Train the Trainer Track Schedule

The Train the Trainer Track will take place Feb 1st-3rd with classes from 12:30pm-4pm CT on Monday, 10am-4pm CT on Tuesday, and 10am-4pm CT on Wednesday.

It’s one thing listening to an instructor deliver a presentation.  It’s a totally different experience when the instructor teaches the students how to deliver the topic.  Curriculum development professionals are working overtime reshaping several of our industry’s top presentations, crafting instructor manuals and creating recordings for the students. These new tools will provide our industry’s sales, production, marketing and engineer personnel with the proper tools to deliver more presentations in their market.  Every attendee walks away with a new presentation, an instructor manual for every class attended and a better understanding on how to effectively deliver the class. 

Below is a description of the different classes available during the Train the Trainer Tracks.  Click here to see the Technical Track schedule.

Return to Pipe School Schedule Page.
Train the Trainer Class Outline (click to jump to track)

Virtual Plant Tour

Adult Learning Theory

Experiential Learning Model

Industry Leadership Panel

Proper Pipe Installation

Post-Installation Inspection

Pipe Floatation

Innovation & Industry Advancement

Micro-Tunneling

Design & Installation of Precast Box Culverts

Sustainability, Resilience, & Concrete Pipe

Engineering Ethics:  An Engineer’s Point of View

Pipe Installations – Concrete or Thermoplastics – What Difference Does it Make?

Train the Trainer

Virtual Plant Tour

Michael Kusch, P.E. – Foley Products | Al Hogan, P.E. -ACPA.

Learn the inner workings of a concrete pipe plant as we go on a virtual tour inside Foley Product’s Franklin, TN, Plant.  Our tour guides will walk through the production process to produce RCP.  Students will be have a chance to learn the following:

  • How our plants utilize the local supply chain of raw materials
  • See the process and timing of combining all the local raw materials into a finished RCP product
  • Observe some of the quality control and checks that go into producing a high quality finished and engineered  product
  • and observe our most important strength confirmation test to confirm our product is structurally adequate before it leaves our plant site

Adult Learning Theory

Speaker:  Al Hogan, PE, Southeast Regional Engineer – American Concrete Pipe Association

Every trainer’s goal is to deliver an impactful and engaging class. Adult learners bring experience to the classroom. Drawing from that knowledge helps everyone learn. Training providers and instructional facilitators who recognize and embrace characteristics of adult learners will maximize the benefits for everyone. This class will highlight the best practices and principles of adult education and ways to incorporate them into your training. 

Experiential Learning Model

Speaker:  Jennifer Harrell, PE, Central Regional Engineer – American Concrete Pipe Association

Experiential learning theory focuses on the idea that adults are shaped by their experiences, and that the best learning comes from making sense of your experiences. Instead of memorizing facts and figures, experiential learning is a more hands-on and reflective learning style. The Experiential Learning Model follows five different steps: concrete experience, publish and process, generalize new information, develop, and application. Each of these steps contributes to accomplishing a learning objective, causing learners to stretch their learning style preference and positively impact the quality of the learning experience. 

Industry Leadership Panel

Put on by the Women in Concrete Alliance, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), and the American Concrete Pipe Association (ACPA).

Engage with industry leaders and gain unique insights in this panel put on by the Women in Concrete Alliance, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), and the American Concrete Pipe Association (ACPA).

The panel, featuring executives at state highway agencies and moderated by Brandye Hendrickson, AASHTO Deputy Director, will provide their perspectives on issues facing every Department of Transportation (DOT) including: building for the future, state funding, challenges during the pandemic, and the engineer’s right to choose. The group of senior leaders will shed new light on pressing topics and provide implementable career tools.  Learn more about the panel.

Proper Pipe Installation

Speaker:  Corey Fraser, PE, Director – Concrete Pipe Northwest

A properly installed pipe should remain in service for 50 to 100 years with little or no maintenance. ACPA has documented installation practices for both flexible and rigid pipe at the local and state level. The focus of this presentation remains on promoting a solid understanding of installation, specifications, design requirements and material differences for pipe systems. Empower your staff with the ability to properly inspect, design, install and accept both flexible and rigid pipe systems.

Post-Installation Inspection

Speaker:  Alena Mikhaylova, PhD, Technical Resource Engineer – Forterra

Installing a new storm system is a long-term investment for any owner.  It is important to ensure that the asset will last its’ intended service life without the need for major repairs.  Final inspection of the newly installed pipeline is an important final step for the owner to make ensure the pipe has been installed properly.  Looking for excessive gaps in the joints, rolled off gaskets, cracks or excessive deflection are the part of such inspection.  This class will teach how to inspect any culvert, whether it’s RCP or HDPE, differentiate between cosmetic defect and defects that could cause trouble in the futur3e and severely reduce the service life of the culvert. 

Pipe Floatation

Speaker:  Jennifer Schaff, PE, Technical Resource Engineer – County Materials

Floating pipes:  an occurrence no one wants to see on one of their projects!  Learn the basic principles of buoyancy as it relates to underground pipes and culvert design.  You will learn three things:  1) Basic theory of pipe buoyancy and susceptible scenarios for pipe flotation, 2) Two different theories to calculate pipe flotation potential, and 3) Tips and rules of thumb to guide you through design.

