News Detail

Sharpening Your Game

6/1/2012

As we approach the warmer weather, many golfers are planning to sharpen their game before entering into serious competition. In many respects, ACI members need to sharpen their professional skills before they can progress further in their career. If you are a golfer, I would advise you to go to your local course or driving range and seek professional help to improve your swing and consistency. If you are an ACI member, I would advise you to go to the ACI Web site and check out what skill-building options are available to all ACI members.

For professional training, ACI currently offers 18 certification programs that cover a broad range of classifications—from Field Testing Technician I to Adhesive Anchor Installer. Training courses and certification exams are administered by over 100 local sponsoring groups, which are typically ACI chapters. The ACI Web site gives a description of each certification program, including expected knowledge, reference material, study guides, and examination requirements. The locations and dates for training and certification examinations are also listed. More than 25,000 certification exams are given annually.

In golf, you need to keep hitting balls to improve your swing and the consistency with which you strike the ball. If you are a professional engineer, to maintain your license you may be required to continually build and broaden your engineering skills through the accumulation of continuing education units (CEUs) or professional development hours (PDHs).

Each ACI member receives eight free tokens per year for earning up to 0.8 CEUs or 8 PDHs through the ACI Online CEU program. Currently, about 45 topics—16 of them listed as "new"—are available for earning CEUs and the ACI Educational Activities Committee (EAC) is continuing to add new topics. To earn CEUs, simply select a topic, download and study the reference material, and then complete and pass a 10-question examination. As part of my preparation for writing this memo, I completed the study module on "Guide for Design and Construction of Structural Concrete with FRP Bars (Part A)."

Every golfer knows that you "drive for show," but you "putt (and chip) for dough." So, you need to work on the entire range of your game. For the ACI member who wants to broaden his/her skills, there is an interesting range of eLearning courses accessible through the ACI Web site. These online course modules are offered on a fee basis and normally include CEU (or PDH) credits.

The Web-based delivery consists of a variety of formats including text, photos, illustrations, and videos to best present the material. Once you have signed up for a course, you can access it during a period that normally ranges from 30 to 90 days. Approximately 20 eLearning courses are currently available and EAC is working on developing additional courses.

Finally, a good way to improve your golf game is to learn by observing and listening to the professionals. ACI offers similar technical opportunities through seminars, Web Sessions, and the Concrete Knowledge Center.

Every year, ACI conducts about 75 seminars around the U.S. on a variety of topics. These are offered on a fee basis and normally include CEU credits. Additionally, Web Sessions are available on the ACI Web site to allow you to virtually attend some of the sessions presented at the most recent ACI convention. The Concrete Knowledge Center allows access to technical and educational committee documents, as well as design case studies and pre-published answers to technical questions. ACI members are permitted free downloads of three committee documents or technical articles per year, as well as reduced member prices for additional downloads.

So, if you cannot get out to the golf course, consider spending some time at the ACI Web site to see what valuable engineering information is available. Fore!

James K. Wight
American Concrete Institute

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