Introduction to concrete

2 days

This course is recommended for small, medium and micro enterprises, junior technical and sales staff in the building, construction and allied industries, and anyone wanting a short introduction to concrete. Learners must be able to read and write English.

SYLLABUS
• Properties of concrete
• Materials for concrete
• Receiving and storing materials
• Batching, mixing and testing concrete
• Transporting, placing and compacting
• Finishing and surface preparation
• Protection and curing
• Formwork and reinforcement
• Sand-cement mixes
• Durability of concrete

Mortars, plasters, screeds and masonry

½ day

This course was originally developed to assist NHBRC inspectors to interpret the requirements of the NHBRC ‘Home Builder’s Manual’ and is written around that manual to the extent that the clauses are cross-referenced from the notes.

SYLLABUS
• Factors that affect the strength of concrete
• The role and selection of cement, sand, stone and water
• Receiving and storage of materials
• Mix proportions for concrete for foundations and floors
• Floor screeds
• The slump and cube tests for concrete
• Concrete and clay masonry, expansion and shrinkage
• Cavity walls and block walls
• The need for movement joints
• Properties of mortar and plaster
• Sand-cement mixes
• Common causes of cracking
• Screeds

Making concrete bricks and blocks

½ day

This course will assist with empowering learners, giving them a rudimentary understanding of how to manufacture masonry units. Learners must be able to read and write English.

SYLLABUS
• Requirements of masonry
• How cement works and how to make masonry strong
• The quantity of water necessary for workability
• Blockmaking machines
• Selection of materials and mix proportions
• Curing of finished blocks
• Storage of materials
• Sand-cement mixes
• Testing of masonry
• Building with masonry to minimise cracking

Concrete for RMC truck drivers

1 day

This course is intended to give RMC truck drivers an introduction to concrete and the tests that may be carried out in their presence. The course will provide basic concrete technology and will enable the driver to understand the importance of his position as a front line staff member interfacing with the client.

SYLLABUS
• Factors that affect the strength of concrete
• Bleeding, workability, cohesion and segregation of concrete
• The slump test – how to do it and what it means
• The cube test – how to make cubes and what they mean
• The effect of hot/cold weather on the transport of concrete
• Delays, contamination or spillage during transport
• Access to the worksite
• The effect of the addition of water
• Transport of concrete around the site after discharge
• Things to observe on site
• Washing out of the truck
• Customer relations

Concrete for batchers and batch plant staff

1 day

This course covers important topics that will provide batchers and staff at a batch plant with the essential concrete education and theory required to competently do their jobs and produce quality readymix concrete.

• A batcher’s responsibilities
• Constituent materials and the effect they have on concrete
• Fresh properties of concrete and the tests required to check these properties
• Basics of mix design including the control of the overall water content in a mix
• Testing for the hardened properties of concrete
• Clients requirements and customer satisfaction
• Basic management of a batch-plant including quality control and assurance

Who should attend
This course has been developed specifically for batchers but would also greatly benefit any person working on or with a batch plant including supervisors, laboratory staff, sales staff and general labourers.

Concrete practice

4 days
CPD Points – 4

This course is recommended for foremen, clerks-of-work, technicians, supervisors, sales and technical staff in the building, construction, mining and related industries.

Minimum entrance requirements
Grade 10, able to read and write English and do basic arithmetic calculations including  percentages and ratios.

SYLLABUS
• Properties of fresh concrete
• Properties of concrete at early ages
• Properties of hardened concrete
• Materials for concrete
• Mix proportions and quantities
• Concrete production
• Transporting
• Placing and compacting
• Protection and curing
• Formwork
• Reinforcement
• Joints
• Sand-cement mixes
• Concreting in hot and cold weather
• Defects and repairs
• Low-density concrete
• Prestressed concrete
• Precast concrete
• Off-shutter and architectural finishes
• Sampling and testing
• Concrete pavements

Concrete industrial floors on the ground

1 day
CPD Points – 1

This concrete industrial floors on the ground course aims to help engineers and contractors by giving a broad, detailed and practical overview of all facets of industrial floor construction.

Minimum entrance requirements
Grade 12 minimum.

SYLLABUS
• Design philosophy
• Subgrades and subbases
• Concrete
• Joints
• Reinforcement
• Construction
– Subgrades and subbases
– Damp-proofing
– Construction joints
– Concrete production and placing
– Construction methods
– Vacuum dewatering
– Side forms
– Dowels
– Edging
– Finishing
– Curing
– Joint sawing
– Joint sealing
• Surface finishes
– Construction methods
– Finishing techniques
– Adverse weather
– Concrete toppings
– Surface treatments
• Special applications

Concrete technology

5 days
CPD Points – 5

This is an intensive course intended for civil and structural engineers, experienced technicians and technologists and is an excellent medium for gaining detailed knowledge of how cement and concrete works. Recommended for electrical, mechanical and mining engineers to meet their mining qualification requirements.

Minimum entrance requirements
Grade 12 with mathematics and science and at least two years of appropriate experience.

