eNews

Surface Dressing and Slurry-Micro Surfacing

The new Carbon Calculators developed by University of Nottingham with RSTA support, including Surface Dressing and Slurry-Micro Surfacing, are now available and members can obtain a copy through the RSTA Colchester office. These will also be made available through the RSTA website in early 2013. The user guides for each calculator have now been finalised and the RSTA have appointed a Technical Services Manager who will take up his new role in Q1 next year to provide training and general support to end users.

CE Marking comes into effect in July 2013 so all contactors and DLO’s who competitively price work and take responsibility for end performance should by now be undertaking their Type Approval Installation Trials (TAIT’s) and liaising with their chosen Notified Body to ensure they are well prepared and able to become CE marked in time. Any organisation whose products are not CE marked by next July will not be able to meet local authority demands for CE marked products. The RSTA have held two seminars over the past 12 months to inform and update members on CE Marking on what to expect and how to prepare.

The Code of Practice for Signing at Surface Dressing Sites is to be reviewed and updated by a joint working party comprising ADEPT and RSTA members over the winter period. The current version of the Sector Scheme 13 document will be amended and re-published by UKAS in the new year following changes agreed at a recent meeting of the Technical Advisory Committee. LANTRA have launched a new free to use website enabling all registered contractors to upload their Sector Scheme 13 information. This replaces the old system whereby contractors had to pay LANTRA for their company details to be listed. RSTA members are now using this new facility and Certified Body auditors have been instructed by UKAS to check company details are registered on the new website before audits can go ahead.

Specialist Up-Skilling Programmes for operatives lasting 10 days and delivering an NVQ with CSkills grant funding have been successfully trialled and will become more widely available next year. For information on grant availability contact Clive Mitchell through the RSTA office.

High Friction Surfacing

The RSTA has become a member of HiTAC (Highway Technical Advisory Committee) which regulates the BBA HAPAS Product Certification Schemes. The Service Life document published with ADEPT last May is currently being up-dated and will re-consider the service life of High Friction Surfacing Systems.

Specialist Up-Skilling Programmes for operatives lasting 10 days and delivering an NVQ with CSkills grant funding have been successfully trialled and are now available for members.

A new Code of Practice for Signing at HFS sites is to be developed by RSTA and ADEPT. The BBA have announced that HAPAS certificates will be harmonised with Roads & Bridges certificates onto a three year review schedule. Currently HAPAS certificate holders are reviewed every five years.

A new carbon calculator has been developed with ADEPT’s endorsement and is available now from the RSTA Colchester office.

Geosynthetics & Steel Meshes

Sector Scheme 13 now includes Geosynthetics & Steel Meshes within its scope. RSTA contractor members are currently training key people to become qualified NVQ Assessors to enable their workforce to become qualified in accordance with Sector Scheme 13.

BS434 Part 2: Code of Practice for Use of Cationic Emulsions on Roads and other Paved Areas is currently being re-written to include a much larger section on Geosynthetics and will cross-reference the Code of Practice published with ADEPT in January.

All RSTA codes are available from www.rsta-uk.org/publications.htm

HD37 in the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges Volume 7 is to include a new section which will confirm that Geosynthetics used in flexible pavements will no longer require a departure from standard. This is expected to be published during 2013.

Specialist Treatments

A new Crack & Joint Repair Sub-Committee formed earlier this year with the objective of producing a new industry Code of Practice. This activity also attracted some new members into the RSTA. This new document has now been peer reviewed by ADEPT and is expected to be published in early 2013.

Other new codes are under preparation on ‘Fine Milling’ and Grouted Macadams and Asphalt Preservation. A new Code of Practice on Thermal Road Repairs has just been published on the RSTA website and endorsed by ADEPT. Fine milling has also been included within the scope of Sector Scheme 13. RSTA Carbon Calculators are now also available for; Re-texturing, Thermal Road Repairs and Velocity Patching.

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