Preservation Pro - Summer 2018

ISSA Preps Agencies for Certification

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Clean the Surface Like a Hurricane

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Intermountain Seals 8 Percent AC in Utah Slurry

Summer 2018 WWW.THEASPHALTPRO.COM 1 www.TheAsphaltPro.com

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Editorial

Summer 2018 • Vol. 1 No. 1

Pavement Preservation Hits its Stride

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Today’s pavements take a terrible beating. They broil in the summer sun and experience frigid temperatures in winter. Motorists overcrowd them and trucks overload them. Pavements serve until they fall apart, and then there’s not enough money to rebuild them.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. The concept of pavement preservation—in which the right treatment to the right pavement at the right time forestalls or eliminates future high costs of reconstruction—is hitting its stride, and the nation’s road agencies are benefiting from it.

Behind it, for over 25 years, FP2 Inc. has supported the spread of environmentally sustainable and economically beneficial pavement pres- Andrew Crow ervation principles to state, city and county governments, and the contractors who serve them.

Pavement preservation methods prolong pavement life, avoiding high future costs of reconstruction or rehabilitation through the expenditure of lesser amounts of money for specific preservation treatments at critical points in a pavement’s life.

These techniques include nonstructural preventive maintenance surface treatments such as slurry surfacings, crack sealing, chip sealing, micro surfacing, rejuvenation, hot and cold inplace recycling, and thin-lift hot-mix asphalt paving; and structural preservation techniques used in concrete pavement restoration (CPR).

Pavement preservation makes scarce tax dollars go farther in keeping roads in top shape with a high pavement condition index (PCI), providing a great return on investment. Experience shows that every $1 spent on pavement preservation will save from $6 to $10 or more in future rehabilitation or reconstruction costs.

602 W. Morrison, Box 6a • Fayette, MO 65248

What’s New? In all of this, FP2 is an advocate for pavement preservation at the state, county, municipal and federal agency levels. We educate elected officials—and support legislative efforts— on Capitol Hill and in the state houses that encourage pavement preservation of federal, state and local road networks.

We also support the National Center for Pavement Preservation (NCPP), regional pavement preservation partnerships and state-based pavement preservation centers to make sure the technology gets in the hands of those who need it.

One of the hottest areas of pavement preservation this year is certification of agency and contractor workers. NCPP is managing this program, and an article from FP2 profiling this effort appears in this special supplement.

New research also is coming from the FP2-supported preservation group experiment at the National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT) in Alabama and the Minnesota DOT’s Road Research Facility (MnROAD), as part of the NCAT Pavement Preservation Effectiveness Study. This research at NCAT and MnROAD is underwritten by FP2 Inc. and its funding partners of state DOTs, began in Alabama in 2012, and expanded to Minnesota in 2015.

For the first time, quantitative data are being gathered on the performance of preservation treatments. The main implementable product will be life-extending and condition-improving benefit curves for treatments for low, high, and accelerated traffic in both hot and cold climates. Road agencies will then interpolate between these plots for their particular climate and traffic level.

Today, FP2 is committed to the growth of pavement preservation. We salute AsphaltPro for putting pavement preservation in the spotlight in this special supplement, and we hope you will take the opportunity to learn more about pavement preservation and FP2 at www.fp2.org.

Kristin Branscom

– By Andrew Crow

Andrew Crow is vice president, pavement technologies, for Ingevity, and is 2018 president, FP2 Inc. 4 SUMMER 2018

(573) 823-6297 www.theasphaltpro.com GROUP PUBLISHER

Chris Harrison chris@ theasphaltpro.com PUBLISHER

Sally Shoemaker sally@theasphaltpro.com (573) 823-6297 EDITOR

Sandy Lender sandy@theasphaltpro.com (239) 272-8613 ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Sarah Redohl sarah@theasphaltpro.com (573) 355-9775 MEDIA SALES

Cara Owings cara@theasphaltpro.com (660) 537-0778 ART DIRECTOR BUSINESS MANAGER

Susan Campbell (660) 728-5007

AsphaltPro is published 11 times per year.

Writers expressing views in AsphaltPro Magazine or on the AsphaltPro website are professionals with sound, professional advice. Views expressed herein are not necessarily the same as the views of AsphaltPro, thus producers/contractors are still encouraged to use best practices when implementing new advice.

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One year subscription to non-qualifying Individuals: United States $90, Canada and Mexico $125.00. For the international digital edition, visit theasphaltpro.com/subscribe/.

Pave me n t P re s ervat i o n R o un d up will be furnished free of charge, provided an inspection to LeeBoy’s satisfaction discloses a defect in material, workmanship and/or abnormal component wear. If a defect in the wide-conveyor floor assembly is found during the product warranty period, LeeBoy will furnish replacement parts via its authorized United States or Canadian dealers.

The 2018-2019 ARRA board of directors, pictured from left: Ron Wilson, Jonathan Pease, Jason Wielinski, Eric Baker, Darren Coughlin, Ryan Essex, Mike Marshall, David Peterson, Steve Cross.

