1. Steven E. Lenker, P.E. Director, Construction Materials Reference Laboratories AASHTO Materials Reference Laboratory Cement & Concrete Reference Laboratory

3. Laboratory Assessment Program Proficiency Sample Program AASHTO Accreditation Program NTPEP Manufacturer Audit Program

5. What is a Laboratory Assessment? Full and thorough check of all equipment required to perform tests Full demonstration of each procedure laboratory elects to present Direct comparison between laboratory and AASHTO and ASTM standard test methods and specifications Thorough check of laboratory quality system

6. AMRL Laboratory Assessment Program Completed 26 th Assessment Tour in April, 2008 which included 1360 laboratory assessments The 27 th Tour began in May, 2008 and will likely include assessments of more than 1500 laboratories.

7. Laboratory Assessment Program Growth and Efficiency Hired 10 new assessors over the past year Currently have 20 assessors on staff Individual Assessor productivity is at record levels (est. 95 units per assessor for 2008). This is over a 100% increase as compared to CY’ 2001.

8. Laboratory Assessment Program Assessor Productivity

9. AMRL Proficiency Sample Programs 14 different types of proficiency samples Pairs of samples are sent to all participants for testing Participants complete tests and send AMRL results

11. AMRL Control Chart

12. AMRL Proficiency Sample Programs

13. The AASHTO Accreditation Program The standard by which others are measured.

14. AASHTO Accreditation Program 1271 labs

17. Accredited Labs by State/Province Alabama17Maine4Oklahoma20 Alaska13Manitoba1Ontario4 Alberta2Maryland39Oregon7 Arizona57Massachusetts10Pennsylvania44 Arkansas7Michigan17Puerto Rico8 California178Minnesota20Quebec6 Colorado35Mississippi9Rhode Island2 Connecticut5Missouri24South Carolina30 Delaware4Montana17South Dakota4 District of Columbia1Nebraska8Tennessee18 Florida43Nevada53Texas69 Georgia41New Brunswick2Utah43 Hawaii12New Hampshire4Vermont1 Idaho9New Jersey22Virginia47 Illinois41New Mexico27Washington21 Indiana21New York39West Virginia3 Iowa9North Carolina34Wisconsin14 Kansas11North Dakota7Wyoming9 Kentucky17Nova Scotia1 Louisiana17Ohio50

18. NTPEP Manufacturer Audit Program HDPE Thermoplastic Pipe and Steel Reinforcing Bar The program evaluates a manufacturer’s production process and ability to consistently produce quality products. One evaluation used by many states eliminates duplication of effort. Audits include: – Review of quality documents, personnel Interviews – Product Traceability from Yard Inspection – Sample/Yard Inspection and Production Line Walkthrough – Quality Control Testing All Audit results (final reports) are accessible online ( www.amrl.net ). 24 plastic pipe audits and 2 rebar audits by the end of this year.