Good morning. Welcome to PCI's webinar series. Today's presentation is How Precast Builds PCI Architectural Certification. I'm Royce Duffington, Manager of Member Services at PCI, and I'll be your moderator for this session. Before I turn the controls over to your presenter today, I have a few introductory items to note. Earlier today, we sent an email to all registered attendees with handouts of today's presentation. The email contained a webinar sign-in sheet, a guide to downloading your Certificate of Continuing Education, and a copy of today's presentation. The handouts are also available now and can be found in the handouts section of your webinar pane. If there are multiple listeners on your line, please circulate the sign-in sheet and send the completed attendance sheet back to PCI per the instructions on the form. The attendance sheet is only for use at locations with multiple listeners on the line. 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Also, a pop-up survey will appear after the webinar ends. Today's presentation will be recorded and uploaded to the PCI eLearning Center. PCI has met the requirements of the AIA Continuing Education System and can offer one HSW-LU for this presentation. We are a registered provider of AIA CES, but today's presentation does not contain content that has been endorsed by AIA. Any questions about the content of this webinar should be directed to PCI. Credit earned on completion of this program will be reported to CES records for AIA members. Questions related to specific products or publications will be addressed at the end of the presentation. Our presenter for today is Randy Wilson, Director of Architectural Precast Systems at PCI. I'll now hand the controls over to begin our presentation. Well, thank you, Royce, and I thank everybody for attending today. Looking forward to discussing our new Architectural Precast Certification Program. But first, I want to introduce our PCI Summer Series. Our PCI Summer Series will be four different webinars, which will be held once a month, as you see on the screen, and they will have four different topics geared totally to and entirely to our new PCI Architectural Certification Program. Today's program is an introduction to the new Architectural Certification Program. It's a little updated from the one that I gave back in the fall of 2020 for Architectural Record Magazine. Next month, which is going to be a really exciting opportunity to get a deeper dive into the program, we will be talking about more of the details of each one of the categories that will be introduced today. And then on 8-18, we will have a roundtable discussion with a few Architectural Precast salespeople, and they are going to impart on us the importance of this new certification program and how it's been advancing the industry for architects, construction managers, and owners, and also some of the things that they've done in their plans to help advance the Architectural Precast industry. But we're going to save the best for last, which is going to be September 15th. On September 15th, we're going to have a program that's going to be the architect's perspective on the importance of collaboration with architectural precasters early in the design process. So we'll have a few architects that are fluent in architectural precast, have used the products, and also ones that have helped us develop this program to really explain some of the nuts and bolts and how this program can be applicable to your projects, your upcoming projects, as you design early in the design process. But today, as I said before, this is an introduction to the program. The program, the new Architectural Certification Program, is a collaboration of architectural precasters around the country. And this program has been one that was developed with about a dozen individual precast producers, along with other members of our Architectural Precast Concrete Committee that include professional members, it includes associate members, it includes academia, and also some architects from the architectural community. So this is a true collaboration of ideas. As such, the first part of the program, we will be talking about the purpose and benefits of certification programs, and we will explain the outcome of quality assurance programs on finished products, quality, safety, and the overall construction process. So the first about 15 minutes, we will really kind of set the table for what is a certification program in the construction industry. On the back half of the program, we will discuss and describe the basic differences between the various PCI certification categories. And then we will explain in a high level, explain how to specify architectural precast concrete using the appropriate PCI certification category. So let's start at the beginning, like most stories, right? Best place to start at the beginning. So what is architectural precast concrete? The term architectural precast concrete refers to any precast concrete component that, through application of shape, finish, color, or texture, contributes to the architectural form and the finished effect of the structure. In basic terms, it's precast concrete components cast off-site in a controlled environment, shipped to the job site, erected on the building, and it serves as the architectural element for your structure. That architectural element, it combines the maximum freedom of architectural expression with the economy of mass production. So precast concrete being produced off-site is one of the original prefabricated panel systems. There's a lot of new products out in the marketplace that are manufactured off-site. Many of them have a lot of great attributes, but none of them are durable, long-lasting, and maintenance-free concrete. And precast concrete being cast off-site, you know, has its roots thousands of years ago, but in modern day, we're talking about in the 1950s and 60s, so we're getting pretty close to that 80-year mark of successful production off-site. But also, concrete is an elastic material. You know, concrete is fluid, and it will take the shape of any form that you create. So we're not limited to any standard sizes or shapes, and therefore we can mimic