Selecting the Right Asphalt for any job and making sure its Laid Properly

Asphalt Training UK

Course outline

• The course examines the essential requirements of the asphalts in the different pavement layers and how the available materials satisfy these requirements to a greater or lesser degree.
• It also shows how asphalts deteriorate and how to recognise the cause of defects for which maintenance works are to be carried out.
• Identifies problems which occur at mixing plants and in transport which affect the quality and durability of the completed work
• Examines best practice in both hand laying and machine laying asphalts and highlights examples of bad practice
• Stresses the importance of good compaction in all pavement layers and shows examples of what to avoid

Course objectives

• The course aims to enable delegates to recognise the properties and characteristics of the many asphalt mixtures available for use in all the pavement layers in flexible roads.
• To enable them to select and correctly specify the optimum asphalt for a variety of sites.
• To recognise the essential requirements in mixing, laying, transporting, laying and compacting asphalts to achieve maximum durability and best value for money.

Suitable for

• Younger staff involved in road maintenance, new roads and improvement works
• Clerks of Works and Inspectors bringing themselves up to date on recent specification changes
• More experienced staff wishing to update their knowledge of newer materials

Presentation

The tutor initially invites delegates to speak of their previous experience and any particular areas of interest they wish to be covered in the day. This enables the tutor to tailor the course to meet these particular needs.

He then makes extensive use of more than 250 real life photographs illustrating the course content in a series of PowerPoint presentations, during which delegate participation is actively encouraged, and especially questions. Delegates are invited to discuss any problems they have might experienced and these could be examined and lessons be learned from them. All delegates receive fully illustrated hard copies of the presentations on which they are able to make their own notes.

Supplementary information regarding this course

With bitumen now costing almost £600/tonne, many asphalt companies are producing  mixes with blends of new bitumen and the old bitumen (from planed-out asphalts)  in much greater percentages  than ever before, simply  to remain competitive.  This requires increased laboratory testing and control if an inferior asphalt mixture is to be avoided.  

It is consequently more important than ever for asphalt users to ensure any asphalt they are paying for is correctly formulated  and properly  handled  both in production and transport and then especially when being laid and compacted on site, as  failure to achieve its optimum treatment at any of these stages could drastically reduce its durability and result in even greater budgetary demands for future maintenance works.

Tutor

The Tutor is Jeff Farrington, CEng, MICE, MCIHT, MIAT, a self-employed asphalt trouble shooter with more than 40 years experience of specifying and using asphalts on a wide variety of sites, and a member of the Brtish Standard Committee B510/1 which maintains the UK’s asphalt standards for the last 25 years.

A self-confessed asphalt anorak he offers a free, impartial asphalt advisory service, by e-mail, to all delegates who attend his courses for 2 years following the course.

CPD

This is a new course but Jeff Farrington is recognised by the major institutions as presenting courses which are accepted for CPD purposes and all delegates receive a CPD certificate.

Asphalt Training Scotland

Roads Training Scotland