Associated Contractors of New Mexico Highway Training & Certification Programs

The Associated Contractors of New Mexico (ACNM) has been a partner with the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) for the past 12 years in which both state and industry employees are trained under the same program. The Technician Training and Certification Program (TTCP) classes are conducted at the Albuquerque headquarters of ACNM, which not only boasts a state-of-the-art classroom but also offers in-house testing labs for soils, aggregates, concrete, nuclear densometer and hot mix asphalt (HMA). The idea behind the TTCP is to promote highly skilled sampling, testing and field technicians, while promoting statewide uniformity and consistency in sampling and testing. Further, the program seeks to “create a harmonious working atmosphere between public agencies and private industry employees based upon trust, open communication, and equality of certification.” According to Joe Folk, Safety & Training Director for the ACNM, the program has worked extraordinarily well; with both the training classes and the certification exams filling on a regular basis. Under the direction of Brian Legan, TTCP Training Director and TTCP Training Coordinators Joel Archuletta and Robert Martinez, the chapter offers a 40-hour training class in aggregates and an aggregrates certification; a 16-hour training class in soils and a soils certification; a 24-hour training class in asphalt and an asphalt certification. The two classes are taken separately from the certification exams and there is no requirement to take the training class as a prerequisite for the certification. On the other side of the building from the labs, Joe Folk conducts a variety of training courses above and beyond those with lab requirements. Currently on the agenda American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA) Traffic Control, Excavation & Trenching Competent Person, Confined Space Competent Person, Substance Abuse for Foreman, Storm Water Qualified Person, MSHA Sub Part 46, and both the OSHA 10- and 30-hour classes. Classes have been so well attended that the chapter built an addition last year, which now houses a high-tech classroom complete with a dual control computer so that the 60-person room can be broken down into two separate classrooms. The ACNM, under Executive Director Mike Gibson, represents 200 New Mexico transportation and utility construction firms and their 15,000 employees.