any architectural expression, and we can clad just about any type of structure. So it's very important that you do collaborate with an architectural precast producer early on because we don't have any off-the-shelf products. Everything is customized for your particular project. And we also want to talk about how to use architectural precast concrete. Precast concrete can be non-load-bearing cladding panels. They can be part of a structural building frame, or they could be the small decorative accent units. To get the most value out of architectural precast is to use it as a load-bearing element, or it could be your complete wall section when you actually use it as a complete insulated wall panel. So that's the best way to use architectural precast bar none, is to use it as a load-bearing cladding panel. That way, you'll be able to reduce interior finishes. You'll be able to reduce perimeter columns and potentially reduce perimeter beams because the panels can then take on all the floor and the roof loads. So again, I'll be a little bit repetitive and say the best way to make sure that you get the best value of the product is to work with your local precast concrete producer. And that precast concrete producer should be a member of and certified by the Precast Concrete Institute. So who is PCI? Well, PCI was founded in 1954, and it is the technical institute for the precast concrete industry. Simply put, we're the people to call when you have a technical question about architectural, structural, or transportation precast concrete products. We are the technical institute. PCI is recognized as one of the top technical institutes and trade associations in the United States and beyond. So we do possess the body of knowledge. The body of knowledge is developed, maintained, and we disseminate the body of knowledge for the design, fabrication, and construction of precast concrete structures and systems. That body of knowledge is created by the committees which are formulated by our precast producers from around the country and some from overseas. We also have associate members and professional members, academia, and we also have architects and engineers that participate in creating our body of knowledge and to keep making sure that all of our manuals are updated. So everything we talk about today, we can trace back to a written document that has been vetted through many, many professionals within our industry. And going forward, our goal at PCI is to convert the applicable manuals into ANSI standards and into the building code. So we do collaborate with other organizations like the steel construction industry and also with the ACI and other industry technical institutes so that we make sure that we collaborate with them so that we make sure our information going into standards is a good fit for the construction industry. So people want to build good buildings. After all, their reputations hang in the balance and of course it's always more expensive to fix something than it is to do it right the first time. And the best way to ensure that you can do it right the first time is to follow a certified process. So what is a certified process or what is certification? Certification is the formal confirmation that an object, person, or organization has met the requirements by some form of external review, education, or audit and is labeled competence to practice in that area. Well for products, that's assurance that each product meets specification and is inspected. I like to use analogies, I'm sure a lot of others do. One analogy is you buy a new pair of pants and you put your hand in the pocket and you get a little piece of paper that says inspected by inspector number nine. Don't know who number nine is, don't know how they were trained, but most likely they made sure that the zipper was in the right place, the belt loops were properly installed, the cuff at the at the end of your your pant leg was was properly manufactured and both both pant legs were the same length. And they're really inspecting a product, that's that's what they do. You also look at the people, that the person who does the inspection most likely has been trained, so it's an assurance that that person can perform specific tasks or functions such as conducting inspections, operating machinery, or teaching others. Within PCI, we inspect, or we sorry, we we qualify our people, train our people through our our QC schools. So we have certain individuals that are that are qualified for concrete mixing and concrete placing in every aspects of of manufacturing precast concrete, but within precast plants there's people that are certified in running forklifts and running straddle cranes and and other pieces of equipment, and that's sort of certifying a person is pretty simple to to overcome. But to certify a process, that's a whole nother undertaking. That requires or to define that would be to audit the quality assurance program to ensure that the process is complete and functioning to industry standards. Basically what we're doing is we're we're certifying how to manufacture those that pair of pants or how to manufacture on an assembly line. So PCI is is is certifying the process. Within that process, one of the key elements is as we as we go a little bit more into the weeds is to is to look at what is a quality assurance system. A quality assurance system is an integrated and ongoing collection of practices focused on consistently achieving predictable outcomes, and the key there is the predictable outcomes, right? In order to get a predictable outcome, each process must be must follow a written process, it must be performed by certified personnel, and then it must be inspected by a third party auditing process, and that is exactly what PCI does. But internally at each precast concrete plant is a quality control component. So to make sure that every one of those those processes are performing their their function to the written standard every day, every precast concrete plant has a quality control component, and quality is a daily commitment. It's not a one-time thing, it's not a sometime thing, it's an everyday thing, and that's one of the things that you must ensure with a quality certification