Raising the Bar: technician certification Panel Moderator: Buddy Williams, P.E. Materials & Tests Division Panel Members: Cathey Galbreath (San Angelo District) Richard Izzo, P.E. (Materials & Tests Division) Brad Bradford (R.K. Hall Construction, Ltd.) Corey Schwarz (Hot Mix Asphalt Center) 2018 TXAPA 44th Annual Meeting September 20, 2018

Raising the Bar: Technician Certification Why do we need a technician certification program? Code of Federal Requirement (23CFR637B.205.a) requires each State Highway Agency to develop and implement a Quality Assurance Program (QAP). TxDOT’s QAP includes a Technician Qualification Program that requires personnel who perform sampling & testing to be certified by a Department-approved program. A technician qualification program is essential for the overall quality and long-term performance of asphalt pavements. Texas Asphalt Pavement Association (TXAPA) is a Department-approved entity that certifies all personnel who perform the required sampling & testing of Aggregate, Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA), and Soils & Base. BUDDY - Introduction slide 2018 TXAPA 44th Annual Meeting

Raising the Bar: Technician Certification What is TxDOT’s certification program? Hot-Mix Asphalt Level 1A – Plant Production Specialist Level 1B – Roadway Specialist Level 2 – Mix Design Specialist Soils & Base SB101 – Properties Specialist SB102 – Field Specialist SB103 – Materials Analyst Specialist SB201 – Compaction Specialist SB202 – Strength Specialist RICHARD – blah, blah…RICHARD - Starts with M&T AASHTO re:source certification, M&T certifies TXAPA evaluators, and everyone thereafter is certified based on AASHTO standards COREY - What are the certification classes for field and plant materials, Hot mix and soils levels CATHEY - It’s more than a TxDOT certification program, it’s a joint effort to ultimately achieve superior long-term performing pavements 2018 TXAPA 44th Annual Meeting

Raising the Bar: Technician Certification How does the joint steering committee oversee the direction and integrity of the certification program? Steering Committee Members TxDOT TXAPA Thomas Smith, Co-Chair Corey Schwarz, Co-Chair Buddy Williams, Materials & Tests Division Brad Bradford, R.K. Hall Construction, Ltd. Cathey Galbreath, San Angelo District Harry Bush, Vulcan Materials Richard Izzo, Materials & Tests Division Jerry Lee, Zack Burkett Company Vacant (Flexible Pavements Section Director) Mike Brown, Texas Materials COREY - Members & Purpose & history CATHEY - Rights & Responsibilities RICHARD - Proficiency to maintain integrity of testing & results BRAD - Allegations of Misconduct (Falsification) the past few years +10 In-person & Phone interviews, revoked & inactivated certifications, removed grandfathering 2018 TXAPA 44th Annual Meeting

Raising the Bar: Technician Certification If this covers all of TxDOT and Industry, how large is the certification program? 5,155 active TXAPA certified specialists that maintain 8,024 certifications. ~60 HMA and Soils & Base TxDOT test procedures. Hot Mix Asphalt 4,116 Technicians Soils & Base 3,908 Technicians Level 1A – 1,252 SB 101 – 672 Level 1B – 2,466 SB 102 – 2,308 Level 2 – 398 SB 103 – 400 SB 201 - 337 SB 202 - 191 COREY – Intro BRAD - Growth in funding & lettings 2018 TXAPA 44th Annual Meeting

Raising the Bar: Technician Certification How do you ensure certified technicians are proficient? Statewide Annual Proficiency Programs Hot Mix Asphalt Soils & Base Gradation Asphalt Content Plasticity Index Rice Gravity Bar Linear Shrinkage Laboratory Molded Density Compressive Strength Field Verification Surveys RICHARD - Statewide Annual Proficiency Program, systems in place to address and capture falsification of test results and information CATHEY - Individual Performance Evaluations COREY - Start of Field Verification 2018 TXAPA 44th Annual Meeting

Raising the Bar: Technician Certification What are some recent improvements to the certification program? Raising Expectations Training vs. Certification Reduced Test Times Individual Performance Assessments Annual Proficiency Required BRAD - Raising expectations for each technician is higher RICHARD - Changing philosophy of training and certification are different and should be separated COREY - Test times have been reduced & individual performance evaluations, +90-95% passing students CATHEY - Proficiency required each year, if not performed status will be changed to inactive & website 2018 TXAPA 44th Annual Meeting

Raising the Bar: Technician Certification What are some future plans to improve the certification program? Field Verification Surveys New Aggregate Certification Class Changes to Level 2 Specification Revisions Individual Performance Assessments for SB Certifications Changes to SB 201 & 202 CATHEY - New Aggregate Certification Class COREY - Field verification RICHARD - Individual Performance Evaluations for SB classes; SB 201 & 202 moving molding of treated materials BRAD - Level II moving out hands-on tests and focus more on mix design; HMA Specifications for revising table of required certifications RICHARD – Specifications Flex Base & Seal Coat Aggregate 2018 TXAPA 44th Annual Meeting

Raising the Bar: technician certification Questions? BUDDY – Ask audience: Does anyone have any suggestions or recommendations to improve our certification program? Does anyone have any comments for what we are doing and the direction we are heading? 2018 TXAPA 44th Annual Meeting