UPDATE on CCIL Implementation of CSA Standards A283-24 and A23.1&2-24

In February 2025 CCIL implemented several changes to CCIL’s Concrete Certification program based on the changes in CSA Standards A23.2-24, published in June 2024, and A283-24 published in December 2024.  CCIL documents were also updated to reflect changes in CSA Standard A3005-23 published in December 2023.

Overview

The CCIL certification of Concrete laboratories is a national program which certifies laboratories in accordance with CSA Standard A283-24 “Certification of laboratories for concrete” as well as additional criteria as may be established by CCIL.

CSA A283-24 defines several mandatory components, including:

  1. The laboratory shall have the equipment and trained staff capable of performing the test procedures for the category under which the laboratory is certified.
  2. The equipment shall be maintained and calibrated to comply with the requirements of CSA A23.2 and CSA A283.
  3. Each certified laboratory must employ at least one technician certified for each test for which the laboratory is certified. Field and laboratory testing shall only be carried out by certified technicians.
  4. The laboratory shall maintain records of test results, within-laboratory proficiency, calibration and verification of equipment, qualifications of staff, and identified deficiencies and corresponding corrective measures.
  5. The laboratory must be under the supervision of a supervising engineer licensed to practice engineering in the jurisdiction in which the laboratory is located, and who has a minimum of two years of working experience related to a concrete testing laboratory, and is the laboratory owner or an employee of the laboratory.
  6. The laboratory shall execute a formal undertaking in writing to abide by the test methods and procedures in the applicable Standards.
  7. The laboratory shall demonstrate continued compliance by undergoing an annual or biennial audit by CCIL to maintain its certification.

 

In addition, all new Concrete laboratories applying for certification must participate in an inter-laboratory correlation test to demonstrate their proficiency and ability to produce reliable test results on compression specimens.

There are three categories of Concrete laboratory certification:

  • Basic Concrete (Type Q) certification. This category includes the most common field procedures for sampling and testing plastic concrete and measuring the compressive strength of concrete.
  • Concrete Aggregate (Type R) certification.  This category includes laboratory and field procedures for sampling and testing concrete aggregates.
  • Advanced Concrete (Type S) certification.  This category includes more specialized tests on concrete and laboratories must hold valid Type Q and Type R certification to qualify for Advanced Concrete (Type S) certification.

There are additional tests that can be added to the three categories which are defined in CSA A283-24. In general, additional tests are specialized tests performed on aggregates, concrete, groundwater, and grout.

Concrete technicians employed by certified laboratories must demonstrate their proficiency in carrying out the test procedures for which the laboratory is certified, through practical tests and written examinations.  Only technicians working for CCIL certified laboratories of the same or higher certification can hold valid CCIL technician certification. The laboratory is provided with a written record of each technician attempting the written and practical examinations.  Concrete field and laboratory technicians passing the written and practical examinations are issued a “CCIL Certified Concrete Field, (or Laboratory) Testing Technician” card which identifies the test methods the technician is certified to perform and is valid for a period of five years.

Program Details and Tests

The test methods included in the CCIL certification program for Concrete laboratories are listed in CSA A283-24. The following test methods are included in each category:

  • Basic Concrete (Type Q) Certification: CSA A23.2-1C, 3C (compression specimens only), 4C, 5C, 9C, and 17C;
  • Concrete Aggregate (Type R) Certification: CSA A23.2-1A, 2A, 3A, 4A, 5A, 6A, 7A, 10A, 12A, 13A;
  • Advanced Concrete (Type S) Certification: CSA A23.2-8A, 2C, 6C and 11C. (Basic Concrete (Type Q) and Concrete Aggregate (Type R) certifications are both required to obtain Advanced Concrete Type S Certification.)
  • Additional Tests:
    • Laboratories certified as Basic Concrete (Type Q) Certification may also be certified for any of the following additional tests: CSA A23.2- 8A, 1B, 6B (Procedure A), 3C (flexural specimens), 6C, 7C, 8C, 11C, 14C, 15C, 16C, 19C, or 20C.
    • Laboratories certified as Concrete Aggregate (Type R) Certification may also be certified for any of the following additional tests: CSA A23.2-9A, 11A, 16A, 17A, 23A, 24A, 25A, 26A, 29A, 2B, 3B, 4B, or 8B.
  • Laboratories certified as Advanced Concrete (Type S) Certification may also be certified for any of the following additional tests: CSA A23.2-14A, 6B (Procedure B), 10C, 12C (incl 18C), 13C, 18C, 21C, 22C, 23C, 26C, 27C or ASTM C457.

Test Methods and Standard Practices CSA A23.-15A, 27A, 28A, 30A, 7B, 24C, 25C, 1D and ASTM C666 are not included in the program.

Reference and Working Documents

The following documents provide info and the terms of references for the certification program:

Laboratories must purchase copies of:

  1. CSA Standard A283-24 “Certification of laboratories for concrete
  2. CSA Standard A23.1-24 “Concrete materials and methods of concrete construction and CSA Standard A23.2-24 “Test methods and Standard Practices for concrete”
  3. All ASTM Standards for which the laboratory is certified.

Technician Training

CCIL does not provide any technician training. In accordance with Clauses 5.2.1.1 b) and 5.2.1.4 of CSA Standard A283-24 it is the responsibility of the laboratories to train and maintain competent testing personnel and ensure that all tests are done only by certified technicians. Alternative ways of preparing technicians for the written and practical examinations, and details of the examinations, are given in the document “CCIL Concrete Testing Technician Certification Program Description”

Information for New Applicants (How to Become Certified)

There are a number of documents given above, under Reference and Working Documents that describe the certification process for a concrete testing laboratory and provide other information relevant to the process.  The document “CCIL Concrete Testing Laboratory Certification Program Description” describes the procedure for the certification and audit of concrete laboratories.  A more informal description, as well as details of the concrete cylinder strength correlation test, is contained in the document “CCIL Information for New Concrete Laboratory Applicants”.

The certification process begins when the applicant laboratory completes an application through the CCIL concrete portal (https://portal.ccil.com).  The laboratory’s supervising engineer or the laboratory’s main contact may create a login and fill out the application for services. However, only the supervising engineer will be authorized to submit it to CCIL.  Upon receipt of the application form, the laboratory will be contacted by CCIL to review the application and answer any questions relating to the certification process. Information on fees is available from the CCIL Certification Office (gkermath@ccil.com).