program that that the QC program is is in place. And a good place to really get a full understanding of a quality comprehensive quality system is this is this pdf or is this article white paper that was created in a joint a joint collaboration between AISC and PCI, and this this pdf is part of the attachments to the webinar today. So I would recommend that you go ahead and download that pdf and file that away. It's a quick three-page read, but it does give 12 elements of a comprehensive quality system. It's something you can do checks and balances on any any construction related product or service or system. Do they follow those those 12 elements? And I think if you do find a product or a certification program that follows those 12 elements, I think you you can easily see that those that program would be would meet your standards so that you can ensure a predictable outcome. But to add a little bit more credibility to that, the white paper breaks down material barriers between the concrete and steel industry and demonstrates that while some consultants and associations may offer certification programs, only the technical institute serving the corresponding industry has the established body of knowledge to serve as a singular standardized and accredited certification organization. That's a quote from ENR magazine. That article was or that white paper was published in their magazine about 10 years ago and it still holds true today. So what are the benefits of certification? The number one benefit is to assure that what is designed is what is built. Build it right the first time, right? Some of the subsequent benefits are that it enables you as a specifier, as an architect, as a construction manager to pre-qualify your bidders. Make sure the bidder is aligned with with your with your demands and with your expectations. It also reduces the designer's risks so you do know that that products will have an acceptable level of quality when they come out of that manufacturing facility. And that gives you the highest probability of a successful project and that's what we're all looking for, right? Is to meet your expectations on every job every day. But what I one of the things that I it's the older I get and the more I get into plants and the more I see construction sites and more I get to know people, the number one thing for me is design with worker and public safety in mind. And certification is a way to ensure that you are you're designing a project that is going to be safe. It's going to be safe during the construction process, it'll be safe during the structure's life cycle, and it's going to be safe during deconstruction. I'm not going to get off on a tangent with the environmentally friendliness or anything in that in that realm, but I don't believe we spend enough time looking at how a project's going to live at the end of its life cycle, how it can be deconstructed. And when you use that analysis against many products I think you'll find that precast concrete products whether it be architectural or structural are are one of the safest products and one of the easiest products to deconstruct and then also to to recycle and reuse. The other component for safety and quality is durability. Again we design with projects a lot of times we think about maintenance, we think about what the the life cycle cost will be to maintain that project, but we also are we thinking about worker risk. I mean for workers to go out and have to repaint a job or re-tuck point a job or to re-something a job and spend countless hours every 10-15 years, that does put workers at risk. Precast concrete especially architectural precast concrete has been is designed for hundreds of years, 100 years, 150 years plus. So I think that is one of the areas that we should be looking at when we're selecting materials and systems. I think that again I keep saying the number one thing but I think the number one thing too is projects or products that will protect from national disasters, hurricanes, tornadoes, and etc. So not only are you safe for your workers, not only are you safe for the the environment, you're also safe for the inhabitants. So we have countless case studies of projects that have been hit by tornadoes, been hit by hurricanes and floods where the precast buildings were the only ones standing. So I think that that attribute is one that the precast can claim as a victory. So also safety and quality goes with designing with certified quality products and systems. When it's a certified quality product or system you know that the process is done every the same way same every day and that ensures a safe safe working environment for our workers. Utilizing prefabrication limits the numbers of workers on site. Work with a certified specialty contractor early in the design process will ensure that you can look at a pre-construction plan, you can look at where the product's coming from, where they're going to be on the job site? Where's the lay down area going to be? How big of a pad do you need for your crane? Where will your workers be the first week, second week, and third week on the job site? So you can make sure that they have plenty of room to work and other workers on the job site will not be in danger from the precast concrete applications. So all of those things are built into our products naturally. And that gives us a combination of a safe and quality job site. So selecting a certification program, I just have to revert you back to that PDF document. But you have to understand the basis of the program and who administers the program. Is it a checklist or is there actually third party auditors that go to the manufacturing site and actually watch the process? That's what you need. You need an unbiased third party auditor at every job site and every manufacturing plant to make sure that the certification program is administered properly. So that's what we do here at PCI. And therefore, we are recognized as the leading and most widely specified quality assurance program in the construction industry. We are working with Master Spec as we speak to make sure that everything that's going to be part of the new architectural certification program will be incorporated into