Not pictured: Kimbel Stokes. Photo courtesy Tom Kuennen, FP2

Meet Your Recycling Board During the 42nd Annual Meeting of the Asphalt Recycling & Reclaiming Association (ARRA) held in Indian Wells, California, earlier this year, ARRA elected its officers and board of directors for the 20182019 term. Darren Coughlin, Coughlin Company, was re-elected for a second term as president. Coughlin is president of Coughlin Company, located in Saint George, Utah, and has been involved in the asphalt recycling industry for more than 18 years. Stepping into the role of vice president is Eric Baker, director of marketing and sales support for Roadtec Inc. Jonathan Pease, president of Rock Solid Stabilization & Reclamation, will serve as secretary/treasurer. Rounding out the officers, Ryan Essex, Miller Paving Limited, will continue as past president.

Elected for the 2018-2019 term, ARRA directors include Mike Marshall, Wirtgen America; David Peterson, Caterpillar Paving Products Inc.; Kimbel Stokes, The Miller Group Inc.; Ron Wilson, Dustrol Inc.; and new director Jason Wielinski, Heritage Research Laboratories/Asphalt Materials Inc. Steve Cross, PE, Oklahoma State University, will continue as ARRA’s technical director. During its business meeting, ARRA also revised the association bylaws to allow for up to two more directors to be elected in future years.

CP Focuses on Air, Power and Flow Chicago Pneumatic Power Technique (CP), Rock Hill, South Carolina, has officially transitioned its hydraulic attachments to Epiroc, a productivity partner for the mining, infrastructure and natural resources industries. This transition adds 14 RX breakers, 6 RC compactors and 18 CG grapples to the Epiroc lineup. CP has expanded its core portfolio of air, power and flow products. Its lineup includes portable compressors, generators, light towers and pumps, along with dedicated construction products including handheld pneumatic, electric and hydraulic tools. For more information, visit www.cp.com.

Specific Conveyors Get a Warranty LeeBoy, Lincolnton, North Carolina, announces its 3,000-hour wide-conveyor floor assembly warranty. LeeBoy warrants for 3,000 hours that the original wide-conveyor floor assembly will be free from manufacturer’s defects and/or deterioration due to normal operation.

The warranty is valid to the original purchaser on all LeeBoy wide-conveyor asphalt pavers. The eligible part for replacement is the wide-conveyor floor assembly. The warranty period is activated at the time of serial number registration and expires at 3,000 hours. During the warranty period, the parts for repair or replacement at LeeBoy’s option

ASV Gets Cali Dealer ASV Holdings Inc., Grand Rapids, Minnesota, has added RGW Equipment of Livermore, California, to its dealer network. This means contractors in northern California can find the ASV Posi-Track® compact track loaders, such as the RT-40, and the full line of ASV’s skid-steer loaders at RGW. In its early days, RGW’s business focused attention on servicing machines. As they expanded, the new equipment side of the business emerged. Today, the company has more than 20 trucks providing service to area customers. Visit the website at www.rgwequipment.com.

Clean the Surface Schwarze Industries Inc., Huntsville, Alabama, is pleased to announce and welcome David Heigl as vice president of sales, marketing, customer service, and product management. Heigl comes to Schwarze with 23 years of sales and marketing experience, and has extensive expertise in global market analysis, product positioning, and understanding the needs of a customer base.

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Micro surfacing was deemed to be the ideal treatment for this heavily-trafficked section of SR 36 in the City of Tooele because it can be laid in one run; it sets quickly; and it provides a good, black, smooth surface for travelers.

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Intermountain Slurry Seals Special Provision Spec When the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT)

bids for the micro surfacing of SR 36 in the City of W opened Tooele July 2017, it was only after the agency had worked for

a year with an experienced pavement preservation contractor to create a special provision spec for the material mix and equipment.

In fact, prior to writing the special provision for this project, UDOT had considered taking a total departure from the use of micro surfacing because the agency wasn’t satisfied with the longevity or performance of the projects it had completed with this pavement preservation method.

“Utah experiences extreme climate fluctuations,” Rusty Price explained. He’s the area manager for Intermountain Slurry Seal, a wholly owned subsidiary of Granite Construction Inc. “Between the hot summers and cold winters, UDOT’s biggest complaint with its past micro surfacing projects was that the resulting pavement was too brittle, and it cracked. They needed an asphalt emulsion with a softer base asphalt, requiring a penetration range of 80-120.

The specification previously was 40-90. Another contributing factor was requiring more residual asphalt in the micro surfacing. So the minimum asphalt content was raised to 8 percent.”

The stretch of Utah SR 36 that runs through Tooele between 3 O’Clock Drive and CR 2000 North, had actually been reconstructed with hot-mix asphalt (HMA) in 2015-2016. The road was completely torn out and replaced; new utilities and curb and gutter were also constructed as part of the project. But the project allowed water to permeate between two separate layers of asphalt. Heavy snow or rain storms would drain into the first layer of asphalt, then into utilities, such as manhole concrete pipe, causing the manholes to flood.

Within less than two years, the road needed to be sealed against water. UDOT and Tooele’s elected officials considered several preservation methods, including slurry seal and chip seal, but ultimately, because of the large numbers of vehicles traveling SR 36, the group chose to micro surface the pavement in the summer/fall of 2017 before winter could set in.

“Chip seal and slurry seal are both good, economical pavement preservation treatments,” Price said. “But neither of those methods would have performed well along SR 36. They are better suited for residential areas and low-traffic conditions.”

In looking at the lifecycle cost, he explained, a chip seal would likely have protected the pavement for two to three years at most.

In addition, chip seal and two-phase chip/fog seal projects can offer lengthy traffic control and pavement setup times—another reason why the methods are ideal for more lightly traveled roads.

