PILLAR Talk

Asphalt Patching for Drain

The Case for Pavement Management

Why is pavement management important? The nation’s road system represents an asset valued at more than $2.4 trillion. Nearly 90% of passenger-miles traveled and 60% of the nations’ total freight is transported via the nation’s highway system. There is no doubt, it is an asset worthy of substantial investment for the sake of our economy […]

Pillar Truck Tunnel Fire

What does Rehabilitation mean for a Public-Private Partnership?

A Public-Private Partnership (P3) is a contract vehicle where a private developer – working with a public entity – designs, builds, finances and operates the infrastructure. This Pillar Talk will focus on the rehabilitation, or handback portion, of a P3. P3 transportation projects have two varieties: availability payment or revenue risk. In an availability payment […]

PILLAR Field Assessors Walking

Is Your Agency Maximizing Asset Management to its Fullest?

Last month I attended the 12th TRB Asset Management Conference (my third) and the 2018 AASHTO Committee On Maintenance Annual Meeting (my fifth). While both conferences were about Asset Management, the focus of each was on two different planes. The TRB Conference focused more on strategic issues (i.e. risk, resiliency, sustainability) and the AASHTO Conference […]

Pedestrian Crossing Sign

Top 10 safety rules for the end of summer

John Meola, PILLAR’s Safety Director, penned an article for the Richmond Times-Dispatch discussing safety rules motorist should be aware of as summer comes to an end.  Read the full article here.

PILLAR LiDAR Truck On Highway

Mobile LiDAR’s fully automatic asset extraction capability sets it apart

Modern technology has catapulted the maintenance of roadway infrastructure to a new level. When it comes to collecting data about your assets, PILLAR utilizes the Leica Pegasus: Two Ultimate as its choice for mobile LiDAR. The laser scanning and mapping technology platform provides what we need to get the job done. This device utilizes two […]

Road Work Ahead Sign

Safety Should Not Take Days Off of Work

The safety measures a company puts in place tend to be taken for granted. That is until an accident occurs and the issue is brought to the forefront. June is National Safety Month, an initiative led by the National Safety Council (NSC) to ensure “No One Gets Hurt.” The month aims to reduce the leading […]

Old Safety Helmet on Rolodex

Top ten safety issues for contractors

After many years in the safety-consulting business, I have heard the loud chorus of employer complaints aimed at “Why do I need to do all this stuff?” To educate the contracting community, here is a brief summary of the Top 10 safety issues for contractors. 10) “No one told me I had to train these […]

Construction Safety Staring At Sunrise

Managers Manage Things, Leaders Lead People

Are you still using Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) metrics as your safety standard? Do you plan on being in this business 5, 10 or 20 years from now? If you answered yes to both, you have a value conflict. Why accept some random statistical average composed of questionable data as your standard when […]