A 34,000-sq.-ft. warehouse in Frederick, Md., has been converted to a shared ASTM Cement and Concrete Reference Laboratory (CCRL) and American Association of State Highway and Transportation Official Materials Reference Laboratory (AMRL), bringing the operations of six buildings under one roof.
The relocating of the labs from the National Institute of Standards and Technology campus in Gaithersburg, Md., says CCRL/AMRL Director Steven Lenker, “will allow us to be much more efficient and better able to serve our customers.” Redesigned specifically for CCRL/AMRL, he adds, the new building provides modern office space, new laboratories, and a modern proficiency sample production facility.
Created by ASTM Committee C01 on Cement in 1929, CCRL is currently sponsored by C01 and Committee C09 on Concrete and Concrete Aggregates. It aims to improve the quality of construction materials testing by providing programs and services that individual laboratories can use to differentiate themselves from less qualified competitors, Lenker notes.
In addition, specifiers can use CCRL programs to focus on laboratories that can best provide the testing capabilities they need to support construction projects. CCRL runs the Laboratory Inspection Program and the Proficiency Sample Program; originally geared to improve cement testing quality, they now cover concrete, concrete masonry, aggregates, blended cements, masonry mortar, pozzolans, and steel reinforcing bars. CCRL programs serve nearly 2,000 laboratories around the world.
