FAQs about TCEL

        Note: The first two questions below are, in one wise or another,
      the most frequently asked (and answered) questions about TCEL.

Q-1  I'm with TxDOT (or I am an architect, contractor, owner, or municipal authority, etc.) and I'm looking for a competent, experienced, highly skilled, responsible, professional construction materials engineering laboratory (and/or geotechnical engineering concern) for a planned project.  Can you help me?

A-1 Yes. You can find organizations of the quality you seek in our list of Member Firms. All TCEL members meet the requirements of ASTM E329, as well as the stringent criteria for membership set forth in our Bylaws.  And if you want to find an office in the general area of your project site, see our Technical Services page.

Q-2  What would be the prime (or most immediate) advantages for our firm if we became a member of TCEL?

A-2  TCEL's advantages include "CAC" – cooperation among competitors! Besides serving as a funnel for information exchange, TCEL opens the door to cooperative sharing of skills in bidding for contracts.  It fosters interchanges and warm relationships between the personnel of its member firms, and also serves as a "library of competency" so that contractors, owners and the like can turn to TCEL (and this web site) to find professional engineering firms (yours among them) that will meet their needs.  On top of this, becoming a member of TCEL aligns your firm with an organization recognized for its commitment to advancing the professionality of the engineering disciplines it represents.

Q-3  We are an engineering firm doing a considerable amount of work for landfills, including QC of liner installations, as well as providing a goodly amount of geotechnical services.  Would we be eligible and would it benefit us to join TCEL?

A-3  Yes on both counts, provided you meet the membership requirements set forth in TCEL's Bylaws.

Q-4  We are not a member firm of TCEL but would like to become one.  We recently sold ownership of about a quarter of our concern to another engineering lab, a lab which at present is not seeking membership in TCEL.  We understand that this disqualifies us for membership.  Is that so?

A-4  Most likely!  According to TCEL's Bylaws (Article II, Section 5), if your firm owns or is owned in whole or in part by another non-member firm conducting business in the State of Texas – one that is eligible for membership in TCEL but not possessing it  – your firm cannot apply to become a member.