Analysis of the factors affecting the quality in execution of rehabilitation of pavements

Abstract

It is usually considered that Quality control consists of a review, after an activity is completed. In actual, it is many individuals performing many appropriate activities at the right time. It is an approach and realization that something good should be achieved throughout the process. Quality requires all activities in conformance with valid requirements, no matter how large or small is their overall contribution to the whole project. Quality is assessed by the performance, stability and appearance of a structure over a period of time. Basic purpose of the quality management is to ensure that the given requirements are met during execution and these could also be validated through various tests, trials, procedures and experienced judgment. There are several factors affecting the quality of a road project e.g. Excellent design good engineer practices, material, weather, equipment, and professional competency etcetera. All these factors are equally important but if working hands / executing agency does not perform the task with professional honesty and competency then use of best plan, ideal weather conditions and possession of state of the art machinery/equipment will be of no significance. Transport in Pakistan is one of the rapidly growing sectors. It accounts for 12 % of GDP. In transport and communications sector annual growth is 2%. Its employment share is of 2.93 Million people or 6.4 % of the labor force. Restoration / preservation of the road network conditions to an acceptable level requires estimated annual expenditures of over 10 billion PKR. Land transport expected to stay for 100s of years for movement of people, goods and services. Highway mobility is critical to quality of life, wellbeing, economic progress, social welfare, national defense, domestic security and emergency preparedness. In Pakistan approximately 260,000 kilometers roads have been constructed. Apparently, it sounds good that there is no dearth of road network in our motherland but when it comes about the quality of the roads the situation becomes precarious. Importance of good execution during rehabilitation of the pavements and paucity of relevant resources necessitates the research work on quality. Formulation of a checklist / manual for upcoming transportation engineers is another subsequent aspect of this research work. xii At international level some studies for maintenance of low volume roads and labor based rehabilitation have already been carried out. Some material on pavement performance exists but that is on basis of roughness etcetera. At national level NHA specifications -1998 provides some guidance in this regard. Method statement are being used in recent projects of national level. Absence of research work of significant level and increasing requirement of users and agency necessitates some input for assurance of quality in execution which should be equally useful for better quality of work and safe/ prolonged service life of the road.