Accreditations
Raba Kistner, Inc. provides services that require precision and, ultimately, performance excellence. We are committed to continually training employees and testing our equipment in order to ensure that our practices and procedures continue to be trusted by clients on every project. We are a long-standing member of the Texas Council of Engineering Laboratories (TCEL), which represents laboratories engaged in construction inspection and related quality assurance testing. As noted below, we are also accredited by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), with that accreditation limited to specifically indicated laboratory locations for which the laboratory is accredited. Additionally, Raba Kistner, Inc. is accredited by the American Association Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA), and The US Army Corps of Engineers, among others, which confirms that our laboratories meet rigorous standards for testing and analysis procedures, as well as equipment calibrations. A comprehensive list of our certifications and qualifications is shown below. The scope of our accreditations is continually expanding and this page will be periodically updated to reflect those updates.
Project Management Professional (PMP)
The Project Management Institute PMP designation is the gold standard of project management certification. Recognized and demanded by organizations worldwide, the PMP validates competence to perform the role of a project manager, leading and directing projects and teams. Raba Kistner’s PMPs ensure that projects deliver on time, on budget and meet original goals.
Project Management Professional (PMP)
American Institute of Architects (AIA)
Licensed architects who are members of the American Institute of Architects use the AIA designation. Qualifications include five or more years of professional studies and a degree from an accredited school of architecture, a 3-year internship under licensed architects, passage of a 5-day examination, and continuing education to provide the safest buildings using today's technology.
American Institute of Architects (AIA)
Professional Engineer (PE)
The National Society of Professional Engineers’ PE certification represents trust, responsibility and respect. All PEs complete a four-year college degree, work under a PE for at least four years, pass two competency exams and earn a license from the state board. To retain their licenses, PEs must maintain and improve their skills throughout their careers.
Professional Engineer (PE)
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)
A LEED credential signifies that a professional is an active participant in the green building movement. Raba Kistner’s LEED GAs have a documented understanding of the most current green building principles and practices. Our LEED APs have advanced knowledge in green building as well as expertise in particular LEED rating systems relevant to their field.
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)
International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
ISO 9001:2015 certification sets a global standard for Raba Kistner’s Quality Management System and ensures that requirements, specifications, or guidelines are used to verify that materials, products, processes and services are fit for our business purpose.
International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
Certified Quality Auditor (CQA)
Raba Kistner CQAs understand the standards and principles of auditing and the auditing techniques of examining, questioning, evaluating, and reporting to determine a quality system’s adequacy and deficiencies. They analyze a quality system and judge its degree of adherence to the criteria of industrial management and quality evaluation and control systems.
Certified Quality Auditor (CQA)
Certified Quality Engineer (CQE)
Raba Kistner CQEs understand principles of product and service quality evaluation and control. They are educated in quality engineering and quality control and are trained in researching and preventing unnecessary costs through lack of quality, lost production costs, and lost market share due to poor quality. The CQE certification is given by the American Society for Quality.
Certified Quality Engineer (CQE)
Certified Manager of Quality/Operational Excellence (CMQ/OE)
The CMQ/OE champions process-improvement initiatives corporately and within projects, and shares best practices within Raba Kistner and among the clients we serve. The CMQ/OE monitors client and consultant relations, evaluates staff, supports strategic planning initiatives, develops systems to determine organizational improvement, determines and evaluates risk, and employs tools and techniques in resolving organizational challenges.
Certified Manager of Quality/Operational Excellence (CMQ/OE)
American Society for Quality (ASQ)
Raba Kistner values Quality Management Systems and the deployment of best practices and assessment tools that are used to achieve client confidence and satisfaction with each project. Many Raba Kistner senior managers and project managers hold American Society for Quality (ASQ) certifications, including the Manager of Operation Excellence designation.