the Master Spec once the new release comes out in September. So we are way ahead of the game in making sure that you have the tools as an architect, construction manager, or design professional to incorporate what you're going to learn today and in the next few series, summer series, programs will be readily available through Master Spec. So with that, I can take a little bit of a breath and we can start diving into some of the details of PCI certification programs and the different categories therein. So we did talk about PCI was formed back in 1954 and then the certification programs began in 1967. So during that window of time, as the PCI producers began to collaborate and they began to put best practices in writing, they realized pretty quickly to audit a bridge producer is a little bit different checklist than auditing a structural producer or an architectural producer. Therefore, they came up with the different categories, A1, C1, B1 and then within those categories, there are subcategories to the certification program. In subsequent years, we added the glass fiber reinforced concrete category or the G category. And but when the program began back in the 60s, they realized that, as I just mentioned, it was very important that we had two unannounced audits per year by an independent third-party engineering company who specializes in precast concrete. That was a very important component to adding credibility to the program. And again, in subsequent years, we've added an erector certification program primarily because we could make a perfect product in a plant, but when it gets to the job site, there could be some issues on the job site and that perfect project now becomes something that needs some remedial work. So, over the years, we have developed an erector certification program. Therefore, we have a complete certification program from process to people to install. And that is one of the unique things in our industry. So, let's go back to asking some questions and getting some definitions together. So, why the change? Well, designer creativity and advanced production techniques are expanding the expressive potential of architectural precast concrete. So, what does that mean in Randy's speak? It means that precasters and architects get together and they one-up each other, right? So, as architects started inquiring the precasters, hey, can you make a radius panel? Can you make a window panel? Can you make a bullnose? Can you make two colors? Can you make two finishes? Can you build it on a high rise and a low rise? Precasters kept developing new manufacturing techniques to continue to advance the complexity of architectural precast concrete. And basically, in layman's terms, not 100% accurately, but they've kind of outpaced the A1 certification program. So, what's the goal of the new certification program? Is to improve alignment between designer expectations and PCI certified plant production capabilities. So, that's the main goal, is to make sure that we create some subsets within the A1 category so that we can align between designer expectations and individual PCI plants production capabilities. So, let's start the baseline of the certification program. Number one, it maintains current high level of quality, inspection, and performance for all certification categories. Every single architectural precast concrete producer, well, structural precast producers too, but every single precast producer must maintain a current high level of quality, inspection, and performance. So, there's, in fact, every category is actually improving their quality based on this program. And what we had to do was we had to create enhanced complexity categories to meet the demand of more intricate BIM generated exterior envelope requirements. And then we also created a more accurately definition for aesthetic criteria for more of the industrial applications. So, the facts are that the current A1 category is planned to be discontinued October 1st, 2021 and will be replaced by four new categories. And I say the word planned because, of course, I wrote this presentation with our committee almost a year ago now. But the plan was during COVID, and many of our plants were under some COVID restrictions where we could not get to their plant and physically audit them. Those COVID restrictions have been lifted. So, it is a 99.9% chance that this program will go live on October 1st, 2021. So, what does that mean to specifiers and designers and construction managers? It means that all projects that bid after October 1st, on or after October 1st, 2021, will need to use the new categories because the A1 category will be discontinued as of October 1st of 2021. So, if you have a project that's bidding at that date or later, I recommend you get to, get with your local precast producer and re-look at your specifications to make sure your specifications align with one of these four categories. The categories, instead of A1, will be an alpha-alpha designation, AA, AB, AC, AD. And the AT designation will be for the small products, including coping trim and small accent pieces. That category has not changed much. It's pretty much the same. So, we'll focus on the four categories, and we'll focus first on the AC category. But I'll preface that none of the categories align perfectly with A1. There has been enough modification to the program to where nothing, none of the programs are, none of the designations are apples and apples with A1. But AC is similar to the same high-quality architectural products as category A1. And the main reason is because that line aligns with our PCI Manual 117. So, if you look at the AD designation, that's a high-quality products, meaning PCI M&L 116 requirements for structural product and industrial wall panel applications. Now, if we start going in the other direction to AB, AB has a greater emphasis on shape and alignment tolerances, so you become more complex in shape, color, texture, and then AA has heightened tolerances and shape complexity. Those are, and we'll show some examples, but those are projects that require a little bit more alignment between panels, a little bit more shape and texture capabilities than the other facilities would need to