The Concrete Sawing and Drilling Association’s (CSDA) Training Program easily surpassed its previous record at World of Concrete (WOC) by graduating 115 students at the 2016 show in Las Vegas.
This number represents an increase of 52—or 83 percent—over the numbers reached in 2014 as the association expanded its course offerings to four and saw a surge in registrations across the board.
For the fourth consecutive year, registrations for the CSDA Estimating course grew with an impressive 40 students this year. This number was equaled by the Concrete Polishing 101 course while the association’s new introductory concrete sawing and drilling course—Diamond Cutting: Sharpen Your Skills—had the largest number of graduates for this type of course since CSDA began holding them at WOC six years ago.
In addition, CSDA instructor Chris Swanson certified 22 students in the application of industry Standard CSDA-ST-115 Measuring Concrete Micro Surface Texture—a first for CSDA at WOC and another record for class graduates.
Practical demonstrations for the CSDA-ST-115 and Concrete Polishing 101 courses were held on a purpose-built slab during an association-sponsored event. Praxis: Understanding Performance-Based Specifications was very popular and the largest slab construction, polishing and roughness average event in WOC history. It gathered representatives from the specifier and insurance communities including Alberti Group, Ankrom-Moisan, Conspectus, Dialog Design, Gensler, Tao Group and Willis Towers Watson with industry professionals including CSDA Executive Director Patrick O’Brien and President Kevin Baron to lead presentations and discuss current challenges. Held at several shows throughout the year, the goal of Praxis is to bring transparency, clarity and accountability to the specification process.
“If anyone is looking for a sign that things are improving in our industry, then this is it,” said O’Brien. “The numbers reached by our WOC training courses exceeded all expectations and it is testament to the great job being done by our team of industry experts instructing the students. The association’s reputation for providing high quality industry training continues to build, while a growing number of contractors are realizing the benefits of investing in employees as things improve on an economic level. Our involvement with Tao Group/Praxis provides a fantastic platform on which to engage with the specifier community and promote CSDA’s industry Standards.”
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