Contractor Qualification Program
When you have completed your application and compiled all required documents, you are ready to submit your application.
Checklist of Required Materials to Upload:
- ASA Seminar Certificate of Completion
- ASA CQ Program Status Report (Exam score)
- Current Contractor’s License
- Current Insurance Certificate
- Current Letter of Bonding Capacity
- Completed ASA CQ Application pdf
- Completed ASA CQ Application xlsx – 3 tabs: Equipment, Field Teams, & Projects
- Application Fee – Payable online after submission
Copyright © American Shotcrete Association
ASA administers the Shotcrete Contractor Qualification as a review service for shotcrete contractors, providing them with objective, experienced review of their projects, equipment, and company structure for project owners who might have less experience evaluating shotcrete work. This review is conducted by the Review Task Group within the Contractor Qualification Committee, whose members have extensive experience in successful shotcrete work. This qualification program provides a distinct service to the industry by assuring specifiers that shotcrete contractors reviewed here have a proven work record for completion of successful projects of similar work and scope. This qualification program is based on the ASA Board Position Paper, “Qualifications of the Shotcrete Construction Team.”
Structural Levels of Qualification:
There are two structural levels of qualification, Level I and Level II in the process(es), i.e. wet-mix or dry-mix, to the work performed by applicant.
- Qualified Shotcrete Contractor – Structural Level I (QSC – SI) Shotcrete Contractor (Level I) – Representative projects which have thin, lightly-reinforced shotcrete sections that can be easily accessed and placed would be considered “Level I”.
- Qualified Shotcrete Contractor – Structural Level II (QSC – SII) Shotcrete Contractor (Level II) – Representative projects which have thick, heavily-reinforced sections or sections with difficult access would be considered “Level II”.
Program Requirements:
- Identify a Qualifying Individual (QI) to attend the required CQ Seminar and successfully complete the required written exam. Please contact ASA for the next available seminar: [email protected] | 248/983.1702. (The seminar will also provide helpful insights for completion of the CQ application.)
- Documentation of company equipment and shotcrete staff, including list of certified shotcreters (previously known as nozzlemen)
- Documentation of FIFTEEN (15) projects successfully completed in the last 3 – 5 years (per level pursued) representative of the level of qualification pursued in the application.
Click here to review the full policy for help in completing your application
If you have any questions, please contact ASA at 248.983.1702 or [email protected]
Copyright © American Shotcrete Association
We have all seen those small letters and numbers that mark practically everything we use in construction. To most, these are meaningless markings that are meant for someone else. However, with shotcrete, nothing could be farther from the truth.
The COVID-19 Pandemic affected our lives in ways none of us have ever experienced in our lifetimes. I’ve been in construction for 45 years and I have never seen our economy shut down, businesses closed, or people required to stay at home. In 2001, the attacks of September 11th temporarily shut down air travel and the stock market, but the American economy remained intact and air travel resumed within a couple of weeks. However, COVID-19, has affected our lives in ways that we could never have imagined. Schools and universities were closed; professional, collegiate and high school sports seasons were suspended and canceled; and restaurants and businesses were closed. We were told to stay home and work remotely, if possible, and businesses across the country followed those directives.
This is a revised version of the original article printed in the Summer 2016 of Shotcrete magazine before the OSHA rule was put in place. This revision has added site measured values for air monitoring of crew members on shotcrete projects, as well as ASA’s response to OSHA’s request for information in August 2019. Also, included is a short section on applicable respirators. With this revision our intent is to put the current information you need about the OSHA rule and its impact on shotcrete operations in one place for ready reference.
Both wet-mix and dry-mix shotcrete when using proper materials, equipment and placement techniques will produce high strength, low permeability concrete in-place. Dry-mix shotcrete will tend to have a lower w/cm since water is added to the dry concrete materials at the nozzle. Wet-mix needs a higher w/cm and a fairly high cement paste content to facilitate pumpability. This can make wet-mix more susceptible to plastic or drying shrinkage cracking than dry-mix. However, cracking in either dry-mix or wet-mix shotcrete can be controlled by using fogging of freshly finished surfaces and then early curing of exposed shotcrete surfaces.
