Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) Level 3 Technician

The HMA Quality Manager Course is intended to assure the ability to trouble-shoot and solve problems when monitoring HMA mix design, production, placement, compaction and testing.  Individuals who complete this course will be certified to perform HMA Level 3 Quality Control Manager duties for SCDOT projects.  In addition, any person maintaining a current HMA Level 3 QC Manager Certification (also known as HMA 1-2-3-ART Certification) will not be required to re-certify at the other levels of HMA certification.  The course is held in a classroom setting with no laboratory sessions.  In addition to trouble-shooting, participants are expected to perform calculations related to HMA job mix preparation, production, quality control testing, placement, and compaction.  The instructors for the course are made up of experienced asphalt industry personnel, academia, and SCDOT experts. 

New for Re-certifications Only: For participants who are re-certifying in HMA Level 3, SCDOT is now allowing the option to not attend Day 1 and Day 2 of the HMA Level 3 class.  However, all participants are still required to attend instruction on Day 3 and to take the written exam on Day 4.  Please note that all material covered on all three days of instruction will be included in the written exam, and the course cost is the same for both options.  If you intend to opt-out of Day 1 and Day 2, please notify us by emailing conted@tctc.edu. 

Course Outline:
Participants are required to attend a three-and-a-half (3 ½) day course and pass a written exam with a score of 85% or higher to become certified.  The exam is open book and open notes.  Topics covered include:

• Materials:
  • Aggregate
  • Asphalt Binder
• SCDOT Mix Design Procedures and Related Calculations
• Types of HMA Plants
• Production Operations
• SCDOT Plant Laboratory Testing Procedures and Related Calculations
• Construction Operations
  • Preparation
  • Placement
  • Compaction
• SCDOT In-Place Density Testing Procedures and Related Calculations
• Troubleshooting
• SCDOT Specifications

Entry Requirements/What to Expect:

Prerequisites:

• Current Asphalt Roadway Technician Certification
• Current HMA Level 1 QC Technician Certification
• Current HMA Level 2 Job Mix Technician Certification
• Experience in monitoring HMA job mix preparation, production and construction operations

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.   

• HMA3 Section 1 Intro
• HMA3 Section 2 Materials
• HMA3 Section 3 Mix Design & Volumetrics
• HMA3 Section 4 Drum Plants
• HMA3 Section 5 RAP-RAS Stockpiles
• HMA3 Section 6 Lab Procedures
• HMA3 Section 7 Roadway
• HMA3 Section 8 Segregation
• HMA3 Section 9 Longitudinal Joints
• HMA3 Section 10 PMTLSC
• HMA3 Section 11 Problems
• HMA3 Section 12 SCDOT ART Slides
• HMA3 Section 13 SCDOT QA Spec Slides
• HMA3 Section 14 SCDOT HMA 1 Slides
• HMA3 Section 15 SCDOT HMA 2 Slides
• HMA3 Section 16 SCDOT Pay Factor Slides

Other SCDOT Resources:
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).