Implementation of Startup Procedures in the Laboratory

This paper describes how, as part of the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Long-Term Pavement Performance Program (LTPP) Materials Characterization effort, a quality control/quality assurance (QC/QA) procedure was developed in order to verify the proficiency of laboratory equipment and personnel in performing resilient modulus testing. This effort is documented in the FHWA RD-96-176 report, “Resilient Modulus of Unbound Materials (LTPP Protocol P46) Laboratory Startup and Quality Control Procedure”. Since the issuance of that report in 1997 a great deal of experience has been gathered in using the procedure. This paper provides an outline for the procedure, the rationale behind the procedure and also documents recent changes that have been developed. The paper also discusses issues to look for when implementing the startup procedure. A brief list of issues that have been found by using the procedure is presented in the conclusion of the paper.