History

In 1995 the six New England States of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont implemented a technician certification program. The certification program was established to meet the requirements of the Code of Federal Regulations, 23 CFR, Part 637, Quality Assurance (QA) Procedures for Construction, issued June 29, 1995. This regulation states “After June 29, 2000, all sampling and testing data to be used in the acceptance decision or the independent assurance program will be executed by qualified sampling and testing personnel.”

Working together with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and industry throughout New England, a nonprofit organization was established named the New England Transportation Technician Certification Program (NETTCP). The intent of the program is to jointly develop training and certification courses that are supported by each of the New England States and that are commonly specified by the New England States. Training and certification programs have been developed in a number of technical areas including hot mix asphalt, soils and aggregate and concrete.

In 2008, New York became a member of NETTCP and the organizational name was officially changed to "NorthEast Transportation Training and Certification Program", maintaining its acronym "NETTCP."

Objectives

1. To increase the knowledge of production and field technicians. Through certification, minimum levels or benchmark levels of qualifications are established for both industry and agency personnel. Hopefully, the number of qualified technicians can be increased at the same time.
2. To reduce the problems associated with test result differences. There will always be disputes because of test result differences. However, with certified technicians that put both sides on equal footing, the arguments won’t be focused on who did it wrong or whose equipment was bad, but on other sources of variability, namely, in the variability of the material.
3. To eliminate individual state certification programs and the issue of reciprocity. The regional or multi-state approach to certification eliminates the issue of reciprocity and allows contractors who cross state lines the freedom of not having to be re-certified by different programs. This is very important in the Northeast where a significant number of contractors and material suppliers do work in several states.
4. To move forward in standardization of test methods and test procedures used by the six New England States and New York. The contractors, material suppliers and certified individuals that cross state lines would greatly benefit from any improvements or increased uniformity in test methods and procedures.

Founding Sponsors