Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) Level 2 Technician Recertification

The Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) Level 2 Job Mix Technician course is intended to cover the concepts and preparation procedures of HMA job mix formula (JMF).  Individuals who complete this course will be re-certified to perform HMA Level 2 Job Mix Technician duties for SCDOT projects.  The re-certification course includes a general overview as well as a review of all specification and procedural changes that may have occurred.  Each participant is also responsible for performing mathematical calculations related to the JMFs.  The instructors for the course are made up of knowledgeable asphalt industry consultants, academia, contractors and SCDOT representatives. 

Course Outline:
To become re-certified, participants must attend a two (2) day course and pass a written exam with a score of 80% or higher.  The exam is open book and open notes.  Topics covered include:

• Materials
  • Aggregate
  • Asphalt Binder
• SCDOT Mix Design Procedures and Related Calculations
  • Aggregate blending
  • Preparing aggregate samples
  • Mixing and compacting laboratory HMA samples
  • Maximum specific gravity (MSG)
  • Bulk specific gravity (BSG
  • Calculating volumetric properties
    • % air voids
    • % VMA
    • % VFA
  • Optimum % asphalt binder content
  • ITS testing
  • Stability testing
  • Rut-resistance testing
• SCDOT Specifications

Entry Requirements/What to Expect:

Prerequisites:

• Current HMA Level 2 Job Mix Technician Certification

Frequency of Re-certification:
The certification period is five years.  It is the responsibility of the individual to keep track of his/her certification expiration date. The individual is also responsible for registering for the re-certification course, attending the re-certification course, and passing the written exam with a score of 80% or higher.

Additional Requirements:
On a yearly basis, to maintain certification and to continue to be able to submit JMFs to SCDOT, each HMA Level 2 Job Mix Technician must submit the results of his/her annual AMRL proficiency samples to Tri-County Technical College via email at conted.tctc.edu with a subject of "SCDOT AMRL results".  See the SCDOT Technician Certification Policy for more details.

Re-certification Date Policy (as of June 2005):
The SCDOT Technician Certification Board hereby requests that the certification expiration dates for re-certifications obtained within one year prior to the technician's original date of expiration be issued based on the original expiration date. For example, if a technician's certification expires April 2006, and that technician passes a re-certification exam in April 2005, his/her certification will be extended five years from the original April 2006 date to April 2011. However, if that technician chooses to attend a re-certification course in March 2005 and passes the exam, the re-certification will be valid from March 2005 to March 2010 (because the technician passed the exam outside of the one-year window). If that technician does not obtain the re-certification before April 2006, then his/her certification expires on that date. 

Course Materials:
Electronic versions of the course materials are available below.  However, course materials can be updated at any time, and these electronic materials may not be the most updated version.  The most updated version of the course materials is distributed to all course registrants on the first day of the course.   

Section 1 - HMA Level 2 Slide Presentation 
Section 2 - HMA Level 2 SCDOT Specs Slide Presentation 
Section 3 - Problems 
Other SCDOT Resources^(*Note)

Note: Other materials in the manual for this course are not posted here because of periodic updates by SCDOT.  Those materials include selected sections of the SCDOT Standard Specifications, SCDOT Supplemental Specifications, and SCDOT Test Procedures.  The most updated versions of all of those materials may be found on the SCDOT website (www.scdot.org).