“Micro surfacing, however, is a high-performance product for heavy traffic,” Price said. “You lay it down once, it sets quickly, and it provides a good, black, smooth surface for travelers. It was the best solution for sealing this section of roadway.”

Special Provision Spec According to Price, when micro surfacing was introduced in the United States in 1980 by German engineer Dr. Frederick Raschig, it

incorporated natural latex in the mix. By 2008 and over the past decade, however, micro surfacing has changed to include many different versions, 99 percent of which do not include natural latex.

M1E Continuous Paver Best Practices

Jimmy Kendrick, Director of Contractor Sales for Bergkamp Inc., offers these top five best practices for the M1E Continuous Paver: 1. Establish the range of water and additive (on a percentage basis to aggregate) that the system will work best in, and then ensure the operator stays in that range.

2. Ensure the spreader box width is entered correctly in the EMCAD system for proper application rate monitoring. Check the application rate multiple times a day to ensure compliance with project specs.

3. Slide out the pugmill each and every night and clean it properly. This allows the pugmill to operate most efficiently, at a low speed, which is beneficial to the performance of the mix.

4. Use the material tracking capabilities of the EMCAD system to track the hours that wear components have been in service. Over time, the customer will be able to predict when wear item replacements are coming up.

5. Perform calibration often to ensure the scale factors are accurate. This will result in the project matching the job mix formula as accurately as possible.

Additional requirements for the SR 36 project included using a continuous-run paver and variable-width spreader box. The paver was required to have a computerized monitor to validate the percentage of materials in the mix and keep a log of the paving rate for the project engineer to print out at any given time.

WWW.THEASPHALTPRO.COM 7

For the SR 36 project, UDOT’s special provision mix spec required 26 pounds of dry aggregate per square yard and 13 percent emulsified asphalt. Further, the provision required 8 percent minimum asphalt content and 3 percent natural latex polymer base in the emulsion. This would be a cold mix that, when combined with water and applied to the road, would allow the water and chemicals to evaporate, and the asphalt and emulsion to set quickly. “Following industry meetings with UDOT over the prior year, the first micro surfacing spec to come out of our meetings is the one for this project—and it includes natural latex for better flexibility and stability when a heavy application of aggregate is applied to a roadway environment, such as SR 36. Heavy traffic and several stop lights require a micro surfacing that will remain stable when aggregate is ‘stacked’ (rock on rock),” Price said.

Additional requirements for the project included the fact that the job must be performed with a continuous-run paver and a variable-width spreader box (VSB). The paver was required to have a computerized monitor to validate the percentage of materials in the mix and keep a log of the paving rate for the project engineer to print out at any given time. “For this project, we used our 2013 Bergkamp M1E continuous-run paver with a Bergkamp VSB, which together helped us to meet all of the requirements for the job,” Price said.

Approximately 22 crew members were required on regular days.

A Month of Sundays The challenges faced with the micro surfacing of SR 36 included more than a special provision spec. The project parameters incorporated 3.5 miles of micro surface paving (200,000 square yards) over four lanes, plus shoulders, as well as 35 approaches that called

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8 SUMMER 2018

for 50 to 75 feet of micro surfacing into the State Right of Way. All of these approaches included traffic signals, and the contractor was required to allow cross traffic within 5 minutes of laying the micro surface pavement. “The time component was in place because of the effect on the public,” Price noted. “Tooele is a large community of 40,000 people, and SR 36 is a highly traveled road.”

The bid was awarded to Intermountain Aug. 16, 2017, and the contractor then had 40 calendar days in which to complete the project—with the clock starting just three days after the award. If Intermountain went over the 40 calendar days, a disincentive of $1,570 per day would be levied against the contractor. Weather and other restrictions shortened the timing to just nine actual working days.

Price said that for a 3-mile section of the roadway, stretching from the north side of CR 520 South to CR 2000 North, work on outside lanes and shoulders could occur only on Sundays from dawn to dusk.

“This section comprised almost half of the entire job, and we could only work on Sundays,” Price said. “Because of the Labor Day weekend, we started work on this section on September 10, and we had just three Sundays to finish the project by October 1….because two of those Sundays were cold, with snow and wet conditions, we really only had one Sunday to work from dawn to dusk and complete half of the job.”

According to Price, Intermountain’s 2013 Bergkamp M1E Continuous Paver played a large role in the success of the project. He explained that the M1E’s automated calibration capability was used prior to the start of work each day, and was key to ensuring accurate numbers in the spec.

Bergkamp’s EMCAD (Electronic Mix Control and Diagnostic) system is designed to manage power inputs and electronically control material outputs to maintain the desired mix design for the paver. One example of the way EMCAD simplified calibration was in adjusting for moisture content in the aggregate. Because micro surfacing and slurry seal mix designs are performed with completely dry aggregate, knowing the moisture content of the aggregate is critical in creating the entire mix, and it should be tested every day prior to startup.

“If the aggregate should have just 3 percent to 4 percent moisture, say because of rain, then the rest of the mix needs to be adjusted for percentage of emulsion, water, etc.,” Price said. “With old-style pavers, you have to manually adjust the aggregate output setting, and there is room for error. With the M1E, you just set the aggregate moisture percentage into the computer, and it automatically deducts the moisture content in the aggregate, therefore, you are always working with data that is based on dry weight of the micro surfacing aggregate. It allows you to be 100 percent accurate.”

