Find out the top 10 core skills you need to master as a construction materials testing technician and what hard skills you need to know to succeed in this job.

A Construction Materials Testing Technician tests and inspects the quality of materials used in the construction process to verify if they conform to construction plans and specifications. He/she is also required to perform routine laboratory tests and site inspection on the materials to verify if they are suitable and if they conform to the specifications of construction and the industry.

Other duties include working with contractors on the project, performing the on-site inspection of construction materials for new projects, collecting random samples of the construction materials and testing them in the lab, track the documents of the project and monitor quality control.

Core Skills Required to be a Construction Materials Testing Technician

Core skills describe a set of non-technical abilities, knowledge, and understanding that form the basis for successful participation in the workplace. Core skills enable employees to efficiently and professionally navigate the world of work and interact with others, as well as adapt and think critically to solve problems.

Core skills are often tagged onto job descriptions to find or attract employees with specific essential core values that enable the company to remain competitive, build relationships, and improve productivity.

A construction materials testing technician should master the following 10 core skills to fulfill her job properly.

Judgment Skills:

Judgment is the ability to make a decision or form an opinion wisely especially in matters affecting action, good sense and discretion.

A Construction Materials Testing Technician must be a person of good judgment with the ability to make the right decision at the right time and for right reasons especially in prioritizing the work correctly to focus on a few important things and ensure excellent results are delivered.

Safety at work:

Safety is being protected from hurt or other non-desirable outcomes that may tend to overrule a situation and cause damages of different kinds.

A Construction Materials Testing Technician must learn to keep the organization safe from different risks by developing a high sense of alertness that detects danger from afar and stops it before it causes risk, danger or injury in the organization.

Delegation:

Delegation is assigning responsibility or authority to another person a junior or subordinate to carry out specific activities while remaining accountable for the outcome.

A Construction Materials Testing Technician must be equipped with skills on how to make the delegation work correctly to save the organization time and money and to allow the subordinate make wise decisions, skills, and motivation to become better and grow the company.

Strategic Planning:

Strategic Planning is organizational management activity that is used to set priorities, focus energy and resources, strengthen operations while guaranteeing that employees and other stakeholders are working towards common goals.

A Construction Materials Testing Technician should be liable to develop the systematic tools to be used in the organization's processes that coordinate and align resources and actions with the mission, vision, and strategy throughout the organization.

Planning and Scheduling:

Planning and Scheduling are the act of establishing a plan for a set of tasks that needs to be completed and including when they should be done.

A Construction Materials Testing Technician needs creativity in balancing both planning and scheduling by clearing defining what and how activities will be carried out by when and who in particular to ensure there are a clear flow and accountability to every staff.

Enthusiasm:

Enthusiasm is an intense enjoyment or a lively interest in a certain thing with a zest and a strong belief that can be felt by those around you.

A Construction Materials Testing Technician ought to be enthusiastic as well as create a friendly atmosphere that makes the staff comfortable with the surroundings, with the other employees to create a less passive working place.

Practical Thinking:

Practical Thinking is the skill to think creatively about projects or work that requires your full attention to be completed and to bring great results.

A Construction Materials Testing Technician must ensure the decisions he makes are well sought after using professional characteristics for employees with high-level responsibilities to feel included and to allow growth for everyone in a constantly changing world that requires creativity.

Organizational Skills:

Organizational Skills is the ability to make use of time, energy and resources available in the most efficient manner to achieve their goal.

A Construction Materials Testing Technician should organize the work for the employees to ensure overall organization, planning, time management, scheduling, coordinating resources and meeting deadlines is handled most efficiently by each employee for both personal and professional growth.

Quality of Work:

The quality of Work is the value of work or products produced by the employees as well as the work environment they are provided with.

A Construction Materials Testing Technician needs creativity in assisting all teams in identifying characteristics that will result in a quality product and lead to greater efficiency and increased productivity by following the four critical outcomes of employee retention, customer satisfaction, profitability, and productivity.

Analytical Skills:

Analytical Skills is the ability to collect and analyze information, solve problems and make decisions according to the policies and regulations of the business.

A Construction Materials Testing Technician should hire employees who use clear, logical steps and excellent judgment to understand an issue from all angles before executing an action depending on the objective and the methodical approaches to benefit a company's productivity.

Hard Skills Required to be a Construction Materials Testing Technician

Hard skills are job-specific skill sets, or expertise, that are teachable and whose presence can be tested through exams. While core skills are more difficult to quantify and less tangible, hard skills are quantifiable and more defined.

Hard skills are usually listed on an applicant's resume to help recruiters know the applicant's qualifications for the applied position. A recruiter, therefore, needs to review the applicant's resume and education to find out if he/she has the knowledge necessary to get the job done.

A construction materials testing technician should have a good command of the following hard skills to succeed in her job.

Construction Materials Testing Technician: Hard skills list

Analyze data from a blower door test
Apply building codes and specifications
Apply drafting and mechanical drawing knowledge and techniques
Apply electrical codes
Apply knowledge of fire codes
Apply mathematics to statistical modeling
Apply statistical methods
Apply structural and safety principles to buildings and other construction projects
Conduct a blower door test
Conduct an air leakage test on a building's ventilation ducts
Conduct investigations and research
Define the thermal envelope of a building
Enforce laws, ordinances and regulations
Evaluate new construction industry practices
Examine structures and identify construction faults or expose potential maintenance problems
Follow hazardous materials specifications
Follow regulations
Follow safety procedures
Inspect material moving equipment before and during normal operation for wear or breakage
Interpret and explain governmental and organizational rules, policies and regulations
Instructing
Maintain repair records
Maintain safe work environment
Mathematics
Measure the annual fuel utilization efficiency (AFUE) of an appliance
Measure the carbon monoxide (CO) output of appliances and cook stoves
Measure the steady-state efficiency of an appliance
Monitoring
Operate and maintain inspection tools and equipment
Prepare reports in timely manner
Quality Control Analysis
Reading Comprehension
Read blueprints and technical drawings
Read schematics and specifications
Recognize public safety hazards
Time Management
Trouble Shooting
Understand, use, and communicate technical information
Use a differential pressure sensor such as a manometer
Use algebra
Use basic mathematics
Use computers in building inspection activities
Use geometry
Use metering and test equipment in building and construction inspection

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