. I had plenty of time to look up the answer to each question.

 

[techmaximus]

I used Larsen Inspection Training out of CA. They have Distance Training courses for all of the ICC Special Inspection certs. I passed the ICC RCSI on the first try in 1 hour short of the max allowed time of 3 ½ hours and I am fairly certain I only missed 2 questions. The Distance Learning from Larsen was a big help.

http://www.larseninspectiontraining.com/pages/1/index.htm

With regard to the ICC Reinforced Concrete Special Inspector certification, you may already know that in addition to being ACI certified you are required to prove up the required years of experience prior to being awarded the cert. It works out that if you have the required number of years of experience then the plan reading part of the exam is no problem. If you have not been looking at structural drawings and performing inspections for the required number of years then the plan reading part of the exam will be a MAJOR problem. The code portion of the exam is just a matter of having experience with the required reference material and knowing where to look up the answers. The code portion of the exam is difficult but if you have knowledge of the material you can find the answers. I would not walk in there with out having read ACI318, the required ASTM standards, and the IBC 2003. Knowing how the references are laid out so that you can find the answers quickly is key.


SCET - Techmaximus

 

[techmaximus]

I’m feeling pretty good today as I just took and passed the ICC Prestressed Concrete Special Inspector exam. This exam was significantly more difficult, for me at any rate, than the Reinforced Concrete Special Inspector Exam. Although I passed both on the first try with more than one hour to spare, I found the PT exam to be much harder. I found the PT exam harder mainly because a bunch of questions dealt with soil/rock anchors and I work mostly on high rise buildings. I had to spend a significant amount of time verifying the soil/rock anchor answers in the reference material. With that said, the fact remains, IMO, that one’s experience level will determine the outcome. Knowing the reference material, how the information contained in each book is laid out etc so that the correct answers can be found, and having actually looked at and inspected from numerous sets of various PT shop drawings are the keys to passing these tests.

Techmaximus