services
Building Strong Foundations
Project Support Services
Quality Testing, LLC (QT) offers a broad variety of services to support both the development and construction phases of civil engineering public works and commercial facility projects in Arizona and throughout the southwestern United States.
QT is AASHTO Accredited to perform the ASTM and AASHTO test methods associated with assessing materials compliance on nearly any type of heavy civil construction project. The scope of our AASHTO Accreditation includes the test methods associated with determining the properties of asphalt cement binder and asphalt emulsion products. Our corporate headquarters and primary testing facility maintains an extremely large volume of properly maintained and calibrated testing equipment. We also are staffed by over 50 experienced engineers, laboratory and field technicians, inspectors and administrative support personnel. With most of our staff being ACI and ATTI (Arizona) certified, and with select staff also maintaining various types and levels of ICC, NICET, PTI, AWS, ATSSA, ADOT and WAQTC certification, QT is prepared to put the appropriate personnel into service on nearly any construction project.
In addition to a sturdy materials engineering background, our corporate ownership and management team has a significant cumulative history of providing construction administration, construction engineering and civil engineering design from within the trenches. That broad and seasoned perspective results in QT services that facilitate solid and thorough construction documentation.
General services provided
Concrete
testing
Strength Specimens
testing
Field Density Testing
Testing
Binder Property Samples
Geotechnical Services
& Design
Construction
Administration
Positions Filled
Delivering Personalized Solutions for Every Client
Core Service Areas
Materials Testing is a critical component of any construction management team effort. While maintaining our AASHTO Accreditation and providing knowledgeable and properly certified technicians are key ingredients for producing valid and defendable test results, QT is committed to proving to our clients that we aim for and achieve a level of service far above status quo. We fully understand that our role in the construction management process is to facilitate a complete, accurate, and auditable documentation trail showing that all material utilized in the final construction project is ultimately in compliance with the contract requirements. We know the importance that owners, builders and construction managers rightfully place on controlling the quality of construction materials and we go out of our way to make sure that our clients are being properly served and are kept well informed.
INGREDIENTS FOR SUCCESSFUL MATERIALS TESTING SERVICES
- AASHTO Accreditation & Approval of Various Agencies
- Knowledgeable about Industry Standards & Project Specifications
- Testing Equipment is Calibrated & Maintained in Good Condition
- Solid Field Documentation & Conclusive Reporting is Produced
- Test Results & Reports are Provided in a Timely Manner
- Technicians are Appropriately Certified & Trained for Assignments
- Technicians are Punctual & Respectful of Clients & Other Stakeholders
- There is Frequent Communication with the Client
- Invoicing is Accurate & Budgets are Respected
- Management Gets Involved & Stays Involved
- Proactive Problem Solving
Construction Quality Programs can take on many forms, depending on owner agency resources and preferences, funding agency mandates, project type and size, project delivery mechanism, and numerous other variables. The most effective programs involve a well orchestrated combination of construction management, verification through inspection and measurement, and physical property and behavior quantification through materials testing. The basic objective of any quality seeking program is to assure that by the end of the project, compliance with the contract documents has been both achieved and documented.
Most large public works agencies with multi-billion dollar construction programs, like state highway departments, have developed, implemented, evolved and documented their own procedurally driven Construction Quality Programs. When applied to all of their projects in aggregate, these programs serve to validate their construction program as a whole. In fact, even individual mega-projects, typically approaching a $100 million or more in construction value, often utilizing some form of alternate delivery method, employ their own well-defined and regimented project specific quality programs in order to satisfy owner requirements, and upstream funding agency obligations. A well-conceived, and properly implemented Construction Quality Program will mandate the procedures and establish the checks and balances that are necessary for achieving consistent quality on very large projects or program-wide construction efforts.
Several members of QT’s staff have been involved in billion-dollar Design-Build highway construction projects where they have played key roles in both the development and implementation of extensive project-specific Construction Quality Programs. During the course of these projects, these same individuals have been subject to rigid formal audits and otherwise regular detailed scrutiny by owner agencies with regard to the content of the Construction Quality Programs, and the diligence with which these programs have been carried out. Without exception, we have earned the respect and trust of every owner agency we have worked with. We understand and appreciate why Construction Quality Programs are necessary, we know how to collaborate with our design-build clients and owner agencies to develop and refine programs for specific projects, and we have proven that we have the resources, commitment, and resilience it takes to implement them properly. We are available to help you succeed on your next alternate delivery project that has serious Construction Quality Program expectations.
Infrastructure heavy construction projects routinely involve soil and rock-type products; therefore, understanding the behavior of these materials is of vital importance when designing and constructing roadway, rail, and building foundation systems. Earth retaining structures, tunnels, earth and rockfill dams, and other facilities rely in some way upon the behavior of soil and rock. Understanding the engineering properties of the soil and rock used on construction projects can mean the difference between having a properly functioning facility, a facility that only functions marginally with increased maintenance costs and reduced service life, or even a facility that fails entirely.
QT is often contracted to plan and perform geotechnical site investigations, evaluate geotechnical data, and prepare geotechnical recommendations and reports in support of continued project development and future construction. The early geotechnical component of any project has a significant impact on the quality and efficiency of future construction, not only by the technical content of reports but also by the manner in which such technical information is presented. QT’s experts strive to produce clear, concise and user-friendly geotechnical reports, understanding that future users of our reports – inspectors, owners, government agencies, other engineering consultants and contractors – prefer the most direct approach to the project requirements so that they can assure compliance with confidence.