Intermountain’s crew members also were integral to the SR 36 project’s success. According to Price, approximately 22 crew members were required on regular days, and Sunday crew numbers grew exponentially, just to handle traffic control at all of the approaches.

“We had to have all of our eggs in one basket on Sundays, so we had to make sure the crews were there,” he said.

Smooth Ride Price says as an additional provision for the SR 36 job, UDOT included a smoothness spec with the contract that measured the International Roughness Index (IRI) before and after the project. Along the

WWW.THEASPHALTPRO.COM 9

Intermountain Slurry Seal Offers Micro Surfacing Best Practices According to Rusty Price, area manager for Intermountain Slurry Seal, a number of best practices should be followed before and during construction to ensure a quality micro surfacing job.

Pre-Construction

• Test the aggregate for required specifications, including sampling and testing for graduation requirement before hauling to the stockpile.

• The laboratory will require samples of the jobsite material to check the submitted mix design for accuracy, based on specific jobsite materials.

• Know your mix design, including residual asphalt.

• Know your material. Secure a quality stockpile location, and only allow qualified employees to handle the material to minimize contamination.

• Test the gradation as the stockpile is being built to ensure adherence to the job specification.

• Be sure target gradations that are reported on the mix design are based on actual stockpile test results.

• Inspect the streets you will be working on to make sure they are ready at least 1 day in advance of construction.

During Construction—Daily

For the SR 36 project, UDOT specified a special mix that required 26 pounds of dry aggregate per square yard and 13 percent emulsified asphalt. The provision required 8 percent minimum asphalt content and 3 percent natural latex polymer base in the emulsion. The spec included a “soft” base asphalt with a penetration range of 80-120.

3.5 miles of four lanes, the agency evaluated the smoothness of the pavement in 140 sections using laser technology. Only four sections out of 140 did not precisely meet smoothness spec.

“Meeting the IRI is not the same as warranty work,” Price said.

“But it is a cut-and-dried performance measurement that leaves no questions about the quality of the work. The smoothness spec puts a lot of responsibility on the contractor.

“UDOT is really happy with this project,” Price continued.

During the winter season, Price noted the project was holding up “really well.”

“As a result of our meetings and the special provision, I still think there is some work to do with the spec we used to further improve its elasticity, but this is a good specification,” Price said. “It’s a move in the right direction.”

– From Bergkamp

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• Communicate the plan to the crew and the owner.

• Know and verify your material on hand (inventory).

• Check bill of loading as the material is delivered; retain one sample of emulsion for every load delivered; retain aggregate samples; label all samples.

• Clean and repair roadway prior to micro surfacing.

• Check the moisture content of the aggregate and if necessary, adjust for moisture content and bulking affect prior to each shift.

• Inspect all equipment pre- and post-shift; ensure it is maintained properly.

• Perform a test section before beginning every job to make sure the machines are set correctly prior to paving.

• Do not allow oversize in the mat. Watching for oversize is the responsibility of every paving crew member. If oversize is detected, paving must stop, and the problem must be addressed.

• Check application rates at a minimum of three times daily.

• Longitudinal joints—ensure proper size box for the road; make straight passes with minimal overlap.

• Transverse joints—minimize overlap, set adjustments on the VSB in order to maintain smooth joints; use minimal hand tools on transverse joints.

How do OSHA’s silica dust regulations affect the construction industry?

In the road construction, paving, and asphalt production industries, the primary source of airborne crystalline silica exposure occurs from fracturing aggregate or rock. OSHA’s Silica Rule (29 CFR 1926.1153) specifically regulates acceptable exposure levels in various construction related job tasks.

Table 1: OSHA has identified the specified controls for the road construction industry in Table 1.

OSHA believes implementing these controls will reduce employee silica exposure below the regulatory level.

Employers have two options to become OSHA compliant: 1. Exposure Assessment - Employer conducts refular tests to ensure silica dust exposure for all construction activities is below the regulatory Permissable Exposure Limit (PEL).

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Patullo currently owns two Z3 models of Hurricane Power’s stand-on blowers, and plans to purchase a third in the near future.

Prep the Surface Before You Seal When Beckage Sealcoating, Pittstown, New Jersey, went up

sale in 2013, Alex Patullo jumped at the chance to grow W for his business. Beckage Sealcoating had sealed Patullo’s drive-

way in 2009 and he was really impressed by their work. In 2013, it was clear to Alex that buying Beckage was an opportunity to break into sealcoating after more than 30 years of experience in lawn care and construction. Today, the 18-person operation has four crews servicing central New Jersey.

To perform work the “A. Patullo way,” Patullo said he needed to invest heavily in quality equipment, mentioning KM International, Falcon and Hurricane Power by name. In fact, Patullo estimates that he’s invested the same or even more money in his prep equipment as he has in the rest of his equipment. But to leave behind a quality job— which is also the “A. Patullo way”—the investment in a properly prepared surface is essential.

He compares sealcoating to painting. If you try to paint on dusty, dirty surfaces you will get a poor final product. Similarly, if you try to sealcoat a surface that contains dirt, dust or any type of debris, then you can expect the final product to have a significantly shorter lifespan.

