A Message from the President

I am excited to be this year’s President of The California Council of Testing and Inspection Agencies (CCTIA).  The resources and contact provided by being a participating member of this organization has been priceless for Mid Pacific Engineering (MPE) and our laboratory testing program.  During the last several years we have grown and expanded into new fields of testing each with its own unique set of testing standards, quality standards, and equipment to purchase and maintain.  Meeting with other Laboratory managers and engineers to discuss issues raised by local building officials, updates in standards and changes in our industry has helped steer strategic decisions for MPE.  Besides the excellent opportunities for networking to find someone working through the same issues to discuss how each of you are dealing with them, CCTIA has provided me with great educational opportunities.  The organization invites speakers from across the construction industry to come and present on valuable topic, from shotcrete and masonry construction to fire proofing and nailing.  These speakers lend insight on interpretation of standards, participating on standard committees, interaction with the Department of State Architect, and working with third party laboratory accreditation.  

This year as President my goal is to work on maintaining the educational aspects of the organization.  We are working with ICC to get continuing education credits for attending some of the speaker events to broaden the audience from laboratory to field staff.  

There is no other organization that deals with the entirety of special inspection issues in the same way as CCTIA, and no other organization that advocates for inspection agencies and their role in the broader world of engineering and construction.  If you aren’t a member I would encourage you to join. If you are a member, I would encourage you to jump in and get involved, we are always looking for new questions and problems to address as we keep our eyes on the horizon of the coming changes in our industry. 

Augie Smarkel
CCTIA President 2019-2020