CALIFORNIA ASPHALT INSIDER

The latest asphalt news from the California Asphalt Pavement Association

Feb. 1, 2016

IN THIS ISSUE

'Essentials of Pavement Smoothness' class added to CalAPA training calendar

John McMillan, Caltrans head of the Division of Engineering, Office Engineer, announces retirement

Caltrans Section 39 HMA specifications class to be held in Santa Maria

CalAPA L.A.-area Technical Committee meeting Feb. 3 in Santa Ana

CalAPA Contractor Dinner Feb. 16 to focus on storm-water regulations, paving in inclement weather

Tech Term of the Week: Hydrostatic Pressure

Quote of the Week: Saying

CALENDAR

(Always on-line HERE)

"Critical Changes to Caltrans Section 39 HMA Specifications" class
Tuesday, Feb. 2 8 a.m. to noon
Caltrans Construction Field Office, 3401 Regatta Blvd., Richmond
Contact: Ritha Nhorn (916) 791-5044
Register HERE.

*
"Critical Changes to Caltrans Section 39 HMA Specifications" class
Wednesday, Feb. 3 8 a.m. to noon
Caltrans Construction Field Office, 3401 Regatta Blvd., Richmond
Contact: Ritha Nhorn (916) 791-5044
Register HERE.

*

L.A.-area Technical Committee Meeting
Wednesday, Feb. 3, 9:30 a.m. to noon
County of Orange, RDMD Conference Room, 1152 Fruit Street, Santa Ana
Contact: Tony Grasso (909) 362-9192
Details HERE

*
"Critical Changes to Caltrans Section 39 HMA Specifications" class
Thursday, Feb. 11, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. City of Santa Rosa Public Works Department, 35 Stony Point Road, UFO Building, Room F, Santa Rosa.
Contact: Ritha Nhorn (916) 791-5044
Register HERE.

*

CalAPA Contractors' Dinner Meeting
Tuesday, Feb. 16, 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Dal Rae Restaurant, 9023 E. Washington Blvd., Pico Rivera
Contact: Tony Grasso (909) 362-9192
Click HERE to sign up

*

"Critical Changes to Caltrans Section 39 HMA Specifications" class
Tuesday, Feb. 23
1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
City of West Sacramento City offices, 1110 West Capitol Avenue, First Floor, West Sacramento
Contact: Ritha Nhorn (916) 791-5044
Register HERE

*

"Critical Changes to Caltrans Section 39 HMA Specifications" class
Wednesday, Feb. 24

8 a.m. to noon
City of West Sacramento City offices, 1110 West Capitol Avenue, First Floor, West Sacramento
Contact: Ritha Nhorn (916) 791-5044
Register HERE

*

"Essentials of Pavement Smoothness" class
Thursday, March 3, 8 a.m. to noon

3095 Beacon Blvd., West Sacramento, CA
Contact: Ritha Nhorn (916) 791-5044
Register HERE.

*
"Essentials of Pavement Smoothness" class
Thursday, March 3, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
3095 Beacon Blvd., West Sacramento, CA
Contact: Ritha Nhorn (916) 791-5044
Register HERE.

CLICK & GO!
View our interactive, "At a Glance" event calendar HERE.

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California Asphalt Pavement Association (CalAPA)

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'Essentials of Pavement Smoothness' class added to CalAPA training calendar

By popular demand, CalAPA has added a special class to its training calendar focusing exclusively on pavement smoothness, delving into recent changes in smoothness specifications, technology and paving practices that have roiled the industry.

The class, taught by CalAPA member Mike Robinson, P.E., who

Mike Robinson_ P.E.

has years of practical knowledge as having worked at Caltrans, for CalAPA-member companies and as a paving consultant. A flier that contains details about the half-day class can be downloaded HERE. Pavement designers, specifiers, paving contractors, inspectors and others are strongly encouraged to attend.

The first class will be held from Thursday, March 3 from 8 a.m. to noon at the offices of AGC of California, 3095 Beacon Blvd. in West Sacramento. Click HERE fore more information or to register. The class will be repeated on the same day and location, but from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Click HERE for details or to register. The classes are $99 for members and agency personnel, and $119 for all others.

The classes will cover spec changes and terminology, measuring smoothness, incentives and disincentives, inspection and acceptance, smoothness technology, effective use of the ProVal software, the Inertial Profiler, IRI, grinding plans, "Superpave" considerations and more. The course curriculum has been developed under the guidance of the CalAPA Technical Advisory Committee and reviewed by Caltrans.

Each attendee will receive a handy reference workbook, and also a certificate verifying that they have completed four (4) hours of Professional Development Hours (PDH) of technical instruction.