Uneducated contractors—and those who may be dishonest—will spray on top of dirt and dust, Patullo said. When this is done, he esti12 SUMMER 2018

mates the surface won’t even last one year. The sealcoating will begin to come up, peel off, and fail. Each summer, Patullo said his crews will be called out to other contractors’ jobs from the previous year that just aren’t holding up the way they should. Although this means more business for Beckage, it means a whole additional freeze/thaw season for pavements in need. The best option is simply to do it right the first time—starting with surface preparation.

Beckage’s mechanic on staff is religious with equipment maintenance. Patullo goes so far as to require all fluids be changed in each piece of equipment yearly, regardless of the number of hours on each piece.

Patullo’s Prep Process Patullo starts each sealcoating job by cleaning the surface. To do so, he uses a Z3 model of Hurricane’s stand-on blower. Although prep work can take a significant amount of time, it must be done right.

Patullo said using a Hurricane blower saves time compared to wheeled or backpack blowers. He estimates that the two Z3 standon blowers he owns save him the time of two or three workers who

brooms to accomplish this. The sweeping equipment can get right up to the curb, ensuring the entire surface has been adequately brushed. The goal is to knock any of the loose stuff away before the sealcoat goes down. Once this is done, the Hurricane blowers are brought back out to blow it clean.

Then, Beckage crewmembers apply the material. Patullo stresses the importance of applying a flood coat, as well as the use of brushes versus spraying applications. The flood coat is important to push the material out from every direction using brushes, which Patullo believes provides a better application than application by squeegee.

Beckage Sealcoating’s crews use the blowers three times during the project: before and after scrubbing the surface and after applying the sealcoat. Despite this thorough process, Patullo said the stand-on blowers save his crews many man-hours.

might otherwise be using walk-behind blowers on any given job. In fact, Patullo plans to invest in a third Z3 in the near future.

There is also a quality difference with a Hurricane blower over other blower types. According to Patullo, the air is directed downwards with such force that the resulting surface is much cleaner.

There is also the aspect of air control with a Hurricane. Unlike a walk-behind blower, a Hurricane can be directed in many different directions.

Next, Alex and his team will thoroughly scrub the surface. Beckage uses power sweeping machines, as well as hand-held power

Patullo finds that sealcoating customers tend to be very reactive versus proactive, meaning they often ask for a sealcoat after problems have begun. The best step for a long pavement lifespan is to keep up with maintenance before visible issues arise.

Based on Patullo’s research, one well-applied brush coat is equal to two sprayed coats, because spraying offers a much thinner final coat. After brushing on the flood coat, Patullo brushes the entire area at a different angle to ensure even application.

After the application has dried, Patullo’s crew brings the Hurricane blowers back out one last time for a final cleaning of the surface.

With this thorough prep process in mind, Patullo aims to continue to grow Beckage’s business one quality job at a time.

– By Jesse Hellyer

WWW.THEASPHALTPRO.COM 13

Set It and Forget It Midwestern County Improves Its Patching and Coating Processes with Electric Heat

Four years ago, a fast-growing coun-

Midwest was presented F tywithinantheopportunity to improve the asphalt emulsion heating process for its oil distributor truck. With 2,400 shared highway lane miles to maintain (including 700 lane miles under its sole infrastructure/asset responsibility), this county operates a proactive highway maintenance program that works to ensure its efforts make the best use of annual budget money. The maintenance team is knowledgeable and forward-thinking about the products it uses, and one product it fully believes in is asphalt emulsion for tack spraying, chip seal, and spray patching.

As opposed to liquid asphalt cement, emulsions comprise a non-flammable mixture of asphalt, water and emulsifying agents. Emulsions have lower viscosity, can be used at lower temperatures and provide better spreading characteristics than asphalt. According to the maintenance foreman for the county’s highway department, “Asphalt emulsions are more sensitive to heat than straight liquid asphalt. They need to be gently brought up to and then maintained at the correct temperature in order to work properly. They’re trickier to work with, but when used correctly, they really are superior for tack coating and spray patching applications than straight asphalt.”

Handle with Care An asphalt emulsion that is too cool will not flow properly, which can cause issues with the distributor’s pumps. If it is too hot, it can separate in the tank; the water bakes out of the mixture, causing coking and damage to the emulsion, resulting in the need to drain and clean the tank and flue.

“The LP gas burner we had on our distributor truck heated the emulsions we used too quickly. They became too hot, and the whole system was brutal on the material, so we had been looking for some time for a heating system that could replace the burner system,” notes the maintenance foreman.

That’s when Frank Connelly, president of RCM Specialties, a Hastings, Minnesota-based distributor of emulsion and spray 14 SUMMER 2018

Midwestern County began looking for a heating system to replace its burner system, which had been heating emulsions too quickly. Eventually, they decided to retrofit its distributor truck with an electric heat system manufactured by Process Heating Company.

patching equipment, suggested that the county retrofit its distributor truck with an electric heat system manufactured by Process Heating Company (PHCo), based in Seattle, Washington. The county maintenance foreman says he was skeptical of the idea at first. But once he saw how PHCo’s Lo-Density® Rigid Tubular Drywell Tank Heater worked on a rental distributor truck RCM had in its fleet, he became convinced that the system might be the best solution for the county’s emulsion heating issues.

According to Connelly, “We demonstrated for the county that, where emulsions just aren’t geared to be heated with burners or direct heat, an electric drywell-style heater is ideal because of the even, controlled heat it provides. You can just set it and forget it.”

