CCI Inspection Techniques & Procedures 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: When inspecting driven pile installation, the inspector should record the number of blows per foot primarily to:
- Determine concrete mix design
- Calculate bearing capacity using driving formulas (Correct answer)
- Monitor equipment fuel consumption
- Verify alignment of pile cap forms
Correct answer: Calculate bearing capacity using driving formulas
Blow count per foot is used with driving formulas (e.g., ENR or WEAP) to estimate the bearing capacity of driven piles.
Question 2: Which condition requires an inspector to STOP work immediately on an excavation in a Type C soil?
- Workers wearing hard hats
- No sloping, benching, or shoring present in an excavation over 5 feet deep (Correct answer)
- Ladder access located 25 feet from workers
- Soil classification not yet confirmed
Correct answer: No sloping, benching, or shoring present in an excavation over 5 feet deep
OSHA requires excavations in Type C soil deeper than 5 feet to have adequate cave-in protection; absence of protection is an imminent danger.
Question 3: A slump test on a concrete batch shows 5 inches when 4 inches is specified with a ±1-inch tolerance. The inspector should:
- Accept the load since it is within tolerance (Correct answer)
- Reject the load immediately without further testing
- Perform a unit weight test to confirm rejection
- Request the batch plant adjust the next load only
Correct answer: Accept the load since it is within tolerance
A slump of 5 inches falls within the ±1-inch tolerance of the 4-inch specification (acceptable range 3–5 inches), so the load should be accepted.
Question 4: When inspecting masonry construction, the inspector verifies that mortar joints are tooled at the CORRECT time. What is that time?
- Immediately after mortar is placed
- When the mortar is thumbprint hard (Correct answer)
- After the mortar fully cures (28 days)
- Only when the wall is complete
Correct answer: When the mortar is thumbprint hard
Mortar joints are tooled when thumbprint hard to compress the mortar surface and improve weather resistance and bond.
Question 5: An inspector notes water ponding on a newly placed asphalt surface. This most likely indicates:
- Excess aggregate gradation
- Inadequate cross-slope or improper surface elevation (Correct answer)
- Insufficient compaction passes
- Too high a compaction temperature
Correct answer: Inadequate cross-slope or improper surface elevation
Ponding water on pavement indicates that the surface lacks the required cross-slope or has low areas due to grade control errors.
Question 6: Which of the following is a non-destructive test method used to assess the integrity of existing concrete structures?
- Compression testing of drilled cores
- Impact echo testing (Correct answer)
- Aggregate sieve analysis
- Schmidt hammer testing only
Correct answer: Impact echo testing
Impact echo is a non-destructive method that uses stress wave reflections to detect internal flaws, delamination, and voids in concrete.
Question 7: During steel erection inspection, an inspector finds that high-strength bolt holes are misaligned and a drift pin is being used continuously to force alignment. The CORRECT response is to:
- Allow drift pin use since it is standard procedure
- Stop the practice and require reaming or rejection of the connection (Correct answer)
- Document and allow work to continue until the engineer reviews
- Approve if fewer than 10% of bolts are affected
Correct answer: Stop the practice and require reaming or rejection of the connection
Continuous drift pin use to force misaligned holes indicates fabrication or erection error; holes must be properly reamed or the member rejected.
CCI Inspection Techniques & Procedures 3
When inspecting driven pile installation, the inspector should record the number of blows per foot primarily to: