GeoTek University is our in house, modular education and mentoring program designed to supplement our employees’ formal education with ongoing instruction.  Individuals within GeoTek, who have an expertise in a particular field, develop curricula which is then submitted to GeoTek’s Management Committee (consisting of principals and representatives from each office), for approval.  While constantly expanding current modules they currently include: project management (financial, leadership, and general planning, scheduling and controls), risk management, insurance, client development professional conduct and selected technical subjects. Classes are offered on a regular basis and advancement into positions of responsibility is contingent upon their successful completion.

Our Senior Technical Professional (STP) Certification Program requirements are for technical professional employee candidates who have obtained the applicable experience and have demonstrated their technical skills while under the direction of an existing STP mentor. This certification program is at the core of our quality process. Once the mentor is satisfied that the candidate meets the requirements of the STP certification, his application is presented to the Executive Vice President of Engineering and Science for acceptance. The application includes several examples of the candidate’s work. Once a candidate is accepted , a Review Board is appointed consisting of STP's, including those with expertise in the specific discipline in which the candidate is requesting certification. The Board first reviews the candidate’s work and the candidate then sits before the board in a formal conference where he or she is required to defend the reasoning and procedures used in his work products.  The board evaluates if the candidate is to be certified or if additional experience is required. Upon successfully completing the review board process, the candidate receives certification and is added to the company roster of Senior Technical Professionals.

Mentor Program.  The Mentor Program is designed to take a recent graduate and prepare them to become a successful engineer or geologist.  We do this in two ways;

1. We give you two advisors (a mentor and a Senior Mentor) to help guide you through the first few years of your career.  This gives you a resource for questions ad direct communication with the top people in our company.
2. We provide you experience at the "ground level" in as many of the areas of our business as possible.  This teaches you the fundamentals of our business and makes you a stronger technical person and a better future manager.

The intent of the 'ground level' experience is to make you a better rounded engineer/geologist that has construction experience, can communicate with contractors, has a working knowledge of laboratory testing, and can manage field technicians.  The top people in this company have all had several years of testing and inspection experience prior t starting their current positions.  These people have indicated that this experience is a major reason they have been so successful in their careers.

Internal Audits Program.  GeoTek performs internal audits approximately once per year at each of our office locations. The audits are performed by GeoTek Senior Technical Professionals from other branches. The audits include review of report content, loss prevention language, review of proposals, contracts, and invoices, and review of laboratory procedures and equipment.  The auditor delineate any concerns in a formal audit report and the branch is required to respond with a plan to address any deficiencies. 

As a proactive measure to provide a consistent quality, we apply our Quality Control Plan to all projects.  Whether for the institutional, commercial, residential, industrial, or government sectors, each project or task order within a project is assigned a Senior Technical Professional (STP) who provides senior review of the project at designated milestones, which allows quality to be built throughout each project.  This process starts with the proposal for the project.  Our professional personnel hold certifications and licenses in various state and with local agencies to perform work in the specified areas.

Our internal quality processes are described in our Quality System Guidelines Manual. The manual is a dynamic document and is audited and approved by the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO, AMRL, CCRL and IAS). The objective of the manual is to furnish readily available guidelines to enable GeoTek personnel to provide accurate and reliable construction materials engineering, testing, and inspection services. This system is designed to promote meeting this objective through the use of staff that is properly trained, experienced, and educated, using testing equipment that meets the requirements of the applicable standards and that is properly calibrated, and performing services in accordance with recognized standards and materials engineering principles. The following are key elements to our quality system:

• Provide a narrative of the company’s history.
• Identify the corporate and office organizational structure.
• Describe the geographic area served by the office.
• Provide staff titles and the corresponding responsibilities and authority.
• Provide a chain of command to resolve issues of concern.
• Describe diagnostic and preventive procedures and corrective actions.
• Describe sampling and testing procedures.
• Describe internal training methods and record keeping.
• Define the system for individuals to verify their competency to perform certain tests.
• Provide an inventory list of testing equipment and reference materials.
• Describe equipment calibration frequencies.
• Describe the review, approval, and signature process for test data and final reports.
• Describe test sample management procedures including sample shipping and handling, logging, labeling, storage, retention, and disposal.
• Outline procedures for resolving technical complaints and non-conforming work.
• Provide guidelines for performing internal Quality System reviews.

Our senior staff members visit project sites on a regular basis to monitor inspector, technician, and contract performance and to maintain communication with other project team members. In the event of sub-standard test or inspection results, the contractor will be verbally notified immediately. If the sub-standard work is not corrected when the contractor is notified, the non-compliant work will be documented and the necessary project team members will be informed of the issue in a timely manner.

As part of our previously discussed Internal Audit Program, we check that key elements of our established quality system procedures are being followed and that our required record-keeping is up-to-date. Items that are checked during the audit include the following:

• Proficiency sample reports and responses.
• Third party on-site inspection reports and responses.
• Equipment Inventory List
• Equipment calibration verification records.
• Technician training and competency verification records.
• Records of calibration verification of equipment and materials received during the review period, including new equipment, capping compound, concrete cylinder molds, etc.
• Follow-up verification of deficiency corrections noted in previous reviews.

By executing the above quality control programs, GeoTek feels that it is able to maintain a level of technical competence that meets our clients needs and our professional standards. By doing so, we believe that we help create a successful project, while protecting the interests of our clients, both during the course of construction, and over the lifespan of the project.