LA TRINIDAD, BENGUET – About 35 engineering personnel of the NIA-Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) underwent a five-day Seminar-Workshop Material Sampling and Testing at NIA Cordillera Farmers’ Training Center in Brgy. Wangal of this municipality on May 5-9, 2025.
The activity aimed to equip technical personnel with the necessary knowledge and skills in project implementation, particularly on quality control, ensuring that constructed irrigation infrastructure projects meet the required quality standards.
Material testing is the process of evaluating the physical and chemical properties of construction materials to ensure they meet specific standards and requirements. Quality control involves ensuring compliance with minimum standards of material and workmanship in order to ensure the performance of the facility according to the design.
Aside from lecture-discussions, the participants underwent hands-on laboratory and field tests needed for construction materials such as actual soil test, concrete test, HDPE bursting test and steel bar stress test. The NIA
“Marami akong natutunan sa seminar. Maraming quality check na need gawin sa site, pagka-deliver pa lang ng mga materyales—from soil to concrete, para ma-ensure na quality ang project. Mas masarap ang tulog pag quality ang mga projects.” [I learned a lot from this seminar. There are a lot of quality checks need to be conducted, even upon delivery of materials—from soil to concrete, to ensure the quality of projects. There will be better sleep knowing that the projects in which I am project-in-charge (PIC) is of quality], said Engr. Luke Bibat of NIA Mountain Province Satellite Office who is one of the project-in-charge attendees of the activity.
Resource speakers are Engr. Beverly Palmes of NIA-CARAGA, Engr. Cyril Sabete of NIA-Region 6 and Ms. Mary Rose Reyes of NIA Central Office. Participants came from the different field offices of CAR, mostly in charge of monitoring project implementation and members of Inspectorate Team.
Regional Manager Benito Espique, Jr. said he is happy the activity is conducted as it is instrumental in improving project implementation and project quality. He added that NIA-CAR is currently working on the accreditation of its material testing laboratory.
According to Engr. John Baliaga, head of the Planning and Design Unit, NIA-CAR currently has the following equipment for material testing and quality control, Concrete Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity Tester, Soil Test Oven, Field Density Test (FDT) Kit (Sand Cone), Digital Weighing Scale (RIO), Hydrostatic Pressure and Burst Tester for HDPE, and Universal Testing Machine (for tensile test and compression test).
Photo Caption 1: More than 30 training participants of the Seminar-Workshop on Material Sampling and Testing pose for posterity with the speakers, Engr. Beverly Palmes of NIA-CARAGA, Engr. Cyril Sabete of NIA-Region 6 and Ms. Mary Rose Reyes of NIA Central Office together with NIA-CAR top management headed by Regional Manager Benito Espique, Jr., Division Manager for Engineering & Operation Leonardo Lamangen, and Division Manager for Administrative & Finance Grace Fanged.
Photo Caption 2: Engr. Cyril Sabete, one of the speakers of the Seminar-Workshop on Material Sampling and Testing, explains to the project-in-charge attendees how steel bas stress test is conducted.
Photo Caption 3: Engr. Beverly Palmes of NIA-CARAGA, one of the speakers, demonstrates the process of soil testing to the participants. Soil testing in project construction helps in determining the type of foundation to be laid.