Innovation & Industry Advancements

Speaker:  Heather Christensen, EIT – Technical Marketing Manager – Geneva Pipe & Precast

Innovation is an important aspect of societal development and growth. It has led to incredible inventions that have changed the way humans live and interact with each other. But some innovations can pose risks due to unforeseen consequences after implementation. When it comes to our infrastructure, it is of utmost importance that innovations are implemented responsibly and with the highest regard to public safety. The concrete pipe industry is a great example of how responsible innovations can fuel steady advancements over time. This presentation will discuss the many advancements and innovations that have occurred within the concrete pipe industry that has resulted in the well-understood, resilient and high-quality concrete pipe that is manufactured today.

Micro-Tunneling

Speaker: Brent Schofield, Technical Marketer – Langley Concrete Group

Trenchless technologies have advanced allowing sophisticated trenchless installation to occur in places preciously not thought possible. Saving time, money, disturbances to local community’s installation can still occur. British Columbia, Canada recently began using trenchless technology- Microtunelling to install (3m) precast concrete pipe to serve MetroVancouver, Canada. This course will discussion microtunneling technology, its use, challenges and the end result.

Design & Installation of Precast Box Culverts

Speaker: David Maotcha, Sr. Technical Services Manager – Forterra

Sustainability, Resilience, and Concrete Pipe

Speakers: Riley Dvorak, PE,  &  Joseph Updike – Forterra

What is sustainability? What is resilience? How do they relate to each other? Why are there so many questions in this course description? Come and find out! Sustainability and resilience have been at the forefront of politics and policy for decades and decision makers today are expected to responsibly employ sustainable and resilient measures to secure the future of our environmental, economic, and societal infrastructure. When it comes to drainage products and the vast range of differences between industries of different pipe materials, it is increasingly important to take resilience and sustainability into consideration at a foundational level. This course will dissect how sustainability and resilience can be measured, and how pipe material selection can affect our society and the future of our infrastructure.

Engineering Ethics: An Engineer’s Point of View

Speaker:  Tryg Hoff, PE, Northeast Regional Engineer – American Concrete Pipe Association

Engineering ethics is more than an just a rosy ideal, it is the very foundation of our profession. This course will take a dive into micro, macro, and meta ethics with a closer look at recent ethics cases and a few of the historical cases that changed the expectation of engineering practice. We will also explore the common canons of Ethics with a focus on the responsibility to hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public..

Pipe Installations – Concrete or Thermoplastic – What Difference Does it Make?

Speaker:  Don McNutt, PE – American Concrete Pipe Association

There are several similarities and then quite a few significant differences in the requirements for proper installation of reinforced concrete pipe and thermoplastic pipe products. Concrete pipe installations are based on ASTM C1479 and thermoplastic pipe installations are based on ASTM D2321. This class will provide a side by side comparison of these two unique specifications.

About Our Virtual School

Pipe School is the American Concrete Pipe Association (ACPA)’s annual event where members, DOTs, consulting engineers, subject matter experts, and other industry personnel get together to discuss, learn, and engage with one another.  The school advances the industry by teaching classes on production, advanced production, and quality, while engaging with industry stakeholders to ensure that they are provided with information vital to their decision making process.  Keeping the safety of the participants at the forefront, the 2021 Pipe School will move to a virtual platform, but promises to provide as engaging of presentations and allowing for more participants than ever before.

Speaker Name

Credentials/Presentation Subject

Speaker Bio

Jennifer Harrell, PE

Central Region Engineer
American Concrete Pipe Association

Jennifer is a Regional Engineer with ACPA with more than 20 years of experience in all aspects of civil engineering and project management. Her expertise lies in managing engineering work from initial planning to the final product, including operation and maintenance.

Jennifer’s background encompasses work in both the public and private sectors, including pipe and box manufacturing with Rinker Materials. Her experience includes writing specifications, planning and design, construction, water quantity and quality analysis, and green infrastructure. Most recently, Jennifer worked for the City of Topeka, Kansas, where she served as Project Engineer for more than 12 years. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Kansas.

Outside of work, Jennifer enjoys spending time with her family playing or attending sporting events, exercising, hiking, gardening and entertaining friends.

Corey Fraser, PE

Director
Concrete Pipe Northwest

Corey graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington in 2010 with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering and in 2013 with a Masters in Infrastructure Engineering and Management.
Corey has been with the American Concrete Pipe Association for 10 years, most recently, as the State Director for Concrete Pipe Northwest. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in the state of Texas.

Alena Mikhaylova, PhD

Product Resource Engineer
Rinker Materials

Alena Mikhaylova, Ph D. joined Rinker Materials in 2016 as a Product Resource Engineer. Her background is in finite element modeling and concrete storm drain structures. Graduating in 2015 from Gubkin’s Russian State University of Oil and Gas in Moscow with a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering. She moved to the U.S and earned a Master’s in Civil Engineering and later a Ph. D in Civil Engineering in 2013 from UT Arlington. Ms. Mikhaylova is currently pursuing an MBA from Texas McCombs School of Business.

