Consideration and Characterization of Pavement Construction Variability

Recently, many state highway agencies have adopted quality control/ quality assurance (QC/QA) techniques with the desire to improve the quality of construction and provide an incentive or environment for contractors to try new or innovative construction methods or materials. Reduced construction and material variability is one measure of improved “quality” of construction. Although decreased variability may be desirable, there is considerable debate and confusion about the cost-effectiveness of the QC/QA programs. The data collection effort and three variability analysis techniques that may be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the QC/QA programs are discussed here. Characterization of variability and application of the techniques for Illinois’ QC/QA program are also presented.