Concrete 101: Concrete Mix Designs provides a practical introduction to the fundamentals of concrete materials, proportioning, and performance. Designed for producers, contractors, inspectors, sales representatives, quality control personnel, and others who work with concrete, this course explains how cement, supplementary cementitious materials, aggregates, water, admixtures, and air interact to create a workable, durable, and specification-compliant concrete mixture.

Participants will learn the basic principles behind mix design, including water-cementitious ratio, aggregate gradation, slump, air content, strength development, yield, and common field adjustments. The course also reviews how mix designs are developed, submitted, evaluated, and used in real-world construction applications.

By the end of the course, attendees will have a stronger understanding of how concrete mix components affect fresh and hardened concrete properties and how to better communicate with producers, contractors, engineers, and owners about mix performance.

Concrete 201: Advanced Concrete Mix Designs builds on the fundamentals of Concrete 101 by taking a deeper look at specialized mix design applications, performance adjustments, and project-specific concrete placement challenges. This advanced course is intended for producers, quality control personnel, contractors, inspectors, engineers, and other industry professionals who already have a working understanding of concrete materials and basic mix design principles.

The course will explore how concrete mixtures can be designed, adjusted, and evaluated for demanding field conditions and specialized applications. Areas of focus include pump adjustments for concrete, self-consolidating concrete, slip form placement, anti-washout concrete, roller compacted concrete, aggregate-optimized mixes, and designing mixtures to mitigate alkali-silica reactivity.

Participants will gain practical insight into how material selection, aggregate gradation, admixtures, cementitious content, workability, durability requirements, and placement methods influence mix performance. Emphasis will be placed on understanding the “why” behind advanced mix design decisions so participants can better troubleshoot performance issues, communicate with project teams, and develop concrete mixtures that meet both specification and field placement requirements.

By the end of the course, attendees will be better prepared to evaluate advanced mix design challenges and contribute to the development of concrete mixtures for specialized construction applications.

For questions regarding the registration process, please contact Danielle McKenna.