SYLLABUS
• Properties of fresh concrete
• Properties of concrete at early ages
• Properties of hardened concrete
• Cement and cementitious extenders
• Aggregates
• Mixing water and chemical admixtures
• Concrete mix design
• Concrete production
• Transporting
• Placing and compaction
• Protection and curing
• Formwork
• Reinforcement
• Joints
• Defects, blemishes and repairs
• Mix design and mixes for specialised applications
• Sand-cement mixes
• Off-shutter and architectural finishes

Discounts available for those wanting to do SCT 41 & 42 if you have completed SCT 30.

Durability of concrete

CPD Points – 1

This course gives an excellent overview of all the topics that are related to concrete durability. It is ideal for an engineer or concrete technologist or foreman involved in the specification, production or placement of durable concrete.

SYLLABUS
• How cement works to ensure impermeability
• Mechanisms of mechanical deterioration
• Mechanisms of chemical deterioration
• Methods of making concrete impermeable
• Testing of permeability, sorptivity and conductivity

Concrete technology & construction (Stage 2 and 3) offered by the Institute of Concrete Technology (ICT) based in London

The SCT 41 and 42 are ideal bridging courses for those who would like to do the SCT 50 Advanced Concrete Technology diploma. They will substantially expand on the knowledge gained in the SCT 30 Concrete Technology course. It is recommended that a potential delegate should have completed the SCT 30 Concrete Technology course before attempting these courses. A pass in the SCT 41 and 42 courses is a prerequisite to being accepted onto the SCT 50 Advanced Concrete Technology diploma program.

The two courses offered are:
SCT 41: General Principles (Part 1) (ICT Stage 2)
SCT 42: Practical Applications (Part 2) (ICT Stage 3)

The courses are presented in an e-learning – self study format. The aim in studying concrete technology via these on-line course will be to prepare yourself for the Institute of Concrete Technology’s Stage 2 and Stage 3 (General Principles & Practical Application examinations).

The Institute of Concrete Technology (ICT), based in London, UK provides the course objectives and the final examination.

Cement & Concrete SA (CCSA) based in Midrand, South Africa provides you with:
• The on-line course, consisting of 36 online lessons covering all the ICT requirements
• Specialist lecturer supervision, guidance and input, via email
• Online compulsory workshops are scheduled shortly before the examination
• An examination venue
• A compilation of ICT past years exam papers
• Upon registration and full payment, you will receive a licence key.

Registrations will be accepted until 15 January 2023. Any cancellation for examinations must be done before end of February to avoid being charged registration fee.

The examinations consist of one three-hour paper for each course. Exams are written in Midrand only.

(All queries related to the examination scripts and or examination remarking must be dealt with ICT (London) directly.)

Minimum entrance requirements
Grade 12

One day compulsory revision workshop is held in Midrand only in April 2023 prior to the examinations in May.

ICT EXAMS STAGE 2, 3 and ACT time: 11h00 – 14h00

Advanced Concrete Technology from 2022 onwards

Moduralised self-study course offered by CCSA in preparation for stage 4 Advanced Concrete Technology examinations set by the Institute of Concrete Technology (ICT) based in London.

The Advanced Concrete Technology (ACT) diploma enjoys world-wide acceptance as the leading qualification in concrete technology and is examined by the UK based Institute of Concrete Technology (ICT). The ICT sets high educational standards and requires its members to abide by a code of professional conduct, thus enhancing the profession of concrete technology.

From 2022, Cement & Concrete SA will offer a moduralised SCT 50 Advanced Concrete Technology self-study course. The SCT 50 will consist of five modules, listed below, which copies the structure of the new Fulton’s 10th edition. The set book for the course will be Fulton’s 10th edition. Delegates on the programme will also be supplied with supplementary reading material to ensure all topics in the ICT stage 4 syllabus are covered. Each of the first four modules will have a workbook that will be required to be handed in on completion of the module. This workbook will be assessed and commented on by a lecturer at SCT. Satifactory completion of the module work book will enable a delegate to proceed to the next module.

The only entrance requirement to be admitted onto the SCT 50 programme will be a pass in both the ICT stage2 (SCT 41) and stage3 (SCT 42) examinations. There will be no exceptions to this entrance requirement.
The moduralised self-study approach has been adopted to ensure a better quality of concrete technology education.

It allows the delegate more time to study each topic in detail while reducing the impact on his or her work environment. It also allows for incremental payment. By paying per module no large upfront payment is needed.

The modules are divided under the following topics:
Module 1: Materials and mixes
Module 2: Concrete properties
Module 3: Concrete manufacture, site practices, quality control and non-destructive testing
Module 4: Special concretes and techniques
Module 5: Concrete sustainability, Statistics for concrete and Advanced Concrete Technology project

Delegates will be allowed to enroll in up to two modules at a time and will only be able to enrol in further modules on satisfactory completion of a module work-book.

Applications
Applications to do SCT 50 modules can be made at any time. The course modules will be implemented and made available over 2022 and 2023.

Entrance requirements
Pass in both the ICT Stage 2 (SCT 41) and Stage 3 (SCT 42) examinations.
No exceptions will be entertained.

Learning objectives:
The learning objectives can be downloaded from the ICT website under the ‘qualifications’ button using the link: https://www.theict.org.uk/Qualifications.asp