Mark A. Cheek, P.E., FACI

Vice President/Technical Manager

30 Total Years Experience

Mr. Cheek has been employed by The Beta Group (TBG) since 1999, at which time he was named Vice President and Technical Manager. Prior to joining the firm, he gained experience with several construction materials testing agencies, a ready mix producer, a civil engineering consultant, and a geotechnical consultant. Mr.Cheek’s experience was gained in positions such as; construction materials field and laboratory testing technician, resident project engineer, structural design engineer, geotechnical engineer, and construction materials testing agency manager.

In the field, Mr. Cheek is capable of acting as quality control on concrete placement including pre-placement, placement, and post-placement inspection. He has performed in-place density tests by nuclear and sand cone methods, and has set up and run pile loads tests, logged piling, monitored construction vibrations, and operated mobile and stationary coring rigs. He has also inspected sprayed fire resistive materials and other coating operations.

In the laboratory, he is capable of performing aggregate and soil testing such as grain size analysis, soil classification, specific gravity and absorption of aggregates, compaction tests, soil-cement stabilization, testing of concrete strength specimens, etc. He has also designed concrete mixes, and performed tests on cement and fly ash.

He has planned testing methodology and performed tests to determine engineering applications of incinerator ash in concrete, asphalt, soil cement, and masonry units. As resident project inspector, projects included Westminster Lincolnshire Pumping Station and the New Estelle Pumping Station. As structural engineer, Mr. Cheek worked on various municipal and private projects. These included the Elmwood Pumping Station No. 3 (East Bank); the Whitney/Barataria Pumping Station No. 3, and the Dwyer Road Pumping Station, New Orleans.

As a geotechnical engineer, MR. Cheek managed various types of geotechnical projects, which varied from residential to heavy industrial. He additionally prepared geotechnical reports containing recommendations for soil bearing capacity, settlement, pile capacities, rigid and flexible pavement design, material requirements, and site preparation. He also monitored drilling crew field operations and conducted pre-construction and post-construction video inspection.

As technical manager of Beta, Mr. Cheek is responsible for maintaining proper supervision and training for inspection personnel. He conducts technical classes and participates in the formulation of company policies. He solves problems and ongoing projects, reviews inspection reports for accuracy and completeness, and analyzes and interprets lab test results. When needed, he troubleshoots concrete field problems. Finally, as technical manager, he maintains the laboratory accreditation and technical competence. Mr. Cheek is also the only active examiner for the ACI in the State of Louisiana.

Education

B.S., Civil Engineering, University of New Orleans, 1993

Professional Registrations

Professional Engineer: Louisiana #28531 (1999), Mississippi #14491(1999)

Certifications

ACI Concrete Field Testing Technician Grade I, ACI Concrete Strength Testing Technician, ACI Concrete Flatwork Technician, F-Number Measurement (using the Dipstick Floor Profiler), Troxler Certified, Only Active ACI Certification Program approved examiner in the State of Louisiana.