Webinar: MNL 116-21 Changes
A webinar summarizing the changes to MNL 116-21 has been scheduled for June 7, 2022, at 2:00 pm central. The PCI Education group will be emailing an announcement with registration details in the coming weeks.
Plant and Erector Certification Renewal for 2022-23
All producers and erectors should have received an email with instructions on how to renew their certifications for 2022-23. These processes are very similar to last year. Completed forms are to be submitted by May 31. Failure to complete these processes on time may result in a lapse in certification status. For any questions regarding your plant’s certification status, please contact qualityprograms@pci.org.
Project Surveys for Categories AA and AB
Effective July 1, producer plants certified in the AA and AB categories are required to submit project information to PCI that will facilitate a PCI-distributed survey to the architect and GC/CM upon completion of a project. This requirement applies to all completed projects that are specified as category AA or AB with more than 5000 ft2 (465 m2) of wall panel area.
The Architectural Certification Program Supplemental Requirements describes a paper process for submitting this project information. An online survey system is currently being completed and will be available prior to July 1. This survey will be available through the PCI website. Further information will be provided directly to the AA and AB-certified plants when the software testing process has been completed.
Baseline for Key Feature Points for Recertification
Plants with certification in the architectural group are required to demonstrate continued capability in their certification category by achieving a minimum number of key feature points every two years. The Architectural Certification Subcommittee recently discussed options for how this would be implemented and decided to use a rolling two-year period, based upon the last four audit cycles (semi-annual).
The key features to be demonstrated for each category are listed in the respective chapters of the Architectural Certification Program Supplemental Requirements. During the opening meeting for each audit, the auditor will be discussing current plant production and architectural products in storage, so that the auditor can be aware of the products available for review. The points to be awarded will be discussed during the closing meeting and any questions concerning points can be resolved while the auditor is still on site.
Points will be tracked on a rolling basis rather than for a fixed, defined period. This ensures that plants will have four opportunities to demonstrate the required points, as the regular audits are conducted at approximately 6-month intervals. Special audits, such as those conducted for category changes, etc., are not counted as part of the four audits, although a plant could get points if eligible product was observed during one of these audits
It should be noted that the tracking of points began with audits conducted on October 1, 2021, when the new categories were implemented. Although the auditors were reviewing products and discussing possible points with plant personnel before that date, these discussions were for the purpose of educating plant staff and refining the point tracking system.
Plants that are short of points as their two-year mark is approaching can construct a mockup panel of their own design with appropriate key features to demonstrate their continued capabilities and earn the necessary points. Drawings for these panels must be submitted and approved in advance, as in the process used for the original mockup panels.
T. Henry Clark Award – Last Call for 2022 Nominations
Nominations for the T. Henry Clark Award, to be presented during 2022 PCI Committee Days, must be submitted to qualityprograms@pci.org by June 1, 2022. The T. Henry Clark Award nomination form is available here.
The T. Henry Clark Award was established to recognize an individual, group of individuals, or firm that has delivered a resource that improves or enhances the quality of precast, prestressed concrete products or processes. T. Henry Clark believed in quality and quality processes, and this award is to recognize those who create or promote quality in a way that would have made him proud.
For more information, contact Gary Wildung, the Quality Activities Council chair, at gary.wildung@fdgcolorado.com or Mike Kesselmayer, PCI managing director of quality programs, at mkesselmayer@pci.org.
Exceptional Precast Practices Deadline is July 1
The deadline for submitting completed Exceptional Precast Practices (EPP) Program surveys is July 1, 2022. This voluntary program is specifically designed for continuous quality improvement of precast plants.
Companies that have successfully adopted a path of continuous quality improvement typically exhibit a pattern of reduced costs, improved quality, and expanded capabilities. They show growing sales because they better serve the needs of their clients.
There are a variety of continuous quality improvement tools available, but the EPP program is a tool developed specifically for the precast concrete industry. The EPP program, developed by the Quality Enhancement Committee, offers both a roadmap for improvement efforts and milestones for measuring progress.
Here is how this voluntary program works: Your plant fills out the self-assessment survey for each of the seven sections/modules – Productivity, Personnel, Safety, Field operations, Sales and marketing, Sustainable plant, and Concrete. This process allows your plant to not only benchmark where you are today but also review programs of proven worth that other PCI plants find valuable.
That process allows plant personnel to decide on a roadmap for the future. If this process is managed well, that roadmap becomes the goals and programs for improvement, and it provides the basis for accountability for achievement. Your benchmark score allows your plant to actually measure progress from year to year. There is no minimum score required. This is not a contest. Scores will not be published. There is no overall winner. All participants in this voluntary program seriously win. All participating plants are provided with an annual certificate of participation and are recognized at the PCI Committee Days and Technical Conference.
To participate or to read more about the program, click here to access the Member Resources section of the PCI website. To receive recognition for 2022, completed forms must be returned to PCI by July 1.
PCI Certification Statement for Industry
Although the new architectural certification program categories were effective October 1, 2021, architectural producers report that industry continues to specify category A1 certification for many new projects. In addition to the other resources that have been provided on PCI’s website that are intended to inform and educate specifiers about these changes, a Certification Statement for Industry has been added.
The Certification Statement for Industry serves as a general notice on PCI letterhead informing a specifier about the changes in architectural categories and provides a variety of contacts if they have additional questions. The Statement is intended to serve as an official notice from PCI to reinforce a producer’s communication to a specifier during the bidding process or in a post-bid request for information or qualification submittal.
Suggestions
Please forward suggestions for future quality-related articles for this newsletter to Mike Kesselmayer at mkesselmayer@pci.org.