CALTRANS EXPERIENCE WITH WARRANTIES

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CALTRANS EXPERIENCE WITH WARRANTIES
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WHY WARRANTY

• Shift Responsibility of Quality Control to
  Contractor
• State Responsibility to select good projects for
  warranty
• Failure Avoidance

The Right Strategy at the Right Time
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Failure Avoidance

Repair work done by State Maintenance
crews. Severely Bleeding Pavement
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Repairs Done By the State after Contract
Acceptance

• 20 projects in last 3 years failed to meet
  expectations
• Over 2.8 million in repairs by the state
• Pavement defects include chip seals and overlays

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HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

• FIVE-YEAR WARRANTY REHAB PROJECT IN DISTRICT 2
  (1993)
• THREE-YEAR WARRANTY REHAB PROJECT IN DISTRICT 11
  (1994)
• SEVERAL FORM 42 MAINTENANCE PROJECTS (1998)
• 2 1/2-YEAR CAP-M WARRANTY PROJECT IN DISRICT 11
  (1999)

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HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

• TWO-YEAR WARRANTY MAINTENANCE PROJECT IN DISTRICT
  2 (2001)
• ONE-YEAR WARRANTY MAINTENANCE PILOT PROGRAM (ON
  GOING)
• FIVE-YEAR WARRANTY REHABILITAION PILOT PROGRAM
  (ON GOING)

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DISRICT 2 REHAB PROJECT

• Built in 1993
• TWO INVOATIONS
• Innovative SHRP Mix Design in One Direction
• Reduced Thickness Design Over PCC
• Asphalt Rubber Hot Mix Gap Graded (RAC-G)
• Five-Year Warranty
• It is Now 5-Years after Warranty Period Expired
• Performing Well
• Mtce Cost Data is Limited to Minor Crack Seal
• No Major Maintenance is Currently Planned

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D2-Sha-5 (BUILT IN 1993)
ASPHALT RUBBER HOT MIX - GAP GRADED (RAC-G) 5
YEAR WARRANTY - 5 YEARS AFTER WARRANTY PERIOD
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Imperial-111-PM 38.0-40.8 (3 Year Warranty)

• Completed Construction 1994 (RAC Type-G)
• Awarded for 1.7 Million
• Preventive PME Chip Seal 2000
• Little or No Maintenance Costs prior to PM Chip
• Continuing to perform well

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FORM 42 MAINTENANCE PROJECTS

• Several Projects By Emergency Contracts
• Built in 1998
• District 11 - AR Chip Seal (1 Year)
• District 11 - AR Type G (2 Years)
• District 11 - AR Type G (1 Year)
• District 7 - AR Type G (1 Year)
• Performing Well

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FORM-42 (2-yr Warranty) San Diego-54-PM
14.8-16.1 Asphalt Rubber (Type G)

• Construction Completed 1998
• No Maintenance Cost to date
• Performing well

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FORM-42 (1 year Warranty) San Diego-94-PM
9.9-10.5 Asphalt Rubber (Type G)

• Construction Completed 1998
• No Maintenance Cost to date
• Little to no cracking present
• Good Candidate for addition PM Seal coat

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FORM-42 Los Angeles-138-PM 0.0-2.6 Asphalt Rubber
(Type-G)

• Project constructed in 1998
• Continues to show excellent performance with
  little to no cracking

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Form-42 (1-yr Warranty) Imperial-78-PM
34.8-42.8 Asphalt Rubber Chip Seal
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Form-42 (1-yr Warranty) Imperial-78-PM
34.8-42.8 Asphalt Rubber Chip Seal

• Constructed in 1998
• Note resistance to reflective cracking
• Little to no cracking in the travelway.
• Performing well

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ONE-YEAR WARRANTY PILOT PROGRAM

• Purpose
• Improve Quality of Surface Treatments Without
  Significantly Increasing Initial Cost
• Shifting QC Responsibility to the Contractor
• Preventive Maintenance Projects
• Over 30 Projects are Planned
• Warranty Pilot began 1998

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ONE-YEAR WARRANTY PILOT PROGRAM

• Preventive Maintenance Strategies
• Seals
• AR Chip Seal
• Slurry Microsurfacing
• PME/PMA Chip Seal
• Overlays
• Conventional AC Dense Graded/Open Graded/PBA
• Rubberized AC Open Graded/High Binder
• Experimental
• Bonded Wearing Course/Various

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ONE-YEAR WARRANTY PILOT PROGRAM

• Developed Specifications Jointly with Industry
• Preventative Maintenance Projects
• Minimum Exclusions (Less than 15)
• Good Performance
• No Claims

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ONE-YEAR WARRANTY PILOT PROGRAM

• 6 Projects Constructed Out of Warranty Period
• 4 Projects Constructed Still in the Warranty
  Period
• 7 Projects Bid Pre-Construction Rating was
  Performed
• 7 Projects Planned for 03/04 FY

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ONE-YEAR PILOT PROJECT PROGRAM

• CONTINUOUS EVALUATION
• FIELD PERFORMANCE
• COST COMPARISON - WARRANTY PROJECTS VS.
  NON-WARRANTY PROJECTS
• COST DURING CONSTRUCTION - WARRANTY VS.
  NON-WARRANTY
• COST INCURRED BY CONSTRUCTION DURING WARRANTY
  PERIOD
• COST INCURRED BY MAINTENANCE DURING FIRST YEAR
  AFTER CONSTRUCTION
• COST PER LANE MILE - WARRANTY VS. NON-WARRANTY

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D6-Fre-5
OPEN GRADED ASPHALT RUBBER - HIG BINDER Warranty
Started on 12/08/00
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Lessons LearnedContractor Vs. Dept. of
TransportationSBD-5 RAC High Binder (Type-O)
Contractors
State

