Are Stabilization & Modification the Same?

Let’s take the easy approach and dissect the words.  As defined at Merriam-webster.com, Stabilization means to make stable, steadfast, or firm and Modification is the making of a limited change in something.  Stabilization & modification are similar, but not the same, especially when it comes to soil and sub-grades.

Remember the definition?  It’s the making of a limited change in something.  The something we want to change is soil.  When we modify soil we most often change it by drying it.  Very often, excavators need to utilize fill from their jobsite that is too wet to compact.  We use the same process and many of the same products that we use in stabilization, but the most popular to modify soil are lime kiln dust and quicklime.  The main goal for modification is to dry the soil to a moisture level that allows compaction to be completed properly.  Modification can be performed in a single lift, to help pass a proof roll, or in multiple lifts to build a site’s building pad or parking lot.

Improved Construction Schedule – Make your sub-grade rain resistant; the stabilized soil will remain strong through rain events and can be worked on soon after they occur.

Better Value – Reduce the thickness of aggregate, asphalt, or concrete needed to meet structural design requirements, and reduce your cost.

Improved Construction Schedule – Modification is faster and more reliable than disking and drying on projects with tight deadlines.

Better Value – Cheaper, faster, stronger, and better for the environment than export of unsuitable soil, and import of quality fill to build your site.

Written By:

As contractors, the idea that we do not understand the sub-surface condition of our projects is scary. Even if we have soil borings, those borings are only representative of their exact location.  In a competitive bid climate, we must keep prices low, so we quote the best-case scenario and include an insurance policy called an undercut contingency.  Undercuts are expensive, and place a heavy burden on the environment.

These contingencies often include enough dollars to cover removing and replacing a small section of the entire buildable area, or worse, they provide a unit price that is open ended.  When poor soils are encountered, the contingencies are quickly exhausted or escalate out of control and leave us with an unhappy owner.

On Earth Day, let us consider some better ways for our industry and our planet.

Try a site guarantee and provide a lump sum price for site development that includes a calculated risk to modify poor soils when necessary. The owner gets a guaranteed price, and you, the experienced contractor, takes the risk.  When things work out you get a little reward for the risk, and your customer sleeps easy knowing their project budget is secure.

If you do not want to take all the risk, consider a modification contingency.  Rather than funding undercuts for a small portion of the project, consider earmarking the same dollars for modifying one lift of the entire buildable area.  Typically, the cost would be comparable to undercutting 25% of the same area, and if needed, leave the owner with a stronger more consistent subgrade. In this scenario, there is little risk of the owner exhausting the modification contingency and running over budget.

Another solution, a win-win, for both the owner and the contractor is for the contractor to buy the site with a modification contingency credit.  With this method, the contractor buy’s the site but offers a credit for

modification not performed.  Less risk for both parties, and the owner has a budget that can only shrink.

On Earth Day, make it a point to stop undercutting your customers and our planet.  Do the right thing for your projects and start including modification contingencies in your contracts.

Need help creating a modification contingency plan?  Give us a call.

Need help creating a modification contingency plan?  Contact us today.

Written By:

Each year ARRA recognizes various public officials and consulting engineers for their use of recycling and reclaiming techniques on their projects. Nominations for these awards are submitted by various ARRA members and chosen at the ARRA Special Recognition Awards.

The month of February not only brought us the GLCA Safety Award. But we were able, with the help of ARRA, to honor and recognize two different Counties in two different states for their use of Soil Stabilization and Full Depth Reclamation to help them save time and money.

The 2019 ARRA Award for Excellence in Soil Stabilization went to Tom Saucy, Deputy County Engineer for the Cass County, ND Highway Department for his work with Rock Solid’s President and current ARRA Vice President, Jonathan Pease, on the ARRA Regional Seminars in North Dakota. Tom has been the driving force behind making sure Soil Stabilization keeps advancing through their specifications every year throughout the Midwest.

Duane Alverson, County Engineer for Lake County, IN  won the 2019 ARRA Award for Excellence in Full Depth Reclamation. Duane and his team have been implementing FDR techniques in Lake County for several years after attending an LTAP conference and seeing a presentation on FDR.  For 2018, Lake County designed a project to repair a 3.2 mile stretch of Clay St. The Clay Street Project was over 45,000 square yards of asphalt and aggregate base. Our team at Rock Solid was able to go in and perform Full Depth Reclamation with emulsified asphalt and complete the project in under a weeks’ time all while salvaging over 12,000 tons of asphalt & aggregate.

Written By:

This past February, Rock Solid Stabilization, was recognized for our outstanding safety performance for 2018. Rock Solid had zero lost time injuries for the entire year while working 155,950 hours.  Great Lakes Construction Association recognized this achievement by awarding us with a plaque at their Annual Safety Awards Dinner at The Shanty in  Wadsworth, IL. To be eligible to receive this award, you must have a safety score under the national average set by OSHA regulations in your bracket per hours worked.

Our Safety Manager, Luke Rossman, and Vice President, Mike Cohn were in attendance to accept the award. Luke stated, “It was an honor to receive this award in my first year with Rock Solid.  It shows we are committed to safety, and our teammates embrace the importance of safety each and every day, and are living our most coveted core value, SQP, Safety – Quality – Production; our daily order of priorities.”

Thank you GLCA, for the award, and your continued efforts to make our industry as safe as possible.

Written by:

Jonathan Pease spent May 15^th & 16^th with fellow ARRA members and construction industry executives participating in the Transportation Construction Coalitions (TCC) legislative Fly-In this past spring.  The Fly-In is part of Infrastructure Week and is an opportunity for elected officials to learn from transportation construction industry professionals.  The FP2, Inc. representatives shared the positive impact the pavement preservation industry has on our nation’s infrastructure.  They also emphasized the need to increase transportation infrastructure funding.