Wet-mix still has very low w/cm (0.40 to 0.45) to allow vertical and overhead placement without sloughing or falling out and is lower than much of the form-and-poured concrete. The low w/cm and high velocity impact produces excellent compressive strength and low permeability. Properly placed dry-mix will have similar compressive strength and permeability as wet-mix. strength gain.
ASA is the international trade association dedicated to advancement of shotcrete placement. The American Concrete Institute (ACI) has a long history of certification of individual craftsmen in concrete construction. Nearly 20 years ago ASA worked closely with ACI to establish the ACI Shotcrete Nozzleman certification program to evaluate a nozzleman’s ability to place quality shotcrete. ASA is the primary group that conducts the ACI Nozzleman Certification sessions around the world. We provide a full day of education before the formal ACI certification and have a team of examiners with proven shotcrete expertise to rigorously conduct the sessions to ACI’s high standards. Many engineers specify that all the nozzlemen on their projects must have ACI Nozzleman Certification. Many concrete-related codes, specifications and standards require ACI-certified shotcrete nozzleman for shotcrete placement of structural concrete.
Thus, ASA doesn’t offer an expert opinion on individuals as an association but provide the ASA education and ACI certification upon request. You will find full details of the session services we can provide on our website at shotcrete.org/ education then clicking on the “Shotcrete Nozzleman Certification Program” link. An article that covers in greater detail the overall shotcrete nozzleman education and certification process ACI Nozzleman Certification—Why, Who, When, and How can be found on our website: shotcrete.org/ wp-content/uploads/2020/05/2018Win_Hanskat.pdf
Also, many of our corporate members offer consulting services. You can find them in our free, online Buyer’s Guide at Shotcrete.org/BuyersGuide. On the web page you can select the category, subcategory and geographic location to narrow your search.
ACI Committee 506 is the technical committee responsible for creating and maintaining the ACI documents related to shotcrete. ACI 506R-16 Guide to Shotcrete is an excellent resource for shotcrete information including materials, equipment, crew composition and placing techniques. It is a non-mandatory document that is very descriptive and readable. ACI 506.2-13 (18) Specification for Shotcrete is another excellent resource that has mandatory requirements for the contractor’s shotcrete placements. Additionally, the ACI 318-19 Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete directly addresses shotcrete for use in buildings.
A past article in Shotcrete magazine describes the additions to cover shotcrete in ACI 319-19: shotcrete.org/wp-content/ uploads/2020/06/2019Fal_HanskatHollandSuprenant.pdf
Another past article dealing with Shotcrete Testing—Who, Why, When, and How can be found on our website here: shotcrete.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/2011Sum_Hanskat.pdf
Shotcrete is a placement method for concrete. Concrete mixtures that have been shotcreted have used all different supplemental cementitious materials (SCM) including slag. Silica fume, and fly ash are also widely used. Generally geographic availability and cost of the slag are a deciding factor on if slag is included in a concrete mixture design. Concrete using alternative binders or cements have been used for specialized applications like refractory, or extremely high early strength gain. Here are links to past articles from our Shotcrete magazine that have considered slag in shotcreted concrete mixtures:
The Use of Slag Cement, Alkali-Free Accelerator, and Macro-Synthetic Fibers – https://shotcrete.org/wp-content/ uploads/2020/05/2016Spr_Yurdakul-etal.pdf
Sustainable Shotcrete Using Blast-Furnace Slag – https://shotcrete.org/wp content/uploads/2020/05/2013Fal_Sustainability.pdf
WWF should only be used when the area of reinforcing provides the required reinforcement area. It may serve as supplemental reinforcement to bars, or entirely replace reinforcing bars as long as the required area of reinforcing steel is provided in the concrete section. Where multiple sheets (more than 2 at say a corner) overlap you may need to cutout one or more of the layers to allow good encasement. Don’t use steel fibers with WWF as they tend to bunch up where the wires cross.
WWF can be used to provide reinforcing in double curved sections where it would be hard to bend and place reinforcing bars. Also, it may be used where you have a thick concrete cover or unreinforced thickness of a repair area that you wanted to get some reinforcing in place to control depth of any surface or shrinkage cracking.
If the mesh is just being provided to help support shotcrete being shot overhead you may not worry about the area of steel, just adding it in addition to the original design reinforcing. Then a lighter mesh might be used since you aren’t really worried about its ability to be reinforcing.
