Terms of service
These terms govern access to and use of the SureTrace Consulting & Training website, the LMS at /training, and the engagements started through our contact, project-inquiry, and intake forms. They are written so the parties involved — a learner enrolling in a cohort, a contractor scoping an engagement, a reviewer checking the standard the work is graded against — can find the answer without having to ask.
Effective date: July 25, 2026. The published version at the time of your action (a form submission, an enrollment, a checkout click-through, an engagement scope agreement) controls.
Using this site, paying for a service, or attending a training means you agree
Accessing this site, paying for any service listed on it, submitting a contact / project-inquiry / intake form, or attending a SureTrace training cohort constitutes your agreement to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the service.
The version published here at the time of your action (form submission, enrollment, checkout, scope agreement) is the version that controls that action. The Privacy Policy is incorporated by reference — read it for what we collect, use, and retain.
What SureTrace Consulting & Training actually delivers
The full service catalog lives on individual pages; this section summarizes what is on offer so cross-references in the rest of the Terms have one home.
Started via /contact/engagement and scoped via /contact/intake. Final numbers are set in the scope-boundary agreement before mobilization.
Browse the catalog at /training/curriculum. Enrollment runs through the /pricing tiers; LMS access is gated by an account created at signup.
The standards are listed in /about and are referenced here so a reviewer or owner team can look them up independently.
Sign-up, credentials, and your responsibility as the account holder
- Sign-up is at /auth; authentication is handled by our installed auth provider, and your password is stored hashed (never in plaintext).
- Keep your credentials confidential. You are responsible for activity under your account; do not share access with people outside your organization without our written agreement.
- Notify us at contact@suretraceutility.org as soon as possible if you believe your account has been compromised.
How payments flow and what the published numbers control
- Pricing on /pricing is indicative until the scope-boundary agreement is signed. Final numbers are set per engagement.
- LMS enrollment runs through Stripe's hosted checkout. Card data is captured and stored by Stripe and never touches our servers; we receive billing email, brand + last four, and the payment outcome.
- Sales tax is added where required by law. Invoiced engagements are billed on the schedule in your scope agreement (e.g. 50/50 milestones or monthly retainer).
- 14 or more days before the cohort start date: full refund.
- Within 14 days of the cohort start date: credit applied to a later cohort, no cash refund.
- After the cohort has started: no refund; contact us if you have an extenuating circumstance.
Custom and on-site engagements follow the cancellation terms in the engagement agreement, which is signed before mobilization.
What we license to you — and what that license covers
SureTrace-authored material — including but not limited to slides, Foundations 01–05 content, NULCA-aligned practice materials, recordings, and the written deliverables of an engagement — remains the intellectual property of SureTrace Consulting & Training. Purchasing access or signing an engagement agreement grants you a:
Quotes and excerpts in scholarly or internal documents are welcome; please cite SureTrace Consulting & Training and the course or engagement source.
What you agree not to do on or with the service
- No unlawful use of the site or the LMS.
- No infringement of intellectual property — yours, ours, or anyone else's.
- No attempt to circumvent authentication, security controls, or rate limits.
- No scraping, automated harvesting, or bulk reproduction of course content.
- No posting of content you do not have the right to post — including licensed material, third-party confidential material, or personally identifying information belonging to someone else.
- No use of the service to compete with SureTrace Consulting & Training — including the harvesting of course material to build a competing offering.
What the service does — and what it does not do
- Training is educational. It is not a certification unless explicitly stated in the course description or your enrollment confirmation.
- Field-grade judgement is required and is not substituted by the training. The training is the foundation; the judgement is yours.
- Consulting deliverables are prepared to the standard named in the engagement (e.g. ASCE 38-22 quality levels). That standard is the contract; a request to apply a different standard is a scope change.
- The site and the LMS are provided "as is" and "as available". We do not guarantee specific outcomes (e.g. zero utility strikes on a project you scoped) — the deliverables support the work; the work is yours.
The cap, the excluded damages, and where the cap does not apply
To the maximum extent permitted by law, SureTrace Consulting & Training's total liability for any claim arising out of or relating to the services is limited to the amount you paid SureTrace Consulting & Training for the service that is the subject of the claim in the 12 months preceding the event giving rise to the claim.
In no event is SureTrace Consulting & Training liable for consequential, incidental, indirect, special, exemplary, or punitive damages — including lost profits, lost data, or business interruption — even if advised of the possibility of those damages.
When you agree to cover us against third-party claims
You agree to indemnify and hold SureTrace Consulting & Training harmless against third-party claims arising out of: (a) your breach of these Terms; (b) your misuse of the site or the LMS; or (c) your violation of any law or third-party right — for example, uploading licensed material you do not have the rights to, or scraping course content into a competing offering.
What happens when the relationship ends
- We may suspend or terminate a free account or LMS enrollment for breach of these Terms, with or without notice. Paid enrollments follow the cohort cancellation terms above.
- Paid engagements follow the termination clauses in the engagement agreement; these Terms do not override that agreement.
- On termination, your right to access the LMS or the deliverables tied to the terminated scope ceases; provisions that by their nature should survive (including ownership, limitation of liability, and dispute resolution) survive.
Ohio law, Ohio courts, and the request to talk first
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Ohio, without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles. The exclusive venue for any dispute not resolved by direct conversation is the state or federal courts located in Ohio.
Before filing anything, please reach out at contact@suretraceutility.org. Most issues resolve faster — and better — over email than in a courtroom.
How updates are published and what continued use means
Material changes are posted here with a new effective date. Continued use of the site, the LMS, or payment for any service after a change constitutes acceptance of the new version. The git history of this file is the version record.
Questions about these Terms
Reach us at contact@suretraceutility.org or 513-346-8869. We will answer questions about scope, ownership, licensing, or the publication status of these Terms.
For the data practices that apply to anything you submit while using the site, read the Privacy Policy.