Hot Mix Asphalt Technology - January/February 2008 - (Page 14)

A Conversation with Randy West continued quality and performance of hot mix. In the past few years, we have been working on ways to make pavements quieter, safer, smoother, and more drainable. These advances will benefit users and the environment we live in. These changes create opportunities for NCAT to lead in the development and implementation of ideas that will improve roads and the lives of everyone who uses roads. NCAT will work to improve the dissemination of useful information to the asphalt pavement construction community. We want to provide information and training that can be put into practice. The industry continues to face a number of challenges, and I am confident that we are making constant changes that will improve pavements and the environment. NCAT is here to serve the asphalt pavement community and make these changes possible. HMAT: What do you see as the advantages of being part of a university like Auburn rather than being a freestanding organization? West: NCAT has enjoyed great support from Auburn University in several ways. It’s great to be part of an outstanding research and teaching university. With faculty from the civil engineering, chemical engineering, environmental engineering, and other departments here at the university, we have the opportunity to be able to tap into some of those areas of expertise. There are a lot of resources here that help us do better research. For example, we are adding to our staff a statistician, Dr. Maghsoodloo, a professor who recently retired from the department of industrial systems engineering. He has helped us on some projects for many years and will now be working directly with us to have good experimental designs and assisting in data analysis. Another way that the university helps us is its financial check and balance system. The financial accounting system fulfills federal guidelines on grant accountability. That’s part of being a good steward of the funds we use. HMAT: The test track seems to capture people’s imagination. How important is it to NCAT’s mission? West: It is our greatest asset in doing research that has major impacts. It is the best facility in the world for accelerated pavement testing because it is very close to real word pavements and traffic. In pavement design, we try to predict pavement responses with theoretical models, but we have Move Your Production Facilities Into Your Ofﬁce! Authorized personnel have real-time access to company-wide data — anytime, anywhere. The Enterprise Information Server acts as an on-line gateway between the ofﬁce and production facilities. It allows ofﬁce and IT personnel to maintain customer/order data in real-time, giving the people responsible for the accuracy and timeliness of data the ability to control it. It allows management to make informed decisions by providing up-to-the-minute, company-wide data on current and historical transactions as well as operational data including material inventory. librasystems.com 14 • Hot Mix 350297_libra.indd 1 Asphalt Technology – JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2008 11/9/07 12:03:54 PM http://www.librasystems.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Hot Mix Asphalt Technology - January/February 2008

Hot Mix Asphalt Technology - January/February 2008 Contents Chairman's Commentary President's Perspective A Conversation with the New NCAT Director NCAT Test Track: Real-Time Testing for Real-World Results Warm Mix: The Lights are Green Illinois Tollway Tests RAP in Fast Forwarded Research Big Creek Teams with TxDOT to Pave Using Innovative Asphalt Mix Diamond Achievement Commendation Issues a Call for Quality Calendar of Events CONEXPO-CON/AGG Product Review Index of Advertisers Advertisers.com

Hot Mix Asphalt Technology - January/February 2008

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