AASHTO Journal, 30 March 2012
The National Transportation Product Evaluation Program (NTPEP) recently began an audit program for geo-textiles. The program was developed by both industry members and state department of transportation members to provide uniform evaluation standards for geotextile manufacturers.
NTPEP is an AASHTO pool-funded program that tests materials of common interest to state departments of transportation, reducing duplicate testing by states in order to save costs and, in some situations, to accelerate implementation of innovative products.
The NTPEP geotextile program provides state DOTs with valuable information and data. The program includes a desktop review of a company’s quality management system every five years and a yearly on-site audit of each plant that has products tested through NTPEP.
More information on how state DOTs can benefit from using the NTPEP audit program for geo-textiles is available in a letter from AASHTO’s Katheryn Malusky to state officials and the NTPEP web site, bit.ly/ntpep2012.