Soils Special Inspections for 2008 1

[msucog]

heads up...was looking around the ICC site and now see that there will be a soils SI certification starting in Jan '08. SI for soils were included in the IBC2006 so many of us may see this coming up very soon. this will likely mean that the testing firm's presence onsite will need to be increased during earthwork activities. this will also likely mean that infamous requests for the "all the soil is good!" letter will start flowing in with little to no notice. i'm glad to see this finally coming through but am hesitent to see how well it is adopted/enforced.

anyway, here's the link to a little information (i suspect more info coming later this month)

http://www.iccsafe.org/certification/inspector.html

 

[Soilsampler]

Would this apply to people who do atteberg limits and organic suites? Do you have any info on how to obtain the certification?
M Hall
Soil Analysis Technician

 

[DarthSoilsGuy]

soilsampler,

No, lab analysis is covered by the lab certifying authority (AMRL to name one).

A Soils Special Inspector must be familiar with the laboratory work. But the the lab-tech won't need to read grading plans or make site visits.

"All the soil is good!" includes a workmanship evaluation of the stiffness of subgrades, the quality of placed fills, and bearing soils under the footings. Not just classifying what soils are there and whether it meets spec (but that is one part of it).

 

[DarthSoilsGuy]

Soilsampler,

thought about it a little more. you may be required to have NICET Level 2 in Soils certification to work on a project with Soil Special Inspections required. But, don't worry about the ICC certification linked in the post.

Assuming you're from USA, the state you work in plays a factor.

 

[msucog]

currently, i have only run across isolated instances where the SI certification was checked for concrete, masonry and/or steel. most places don't check and only want a letter. up until now though, there was no "soil SI" so i suppose it could more of a headache to send out a piece of paper saying you performed the soil SI if you don't have any SI's in your company...hence, the reason i thought i'd pass it along. i don't think it will cause me any headaches for at least 6-12 months but you never know...they ask for stuff and sometimes they don't.

as far as the test references, it looks to be a very basic test but somehow it's getting stretched out to 3.5hr. i took the concrete and masonry SI tests and commercial building inspecotr test and they were all pretty in depth. the references for the soils test seems pretty limited. i suspect they will do something similar to the concrete SI test where you must also pass the ACI level I test to get the full "recognition".

it's all still relatively pointless if there's not widespread enforcement (of the law)...but, at least it's all a start.

 

[Soilsampler]

Thanks to both of you for this valuable information. I currently work in a soils lab in Florida. We do sinkhole investigations for insurance companies. We normally are examining soils for possible fat clay or organic content to determine the effects on a structure. I only have an associate's degree in geology but I am attending engineering school to obtain a degree in civil engineering. I want get as much training as possible to be more valuable and skilled. Thanks again.