Jennifer Schaff, PE

Technical Resource Engineer
County Materials

Jennifer Schaff is a Technical Resource Engineer at County Materials Corporation. Jennifer’s primary role is focused on developing and providing technical support for our pipe and precast products. Jennifer has more than 17 years of professional consultative engineering experience combined with leadership and business development for municipalities and private clients. She has recently worked as a Project Manager for McMahon in Neenah, WI, where she was responsible for managing and designing site and civil projects, including writing proposals, developing fee structures, and maintaining client relationships. She is skilled in hydraulic modeling and has developed flood studies, FEMA submittals, and storm water modeling using WinSLAMM and XPSWMM programs. Jennifer earned both her Master and Bachelor of Science degrees in Civil Engineering at Michigan Technological University. She is also a professional engineer registered with the State of Wisconsin.

Heather Christensen, EIT

Technical Marketing Manager
Geneva Pipe & Precast

Heather Christensen is currently working as the Technical Marketing Manager for Geneva Pipe & Precast. Her main job duties include managing technical product presentations, plant tours, online media, advertising, and promotional events. She also works as part of the engineering department participating in structure design and design consultation. In this position, she has become an enthusiast of the precast concrete industry and concrete drainage systems. Prior to her work with Geneva, she worked with several consulting engineering firms in the Salt Lake area. Heather graduated with a Civil & Environmental Engineering degree from the University of Utah. She lives in Utah with her Husband (Scott), her niece (Madeleine), and her two pooches (Hugo and Sherman). She likes to spend her free time outdoors gardening, hiking, snowboarding, or just enjoying some hammock time.

Brent Schofield

Technical Marketer
Langley Concrete Group

Brent Schofield lives in beautiful British Columbia, Canada. He received a B.A. degree in Geography with a focus on Urban Development as well as an Advanced Diploma in Geographical Information Systems from Vancouver Island University, Nanaimo, B.C. among other professional certifications. Brent is passionate about giving back and contributes when and where he can. He has served on various professional boards. He currently serves on various committees with the Canadian Concrete Pipe and Precast Association and the American Concrete Pipe Association. After some years working with a local private engineering firm he worked with local government. Brent has worked at Langley Concrete Group since 2014 as a Technical Marketer for B.C. He seeks further education when and wherever he can. Brent is happily married and has 4 children.

David Matocha

Sr. Technical Services Manager
Forterra Pipe & Precast

David Matocha is a Senior Technical Services Manager for Forterra Pipe & Precast. He manages the greater Central and South Texas area and has over 23 years with Forterra. He is a former Chairman of the Texas Concrete Pipe Association and holds Forterra’s vote on the TCPA Board. He serves on the American Concrete Pipe Association’s Infrastructure Committee and is a voting member of ASTM C-13.05 for Forterra. David represents the concrete pipe industry within AREMA Committee 1 and Committee 8. David is an active member of the American Society of Civil Engineers having served as Austin Branch President, Austin Branch Texas Section Representative and Texas Section Treasurer. He was a longtime board member of the Austin Contractor’s and Engineer’s Association having served as Board President.

David graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a BS in Civil Engineering. He is a native Austinite and married to his wife Vanessa and has a son Dustin, both whom graduated from UT-Austin as well. During his free time not rooting for his beloved Longhorns or helping with church activities, David enjoys taking Vanessa on weekend drives in their Thunderbird convertible.

Riley Dvorak, PE

Technical Resource Engineer
Forterra Pipe & Precast

Riley Dvorak is the four-time #1 ranked technical resource engineer for Forterra in Minnesota. He is a returning presenter to ACPA Pipe School and a great guy to buy a beer for. He was originally hired with Cretex, and has remained with the same company (now Forterra) since he began full-time employment in 2014. He is a graduate of Minnesota State University Mankato and a licensed professional engineer in the state of Minnesota. Riley and his wife, Jamee, reside in Prior Lake Minnesota with their two kids aged 21 months and 2 months!

Joseph Updike

Technical Resource Engineer
Forterra Pipe & Precast

Joseph Updike has been with Forterra since February of 2020. He started there shortly after graduating from South Dakota Mines, where he studied Civil Engineering. In his free time he enjoys hiking and home brewing.

Tryg Hoff, PE

Northeast Region Engineer
American Concrete Pipe Association

Trygve Hoff, PE, is the Northeast Region Engineer for the American Concrete Pipe Association (ACPA). Tryg graduated with a BS in Civil Engineering from The Ohio State University and his professional experience ranges from environmental consulting in Ohio, to architectural engineering in beautiful Lake Tahoe, California. Tryg has been promoting resilient infrastructure with the ACPA since 2012.

Don McNutt, PE

Great Lakes Region Engineer
American Concrete Pipe Association

Don has over 35 years of experience in the precast industry as a quality control manager, production engineer, design engineer, engineering manager and chief operating officer. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from The University of Cincinnati and is a licensed Professional Engineer in the state of Ohio. Don is the Great Lakes Region Engineer for the American Concrete Pipe Association.

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