demonstrate. So, starting on 10-1, all plants will be re-certified in one of the categories. So, I called this slide the re-certification process. The PCI producers are currently certified as A1, so now they'll be re-certified. That process began on 7-1 of 2020, and it will conclude on 10-1-21. All categories, PCI scheduled an audit, and audit is performed. Three mock-up panels must be produced to demonstrate aesthetic capabilities. That's one of the big changes, and that is that each precast plant must manufacture three mock-ups, and then those mock-ups are audited by our third-party auditing company to ensure that that precast plant has demonstrated a capability to meet whichever specific category that they designated they were trying to achieve. Now, after 10-1-21, we'll start to go back to our annual certification process, and that is where all categories, PCI will schedule two audits, and the audits will be performed. Some announced, but most of them are unannounced. If they passed, a certification is provided, and they continue on. For the AA and AB categories, one of the changes is that every two years, those producers must prove that they can continue to meet the enhanced aesthetic complexity requirements via completed projects or via a new mock-up production. So, they will be required to have either a plant audit or a site audit to demonstrate that they have produced projects that meet the enhanced aesthetic complexity requirements. And as I mentioned before, all of this information is, it can be tied back to PCI's quality control manuals and their other technical documentation. So, I want to review these real quick. We have the PCI Manual 116, which is the quality control manual for structural precast concrete products. That's primarily the AD-type panels, industrial wall panel-type projects. PCI Manual 117 is the quality control manual for the architectural precast concrete products, the progressively more complex projects. And then the PCI Manual 135 is our manual on tolerances. So, that manual there had listed all the product tolerances and installation tolerances. And speaking of installation, what's this PCI Certified Erector I was talking about? Well, it's very important that our erectors follow standards and guidelines for the erection of precast concrete panels. So, obviously, we create a manual, 127, that reviews preconstruction planning, proper practices and procedures, different equipment requirements, appropriate tolerances for per product category for each of the architectural and structural categories, and also quality control procedures that the erectors need to provide. And then they also, there are safety protocols. So, again, safety is something that is entwined in everything that we possibly do, because our people are our number one important asset. It's just not a saying. It's the real deal. I think most companies feel the same way. And so, we've hit that pretty hard, but I wanted to hit it one more time, that safety is at the forefront of every step of the process. So, like I said before, everything that we're talking about today can be tied back to a manual. Our manuals continually be updated. This is the supplemental requirements to the new Architectural Precast Concrete Certification Program. It can be found on our website at pci.org slash arc cert. So, this is a document that is extremely important if you are designing with architectural precast moving forward, because this has all the details of the program to where you can compare against your project to ensure that you're specifying the proper category. It's also the instruction manual for all the precast concrete producers to follow. And as I mentioned before, each architectural producer must produce three mock-ups based on the category that you are, certification category that you are applying for. This is the most simple mock-up. It's an AD category type one mock-up. You can see it's a flat panel with a couple of simple reveals. This is the most complex mock-up. It's for category AA type one. You can notice in the drawing that it has its radius shaped. It has bullnose. It has a couple of projections. It also contains two mixes and two finishes. And everything needs to be manufactured to the proper tolerances and also to color consistency and finish consistency requirements. All those requirements are outlined in that supplemental requirement document. Each mock-up has a matrix. That matrix is a definition of the call-outs on every one of the mock-ups. And therefore, we, the precast producer must create a shop drawing, submit the shop drawing for approval. Once that shop drawing is approved, then they are required to manufacture their mock-up to that approved shop drawing. So we all, as the industry, we all make the same mock-ups. And we all have to be judged by the same third-party auditing. So therefore, we're creating a level of consistency across the industry that's just unheard of. It's not done by anybody else. So we are raising the bar on what a qualified subcontractor, especially contractor, is. So I put these slides together to put all the mock-ups side by side so you can see that the level of complexity as it progresses from AED to AA. And again, the quality of the product is no different. It's high-quality architectural precast concrete, you know, 100-plus-year product, durable, load-bearing, non-load-bearing. The only difference is the complexity of the shape and the finish, the level of finish on the products. When I say level of finish, I don't mean inconsistency. It's all still color consistent throughout. But you can see how the AD product is a thin brick. For mock-up type 2, AD product is a thin brick panel. Category AC moves to adding thin brick on the edge of a panel or a finished edge. AB, where you got two mixes or two finishes on the face of a panel. And then AA is a panel where you actually create some corbeling or some complexity, which would mimic some standard brickwork. The type 3 mock-up is comparing form liner capabilities, where AD is a standard form liner with a simple reveal. AC, you run the form liner down the panel, and they have a finished bottom edge. AB is a custom form liner with some projections at the top of the