Asphalt Plant Technician

The Asphalt Plant Technician Certification Course is designed for those individuals responsible for the sampling and testing of asphalt mixtures at the production facility. Suggested participants would include contractor and supplier quality control personnel, consultants, testing firms and agency inspectors responsible for the quality of hot mix asphalt.

 Certification Process

  1. Meet the prerequisites below for taking the Asphalt Plant Technician Certification Course.
  2. Select a course and register online.
  3. Attend the Asphalt Plant Technician Certification Course in its entirety.
  4. Successfully pass the written and performance examinations.

Course Prerequisites

  1. High School Diploma, G.E.D. or prior approval from NETTCP
  2. It is strongly recommended that the candidate have at least six (6) months experience working in an asphalt laboratory performing those tests that the candidate will be examined on at the course.
  3. The registration form must be signed by a NETTCP certified Asphalt  Plant Technician or the candidate’s supervisor that indicates they are aware of the experience recommendations.

Course Outline

AASHTO Process Recommended
Experience		 Test
Characteristics of PGAB NO W
T 2 Sampling of Aggregates YES W
T 248 Reducing Field Sample of Aggregates to Testing Size YES W
Batch Plants & Drum Plants, an Overview NO W
Hot Bin, Cold Feed & Composite Samples YES W
Daily Inspection Activities at a HMA Plant NO W
T 27 Sieve Analysis for Fine and Coarse Aggregate YES W
T 11 Material Finer than the 0.075mm (No. 200) in Mineral Aggregates Sieve by Washing NO W
T 168 Sampling Bituminous Paving Mixtures YES W
T 164 or T 308 Quantitative Centrifuge
Extraction or Asphalt Content by the Ignition Method		 YES W
T 30 Mechanical Analysis of Extracted Aggregate YES W
T 312 Preparing and Determining the Density of HMA Specimens with the Gyratory Compactor YES W,P
HMA, PGAB, Air Temperature YES W
T 245 Resistance to Plastic Flow of Bituminous Mixtures Using Marshall Apparatus NO W,P**
T 40 Sampling Bituminous Materials NO W

T 304,

D 5321,

T 176,

D 4791

 Consensus Aggregate Tests NO W

T 84

 Specific Gravity and Absorption of Fine Aggregate NO W

T 166

 Bulk Specific Gravity of Compacted Bituminous Mixtures using Saturated Surface-Dry Specimens YES W,P

PP 19

 Air Void/V.M.A./V.F.A. Calculations NO W

T 255

 Total Moisture Content of Aggregate by Drying YES W

T 209

 Maximum Specific Gravity of Bituminous Paving Mixtures YES W,P

D 3549

 Thickness of Compacted Paving Specimens NO W

ASTM D 3665

 Standard Test Method for Random Sampling NO W

 

Course Exam

  1. Written Examination For New Certification and Re-certification
    • Closed book examination
    • The exam is divided into four sections
      • Materials & Facilities (20 points)
      • Aggregate Testing & Sampling (40 points)
      • Hot Mix Asphalt and Binder Sampling (20 points)
      • Hot Mix Asphalt Testing (60 points)
    • Written examination must be completed within ninety (90) minutes.
  1. Performance Examination for New Certification and Re-Certification
    • Each candidate must perform the following test procedures within the time limits shown:
      • SuperPave Specimen Fabrication and Testing, 10 min. (AASHTO T 312)
      • Marshall Specimen Fabrication and Testing, 20 min. (AASHTO T 245) (optional for re-certification only)
      • Maximum Theoretical Density (AASHTO T 209), 10 min.
      • Bulk Specific Gravity and Thickness of Compacted Bituminous Mixtures, 5 min. (AASHTO T 166)
    • An examiner will utilize a score sheet that will document the candidate’s performance on the various steps within a test procedure.
  1. Passing Grades for New Certification and Re-certification
    • Certification or re-certification will be granted to a candidate who achieves the following:
      • Written Examination - a minimum grade of 60% must be achieved for each of the four sections in the examination with an overall minimum grade of 70% for the entire examination
      • Performance Examination - a minimum grade of 90% for each test procedure
  1. Re-examination Policies
    • A person failing the written examination but passing the performance examination will be required to retake the written examination only.  Only one (1) re-examination will be allowed.
    • A person failing one (1) performance test and passing the written examination will be required to retake that one (1) performance test only.  Only one (1) re-examination is allowed.
    • A person failing more than one (1) performance test and passing the written examination will be required to retake the entire performance examination.  Only one (1) re-examination is allowed.
    • A person failing one (1) or more of the performance tests and failing the written examination will be required to retake the entire certification course and examinations at full cost.
    • The cost of a re-examination is $100.00 and re-examinations must be completed within six (6) months of the candidate’s initial examination date.

Re-Certification

Required course and examination for continued certification as an Asphalt Plant Technician. The course will include a review of important topics and instruction on changes in the industry, equipment, specifications and test procedures.
  • Cost:             $660.00 for Members/$875.00 for Non-Members
  • Course:         Three days classroom and laboratory
  • Class Size:    10 - 20
  • Examination: Written and Performance

Re-Certification Process

  1. NETTCP Certified Asphalt Plant Technicians wanting to maintain their certification are required to attend a re-certification course in its entirety and successfully pass the written and performance examinations. Select a course and register online.  
  2. Any candidate who fails the re-certification exam(s) and subsequent re-test is required to attend a new full certification course and pass the examinations.

 

Back to Course Descriptions