From highway construction to bridge building, the Alabama DOT turns to Tinius Olsen for material answers.A visit to the website of the Alabama Department of Transportation (www.dot.state.al.us) provides a revealing look at all the issues juggled by a major agency responsible for maintenance, planning, and funding of the state’s extensive transportation infrastructure — public safety, environmental compliance, transportation efficiency, and support of economic and social development. The complexities of those intertwining challenges depend on reliable data that can’t all come from a network of well-placed traffic cams. Much of it is derived at the most essential building block level through testing of the physical and mechanical properties of the materials used on a daily basis to build highways, bridges, as well as the material they are built upon — the soil itself. Multiple DOT bureaus use an extensive program of materials testing for quality assurance, research and development, and compliance documentation. For consistency of technology and methods across the organization, the Alabama DOT relies daily on a network of materials testing machinery, software, and systems from Tinius Olsen, the Horsham, PA-based manufacturer that has been supplying such solutions since 1880. Seven different groups within the DOT use Tinius Olsen machines for different types of materials testing. Becky Keith, acting soils engineer, says her geotextiles division gets plenty of use from their H5KS machines, for testing tension and compression of geotextiles used in road construction. Keith says her group is glad to have Tinius Olsen machines of its own. “These machines replaced a larger machine we were sharing with another lab. We no longer have to travel to that lab, change heads out, and take other steps because we have these set up for our needs.” Plus, Keith’s group previously had to perform time-consuming setup procedures each time they used the machine, and had to coordinate their own workflow with the other department. Considering that the machines Keith’s group now use run six hours a day for up to four days a week, that was a huge coordination effort that’s no longer necessary. Now, both Tinius Olsen machines are routed to the same computer, and Keith’s operator can switch the computer between the machines, saving precious time. Other bonuses: “The machines are easy to operate and training operators is easy. Also, they have been maintenance-free.” Sergio Rodriguez, head of the concrete and cement testing division, agrees. He says his technicians are able to learn very quickly how to use the Tinius Olsen machines. He’s had two new technicians learn the machines on their second week of employment. Rodriguez’ lab is outfitted with two machines. Both were built with input from Rodriguez’ team. “We bought them with what we needed and they were fit that way. We wrote the specifications for what we needed and we wrote it around their product.” Rodriguez says his division wanted all of their machines to be from the same manufacturer. “The service we’ve had in the past was excellent and we wanted to continue with that same service. If we have a problem with the calibration of the machine, Tinius Olsen has always been there for us.” In the concrete section, the Tinius’s machinery works two to three hours every day. In the cement section, it operates for an hour a day, nearly four days a week. “That’s our life,” says Rodriguez. “We use the machines every day. At least half of what we do depends on the results we get from those machines.” For Bart Pickett, head of the physical section of the DOT, his two Tinius Olsen machines are essential to his work process. Pickett’s lab has a manual 300K Super L built in 1976 and an automatic 600K Super L. The 300K Super L is manually operated with dial-type indication. Pickett’s lab uses it for testing deformed rebar and pre-stressed seven strand cable, as well as for testing aluminum, steel, signpost beam, and spiral wire. Despite the age of the 300K, Pickett says the machine performs remarkably well. “The manual machine works great for rebar and for cable; it is a fairly rapid-speed test — the dial indication gives a reference. It doesn’t have a pace rate indicator on it. The technicians prefer the dial indication for those tests. You get a better reference of travel speed with dial as opposed to digital readout.” The 300K has had a long service life and continues to operate reliably. Pickett reports the machine still calibrates well, and maintenance is limited to parts wearing out due to age. There are no plans to replace the manual machine with a digital one either. Pickett says the machine does what he needs it to do and gives the technicians more accurate readouts. The Tinius Olsen 600K Super L in Pickett’s lab is used for compression testing of concrete cylinders. Pickett’s group also performs compressive block testing and investigation of rock cores and foundations. As far as tensile testing, it is used for bridge, girder, plate, anchor bolts, and larger rebar testing. The 600K tests rebar from #7 up to #11. The 300K can test up to a #7 without reshimming. Both machines are in constant use. “We use the 600K every day,” says Pickett. “The 300K is used almost every day. These two machines are essential to our process. We couldn’t do our work without them.” The Alabama Department of Transportation exists to provide a safe, efficient, environmentally sound intermodal transportation system for all users, especially the taxpayers of Alabama. The Department is organized into nine geographic regions called Divisions, with a Central Office located in Montgomery. The Central Office is organized into the Office of the Transportation Director and the Office of the Chief Engineer with Bureaus and Divisions reporting to the Chief Engineer. The Testing Division, or Central Testing Laboratory, is divided into seven Sections: Bituminous, Liquid Asphalt, Concrete, Aggregate, Soils, Physical, and Chemical. The Testing Division has the responsibility and capability for testing and inspecting all materials used by the Department of Transportation for roadway and bridge construction and maintenance. The Testing Division is a source of information and assistance for the other Bureaus and Divisions of the Department, the various roadway and bridge contractors, and materials producers/vendors. The Testing Division is composed of nine laboratories, each with its own area of expertise and responsibility. It is fully AAP accredited and serves as the statewide reference laboratory in dispute resolutions. Each of the laboratories receives routine AASHTO Materials Reference Laboratory (AMRL) and ASTM Cement and Concrete Reference Laboratory (CCRL) on-site assessments and participates in applicable proficiency sample testing during the year to ensure test procedure and equipment compliance with all AASHTO Accreditation Compliance Documents. All laboratories have received excellent ratings and the Central Laboratory has been reaccredited for the year. Laboratory technicians are trained to perform all required tests. The Geotechnical Division consists of the following three Sections: Foundation Investigation, Design, and Hazardous Materials. The Geotechnical Division has responsibility for making recommendations concerning: substructure type for bridge foundations, investigations for bridge culvert foundations; remedial actions for landslide corrections; preparing basic soil data for use by contractor in signing, high mast light pole and signalization projects; soil bearing capacity for retaining walls; slope stability calculations for cuts and fills; fill settlement analysis; bridge scour evaluations; lime sink investigations; underground storage tank and hazardous materials investigations; and corrective action recommendations. This Division also has the responsibility for early recommendations involving geologic hazards during the corridor stage of project development, Wave Equation Analysis and Dynamic Testing on pile foundations for construction, and coordinating the Bureau’s environmental activities and responsibility with other Bureaus. Tinius Olsen is a global provider of materials testing solutions (equipment, software, and calibration services) with over 125 years of testing experience. For more information, contact: Tinius Olsen, 1065 Easton Road, Horsham, PA 19044 USA, (215) 675-7100, Fax (215) 441-0899, www.TiniusOlsen.com. Or: Alabama DOT Public Affairs Bureau, 1409 Coliseum Boulevard, Montgomery, AL 36130-3050, (334) 242-6358, Fax (334) 262-2677, www.dot.state.al.us. # # # #
Wayne Hayward, Marketing Manager, Tinius Olsen
Norman Lumpkin, Alabama DOT Public Affairs Bureau Chief
Dan Ditzler, Newton Associates |
|