American Society for Quality (ASQ)
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Inspections
Raba Kistner laboratories in Austin, McAllen, Houston and San Antonio are validated to perform customized construction materials testing and inspection services on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ projects. Representatives of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regularly inspect Raba Kistner laboratories and review our Quality Assurance Programs and documentation to ensure we meet or exceed standards.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Inspections
The American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA)
Our Houston laboratory is accredited by The American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA), a nonprofit, non-governmental, public service, membership society. A2LA provides services in accreditation and accreditation-related training. A2LA also offers programs for the accreditation of testing laboratories, calibration laboratories, inspection bodies, proficiency testing providers, medical testing laboratories, reference material producers and product certification bodies.
The American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA)
National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies (NICET)
Many Raba Kistner employees are certified through NICET training programs. Disciplines include Construction Materials Testing, Geotechnical, Building Construction, and Transportation. NICET certification ensures that our employees are among the most knowledgeable and proficient in the industry. This appeals to public agencies that require NICET certifications for the type of services Raba Kistner can provide.
National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies (NICET)
International Code Council (ICC)
Participation in the ICC certification program is required to perform International Building Code (IBC) special inspections. ICC certifications held by the Raba Kistner staff include all of the Special Inspector category disciplines, among others. The Raba Kistner team has the depth and certification redundancy to perform special inspection on any project.
International Code Council (ICC)
UDOT Certification Program for Consultants
Raba Kistner maintains relevant certifications required to perform UDOT construction phase services. These include Construction Engineering Management Training (CEMT), UDOT Partnering Phases 1-3, and participation in the Inspector Qualification Program (IQP) and the
Laboratory Qualification Program (LQP). All are required to perform Construction Engineering Management (CEM) and materials testing services for UDOT projects.
UDOT Certification Program for Consultants
Calibrations
All Raba Kistner laboratories are equipped with calibrated, well-maintained testing equipment used to successfully service geotechnical and construction projects. We keep written, detailed procedures for all calibrations, standardizations, and check activities, and ensure that records are current. Calibrations are made using equipment traceable to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
Calibrations
Geoprofessional Business Association (GBA) Peer Review
Raba Kistner participates in GBA’s peer review program, whose goal is improving member firms’ quality of geotechnical engineering practices in an effort to better serve clients and better protect the public. Professionals from other member firms conduct this review, during which
they examine documents and practices, visit physical facilities, and observe operations.
Geoprofessional Business Association (GBA) Peer Review
American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)
Our AASHTO accredited labs are located in Austin, Beaumont; Columbia, South Carolina; Grand Prairie; Corpus Christi; Farmers Branch; New Braunfels; Lafayette, Louisiana; McAllen; North Salt Lake, Utah and San Antonio. AASHTO is a nonprofit, nonpartisan association that represents highway and transportation departments in all transportation modes. Its goal is to foster the development, operation, and maintenance of an integrated national transportation system. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) has awarded us their accreditation limited to specifically indicated accredited laboratory locations above. The scope of these accreditations can found and verified at http://aashtoresource.org/aap/accreditation-directory
American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)
ASTM E 329 Compliance
Raba Kistner meets the basic and supplemental requirements of ASTM E 329, “Standards of Recommended Practice for Inspection and Testing Agencies for Concrete and Steel as Used in Construction.” We participate in the development of standards for ASTM, and have employees who are members of three committees: C-9, D-18, and E-36.
ASTM E 329 Compliance
TxDOT Laboratory Accreditation and Technician Certifications
Under the TxDOT Independent Assurance Program, Raba Kistner is accredited for its laboratories and personnel in the performance of acceptance testing. Additionally, Raba Kistner is designated by TxDOT with the authority to administer the laboratory and technician certification program for TxDOT and Regional Mobility Authority projects. To learn about our TxDOT pre-certifications, visit www.txdotteamingresources.com.
TxDOT Laboratory Accreditation and Technician Certifications
Western Alliance for Quality Transportation Construction (WAQTC)
Raba Kistner participates in the Transportation Technician Qualification Program (TTQP) to comply with and meet requirements of The Code of Federal Regulations 637, Subpart B – Quality Assurance Procedures for Construction. Participation in WAQTC allows us to perform
testing and inspection activities in Utah, Colorado, Nevada, Idaho, Montana, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Hawaii, Texas and New Mexico.
Western Alliance for Quality Transportation Construction (WAQTC)