What Is CMT And Why Is It So Important?
POSTED ON August 17, 2020
Written By Nicole Breed, Edited By Rebecca Trahan
CMT stands for Construction Materials Testing and is a vital part of the construction building process. Whether being used for roads, bridges, or buildings it plays a vital role mostly for safety. If any component of a mixture is wrong, liability for any damages or loss of life can occur.
According to Shield Engineering in their August 16, 2017 blog, there are two types of CMT – Field Testing and Lab Testing. Field Testing involves a certified technician going to a job site and testing the appropriate materials. The main tested materials include concrete, asphalt, aggregates, soil, and lumber. Field Tests check for moisture, air content, compaction, and temperature. They are generally a visual and non-destructive test.
If the Field Tests are not conclusive, that is when a sample needs to be sent to the laboratory for Lab Testing. Compared to Field Tests, there is a lab for each type of material, and Lab Tests are generally more detailed and complex compared to tests rendered in the field.
CMT is so important because it not only protects the structural integrity but protects human lives as well. If you don’t have a mix design that is right for the environment you are building in, that structure has the potential to harm people, animals, or the environment. It is for that reason, along with other reasons, that CMT is highly regulated, and federal and state agencies perform the checks and balances for every step of the building process.
Nicole Breed is a longtime digital marketing executive at ATSER™ Systems. When she is not writing civil engineering articles, she serves as a graphic designer and artist.
Rebecca Trahan is a new digital marketing director at ATSER™ Systems. Prior to joining ATSER™ she spent over 20 years working and writing for various businesses in the entertainment industry (Hollywood and Los Angeles, CA) and in various political offices (nationwide).