Connelly presented two choices for the county to retrofit its distributor truck: purchase a PHCo drop-in heater kit that can be installed via the truck’s manhole, or purchase a retrofit kit that requires modifying the tank from the rear and installing drywell-style heating elements that allow servicing the elements without draining the

tank. The prices are comparable between the two kits.

The county opted for the drop-in heater kit for its distributor truck. The retrofit process included installing custom drywell tubes and conduit and mounting the controller. The drywell tubes run beneath the tank’s baffles and did not require removing or modifying the existing heat tubes from the original burner system. Although the drywell tubes were installed via the manhole, a hole was drilled into the top of the tank for the electrical conduit to exit and connect with the controller.

Big Benefits The year of 2017 was the county’s fourth season using the PHCo electric heat system with its distributor truck.

“We’ve gone from using it just a few times a year to having crews fight over using it,” says the maintenance foreman. The electric heating system allows a crew member to plug the heater in at the end of the day or over a weekend, and it maintains emulsion at the correct temperature. The result is that the truck is ready to begin work im-

The truck provides heated emulsion for the county’s two spray patcher machines, allowing them to remain working during an entire shift without returning to the shop for additional material.

TOP: Midwestern County chose the dropin heater for its distributor truck. MIDDLE: The retrofit process for the drop-in heater included installing custom drywell tubes and conduit and mounting the controller.

BOTTOM:: Although the drywell tubes, which run beneath the tank’s baffles, were installed via the manhole, a hole was drilled into the top of the tank for the electrical conduit to exit and connect with the controller.

mediately in the morning, without waiting on burners to heat the asphalt at the beginning of the shift.

“It does a nice job heating the emulsion evenly and then keeping it at a constant temperature, and we don’t have to worry about it,” the maintenance foreman said.

“Emulsions are not made to heat above 180°. We’ve found that maintaining our emulsions at 160° provides the best operational temperature.”

“With the original LP gas burners we had, it was difficult to keep the emulsion temperature correct,” he adds. “Asphalt is fine to take up to 300°. LP burners will take emulsions right up to that point unless you have someone there watching it carefully.”

Because the county’s electric distributor truck heater can keep the emulsion ma-

terial at the correct temperature overnight or over a weekend, it has eliminated the need for the maintenance crew to use all of the emulsion that was in the truck during a shift or pump the remainder to the main storage tank. Either process required the emulsion to be pumped back to the truck at the start of the next shift and then brought up to the correct temperature — which was highly inefficient.

The county has also realized additional benefits since it installed the truck’s electric tank heater, including better safety for crew members. The maintenance foreman points to incidents where the truck’s former LP gas burners had created issues with flameout or flashback. These risks have been eliminated because the electric heaters have no open flame.

In addition to improving productivity, safety and asphalt/emulsion quality, Lo-Density electric heat also can reduce operating costs for distributor trucks. The overnight maintenance of asphalt/emulsion temperatures via electric heat requires less energy and results in lower costs than using LPG or diesel burners to raise the material to the correct temperature. Electric heat offers 100 percent energy efficiency because all of the energy is used to heat, when compared to the less efficient burning of fossil fuel. And that efficiency will always remain at 100 percent, even after many years of operation, and without costly maintenance.

Electric heat is friendly to the environment because it heats without combustion or emissions, and it eliminates a common source of

fuel spills. Electric heat also eliminates stacks that must be monitored for emissions, along with eliminating air quality permits that must be pursued and maintained.

“At this point, we use the truck with our paving operations — heating emulsion for tack spraying,” says the maintenance foreman. “We use it for chip seal operations and we use it for spray patching (potholes).”

For the latter operation, he explains that the truck provides heated emulsion for the county’s two spray patcher machines, allowing them to remain working during an entire shift without returning to the shop for additional material. For the spray patchers, in particular, the foreman says he appreciates the fact that the distributor truck can keep the emulsion heated overnight.

“We spray patch year-round for a better, more permanent pothole patch. In the winters, we’ve had outside temperatures below zero at the beginning of shifts, and the emulsion is still at the right temperature,” he says.

“When we first started looking at different heating options for our distributor, we assumed this would have to be a capital purchase. In the end, with the retrofit kit, we were able to allocate this as a parts purchase,” the foreman notes. “It’s been very good for increasing our efficiency, and it’s also opened doors to other maintenance operations we can do with the truck. At some point, if we add another distributor truck to our fleet, I feel electric heat should be spec’d into the bid. Otherwise, it would be a step backward for us.”

— By Mary FosteR

WWW.THEASPHALTPRO.COM 15

Members of the Indiana Department of Transportation participated in the training and certification beginning in spring 2017. “We have six districts, and combined each of two districts so we had three training sessions,” Todd Shields explained. “We called it the Chip Seal Kickoff.”

Certification Marks New Era in Preservation The concept of pavement preser-

is spreading across the UnitT vation ed States, and as agencies get serious about it—and federal dollars go toward preservation—certification of agency forces and contractors also has taken a foothold.

“We’ve made real progress in penetration of pavement preservation into state agencies,” said National Center for Pavement Preservation (NCPP) Director Dr. Judith Corley-Lay, P.E. “Last year we had 47 states voluntarily pay for participation in the TSP•2 pavement and bridge preservation partnerships. That says an enormous amount how states have bought into the preservation concept.”

System pavement preservation also meets the asset management requirements for state agencies introduced by MAP-21 federal surface transportation legislation.

