Canadian Production & Quality School Level I (PQS I)

The National Precast Concrete Association (NPCA) and Canadian Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (CPCI) are excited to bring the Master Precaster program to Canada.

PQS I is the perfect course to cement your production skills. Whether you are a new employee or have 20 years in the business, PQS I will take you through the entire precast concrete production cycle and give you the fundamentals to succeed in the industry. This course will cover all aspects of manufactured concrete production with special emphasis on maintaining high quality.

All employees of precast concrete manufacturers or those who supply to the precast concrete industry.

The certificate for PQS I is valid for 5 years from the course completion date. You can take the 4-hour PQS I refresher course when you need to renew your PQS I certification. Those who obtain and maintain any of the PQS II certificates or the Master Precaster title will not be required to keep their PQS I certification up to date, as those certifications will override PQS I.

The Canadian PQS courses and the NPCA PQS courses are considered equivalent and fully interchangeable. Therefore, you can take the Canadian PQS I and then upgrade to NPCA PQS II. Or you can take the NPCA PQS I and upgrade to Canadian PQS II.

Chapter 1 – Concrete Materials
Chapter 2 – Reinforcement
Chapter 3 – Pre-pour Operations
Chapter 4 – Concrete Mixes and Durability
Chapter 5 – Batching and Mixing
Chapter 6 – Production Practices
Chapter 7 – Post-Pour Operations, Lifting and Handling
Chapter 8 – Quality Control and Operations
Chapter 9 – Lean Manufacturing and Continuous Improvement
Chapter 10 – Safety
Chapter 11 – Prestressed Concrete

Identify the key components for making quality precast concrete and proper handling techniques for each
Describe in detail the entire manufacturing process of producing quality precast concrete from preproduction to post-production
Calculate the impact of temperature of aggregates, cement, and water on concrete mixes
Explain the fundamental elements of a quality concrete mix design and troubleshoot potential mix design flaws
Create a quality control manual specific to their plant production practices while incorporating industry best practices

Wayne Kassian is a Principal at Kassian Dyck & Associates, Consulting Engineers in Calgary.

Wayne is a professional engineer with more than 38 years of diverse structural experience in the design of various structures across North America and is very active in the Canadian and US Precast Concrete Institutes.

Wayne is chair of the Canadian Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute’s Technical Committee and is a member of PCI’s Technical Activities Council (TAC) overseeing various PCI technical committees on precast and prestressed concrete. Wayne is also a member of Canada’s Concrete Design Code CSA A23.3, is a member of CSA A23.4 Precast Concrete – Materials and Construction. Wayne is a Chapter Editor for the CPCI Design Manual and also the Cement Association of Canada’s Concrete Design Handbook, regarded as Canada’s foremost reference handbook related to the design of concrete structures in Canada.

Wayne is one of Canada’s delegates for the Canadian national group of fib (International Federation for Structural Concrete), is a member of fib’s General Assembly, and participates on fib Commission 6 related to precast concrete prefabrication.

Wayne was awarded the Distinction of Fellow to the Canadian Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute in 2017 and CPCI Industry Titan in 2021.