(gentle music) (air swooshing)
- [Narrator] The Texas Department of Transportation
receives information regarding operation, construction,
and testing records from several independent systems.
Working with the Center for Transportation Research,
TxDOT organized these technology databases
to better understand the impact of certain materials
on the long-term performance of pavements.
- TxDOT have been collecting data on materials
and construction projects
and pavement performance over several years.
So they have all the data in separate databases
that do not communicate with each other.
- And so before this project,
we never really combined the two.
You know, you go to a roadway
and you say, "Man, that's a really good roadway.
What made it good, right?"
You just assume it was
you did everything right during construction.
So this project was to combine those two databases
so we can see the materials used,
we can see the QC/QA, did we do everything right?
And then what did that lead to
in terms of overall performance?
- We created two separate applications,
one for the state use and one for the district use.
And each application has nine dashboards to track project
and material performance at different levels.
And during the making of the application,
we saw feedback from TxDOT
asking how they intended to use it and their specific needs.
And we also created text guide and a video guide
to show them how to operate and manage the application.
- In the project, as we would go to these projects,
trying to combine them, right, we combine them and we say,
okay, let's go get some real eyes on the pavement
and let's see if the databases,
you know, in agreeance with what we're seeing.
And what we would find is we'd go to a project
and it was already covered with the sealcoat.
And so what we found out
was districts have these four-year plans
and they're doing district-wide sealcoat programs.
And that is not being captured
in either one of those databases.
What the research team did is they actually pulled in
another database so they can filter out those ones
that have had TxDOT preventative maintenance on there.
Now we have this all encompassing database
that has everything together.
It's turned into a really nice Tableau dashboard.
So you can actually go in and say,
hey, I wanna look in this district with a given mix type,
and you wanna see a performance across the district.
- So TxDOT can use this application to track project
or materials performance in near real time.
So on a geographical map on the application,
they can locate projects on a given section
and see how many projects were constructed,
what materials were put in those projects,
and how much money was spent.
They can also see
if there was any maintenance activity involved.
They can also use this application as an investigative tool,
as in they can track the historical performance
of any projects and materials
and flag any section
with unsatisfactory performance.
So by doing so,
TxDOT can identify durable materials
and they can promote use of those materials
more in future projects.
And there will be less maintenance,
there will be less traffic congestion
due to maintenance and construction,
and there will be less delay in travel time
with overall better driving experience
for the people of Texas.
- [Narrator] or more information
and to find the publication for this project,
please visit the TxDOT research library
at the link shown below.