Material Testing Outsourcing(Part Duex)

Quality Assurance WorkshopFebruary 2014

Background• Outsourcing

– Utilizing a contract with a 3rd party to perform a required function for the organization.

• Staff Augmentation– Bringing additional consultant resources to

work along side state employees

• Material Testing Outsourcing.– Allowing a private lab to perform material

testing as a representative for the state

Outsourcing• Typically a negative connotation.

– Especially for public agency employees– Fear of losing job; changing job duties

• Reasons for outsourcing are critical.– Translating that message to a public

agency is difficult

• MDSHA is currently using a combination of outsourcing and staff augmentation

State Material Staff

OMT Staff Levels Since 1990

376343

311292

242 241 228205 204 200 198 192 190 189 189 189

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

1990 1992 1994 1995 1997 1999 2002 2003 2005 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

No.

of E

mpl

oyee

s 50% reduction in staff since 1990

Changing Workforce• 30% of have retired since July 2007

• 20% can retire today

• 40% can retire in < 5 years.

OMT’s Workforce

Outsource a portion of our material

testing services

We need to add new resources to our

office from outside of OMT

SHA Contract History < 2007• Staff augmentation.

– Brought in additional consultant resources– Function as additional state “staff” – Low-bid man-power contracting

• Testing Contracts.– Soil testing; limited as needed basis– PCC cylinder breaks; limited as needed basis

• No asphalt material testing at ALL.

MDSHA Workload• $1 billion Capital program in FY ‘14.

– $500 million in system preservation programs

• 300 advertised and awarded contracts/year.

• 400 to 500 locations of significant roadway improvements per year.

• 17,000 Lane miles

Typical Material Production• 1.5 to 2.0 million tons of HMA.

– About 1.5 million in 2013

• 100k to 150k cu. yd. of PCC.

• 400k to 600k tons of aggregate.– 2.0 to 3.0 million cu. yd. of soil

Typical Material Testing• Approx. 3,000 HMA box samples.

– ~7,000 density cores– ~600 AC binder tests– ~200 Emulsion tests

• Approx. 10,000 PCC cylinder breaks.– ~1,100 cement tests– ~1,200 pavement marking tests

• Approx. 450 active soil samples.– ~2,000 prelim. soil samples – ~325 aggregate samples

Regional Labs in MD

OMT Challenges in 2008• Aging Buildings

– (50+ years old)• Limited human resources • Centralized to 1 lab in 2008

Outsourcing Objectives• Maintain all decision making in-house.

– Allow additional testing to be done external

• Continue to require some material testing to be performed in-house.– Maintain knowledge and technical edge

• Provide for flexibility in testing and staffing resources (50 to 60% split). – Know/estimate work load and establish targets

MDSHA Outsource History• 1st MLT Contract – 2006.

– Limited testing in 2007– Full scale comparison testing in 2008 – Closed Regional labs starting in 2009

• 2nd MLT Contract – 2009.– Fully dependent on outsourced contract in 2010– Successful, but still improving

• 3rd MLT Contract – 2014.

• AASHTO Accredited Labs

• Testing turn around times

• Ability to provide regional testing services

• Sample pickup and delivery

Testing Contract - Requirements

Outsourcing Testing ItemsHMA/Binder

8 AASHTO test procedures

Soils

14 AASHTO test procedures

Aggregates8 AASHTO test procedures

Concrete1 AASHTO test procedures

31 AASHTO tests - Sample pick-up- Sample delivery

Outsourcing Lab Testing

Sample Delivery• Strategic drop off locations were identified

and daily routes were developed.• Identifying/marking material samples.

2013 HMA Lab Outsourcing• 3,000 HMA box samples, 7,000 in cores.

• 1,900 box samples outsourced (70%)

• 4,900 cores outsourced (75 %)

• Zero AC binder and emulsiontests outsourced (0%)

2013 Soils/Agg Outsourcing• 400 to 450 active soil samples.

– 1,900 to 2,000 preliminary soil samples – 300 to 325 aggregate samples

• Zero active soil samples outsourced (0%)

• Outsourced 77% of the prelim. soil samples

• Outsourced 20% of the agg.

2013 PCC Lab Outsourcing• 10,000 PCC cylinder breaks.

• Outsourced 20% of PCC cylinder tests

• Outsourced zero % of the Cement, Chemical and Pavement Marking tests

Lessons Learned• Formally partner with your new resource

– Understand expectations – Work together for common goals– Understand each others/strengths weaknesses– Meet with material industry as a team

Lessons Learned - Technical• Understand your operations

– Accurate number of tests– Written and unwritten procedures will exist

• Develop plans with the end in mind– AASHTO test results vs. needed results– Tolerable thresholds for test results

• Understand testing turn around times – Sample delivery time lag

Lessons Learned - Management• Managing Expectations

– State staff buy in and support – There will be resistance

• Project Management– Defining roles and responsibilities

• Communication and common goals– Learning Curve– Sharing of operational knowledge

Communication – Received• Sharing of operational knowledge

– Two way dialogue– Improvements can be made on both sides

• Learning Curve– Taking 100 years of culture and placing it into

a contract is a huge challenge– Commitment is needed to stay the course

Future Plans• Committed to outsourced lab testing

– Continue with existing contract– Improvements for next contract– Build more interest/market for lab testing

• Improve our own lab operations– Document existing procedures– Materials Management System – Better understand our costs and efficiencies

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