“I strongly believe that pavement preservation is vital to the future of our country’s transportation system.  We must increase funding for projects utilizing techniques like Full Depth Reclamation to maximize our tax dollars and lower the impact construction projects have on our environment.”  Jonathan Pease, Owner of Rock Solid Stabilization and Reclamation, Inc.

Click HERE to read the full article, Promoting Preservation, from the Fall issue of the Pavement Preservation Journal.

Written by:

S-Q-P (Safety – Quality – Production) “Our Daily Order of Priorities” is our Top Core Value.

Living this value to its core we’ve recently hired Luke Rossman to lead our safety program from the inside.  In the past, we’ve outsourced our compliance inspections.

Luke earned a BS in Business Management with a concentration in Occupational Safety Management from the University of Wisconsin, Platteville. Additionally, Luke has certifications in Competent Person Training, and OSHA 510.  As Rock Solid Stabilization’s, Safety Manager, Luke is responsible for providing technical and regulatory support to maintain or exceed OSHA and DOT standards, as well as ensure compliance with our third-party safety verification partners ISNetworld, Avetta, & PEC.

“Luke is an excellent addition to Rock Solid Stabilization. His education and industry experience in construction Health, Safety, & Environment will elevate Rock Solid’s strong reputation, and we look forward to working with him on special projects in the future” Tim Walsh, VP of Horton Safety Consultants.

Glen Fisher, a Senior Energy Risk Specialist, with Berkley Oil & Gas, our insurance provider, said “We’ve been happy with Rock Solid’s commitment to their employees  well-being and working conditions for a long time.  The hiring of a full time professional strengthens their position in the market.  The upgrade will enable Rock Solid Stabilization to continue to work on high profile projects within the renewable energy sector where oversight is intense. Furthermore, Having someone with Luke’s experience in-house and at job sites will benefit Rock Solid in many ways. His familiarity with specialized tasks like handling claims and educating your staff on standards and laws, relative to the work you do is a great benefit. He will also be an excellent resource for training for all levels of employees. Safety managers don’t think like construction people or estimating people, or project management people. Instead of focusing on client satisfaction or costs, on-site safety managers like Luke, focus on safety above all else. This focus provides a unique perspective that will lead to real positive change in operations and corporate culture that already have a Rock Solid foundation.”

“Q&A WITH LUKE THE PROFESSIONAL”

1. What is the most challenging aspect of being a safety professional in the construction industry?

“The most difficult challenge as a safety manager is working in a very production driven industry where short-cuts may save time, but also may put workers at risk for injury.  At Rock Solid Stabilization one of our core values is putting safety before production no matter what.  My job is to ensure each member of our team upholds this value.”

2. What is one goal you wish to accomplish in your position with Rock Solid Stabilization this year?

“One goal for the year, is to reduce the number of short cuts we take in an effort to ensure everyone goes home in as good or better shape than they arrived.  A short cut that saves 15 seconds doesn’t make or break a job, and it isn’t worth getting hurt over.”

“Q&A WITH LUKE THE MAN”

1. If you could pick up a new skill in an instant what would it be?

“The ability to fly a plane, I would be thrilled to be pilot one day.  Have taken a few lessons in the past, and loved the freedom and the ability to travel.”

2. What is your favorite movie quote?

“You’re killing me smalls”, from Sandlot.

3. What are your favorite pizza toppings?

“It has to be a good handmade thin crust pizza with sausage and mushroom.”

Written by:

ARRA‘s President Darren Coughlin encourages industry to utilize RoadResource.Org to promote Pavement Recycling and Reclaiming by thanking ARRA members for their help alongside CM Services and Vario in the latest issue of PPRA Connections – 2018.

Rock Solid Stabilization is excited to use this new resource to showcase all the benefits of Full Depth Reclamation, Base Stabilization, & Soil Stabilization & Soil Modification to name a few.   We highly recommend all pavement managers take some time to familiarize themselves with the Treatment Resource Center, How-To Guides, and Life Cycle Cost Calculator.

Read the Full Press Release from The PPRA Here.

Written by:

3 years ago… We collaborated with Cultivate Brands to create a calculator our operators could use to quickly and easily determine surface area. We depend on accuracy when measuring out loads of stabilizers like Portland Cement, Lime Kiln Dust, or Fly Ash.   Getting the application rate right is critical to quality control and helps us keep our cost down.  You can download the Rock Solid App (Utilities / Tools version) in the App Store or Google Play Store for your daily soil stabilization and soil modification layout calculator.

2 years ago… Again, with the help of Cultivate Brands, we developed another App to help our pneumatic tanker truck drivers document and report their load information daily. The App nearly eliminated all paperwork and maximized efficiency between payroll and dispatch. Since the first of this year, our truck drivers no longer fill out paper time cards. Their daily data is collected in real time, pushed to the cloud, and organized in our software for dispatch, accounts payable, and payroll.  The RS Command App is available for download, but use is limited to Rock Solid Employees by a login & password requirement.

No years ago… We combined the two Apps to improve our spreader operator’s daily experience. In the past, the spreader operator would have to wait until a load of stabilizer like Portland Cement or Lime Kiln Dust was delivered to begin layout. The new App allows the operator to collect the load information before the truck driver leaves the plant. In turn, the onsite operator can begin to layout their load well ahead of its arrival, by verifying the load quantity data and utilizing the calculator.  When the load is placed onsite the operator designates the load as “placed” on the app, and the data is pushed to the cloud, and our job reporting software for our project management team.  The project team can track the progress of any of Rock Solid’s soil stabilization, full depth reclamation, or soil modification projects in real time.

Written by: