Evaluation of Acceptance Risks through Percent within Limit for Highway Materials and Pavement Construction

Abstract

The majority of State Highway Agencies now employ statistical-based specifications for the acceptance of highway materials and pavement construction. The parameters of these statistical acceptance plans are specified based on engineering judgment and may result in a high level of risk to both the agency and contractor. To appropriately apply such specifications to the pavement construction industry, the associated production quality (i.e., materials and construction variability) must be well understood by all parties involved, and its potential effects need to be assessed. To address this, the objective of this study is to quantify the risks to the agencies and contractors (i.e., Type I and Type II errors) associated with the use of both single and multiple acceptance quality characteristics through constructing operating characteristic curves. It is also the purpose of this study to provide guidelines to properly implement the key components of an acceptance plan and its associated statistics. The methodology and findings identified in this study can be applied elsewhere to evaluate the acceptance plans and the associated risks related to highway materials and pavement construction.