[ Top ]

	The Idiots' Guide to Highways Maintenance Copyright © 2000/10, C.J.Summers "HOMEPAGE" - (A bit about me and my background.)
Return to Start Page

Hello, my name is Chris, and thankyou for visiting my website, not a lot of bells and whistles, but a lot of information for those who persevere, but it is only a GUIDE, the decisions are yours !

I have been in the "materials" bit of highways construction and maintenance for over thirty five years, and I have been in this web publishing thing for about ten, that is how long this website has been in existence.
However my web publishing skills are still limited, as I am trying to concentrate on content rather than "jazzy" presentation.
But I am still learning, and I now have the time to take a few courses, and the "basic" nature of the site may improve but only if I think it will improve viewing/access to the information.

In creating this website I have to continually remind myself I am writing to the "World Wide Web", and my experience is in the United Kingdom with European specifications becoming more prevalent, so my actual pages will be based on British/European practice.
However the basics of Highways Maintenance are pretty much the same all over the world, and the links I attach to this website from around the globe provide excellent information for the UK browser, and will be of equal interest to visitors from other parts of the world.

I was a "public servant" for thirty five years, although I started back in the 60's with consultants on the motorway building programme.
I am now retired, having taken early retirement at sixty years of age, wanting to still be reasonably fit and healthy for some of my retirement years.

My views, remain the same as a "retired" Materials Engineer to what they were when I was in full time employment. 
I hope these views are fairly balanced, they may be a little biased to the "client / purchaser / engineer" side of things, but that is how they should be if the public have "paid" your wages for most of your life, and also contributed significant contributions to your pension.

I hope you find the information currently on the site useful, and I will continue to add to it as I am able.

I decided to create the site because it is my belief that knowledge of this subject is being lost as "old-timers" like myself are slowly disappearing into that great Materials Testing Laboratory in the sky, and few, if any, are being trained to follow in our footsteps.

My generation of "materials" engineers and technicians were more involved with the actual work on site, and we learned a great deal from those experiences.
Thinking that what you are able to obtain under laboratory conditions can be reproduced on site can be a foolish and expensive misconception.

This is my small attempt to give something back to the industry for all the interesting and amusing moments that have occurred in my career, but with many references to main stream publications and other websites to give you increased backup for any decisions you wish to make.

I hope you will soon get the hang of it as the process of finding the information is fairly logical once you make a start.

Some of the information is being extracted from a personal database that I have built up over my time in the industry, that is why some of the information is presented in a tabular manner, but if you use the "Find" function in your browser, or the Google search facility, you should be able to reduce the amount of work needed to find topics that are of interest.

I hope you find at least some of the items interesting and of use.

I must point out that the "Highways" bit of the "Idiot's Guide to Highways Maintenance" is pretty specific.
Highways Maintenance is in fact a very, very wide subject and my knowledge and hence this site deals predominantly with the road pavement, the materials employed in its construction/maintenance and its surface characteristics.
If there is this much to know about just this one aspect of the profession it gives you an indication as to how much knowledge and experience is required to fulfill the complete Highways Maintenance function to a high standard.

It really, really annoys me when people who should know better belittle the Highways Maintenance section of the civil engineering profession as people who fill in pot-holes, and feel anybody can do the job, they cannot, believe me on this.
It is also beginning to confuse me that those in charge, and I am assuming ultimately that this is government, are talking of a "skills shortage" in the industry whilst encouraging policies that reduce the number of qualified and experienced Engineers and Engineering Technicians, replacing them with "Managers" with little experience in highways maintenance.
Even those with engineering qualifications have shot up the "management" tree that quickly, from an early age, it is difficult to talk to them about the practical aspects of constructing and maintaining highway networks.

Some of the data in this guide may be a little out date, especially with the rush of BS EN Specifications that are happening at present, and the "privatisation" by stealth of many aspects of the highways maintenance industry, but I hope it points you in the right direction if you have an inquiring mind.

Do not ignore technical information that may be 10, 20 or even 30 years old, if the information was technically correct then, it will be technically correct now.
You may wish to compare "old" and "new" practice carefully before you decide to change highways maintenance procedures.

I will endeavour to keep the site as up to date as possible, but with so much information contained in it I will give no guarantees, so it is up to you to do some work of your own to check that the information is correct, your research will help build up your knowledge on the subject.
At this time (August 2010) you should be familiar with the introduction of specifying bituminous mixtures using the new BS EN 13108 family standards, but if you are not further information can be found on various pages on this website.
A brief description of the introduction of, BS EN 13108 Bituminous mixtures - material specifications, 
and possible implications can be found in the  Summer 2007 Newsletter .
You may also wish to employ the popular and relatively "safe" option of using the "example" specifications in, 
P.D. 6691:2007:Guidance on the use of BS EN 13108 Bituminous mixtures -  Materials specifications,

More up to date news, and reference to new "developments" in Highways Maintenance will be found in my, now quarterly, newsletters.

Finally, I  am retired, I am not looking for further employment other than maintaining this website and perhaps earning a little money from it, to cover my costs, without compromising the content, so please do not contact me.
I may assist a few friends and former colleagues with advice and guidance in a "behind the scenes" role but that is all, and they will already know who they are.
So please, allow me to enjoy my retirement, you are going to have to let the "new breed" of highways maintenance managers, consultants, contractors, and the engineers they employ, look after you.
Unless of course you are still fortunate enough to have an "independent" Materials Engineer as part of an "Intelligent Client Team" of engineering expertise, a course of action that has been recommended by a number of prominent retired Local Authority senior engineers, and that includes past "real" County Surveyors. 

LINKS
The inclusion, by me, of a link to another website from a general website page is in no way an endorsement of any product or process they market.
The link to that website is there for you to browse the information it contains because I am of the opinion it has relevance to the content of whatever web page you may be reading at the time, and will contribute further information to the subject, and the link itself will not display the company name/logo.
It is with regret that I occasionally will remove links when the policy of the linked website has changed from a website that was offering true information about the material or process they offer, to one just promoting marketing literature.
I will also remove links to websites that adopt a policy of requiring browsers to disclose email addresses and/or personal information before they can access the website.

ADVERTISING
I have allowed Google advertising on my website, out of interest, as much as to offset the cost of IT equipment and good broadband provision that I would not normally need.
The Google Links on my website pages are placed there by Google after I have created the appropriate framework in to which the advertisements can be placed, they are commercial links which you may or may not wish to take advantage of.
I felt this was the most independent, and least hassle, way in which I can introduce advertising. 
I have set the advertising at "plain text" rather than allowing images, that will result in "logos" appearing, so I like to think everybody is being treated equally.
I have not, as yet, had recourse to place "bars" on any adverts, just allowing "the market" to control those who wish to advertise on my site, my intention was/is not to become rich, just to encourage a bit of diversity, and pay some bills.
If you wish to advertise on this website approach Google through their main website address, looking for the "Adwords" link, do not approach me.
I have placed the same number of advertising opportunities on all pages and in most cases in the same position at the top of the page between the index of topics and the content, so that there should be little disruption of study of the actual information contained on the page.
I hope the introduction of the advertising will not disrupt the flow of information you can obtain from this website, which will remain free to all.

It is interesting to observe, on my "stats", the almost continual daily use of this website by many of the large "consulting" concerns, do you not think that this is telling of some failing within the knowledge base of the organisation that could be addressed by employing an experienced and knowledgeable Materials Engineer. 

EMAIL Should you wish to get in touch with me, I can be contacted through the following email address, but make it relevant or you will not receive a reply.

If you have a "gmail" account using this email address may provide a little more security.

[ Top of Page ]