Qualified and experienced consulting engineers are one of the primary target markets for the Advanced Concrete Technology (ACT) course offered by the School of Concrete Technology, as the knowledge gained from the course could help an engineer at the design stage of a structure.

This helps consulting engineers avoid problems that might occur later in the project, as the course ensures that attendees will be able to prescribe the correct concrete specifications, explains Concrete Institute lecturer Gary Theodosiou.

The ACT course, which will be presented again in January next year, has been running biennially for 24 years and has been successfully completed by 77 candidates who have obtained their ACT diplomas.

“Concrete is one of the most widely used materials in infrastructure construction worldwide,” says Theodosiou.

The course is also offered to cement chemists, and the full spectrum of cement and concrete industries and mining-sector employees. It covers 75 topics, including essential training for civil engineers in subjects that include Principles of Reinforced and Prestressed Concrete, Assessment of Concrete Construction, Special Processes and Technology for Particular Types of Structures, Repairing Concrete and Quality Control, as well as Standards, Specifications and Codes of Practice.

“Consulting engineers should, for example, know that the serviceability and performance of concrete depend not only on the strength of the material but also on its durability. They should understand the limitations of concrete and the ACT course helps to provide this essential knowledge,” adds Theodosiou.

Other subjects that form part of the ACT course include Concrete Mix Design, Statistics for Concrete Testing: Durability in Concrete, Precast Concrete, Ready-Mixed Concrete, and the Properties of Concrete (both) in the Plastic and Hardened State.

“The ACT course, which is examined and assessed by the UK-based Institute of Technology, is by far the most advanced course on offer from the School of Concrete Technology and anywhere else in the world. It is basically the main concrete technology course suitable for highly qualified professions such as civil and consulting engineering,” states Theodosiou.

Requirements to qualify for the course include a qualification, which could be a diploma or degree, in civil engineering or any other appropriate branch of science and technology

Further, successful completion of the School of Concrete Technology’s SCT 41 and 42 Concrete Technology and Construction correspondence courses, aimed at improving civil engineers’ concrete technology knowledge, as well as other appropriate qualifications, could also facilitate admission to the course, he concludes.