Watch the Asphalt Insider newsletter for announcements on future "Pavement Smoothness Essentials" classes to be scheduled around the state. To view the entire on-line calendar of all upcoming CalAPA technical classes, click HERE.

John McMillan, Caltrans head of the Division of Engineering, Office Engineer, announces retirement

John C. McMillan, a familiar face among the senior executive ranks at Caltrans, announced he is retiring, Asphalt Insider has learned. It's the latest departure from the department that has come to be known as the "Silver Tsunami" of experienced personnel retiring or otherwise leaving state service.

For the past 13 years, McMillan has been the chief of the office that is responsible for publishing the voluminous Caltrans standard specifications and the many updates to the authoritative document. The official name of the office is the Division of Engineering Services, Office Engineer. At Caltrans the shorthand name for the entity is the "Office Engineer," or simply "OE."

In an e-mail last week to Asphalt Insider, McMillan said his last

John C. McMillan

day on the job was scheduled to be Friday, Jan. 29, and that he has no firm plans post-retirement. His decades-long career at Caltrans has included stints in Districts 5 and 11, and a prominent role in the 1990s on the Caltrans Quality Management Steering Committee, which was pushing continuous process improvement and customer service principals at the 20,000-employee department.

McMillan, an engineer known for his dry wit and vast knowledge of the inner-workings of the department, also possessed an encyclopedic knowledge of management theory and often made a business case for change by quoting from leading business books or the Harvard Business Review.

While heading up the Office Engineer, McMillan guided the complete re-write of the voluminous Caltrans Standard specifications into a more straightforward "plain language" format, and also promoted innovations to streamline and automate bidding on Caltrans projects. An early champion of internet technologies, and government transparency, many construction-related documents and databases made their way on-line during his watch. He also was the department's point person for the "Y2K" computer changeover in the late 1990s.

Often thrust in the middle of thorny industry-agency issues,

A recent edition of the Caltrans Standard Specifications in book form is more than 1,000 pages.

McMillan was among several who weighed in on a department re-examination of how it handles bidder inquiries, and he also was the point person tasked with responding to industry concerns that frequent electronic updates of Caltrans specifications can be confusing and difficult to follow.

With a new federal transportation bill in place, and pressure building at the state level to address longstanding shortfalls in state funding, many inside Caltrans worry that the continued loss of experienced talent may pose a challenge for the department's perennial top priority: project delivery.Known informally as the "Silver Tsunami," the departure of senior managers paused in recent months with the advent of a substantial raise for state employees. That's because many senior Caltrans managers postponed retirement for a year to allow the higher pay to factor in to retirement benefit calculations. Those retirements are expected to start kicking in in the latter part of this year.

Caltrans Section 39 HMA specifications class to be held in Santa Maria

The Central Coast will be the latest location to host one of CalAPA's most popular classes: Understanding the new Caltrans Section 39 asphalt pavement specifications and "Superpave."

The half-day class will be held Thursday, March 10 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Santa Maria Public Library, Shepard Hall, 421 S. McClelland St. in Santa Maria. Click HERE for details or to register on-line. A flier for the class is HERE.

The class joins other Section 39 classes set to take place Feb. 2 and 3 in Richmond, Feb. 11 in Santa Rosa and Feb. 23-24 in West Sacramento. To view all upcoming CalAPA events and training classes, click HERE to view our interactive on-line calendar of events.

The curriculum was developed under the guidance of the CalAPA

Paul Curren, P.E.

Technical Advisory Committee of pavement experts, and reviewed by Caltrans. The classes cover all major changes to the Caltrans specifications, testing and acceptance as they relate to asphalt pavements, including "Superpave." It is a must-attend for engineers, designers, technicians, estimators, paving contractors, agency personnel and anyone else involved in asphalt pavements. The class was made possible through the generous support of CalAPA members.

Our instructor is Paul Curren, P.E., who previously taught this class to more than 500 industry and agency personnel around the state in 2010 and 2011 to rave reviews. He has years of practical experience working for local agencies and industry.

Early registration for the training class is $99 for CalAPA members, $99 for public agency representatives and academia, and $119 for all others. All attendees will receive a handy reference guide for the material being covered in class, as well as a handsome certificate noting the completion of four (4) hours of Professional Development Hours (PDH) of technical instruction. Seats are limited and allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Registration must be completed on-line, and payment must be received prior to the day of the class.