• Quality Control (New Mix)
• Numerous Trial Mix Designs
• Aggregate Plant modified to keep up with needed
  production
• Temperature Sensitive and haul time
• Contractor Cost
• increase material by 3.33 per ton
• cost per lane mile 37,000/ln-MI
• Risks
• State concurrence for exclusions
• Mobilize Rubber plant for repairs
• Possible demands for multi-repair mobilization
• Performance Measures
• High Binder

• Transfer risk to contractor
• Select the right project to warranty
• Designers and Engineers need better understanding
  of specifications
• Exclusions shown on the plans
• Contractor and Engineer need more time to review
  project
• All projects need Pre and Post Evaluations
• Specs needed modification
• rut depth specified
• exclusion from cracks
• Improved Materials and Workmanship
• no claims and only minor repairs

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D8- SBD Route 40
OPEN GRADED ASPHALT RUBBER - HIG BINDER Warranty
Started on 7/19/01
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Lessons LearnedContractor Vs. Dept. of
TransportationSBD- Route 40 RAC High Binder
(Type-O)
Contractors
State

• Designers and Engineers need better understanding
  of specifications
• Exclusions shown on the plans
• Contractor and Engineer need more time to review
  project
• All projects need Pre and Post Evaluations
• Specs needed modification
• rut depth specified
• exclusion from cracks
• 100 of project benefited from warranty
• No claims performing well.

• Request for exclusions
• Issues over the rut depth specified
• Contractor requested exclusion of all ruts.
  Average (rut depth 8-9mm)
• Issue with unknown stability of mix
• Existing pavement Crack issue
• 30 of project was warranted

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ONE-YEAR PILOT PROJECT PROGRAM

• SOME FINDINGS
• PERFORMING WELL - NO WARRANTY FAILURES
• NO CLAIMS
• COST INCREASE (4 TO 14)
• CONTRACTORS TOOK EXTRA EFFORT
• NO PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED WITH THE SPECIFICATION

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ONE-YEAR PILOT PROJECT PROGRAM

• SOME FINDINGS
• PERFORMING WELL - NO WARRANTY FAILURES
• NO CLAIMS
• COST INCREDASE (4 TO 14)
• CONTRACTORS TOOK EXTRA EFFORT
• NO PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED WITH THE SPECIFICATION

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Contract Items for Preparatory Work

• Need good up-front engineering
• Good strategies
• Good estimates
• Need pay items
• Dig outs
• Grinding
• Etc.
• Excluded work and work limits must be clear

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Performance is a Department Goal

• Warranties require performance specifications
• Means and methods specifications and warranties
  arent compatible
• As directed by the Engineer is out
• As needed to guarantee the work is in

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Quality Control is the Contractors Business

• Cultural shift for contractor and State
• Contractors decide the outcome
• Chip seal spread rate
• Atmospheric temperature during placement
• Smoothness
• Etc.
• How much control is needed to meet minimum
  quality for warranty period?

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Work Completion/Warranty Switchover

• Need process to switch from completed work to
  warranty period
• Performance bond to warranty bond
• Construction to monitoring
• Similar to plant establishment period?

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Performance vs. Warranty Bonds

• AB 1745 Public contracts bonds.
• Would require a state department to provide the
  contractor the option of either submitting a
  separate warranty bond to the department upon
  completion of the work or permitting the
  department to retain the contractor's performance
  and payment bonds until the end of the warranty
  period.

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Who decides if warranty repair work is needed?

• Resident Engineer (RE)
• REs continue to be the States Representative
  during warranty period.
• REs move on to other contracts
• Maintenance Supervisor?
• Drive the roadway every day
• Vested interest
• Knowledgeable

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FIVE-YEAR WARRANTY PILOT PROGRAM

• REHABILITAITON PROJECTS (10-YR DESIGN LIFE)
• MINIMUM 15 ASPHALT RUBBER
• THE SPEC IS OPEN TO ALL PROCESSES
• FIVE PROJECTS
• ONE PROJECT CONSTRUCTED IN D-7 ON ROUTE 150
• FOUR PROJECTS WILL BE CONSTRUCTED IN 03/04
• D2 - Route 395
• D6 - Route 33
• D10 - Route 140
• D11 - Route 75

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How to get quality product by low bid?

• Improve up front engineering
• Performance specifications
• Warranty
• Contractors prepare and follow quality control
  plan

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ALTERNATIVE ACCEPTANCE DISTRICT 11 CAP-M PROJECT

• Built in 1999 on ROUTE 8 - IMPERIAL COUNTY
• CAP-M (5-YEAR DESIGN LIFE)
• ASPHALT RUBBER HOT MIX - GAP GRADED (RAC-G)
• IT WAS NOT BID AS A WARRANTY PROJECT
• CONTRACTOR FAILED COMPACTION
• 2 1/2 WARRANTY PERIOD
• CONTRACTOR CHOSE TO WARRANTY PAVEMENT INSTEAD OF
  PAYING PENALTY
• IT WILL BE OUT OF WARRANTY IN OCT 2003
• performing Well

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SUMMARY

• LIMITED EXPERIENCE WITH WARRANTIES
• LIMITED NUMBER OF PROJECTS
• REHAB AND MAINTENANCE PROJECTS
• EXPERIMENTAL AND INNOVATIVE PROJECTS
• TO ENSURE AGAINST FAILURE WHEN SPECS ARE NOT MET
  DURING CONSTRUCTION
• TO TRY A NEW REPAIR STRATEGY
• TWO PILOT PROGRAMS
• ONE-YEAR WARANTY ON PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE
  PROJECTS
• 5-YEAR WARRANY ON RAC-G REHABILITATION PROJECTS