As pavement preservation spreads, certification is spreading as well.

16 SUMMER 2018

There is nothing new about certification in highway construction. As early as 1974 the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the American Association of State Highway & Transportation Officials (AASHTO) worked to develop a contractor certification program, and in 1976 AASHTO endorsed the program for voluntary use by state DOTs. These early certification programs were focused on pavement rehabilitation, reconstruction or new construction.

At the time maintenance preservation treatments were frequently self-performed by state agencies. The change in legislation to allow use of federal funds for preservation— for which FP2 fought—has made certification more desirable for pavement preservation, as well as out-sourcing of the treatments in many agencies.

A federal regulation requiring the use of qualified technicians on federal-aid highway

projects went into effect June 29, 2000. Today, to receive federal funding for highway and bridge projects a quality control/quality assurance (QC/QA) program must be in place to make sure certified personnel are testing and inspecting materials used on those projects.

Also fueling expansion of certification was the 2015 NCHRP Synthesis 483: Training and Certification of Highway Maintenance Workers, which explored the extent and need for certification on a national basis.

The Transportation System Preservation Technical Services Program (TSP•2) was initiated as an efficient means to disseminate information to AASHTO member agencies for preserving their highway infrastructure, including both pavements and bridges.

To bring certification to pavement preservation, the AASHTO TSP•2 oversight panel approved implementation of a pavement preservation certification program April 13,

With the Indiana Department of Transportation performing more of its chip seals in-house, leadership wanted to ensure the core crewmembers, sub district managers and unit foremen were trained properly.

2016, to be administered by NCPP as an independent assessment entity. The program has two different tracks: Agency Certification and Contractor Certification.

Today, following web-based training established by the International Slurry Surfacing Association (ISSA), treatments available for certification include slurry systems, which covers micro surfacing, slurry seals and polymer modified slurry; chip seals; and crack treatments. An overview of this training is available at http://www.slurry.org/ page/education.

“Historically many agencies performed their preservation function using in-house forces,” Corley-Lay said. “Over time the pendulum has swung toward more outsourcing of maintenance functions. When that happens you have contractors taking on work that historically they have not done, and you have a new area of inspection for state forces which historically have inspected new construction, not preservation.

“Taking cores and gradation samples does not necessarily prepare you to inspect chip seals,” she added. “We need to up our game to guarantee that states and local agencies are getting the products they need, and that contractor personnel have the knowledge they need to make on-the-run decisions in the field.”

AGENCY CERTIFICATION Certification of agency personnel under this program will ensure that future investments in preservation treatments will pay off, said Larry Galehouse, P.E., then-director of the NCPP, and Rex Eberly, global sales manager, Bergkamp Inc., in a presentation at the Na-

tional Pavement Preservation Conference 2016 held in Nashville.

Certification also establishes individuals in the agency as technical experts. Larry Galehouse and Eberly said ideally agency-certified individuals will include one senior-level inspector and design engineer from each district or region, an engineering/preservation specialist from the agency headquarters, and outside consultants who are providing outsourced inspection services.

The agency participation in the certification program is voluntary, and individuals who pass the certification exam receive a certification card, which is valid for three years.

The exam consists of 50 questions focusing on fundamental aspects of the treatment, such as project selection, materials and inspection points. The exam requires a minimum score of 70 percent to pass.

NCPP recommends that test-takers— whether agency or contractor staff—undergo a one-day training session based on ISSA’s online offerings. “We at NCPP offer training,” Corley-Lay said. “If people want instructor-led training, we are equipped and happy to do that.

But the trend nationally is web-based training, and while there are advantages to having an instructor who can respond to that ‘look’ of the student who is not quite getting it, and can go back and state things a different way, the trend still is toward web-based training.”

“Web-based training can be at one’s own pace, and can be done in an office setting, or a group setting where the employees go through it together,” Neal Galehouse, NCPP engineering specialist, said. “NCPP has put together a preparation guide that has additional information about the treatments. The ISSA train-

ing and the prep guide are the basis for the content of the exam.”

NCPP will administer exams on-site to groups of 20 or more, and at the user’s option, will conduct a refresher before the exam is given. “We’ve done it both ways,” he added. “The day of exam review is two to three hours, and after a period of questions, we will give the exam.”

Alternatively, NCPP has offered exams during ISSA’s annual Slurry Systems Workshop. Neal Galehouse said, “We are beginning to offer the exams in conjunction with the TSP•2 regional pavement preservation partnership meetings.” Individuals or small groups also may receive an exam through an independent university proctor center; most states have numerous locations available for proctoring the exam.

“We averted two major failures because we were able to spot what was going on and correct it.”— Todd Shields

INDIANA DOT CERTIFIES The Indiana DOT (IDOT) has certified its staff for certain pavement preservation treatments.

“We thought the certification offered by TSP•2 to be a good opportunity for our crews, as we do all of our chip seals in-house,” said Todd Shields, P.E., maintenance field support manager for IDOT. “It was a great training opportunity, and the actual training certification card really means a lot to those guys.”

The state undertakes training all the time, but the card is something special to the individuals who earned it via the certification exam. “Having the certificate, or card, shows that you passed the test and accomplished something,” Shields said. “We also gave a small bonus to the guys who passed the exam.”

The process began in early spring 2017.

