Charles Mitchell
Director of Testing & Inspection
SK&A Structural Engineers
ICRI Member since 2007
Charles Mitchell, Director of Testing & Inspection at SK&A Structural Engineers, is responsible for the management and oversight of the technical aspects of Testing & Inspection (T&I) services in SK&A’s Repair and Restoration Division. He has been involved with construction services on structural design projects for over 42 years, the last 16 years with SK&A. Charles was recently the Vice President and Manager of Operations for Eastern Testing & Inspection Corporation, until its transition into SK&A. Charles provides project management and oversees quality control regarding T&I services performed by all staff, ensuring compliance with national and local standards, and is also responsible for client relations as well as marketing and business development for T&I services.
Charles serves as chair of ICRI’s Committee 210—Evaluation and is a member of Committee 310—Surface Preparation, Committee 320—Concrete Repair Materials and Methods, and Committee 710—Coatings and Waterproofing. He is a Past President and serves on the Board of Directors of the Washington Area Council of Engineering Laboratories (WACEL), a member of ASTM Committee C09 on Concrete and Concrete Aggregates, the National Chapter of ACI, and a member of the American Welding Society (AWS).
How did you first learn about ICRI and what motivated you to join?
My firm, SK&A Structural Engineers, has a repair and restoration group and they have been an active participant [of ICRI] for over 20 years…probably longer than that! [SK&A has been an ICRI company member for 35 years] We are active participants in the local Baltimore-Washington ICRI Chapter, with several of our engineers acting as president of the chapter or in some leadership role there.
One of my colleagues, [ICRI member] David Rodler—who is also an ICRI Fellow—recommended that I sit in on a few committee meetings in 2007. The first couple of meetings that I sat in on were excellent, and I always got something from the discussions. So, I became a member then based on David’s recommendations and those initial meetings.
Tell us about your current career and professional accomplishments. How has being involved with ICRI impacted your career growth and involvement in the industry?
I am the Director of Testing & Inspection at SK&A Structural Engineers. We have three offices: one in Potomac, Maryland, an office in Washington, DC, and a laboratory in Ijamsville, Maryland. I direct the testing and inspection services for the firm in all three areas. Before [working with] SK&A, I was the Vice President of Eastern Testing and Inspection Corporation.
ICRI helped me in the discourse of concrete repair from various perspectives. It enabled me to grow as a repair professional, but more importantly, it helped me to work with my colleagues and staff to further their own growth and development in the industry. With ICRI, there are suppliers, contractors, engineers within the organization, and they all play vital roles in executing concrete repairs. Learning each party’s perspective and how it shapes their scope of services helps me [to better execute] my own scope of services within my firm. It allows me to see a different point of view on [not only] managing projects, but the vision of different lines of services that we could execute in a more professional way than our competitors.
I’ve always had a sense of how important everyone is in the life cycle of a repair project, but ICRI really brings that home. It emphasizes the value that everyone brings to the table. No one individual is more or less important than the other, and every project really is a team building effort.
You are active in several ICRI Committees, specifically as Chair of ICRI Committee 210—Evaluation, and a key member of the development team behind ICRI’s Rebar Cleanliness mobile app. How did you first get involved in serving on an ICRI Committee, and what has motivated you to continue your participation?
Evaluation is really a part of my role within my company. I’m responsible for performing quality assurance and quality control services on different projects, whether they’re concrete repair projects, or other types of material like machinery, structural steel or even wood mass timber. I want to assess the condition of the structure and perform the necessary techniques and tests and methods to restore the structure back to its original state. I’ve been participating in evaluation, quality assurance, and quality control for my entire career…and that goes way back to 1981.
ICRI Committee 210 is really comprised of like-minded professionals, people who really think like me, but think better than I do! [We] share the same zeal for accurate and professional evaluation techniques for concrete repair projects. We certainly like to sharpen our pencils about any committee document or webinar for which we’re responsible. Our interim meetings usually take about two hours to finish up. [We] like to talk and bounce ideas [and share opinions in a] very healthy discussion among [the committee members]. There are 40 members on our committee right now.
It’s really inspiring to hear some of my colleagues talk about their experiences—their projects, their lessons learned, things that have gone well, things that they will [never] do again, and people that they will never work with again. I always find something that I can take back to my office and build upon or use in my own projects [with my firm] when outlining a policy.
ICRI has invested significantly in technology over the past two years, resulting in an upgraded member database, redesigned website, and, most recently, the Rebar Cleanliness app. Other emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and chatbots, are being used in both trade associations and the concrete repair industry. How do you assess the role of technology in enhancing member experience and industry visibility? What are your expectations for the future of ICRI and the industry considering these technological advancements?
Well, first off, I am not a huge advocate of AI. I will ascribe to some artificial intelligence when it’s useful and not privacy interloping. It can be used in very unwieldy circumstances where people who are unscrupulous will manufacture and manipulate it to their own ends, and it’ll have disastrous effects. We need to keep a very vigilant eye on the power of artificial intelligence.
As far as that’s concerned, the technology overall advancing the industry…I think is an important part of the growth of ICRI. Younger professionals are more apt [to use] technology in a way that some of our seasoned veterans typically do not—so it bridges the gap between the younger group and professionals older than 45. Technology serves that younger demographic well and it will allow other demographics to facilitate their methods.
The rebar app is an example where there will be younger professionals taking their iPhones or iPads with them on site and using it in their daily work routine, comparing the cleanliness levels of reinforcing [where concrete] was just demolished, [and determining] whether it was hydro demolished or sandblasted demolished and if the rebar was cleaned in the same manner.
The rebar app will certainly help you do some evaluation on whether you’re getting the desired cleanliness. It [will benefit] all facets of that effort: the design engineer responsible for the repair itself, the [field technician] performing the inspections and quality assurance, the contractor [who now] understands what the engineer wants, and the inspector who understands what the engineer wants and the contractor executed. [And everything] can be compared on the iPad, iPhone or Android…in a very convenient way.
There will be a demographic that will still lean toward something that they can touch, something that they can feel, something that they can see more readily, so we are also launching physical rebar samples [like ICRI’s Concrete Surface Profile chips]. The physical rebar samples are still in development over the next six months, but they will align with the rebar app and establish a common denominator for rebar cleanliness. This way, you have something for everyone. I think everyone will use the rebar app, but many [concrete repair professionals] will find the physical bar samples very convenient as well.
[ICRI member and past President] Elena Kessi was the one who came up with the idea for the rebar app, in addition to [ICRI member and past President] Rick Edelson’s idea for the physical rebar samples. I simply pushed [both ideas] along and helped them grow!
Describe what a perfect day outside of work would look like for you, along with some of your hobbies and interests.
A perfect day would be spent at the beach with my family—nuclear and extended. Just enjoying their company, playing Frisbee, surfing, eating a tasty seafood dish and having an adult beverage of my choice. I’m a beach person!
Also…I play golf and basketball. I coach youth basketball during the spring, summer, and fall. I read a lot, and I like working out in the gym.