Keep an eye on the Asphalt Insider newsletter for announcements, or watch our virtual calendar of events. tech meetings and classes HERE. For registration questions or general inquiries contact Ritha Nhorn of CalAPA at (916) 791-5044. For questions about the technical content of the class, contact CalAPA's technical consultant, Rita B. Leahy, Ph.D., P.E., at (916) 239-8315.

CalAPA L.A.-area Technical Committee meeting Feb. 3 in Santa Ana to focus on pavement smoothness

The next CalAPA L.A.-area Technical Committee meeting, scheduled for Feb. 3 in Santa Ana, will focus on new pavement smoothness specifications and technology. Click HERE for more information and to RSVP. The meeting is free and open to all CalAPA members and agency personnel.

Many paving contractors have been caught unaware about the new specifications that are showing up on paving projects, which include stringent new tolerances and incorporate new technology. The meeting will focus on pavement smoothness specifications and how the specifications are being applied to projects around the state.

The featured speaker will be Donald M. Matthews, P.E., the

Don Matthews, P.E.

technical manager for CalAPA member Pavement Recycling Systems Inc. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Civil Engineering from Cal Poly Pomona and a Master's Degree from Cal State Long Beach. Matthews is the co-chair for both the Recycling Subcommittee for the Caltrans-industry Pavement Preservation Task Group, and the newly formed Caltrans Smoothness Subtask Group.

In addition to the featured presentation, CalAPA staff will share the latest information on state asphalt pavement specifications, funding projections, policy matters and industry news. The meeting encourages interaction and knowledge-sharing from all participants. The meeting will take place on Wednesday, Feb. 3 from 9:30 a.m. to noon at the County of Orange, RDMD Conference Room, 1152 Fruit Street, Santa Ana. For more information, click HERE to visit the event website, or call Tony Grasso of CalAPA at (909) 362-9192.

CalAPA Contractor Dinner Feb. 16 to focus on storm-water regulations, paving in inclement weather

The February CalAPA Contractor Dinner will focus on the many new changes in storm-water regulations, as well as paving in inclement weather.

The dinner meeting, which is open to CalAPA members and invited guests only, will take place Tuesday, Feb. 16 from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Dal Rae Restaurant, 9023 E. Washington Blvd. in Pico Rivera. Space is limited so early registration is strongly encouraged. The event website is HERE.

The featured speaker will be Kathryn Hubbard, CPSWQ, QSD, ToR, QISP, CHMM, with new CalAPA associate member Haley

Kathryn Hubbard

Aldrich. She has provided expert consultation on environmental matters for 25 years. She is also a Trainer of Record for the Construction General Permit and for the Industrial General Permit. She has demonstrated her expertise and experience in storm-water by identifying relevant provisions and identifying methods for ensuring compliance with each; developing and revising key facility compliance documents, such as Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPPP), Monitoring and Reporting Plans (MRP), developing sampling protocols, and identifying and evaluating facility Best Management Practices (BMPs).

In addition, the meeting will feature the always entertaining and educational "technical tidbit" from Steve Marvin, P.E., from CalAPA member firm Labelle-Marvin. This month's technical tidbit will focus on paving in inclement weather.

The meeting will also include a helpful "insurance tidbit" by Steve Cota with CalAPA member firm Patriot Risk & Insurance. CalAPA Deputy Executive Director Tony Grasso will provide an association update, including new training classes, the latest on prospects for state and federal funding for roads, and technical specification changes to asphalt that are being developed jointly by industry and Caltrans.

The CalAPA Contractors' Dinner is the paving industry's premier event to socialize in a relaxed setting, enjoy delicious food and stay current with the latest industry trends, technical updates and more. Each dinner features a industry-specific presentation and "news you can use" on a number of topics, such as insurance, HR, technical aspects of paving and more. For more information, contact Tony Grasso at (909) 362-9192.

	Tech Term of the Week
Each week we highlight a word, acronym or other reference commonly used in the asphalt pavement industry in California. HYDROSTATIC PRESSURE: The pressure in a liquid under static conditions; the product of the unit weight of the liquid and the difference in elevation between the given points and the free water elevation.

	Quote of the Week
"Even duct tape can't fix stupid, but it can muffle the sound." Saying

We hope you enjoy CalAPA's Asphalt Insider. We are committed to providing you with the most up-to-date information on technical issues, regulation, news and events in California that may impact the asphalt pavement industry. Click HERE to contact us with any comments or suggestions.

Sincerely,

Russell W. Snyder

Executive Director

California Asphalt Pavement Association (CalAPA)

The California Asphalt Insider is an official publication of the California Asphalt Pavement Association. For more information or to inquire about membership, call (916) 791-5044, or click HERE to send us an e-mail.
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