Inspect & Protect
By Donna Speidel

Many years in the pavement marking industry taught me one thing: it's not easy to install paint and glass beads on pavement well.

Long before I transitioned into consulting by creating Sightline, my career started as a striping contractor in parking lots, then shifted to roads and highways and the occasional airport. The move into highways from parking lots included a steep learning curve, particularly once performance standards were routinely specified and strictly enforced. When it came to the quality control plan, the state inspectors were rabid (well, at least one inspector I knew transferred out of animal control).

Eventually, I transitioned exclusively to airports where the only 18-wheelers I had to deal with were called 747's. In fact, there were few similarities, right down to the quality of markings. The more I looked for what I had expected to be superior quality on the airfields, the more I realized I had taken that for granted. I found out no one was watching with the same kind of scrutiny I became accustomed to on the highways. So I started Sightline, because too much of the time airports don't get what they deserve and need for safe operations.

The proof is in the picture.

During a recent airfield marking assessment at one of the busiest airports in the nation, we assessed a taxiway/runway intersection that had been painted by a contractor four months prior. I was disappointed to learn that it was an experienced airport striping company, but moreover, the inspector responsible for construction management had approved the work as the sponsor airport's representative. A few months after the project completion, the airport inherited a headache.

This simply just doesn't happen on the highway. Initial inspection procedures correct poor applications and routine performance monitoring ensure quality over the warranty period. Contractors are held accountable for substandard results.

The people best-positioned to change this narrative, at least in federally funded airport projects, are the consulting engineers and project managers in the FAA Airport Development Offices. Enhancing and enforcing the Quality Management Program or contractor qualifications could improve overall performance and protect the sponsor airports. There's no one simple fix – but it needs to be addressed – after all, it's not easy installing paint and glass beads on pavement well.

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