Two things can be said with certainty about quality control.
Quality Control is pure black-and-white -- there's no gray. Material either meets specifications or it doesn't. And testing results partly determine the amount Rogers gets paid.
"If rock or asphalt has a problem, it's my job to tell the superintendent and the other employees producing that day so we can make adjustments. But, everybody in the plant plays a role in ensuring that a quality product is produced, says Karl Arnold, Quality Control Manager.
"Everybody has something to add when you ask the question "What can we do to fix this?" The whole plant benefits from each individual's expertise and observations. For example, when loading bins it's an easy mistake to accidentally let rock spill into an adjacent bin or someone might notice the material coming off the conveyor belt is not the right size and find that there is a hole in the screen. All these things affect quality and each person plays an important part in the process.
"I enjoy working with aggregates but asphalt is technically more challenging," says Arnold. "Asphalt requires mix designs and testing for both Marshall and Superpave jobs and requires quite a bit of paperwork when the actual job is in operation."
On a typical day, Arnold will take aggregates samples and test them. He will also take asphalt samples throughout the day from the back of loaded trucks while they are still at the plant. If the material is for state work, a state quality control inspector and Arnold each perform a separate series of state acceptance testing and Contractor control testing at the plant lab. The testing is sometimes monitored by a second state inspector who performs assurance testing at the asphalt plant. In addition, at the actual job site, a state quality inspector is present to complete additional testing relating to nuclear density and core samples. Arnold will also take field core samples for testing at the job site. All testing results and paperwork is then submitted to the state for payment.
Arnold prepares "pills" for asphalt testing to check for things like voids, specific gravity, stability, flow, asphalt concentration, tensile strength, etc. Test results translate into a way for the customer to predict such things as the level of elasticity a road has to withstand heat and cold without surface damage or rutting; compaction and density for traffic volume and vehicle weight management; tensile strength for water and moisture effects.
Mix designs are another area where quality control employees play a big role. Each new design requires a verification sample set to be submitted for approval before production begins. "Sometimes we can use standard mix design formulas, but other times, you might not have enough of a specific material available right then or the application of the product requires you to create one that your not familiar with. If asked to describe it, I'd say it's similar to cooking. You create a recipe for a meal for two then make sure that it tastes exactly the same way when you serve it to three hundred," says Arnold.
Even though a quality control lab in the summertime is a hectic place to be, it is not about working fast. It's about consistency. "Even though there may be a lot of testing to be completed that day, a quality control person's biggest responsibility is to ensure that the tests results are consistent and accurate every time, every day. The best way to do that is to make sure you do not vary your sampling and testing techniques. You have to be precise, for example, when you measure a sample another tablespoon of material plus or minus can alter the test result or if you probe it twenty five times, the next time you need to probe it twenty five times not less or more," says Arnold.
For ten years, Karl Arnold has been a top performer in the quality control area of Rogers Group. What's his secret? "Just because the job is done, that doesn't mean the relationship is over. Having good people skills is important when you play the quality control role because you are working with the state as closely as you are your own co-workers. When my name pops up, I want our customers to think of someone they want to do business with, they trust, who listens and makes suggestions that are helpful, and I keep working at that every day."
Other employees in the company that function in a quality control capacity are:
Darrell Land, Clellan Tidwell, Danny Brinegar, David Grafe, Johnny Turner, Kathy Smith, Randall Crews, Josh Crews, Russell Mann, William Morris, Brian Wanamaker, Bryan Cox, Mark Woodruff, Steven Wittenmyer, Thomas Jones, Donnie Lankford, Ernie Sluss, John Davis, Joe Davis, Kevin Civils, Morgan Vaden, Mike Wood, Ryan Roach, John Keys, Brett Gregory, David McNabb, Jamie Collier, Johnathan Lane
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Karl Arnold
Quality Control Manager
Other production employees like Bing Morris, Loader Operator at Hillsboro, play a big role in delivering a quality product.
Asphalt Pills are made for quality control testing purposes
Gilson screens grades aggregates sample into sizes
Asphalt Content Equipment measures level of asphalt content present in sample after drying aggregate components
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