panel. And AA is a couple of different customized form liner appearances along with a couple of detail pieces. So you can see some of the, what we've tried to do is mimic about a lot of the different architectural features you may see in a precast concrete project. And again, not to forget about AT, one of the advancements for AT is to also show mock-ups. So we've required that all the AT producers actually manufacture three mock-ups, a curved piece, a typical sill piece, and maybe a decorative piece so that they can show their capabilities also. And again, all this information is in our ArcCert website, and it's in the supplemental condition or supplemental requirement document, and you're free to everybody. You can easily download it, and it is the basis of specifying your project. Inside that document is a matrix. That matrix lists all the different complexity features that you may consider whenever you are designing with architectural precast concrete. Here's an example of color and finish. The first item obviously won't go through all these, but more than one colored mixture, that would be an AA or an AB product. If your project is a one color mixture and one texture, then it would be an AC, AD, or an AT product based on the complexity of its shape. So there's about two or three pages of different requirements, you know, panel geometry, embedded materials, and other topics, and you'd be able to cross-reference those with the right category, and then you'd be able to start the design process from there. So the number one best way to make sure that your project aligns with the right category is to consult with your local precast producer. You can review your design requirements and compare with the supplemental requirements. You also can review the category-specific master specification to ensure expectations will be met. We are currently creating master specifications in conjunction with master spec for each one of the different categories. Those are, again, under development with the goal of having those to go live, be ready to go live by October 1st. And that was a pretty fast, I think fast, it's fast to me, rundown of some information about certifying your plant, certifying your products, and an overview of the categories. But now I want to try to get through or demonstrate some real-life project examples of the different categories. So let's start with AT. AT is, most everyone's familiar with dry cast or tamped stone. So this is the wet cast type products. They can definitely be extremely decorative. They can tie into masonry structures. They could be site walls. They could be hardscape elements, signage, obviously. So they can serve just about any purpose at all. We'll start with AD projects. An AD product is primarily a flat panel, reveals and form liners, one color mix, consistent finish, thin brick can be incorporated. They typically follow the PCI manual 116 tolerances for structural precast concrete products. Each particular plant must have a level one PCI quality control technician. And if they're doing pre-stressing, then they must have a level two PCI quality control technician. And there is no survey or site evaluations required for AD projects. So again, you can see how we're, we're auditing, not the product, but we also train the people. So you must have a quality control technician on, in the plant at all times. AD products, projects can be anything from a large warehouse that might be painted. It can be safe rooms for, for schools or safe rooms, an interior for a building. We've seen them used as a, as a safe room and that'd be the core structure of your, of your structure. They can also be very decorative. An AD project can be an office building with some punched windows in it and some, and a sandblast texture. But AD products are typically produced off a long line steel forms as you see in this, this photograph. That's because they've got set rails. So they've got a 10 foot, 12 foot, 15 foot wide, whatever their set rails are. They can pour a bed that's 200, 300 plus foot long. They can put bulkheads in to separate the pieces. And you can see from an assembly line type of philosophy, how simple and how quickly large projects can be, can be created using architectural precast concrete products. AC products are, you know, flat panels with very little relief as far as 3D dimensions, reveals and form liners, one color mix, consistent finishes, thin brick can be incorporated. The AC producers follow the PCI manual 117 for architectural precast tolerances. They also require quality control personnel, trained quality control personnel, but they also have to require a PCI certified director, which is, which is very key to, to making sure your project gets, gets installed properly. AC projects, again, they're really a lot closer to the, the A1 category because most A1 producers can produce things like thin brick, can add nice reveals. Their tolerances have been accepted in the industry for, for many years. They can make products with custom form liners or, or standard form liners. And you can get very creative with, with flat panels, whether they're out of the steel molds or if they're out of, whether they're out of steel molds or if they're out of custom made wood molds. So again, AC products, adding some liner to a project, adding some custom colored concrete along with some consistent finishes and textures can, can fit with this, any environment. Now, you know, precast is not necessarily the first product to consider when designing retail space, but when you consider the cost of time, precast speed to market provide a high value to developers. So incorporating thin brick into facade allows precast to blend seamlessly into any environment. It typically will carry a brand's image and also can blend into any type of architectural, local architectural review board that may, may require a certain type of finish. It also could serve as a great substrate for adhering masonry products to, to precast concrete. Another great example of an AC project with a modern twist. And, you know, definitely precast concrete is a great way to, to, you know, definitely precast concrete can serve as the main facade element, but it also can serve