TRB Watch

by Russell Houston, Senior Communications Officer, Transportation Research Board

Quality Management of Pavement Condition Data Collection

www.TRB.org/Main/Blurbs/162632.aspx

Although the concepts of quality management, control, and acceptance have been extensively used in manufacturing industrial processes, these same principles have not been systematically applied to pavement data collection. This is partially because in these services the “product” is not clearly known and the reference value often is difficult to determine. To help address this issue, TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Synthesis 401: Quality Management of Pavement Condition Data Collection explores the quality management practices being employed by public road and highway agencies for automated, semi-automated, and manual pavement condition data collection and delivery using in-house staff and contracted services. The review focuses on the collection of distress data at the network level, as well as on smoothness, friction, and structural capacity data collection processes. A downloadable PDF of the report is available at both the Transportation Research Board Website and at www.BetterRoads.com.

Pavement Management 2009

www.TRB.org/Main/Blurbs/162607.aspx (No. 2093)

www.TRB.org/Main/Blurbs/162159.aspx (No. 2094)

www.TRB.org/Main/Blurbs/162614.aspx (No. 2095)

TRB’s Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board (TRR), Nos. 2093, 2094, and 2095 include 45 papers that explore a wide variety of issues related to pavement management systems; pavement monitoring, evaluation, and data storage; full-scale and accelerated pavement testing; and strength and deformation characteristics of pavement sections. These issues also examine pavement friction, skid resistance, and pavement – vehicle interaction; rigid pavement design; flexible pavement design; and pavement rehabilitation. Individual TRRs, which are published on an irregular basis throughout the year, consist of collections of peer-reviewed papers on specific transportation subject areas and modes. TRB’s TRR Online service (http://trb.metapress.com/home/main.mpx) allows all visitors to identify papers of interest and review abstracts of those papers. Access to the full papers is available to service subscribers and employees of TRB sponsors.  Papers also may be purchased on an individual basis.

Russell Houston edits a weekly e-newsletter for the Transportation Research Board, a division of the National Academies, available at www.TRB.org. This column is not an endorsement of any of the contents of Better Roads. Contact: rhouston@nas.edu.