Central HMA Acceptance Lab Process Improvement Project

Authors

Ted W. Boehm, Purdue UniversityFollow
Jim Handy, Purdue UniversityFollow

Recommended Citation

Boehm, T. W., & Handy, J. (2019). Central HMA acceptance lab process improvement project (Joint Transportation Research Program Publication No. FHWA/IN/JTRP-2019/17). West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University. https://doi.org/10.5703/1288284317078

DOI

10.5703/1288284317078

Abstract

The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) Central Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) Acceptance Lab was opened on March 29, 2018, at the Office of Materials Management (OMM) facility in Indianapolis. The state-of-the-art lab conducts acceptance testing on HMA samples from INDOT’s Crawfordsville and Greenfield districts, as well as testing of appeals samples from the other four INDOT districts. Each HMA sample undergoes multiple sequences acceptance testing processes. INDOT’s standard metric is for these tests to be completed and reported in six days. Overall average performance in 2018 met this target (4.66 days for Crawfordsville, 4.99 days for Greenfield), however, turnaround time exceeding this target during months of peak demand. The goal of this project was to improve organization, flow of work and efficiency in the central region HMA Acceptance Lab for all tests done, with implementation leading to reduction of turnaround time from 6 days to 4 days. Note that the scope of this project only included the samples from the Crawfordsville and Greenfield districts. It did not include appeals or other special testing that the lab may conduct.

Report Number

FHWA/IN/JTRP-2019/17

Keywords

HMA lab, methodology, stone matrix asphalt, SMA, technicians, extraction

SPR Number

4353

Performing Organization

Joint Transportation Research Program

Sponsoring Organization

Indiana Department of Transportation

Publisher Place

West Lafayette, IN

Date of this Version

2019