TYPICAL GEOTECHNICAL SERVICES PROVIDED BY QT
- Advanced Geotechnical Laboratory Testing
- Develop Mitigation Measures for Expansive and Collapsible Soils
- Borrow Source Identification
- Building PAD Certification
- Pavement Section Design
- Settlement Analysis
- Slope Stability
- Embankment Design
- Foundation & Wall Design
- Soil Support Verification
As indicated below, QT is AASHTO Accredited to perform nearly every type of laboratory material test that would be encountered on a typical heavy civil construction project. Along with testing soils, aggregates, hot mix asphalt concrete (HMA) paving mixtures and Portland cement concrete, the extensive asphalt cement and asphalt rubber binder testing services offered by QT is quite rare among private laboratory testing firms in the United States.
HOT MIX ASPHALT (HMA) CONCRETE PAVING MIXTURES
- AC Coring & Bulk Specific Gravity
- Ignition Furnace-Calibration
- Ignition Furnace-AC Content
- Ignition Furnace-Gradation
- Max. Theoretical Specific Gravity
- Marshall Bulk Density
- Marshall Stability & Flow
- Gyratory Compaction
- Asphalt Content – Nuclear
- Moisture Induced Damage (TSR)
- Extraction of HMA or RAP
- Asphalt Concrete Mix Design
ASPHALT CEMENT, ASPHALT RUBBER, EMULSIONS & CUTBACK ASPHALT
- PG Verification (AASHTO M320 & M332)
- Dynamic Shear Rheometer (DSR)
- Bending Beam Rheometer (BBR)
- Rolling Thin Film Oven (RTFO)
- Pressure Aging Vessel (PAV)
- Elastic Recovery & Ductility
- Flash Point & Solubility
- Penetration & Softening Point
- Absolute & Kinematic Viscosity
- Brookfield & Haake Viscosity
- Resilience & Cone Penetration
- Specific Gravity of Binder & Crumb Rubber
- Emulsion Verification
- Residue by Evaporation or Distillation
- Saybolt Furol Viscosity
- Sieve Test & Particle Charge
- Float Test & Demulsibility
- Storage Stability & Settlement
- Resistance to Water & Freezing
- Resistance to Heat & Kerosene
- Cement Mixing & Coating
CONCRETE & MASONRY
- Compressive Strength (Cylinders)
- Flexural Strength (Beams)
- Masonry Grout & Mortar Strength
- CMU Area, Absorption & Strength
- Masonry Prisms Strength
- Shotcrete Panel Strength
- Floor Moisture Vapor Emission
SOILS, AGGREGATES & GEOTECHNICAL
- Bulk Density & Voids
- Flakiness Index
- Flat & Elongated Particles
- Fractured Particles
- Sulfate Soundness
- Uncompacted Voids
- Moisture Determination
- Sand Equivalent
- Sieve Analysis
- Specific Gravity & Absorption
- Clay Lumps & Friable Particles
- Lightweight Pieces of Aggregate
- In-Situ Moisture
- Plasticity Index (Dry & Wet Prep)
- Proctor (Standard & Modified)
- Proctor (Soil Cement Mixture)
- pH & Resistivity Determination
- Hydrometer Analysis
- Shrinkage Factor & Expansion Index
- One Dimensional Swell/Settlement
- California Bearing Ratio
- Direct Shear Test
- Triaxial Shear Test
- Permeability
- Unconfined Compressive Strength
- One Dimensional Consolidation
- Collapse Potential of Soils
Most of QT’s services are classified as Construction Administration, or more broadly, Construction Management type activities. With experience encompassing most types of construction, QT routinely administers construction contracts on behalf of public works and private owners. In this capacity, we can serve as either the prime consultant filling all positions within the construction oversight organization, or as a subconsultant providing select positions within a large collaborative team effort.
POSITIONS FILLED BY QT
We can provide Resident Engineers, Chief Inspectors, Special Inspectors, Primary and Support Inspectors, Quality Control and Quality Assurance Program Managers and other support personnel, Materials Coordinators, Construction Office Managers, Office Administrators and Surveyors, and Materials Testing Technicians of all experience levels and with various areas of expertise.
TYPES OF PROJECTS THAT WE SERVE ON
QT has significant experience working on all types of projects for all types of owner agencies. We often service projects involving the construction of: freeways, surface streets, highways, bridges and other roadway related facilities; runways, taxilanes, aprons, terminals and other aviation facilities; light rail systems, elevated guideways, bus terminals and stations, and other transit related facilities; cast-in-place walls, MSE walls, tunnels, tied-back wall systems, temporary shoring and other major earth retaining structures; commercial, industrial, public works, and residential buildings; dams, retarding structures, drainage channels, central filters, pump stations, and other flood control oriented facilities; and any other type of heavy civil engineering facilty that involves plans, specifications, and heavy construction. We are familiar with the additional construction administration and documentation requirements associated with Federal Funding and understand the construction administration nuances associated with projects that utilize alternate forms of project delivery such as CM @ Risk, Design/Build, or Job Order contracting.
SUCCESSFUL PROJECT DELIVERY
QT is prepared to be called upon by agencies, contractors, and other consultants to help fulfill a wide variety of construction administration team roles. We can help any team in pursuit of major projects where the selection process is qualifications based, and once the jobs are won, QT can and will help deliver the product as promised by the winning team.
QWIC, QT’s proprietary, internally developed cloud-based relational materials management and inspection application for collecting, managing, and reporting, saves time and money. QWIC enables QT to optimize labor, project management, travel time, minimize resource expense and allows for immediate sample logging, quality control calculations, and flexible real-time data accessibility from any location, and the inherent ability to query the data and develop the most meaningful reports and summaries.