“We have six districts, and combined each of two districts so we had three training sessions,” he said. “We called it the Chip Seal Kickoff and used the ISSA web-based training. We went through it as a group and out of those we had a group move on to the certification exam in April.”

Certification is not compulsory, nor is it written into the spec. Still, it made sense for IDOT. WWW.THEASPHALTPRO.COM 17

“We are doing more and more chip seals inhouse, and wanted to make sure our people were trained properly,” Shields said. “Our core crews are the operators of the distributors and the chip box, and we have sub district managers and unit foremen who are involved, and they constitute those who underwent ISSA training. We didn’t want to bring all 100-plus employees in to be certified; we just focused on a certain group.”

Thus the DOT had its full complement of workers go through the ISSA training, and a few weeks later NCPP did refresher training to a select 36 who took the exam. The refresher took place on a morning, and the exam in the afternoon. “There is a 50-question exam for agencies, which is geared toward supervisors and inspectors, and an exam for contractors, which is more ‘nuts-and-bolts’ equipment-oriented,” Shields said. “Because we do our own chip seals, we took the 80-question contractor exam.” Of the 36, 34 passed the exam and were certified. Those who didn’t pass got another chance later.

Certification in spring paid off quickly during the season, Shields said. “When we started right out of the gate in May, in two districts things didn’t go well on the jobs,” he said.

“The guys that were certified were able to recognize that something was wrong and they were able to stop the jobs and figure it out. Previously, the mindset had been that production was tops and that we had to keep going. We averted two major failures because we were able to spot what was going on and correct it.”

that certification as part of their marketing.

Some contractors see there is a benefit for them in having employees certified.”

“We have had a number of contractors come forward in areas where no certification requirement is currently in place, and have sent their employees to take the exam,” Galehouse said. “They see it as a benefit to the quality of their product.”

Alone among the states, only Nevada requires a contractor to be certified prior to placement of certain preservation treatments. In 2016, the Nevada DOT began requiring contractors to be AASHTO TSP•2-certified in order to perform work on Nevada DOT chip seals and micro surfacing projects. This requirement is now also being specified for agency people and for consultant personnel facilitating the projects.

Earlier this year, the Western Region Association for Pavement Preservation (WRAPP) partnered with the University of Nevada-Reno, the Nevada DOT, and the NCPP to bring pavement preservation training and certification to Reno. On March 28, certification training was attended by over 60 people from contractor and public agencies in California and Nevada. It was provided free of charge to agency attendees on a first-come, firstserved basis, reported the June CP2 Center News, published by the California Pavement Preservation Center. Topics included pavement preservation concepts, evolving specifications, and construction techniques. This training was designed to prepare people for the certification exam the following day.

The “joint” certification requirement—for both agency and contractor personnel—is a step toward producing consistent high-quality treatments, reported Roger Smith, pavement specialist with the California Pavement Preservation (CP2) Center at Chico State University. “The program currently provides certifications for fog seals, chip seals, slurry systems, and crack treatments,” Smith said.

Following the March 28 training, 25 people took the AASHTO TSP•2 certification exam, nine of them from California. NCPP’s Galehouse administered the tests.

CONTRACTOR CERTIFICATION Complementary to government agency forces certification is private sector contractor certification, but it takes place within a different framework.

“So far about 35 percent of the total people certified have been with contractors,” Corley-Lay said. “Some of the contractors that have had employees certified are now using

QUALITY CONTROL PLAN “The certification process has been reviewed and approved by ISSA’s board of directors, and we’ve worked hard to make it a process that works well for the agency and contractor, has teeth so it means something, and will do what it takes to get better quality work out on the road,” Bergkamp’s Eberly said, in his joint presentation at NPPC 2016.

After a morning of review and information, students sit down for a 50-question test. Success requires a score of 70 percent or better.

18 SUMMER 2018

“We [at ISSA] wanted to make sure the contractor is certified as an entity,” he said. “The company is responsible for certification: they need to have a properly trained work force, including specific employees to be certified, and they need to have and use a detailed quality control plan. To me that’s the most important part: the education is important, the testing is important, but what’s best is that we have a quality control plan that’s put together by the contractor, and that the contractor and agency both understand the plan, as they have certified people. Our hope is that the QC/QM plan is used daily on the project.”

A contractor company is certified for one year, and requires renewal. Employees are certified for three years. “We want to certify company superintendents, and/or a trainer, a top level person in management whose responsibility is to manage the crews,” Eberly said. “The foreman on a job needs to be certified, as well as the machine operator on a micro surfacing or slurry crew.”

The quality control plan must define the expected results and describe how those results will be achieved. It must detail the steps a contractor will go through to have a successful project, and how the contractor will determine that a problem will cause a project to not be successful, and the steps that will be taken to get the project back on track. That plan will provide a list of materials to be tested, what tests will be conducted, the location of the sampling, and testing frequency. A detailed testing schedule must be established.

Article contributed by FP2 Inc. For more information, visit fp2.org.

– By Tom Kuennen

Get More Information

• Download NCHRP Synthesis 483: Training and Certification of Highway Maintenance Workers at http://nap. edu/23458 • Find out more about agency and contractor certification for pavement preservation applications at https:// www.tsp2.org/certificationinformation/ • The AASHTO TSP•2 certification exam requires a separate registration from the webbased training. To register for the exam online, please visit: https://www. pavementpreservation.org/ certification/upcoming-exams/

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