as, you know, just the, the, the base of the building that the structure of the building to give it some stability. And working with a precast concrete early in the process, this is how cool projects like this get developed. There's just no other way. Architects have such a great eye and such a great vision and such great creativity and precast producers pretty much just go along for the ride. They really love to, to work with architects to develop, to turn your vision, turn your vision into something they've, they've never produced before. And now moving into the A, B and A, A categories is, is where you start to increase the, the complexity of your, of your products. So we start with a flat panel with reveals and form liners, but now you start to build up some 3D panels with buildup surfaces, projections on the face, talking about curves, radiuses. We're looking at more, more than one color mix in a face of a panel. So we can produce panels with two mixes, three mixes, four mixes, two finishes, three finishes, four finishes. We can manufacture products with thin brick terracotta stone, all cast in. And A, B product projects also require a survey and or a site evaluation. So we have to, the A, B and A, A producers will send out surveys for projects over 5,000 square feet. So you as the architect construction, construction manager can give your feedback back to PCI to ensure that these producers are meeting your expectations. So simple things like custom liners, maybe taking a band of your building and, and converting it into a different mix or a different finish is a simple way of adding some visual interest to, to projects. Working with a custom form liner company can give you the opportunity to create all kinds of nice shadowing effects onto your structure. Again, these are all customizable. This is the, the forms created for, the forms that were built for these projects are gone. They're in the trash, they're done. So every project is a, is a custom, custom job. So whether your project is more of a modern looking project, or if you're trying to replicate a hundred year old campus, you know, precast is, is the way to go. And again, this is, this is customizable to anything that you want to, you want to do. And what we're finding, casting thin brick into precast panels is a very popular application. Again, primarily when you start comparing apples and apples, precast concrete to other, other systems, especially about, you know, mid-rise and high-rise that want to have a brick appearance, prefabricating offsite saves a lot of time, saves most cases, a lot of time, prefabricating offsite saves a lot of time, saves most cases money, and definitely saves worker safety. And there are different thin brick manufacturers out there and different form liners out there that can give you more of a hand laid brick look. And there's others that give you a nice long linear modern look, or you can get a traditional straight edge brick look. So just about any look that you want out of masonry can be accomplished with, with architectural precast concrete. Now moving to the AA category, and I just want to just reiterate, every one of the categories have the same high quality product. It's just about aligning the precast producer with the level of complexity for your particular project that you require. So the AA projects are ones that meet all of the previous criteria that we've discussed, but they have enhanced tolerance levels that they must meet. So alignment of panels, alignment of detail, but they also have a required site evaluation on an annual basis. So these, this is kind of really up at the ante just a little bit to address some of the, some of the architects and some of the projects that that do require a little bit more level of high tolerances and complex shapes. And these, the photographs, these last few photographs I think will really kind of tell the tale of the leading edge of where the industry is going as far as a real complex architectural precast concrete. One of the projects that I really love is mainly because it's, it, it does tie a bunch of architectural style together into a structural parking garage. So what you're looking at is a, is a parking garage, structural precast parking garage with architectural precast skin, it's load bearing, and it incorporates all of these very intricate details that you might see in traditional construction. Or you can add as much whimsy, whimsical detail into, into a project as you can. You can kind of see how some of these, these shapes are very repetitive, but yet how did they actually make this, these projects look like they're waving in the wind, so to speak. And that was with, you know, BIM drawings and along with very creative form building. And you know, so if we look from an abstract parking garage in Miami to one of the most iconic monuments in the world, you know, precast is there. Liberty Island, this small piece of land surrounded by salt water and harsh climates, and they turned to precast concrete because they know precast is the hundred year plus solution on that little island. So prefabricating, shipping to an island, installing, and less disruption, high quality products, very architectural in nature, and fits with any, any architectural style. And we'll finish up here with this intrepid building in Philadelphia. It's located in the old Navy shipyard, and the location was definitely the inspiration behind this, this facade. So, but working closely with the precast producer and utilizing the BIM software capabilities, the design team was literally stretched precast ability and its ability to redefine precast concrete buildings moving forward. So you can see how this looks like a big hull of a ship, just a, just a truly iconic building for, for years to come. So there's several resources available to you. It all starts at our pci.org art cert page, A-R-C-H-C-E-R-T. We keep adding information to that page as we, as we create information, as we get questions from the marketplace. We do have an FAQ page that's inward facing, one that kind of answers questions to precasters, and some that answers questions to the, the marketplace. Both are free to, for you to read. So nothing's really, really