With any strengthening or upgrade project, quality assurance and quality control are essential. Load testing a structural element or member can be done before and after a structural strengthening or upgrade project.  Typical load testing methods consist of applying uniformly distributed dead loads to the structure in the form of water, sand, concrete blocks, or similar materials. These techniques provide an indication of a structure's ability to carry a particular load. However, they do not provide adequate information for the engineer to evaluate the stability and response of the structural components. In addition, these methods carry the risk of possible structural failure during testing and are often expensive, time consuming, and are often not conclusive.  Strengthening.com’s Load Test Articles provide examples and references for effective methods of load testing structures.