9th International Conference on Managing Pavement Assets
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The 9th International Conference on Managing Pavement Assets (ICMPA9) took place in the Washington, DC metropolitan area from May 18-21, 2015. The conference brought together pavement design and management engineers, companies specialized in providing pavement management services and data collection, researchers and specialists on asset/pavement management, general pavement/road engineers, planners dealing with the development of public works programs, and academics specializing in pavement design, analysis and management. The conference aimed to define the requirements for the "next generation" of pavement management tools need and to that effect it builds upon the following theme: "moving pavement management beyond the short-term: embracing innovation and addressing sustainability, accountability, and improved performance."
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Browsing 9th International Conference on Managing Pavement Assets by Author "Applied Pavement Technology, Inc."
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- Pavement Management's Role in an Asset Management WorldZimmerman, Kathryn A.; Ram, Prashant V. (2015-05-19)With the passage of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act, commonly known as MAP-21, there has been increased focus and attention to asset management programs in transportation agencies and the development of risk-based asset management plans. These plans document the transportation assets being managed by the agency, summarize current and planned performance expectations, and outline the investment plans that the agency will make to meet performance targets. Although MAP-21 requires the plans to include only pavements and bridges on the National Highway System, state transportation agencies are encouraged to include all infrastructure assets within the right-of-way corridor in their plan. With all this focus on asset management some agencies may draw the conclusion that pavement management is less important than it has been in the past. Is there any truth to that conclusion? Is there a future for pavement management beyond data collection activities? This paper addresses these questions by demonstrating the expanding role for pavement management in supporting an agency's asset management initiatives and the importance of developing pavement management tools that are used for more than gathering and reporting pavement conditions. The authors illustrate the importance of pavement management analysis results to develop key components of an asset management plan. For instance, the paper illustrates how pavement management outputs are critical to being able to: a) conduct a life-cycle analysis showing the cost-effectiveness of different treatment strategies, b) evaluate trade-offs when making investment options across asset types, and c) identify and manage risks that might impact the agency's ability to achieve its goals. The paper concludes with recommendations for enhancements to existing pavement management systems that are needed to better support the asset management environment in which most transportation agencies operate. Specifically, the paper discusses the importance of integrating pavement management data with other asset data, incorporating the performance of preservation activities in prediction models, and capturing the impact of capital investments on future maintenance costs to truly evaluate the whole life costs of a given option.
- Preparing for the Next Transformation in Pavement ManagementZimmerman, Kathryn A. (2015-05)Since the initial development of a systems approach for managing pavements in the late 1970's and early 1980's, there have been tremendous changes in the way transportation agencies have designed, constructed, and managed their pavement networks. In just the past 10 years, transportation agencies have been introduced to new mechanistic-empirical design programs, methods of determining the sustainability of different pavement designs, equipment capable of collecting 3-D pavement surface characteristics and 1 mm crack widths at traffic speeds, and web-access to pavement databases on handheld devices virtually anywhere in the world. During the same time period, many transportation agencies have been forced to shift from a focus on system expansion to system preservation as funding tightened and large portions of the infrastructure network reached the end of their design life. In some cases, transportation agencies have outsourced maintenance, design, and construction functions as agencies downsize in response to economic realities. In addition, recent legislation places more of an emphasis on system preservation with a focus on performance-based decisions that consider costs of the whole life of an asset. Some might consider the magnitude and breadth of these changes to be transformational to the field of pavement management. However, to be truly transformational, pavement management practitioners must take advantage of the new developments and technology to shift from the traditional role of pavement management for assessing, reporting, and prioritizing pavement needs to a broader role that supports a range of uses beyond those originally intended in the early pavement management systems. The broader applications of pavement management and the changes that will be needed will be a primary focus of this presentation. To put these changes in context, earlier transformations that have shifted the practice of pavement management will be explored beginning with the AASHO Road Test that took place from 1956 to 1960. The decision of the road test staff to develop a method for evaluating the performance of pavements in a way that was independent of pavement type and could be applied universally to describe pavement condition represents the first transformation in the development of pavement management. The next transformation occurred in 1970 at a workshop organized by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Highway Research Board (now known as the Transportation Research Board) where a systems engineering approach that was based on mathematical solutions to optimize decisions was first suggested nationally as a viable approach for making decisions about pavement maintenance and rehabilitation actions. A third transformational period occurred in the 1990s when technological advancements made it possible to collect large quantities of data quickly, to analyze the data on desk-top computers, and to present information visually using maps and other display techniques. This presentation will consider how the lessons learned from past transformations can be used to provide insight into the changes that are needed today to make the next round of advancements in pavement management a reality and to lead to a more sustainable program in the future.
- Quality Management for Pavement Condition Data CollectionPierce, Linda M.; Zimmerman, Kathryn A. (2015-06-04)Within a pavement management system, pavement condition data are used for modeling pavement performance; to trigger maintenance, rehabilitation, and reconstruction; to evaluate program effectiveness; and to satisfy many other purposes. While there are many different methodologies used for assessing pavement condition (i.e., manual, semi- and fully automated surveys), the need for quality data remains the same. Agencies take a number of steps to ensure and verify data quality, including calibration of the data collection equipment or the inspection teams, incorporating quality control sections that are re-inspected to assess repeatability, verifying reasonableness and completeness of the pavement condition survey, and conducting audits of the pavement distress data. As part of a Federal Highway Administration project, a Practical Guide for Quality Management of Network-Level Pavement Condition Data was developed based on agency procedures, practical examples, and case studies. This paper summarizes the components of a data quality management plan for pavement condition data collection and when applicable, provides examples of agency practices. The primary activities involved in developing a data quality management plan include identifying what data quality standards will be used, identifying what activities need to occur to achieve those standards, measuring the data, and reporting the results. Specifically related to pavement condition data collection, the key components of a data quality management plan include establishing data collection/rating protocols, defining data quality standards, determining personnel responsibilities, providing personnel training programs, establishing equipment calibration and method acceptance, conducting data inspection, applying corrective action, and reporting the results of the quality management process.
- The Use of GPS-Based Distress Mapping to Improve Pavement ManagementDzwilewski, Peter-Paul; Long, Genevieve; Wade, Monty (2015-06-04)Utilizing recent inspection data of portland cement concrete (PCC) pavements at airports and military installations in the United States and Canada, the enhancement of long-term pavement management through Global Positioning Satellite (GPS)-based distress mapping is examined. Specifically, examples of distress pattern identification, improvements to the determination of localized maintenance repair quantities, the process of selecting appropriate rehabilitation methods, and applying identified deficiencies to future construction and repair projects are discussed. Distress pattern identification illustrates how various types of distresses within and across slabs are related to one another, which allows for the isolation of required repairs and leads to more effective maintenance planning. Comparisons between actual repair quantities from the distress mapping process and standard repair quantities from pavement management software are also analyzed. Distress mapping allows maintenance needs to be located and repaired by maintenance crews, and provides more accurate funding requirements for improved planning. It also offers the ability the track the progression of distresses and the effectiveness of repairs over time. Distress mapping also provides greater insight to selecting the proper rehabilitation method. Pavement repair options can be weighed against rehabilitation or reconstruction options to determine what option will yield the best combination of future pavement condition, cost, and operational requirements. In some instances, the existing distresses can assist in modifying current design, construction, or repair methods being employed. With these benefits, distress mapping can improve the pavement condition and reduce the overall funding requirements.