hidden from, from you as an architect or as a designer to go back and find out what this program is all about. And you can also contact, excuse me, you can contact your regional, your pci.org slash region. There's your regional directors there to answer any questions, or you can contact PCI directly at national. So with that, I'll kick it back to Royce to see if there was any questions from the, from the audience. Thanks for the great presentation, Randy. We do have a couple questions here. The first one is, could you please repeat the definition and characteristics of an AT panel or reference the page with the information on that? Yes, an AT, an AT panel is the, in layman's terms, an AT panel is, is cast stone, but it is manufactured in a wet cast application. So it is, you know, coping, banding, trim, those types of components manufactured in a wet cast process. So the AT is defined in the supplemental requirements. So if you go to the arc, the pci.org slash arc cert page, then you'll be able to look up the AT category in that document. Okay, thank you. We have another question here. It says, can you discuss about GGP being used in the development of cement and concrete? I'm not familiar with what GGP is. This particular person didn't actually expound on that. But for anyone who, I'm sorry, the ground, ground glass puzzling. Oh, yeah, the so you're, I think you're talking more about the GFRC glass fiber reinforced concrete. This is probably what we're speaking of. And that's, that's something I'm not, I don't have readily available the information on that. But I'd be happy if somebody wants to email me directly at rwilson at pci.org. I'll be happy to get you that information. Okay, we have another question that just came in. It says, can the designers be part of the certifications for plants? Well, the designer, my recommendation to designers to visit the plant, or multiple plants, and, you know, come armed with questions in regards to the certification program. Being able to go to a precast plant, tour the facility, ask what are the main quality control steps to ensure that predictable outcome. And then one of the key components here is to work within your local precast producers capabilities. Again, don't, don't, don't, you know, don't put words in my mouth. I'm not saying that one's better than the other. But if somebody has got a precast concrete color mix that they really love, and they can do very consistently, then I would tend to go with that mix and not try to say, no, I want this other mix from Timbuktu. But work with the precast producer, fully understand what their capabilities are and design to their capabilities. That's going to give you the best value. It's going to give you the best assurance of a proper outcome. And it's going to, and most likely, you're going to be able to help push that precaster into maybe doing a few things that won't add anything cost-wise to your project, but will add, enhance a lot of architectural detail to your project. So producers can do a lot, a lot of things that we can't really, as PCI, audit or judge or monitor that can really up the game. Hence why we even have these, these new, new categories. All right. Thank you. We have a question that I believe may also need Mike Kesselmeier's input on this one that you'll have to reference. But it says, is the M&L 117 going to be revised to incorporate the enhanced tolerances of AA certification? Well, the answer to that question is that yes, 117 will be revised, but all tolerances are going to be removed from the manuals and be placed in the 135 manual. So the tolerance committee is now working, is currently working on, you know, updating the PCI manual 135 or tolerances to incorporate all tolerances for all products. So to reiterate, we're not going to be revising all tolerances for all products. So to reiterate, tolerances will be pulled out of 117 and put into 135. But the critical thing is, yes, all of the new tolerances for the new categories will be in the updated manuals. All right. We still have a little bit more time for questions. The next question is, we used a brick that has a metallic sheen to it. Will we be graded on the appearance of the brick type? No, you'll be graded, you're graded upon the execution of the project. We've already had some precast producers who've been through the auditing process and the auditor has asked that question. And they've used, you know, two different bricks in a panel and the blend just didn't look like it was a thought out blend. Didn't look like a band of one color and two bands of other colors. It was just randomly put in the panel. But we're not judging the brick and we're not judging the brick color, the brick texture. We're judging the, or auditing, I should say, is a better term, is the execution of manufacturing a brick face panel. So we're looking at alignment of brick, alignment of joints, alignment of transitions, that sort of thing. So we're not really looking, we're not looking at the integrity of the brick, so to speak. All right. We have one more question. It says, like ACI has a branch in the Middle East, what is PCI's plan to get certification there? Is it difficult to get PCI certification there? I don't really have a solid answer for that. I apologize. Just kind of off the top of my head, the most difficult thing about certifying plants is getting physical auditors to the facility. So that would be my first question back to PCI would be, you know, how do we get auditors there? And then how do we monitor that? So I don't really have a good answer. Again, if you want to email me, I can get some information for you for that. All right. Thank you, Randy, for the great presentation. It looks like that's all the time we have for our questions today. For everyone who has asked a question, we will be forwarding a copy of this list to Randy. We'll have your contact information with it. As a reminder, certificates of continuing education will appear in your account at www.rcep.net within 10 days. If you have any further questions about today's webinar, please email marketing at pci.org. Thank you again. Have a great day and please stay safe.

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