With “shelter-in-home” orders and temporary business closures to aid in COVID-19 mitigation, companies are finding themselves in uncharted territory pertaining to state and federal regulations. Your friends at Pine Test Equipment are no exception. The Governor of Pennsylvania announced that all but “life-sustaining” businesses in Pennsylvania must shut down until further notice. In compliance to this order and out of concern for the safety and well-being of our technicians and their families, Pine Test suspended all travel including that of Pine field technicians who conduct calibration and maintenance services for gyratory compactors throughout the United States.
THE PROBLEM
Without field technicians travelling, asphalt road construction laboratories that need gyratory compactors calibrated in accordance to AASHTO regulations are stuck. This equipment is critical for mix design and quality control of the asphalt used for our state and federal highways. Calibration establishes the accuracy of the test equipment. And it is AASHTO who recommends the schedule of calibration for all equipment in this industry.
FINDING ANSWERS
Our Pine staff is fielding occasional calls asking about our calibration schedule for their equipment the midst of the COVID-19 crisis. We reached out to our resource partners at AASHTO to see if they had a plan. They, too, have received similar inquiries and have created a COVID-19 FAQ page to help answer such questions. Basically, once all travel is resumed, it is understood and likely that laboratories that use external calibration services may be late. Where laboratories miss deadlines, they will still be noted for the missed deadlines. However, there are special circumstances that AASHTO will consider and are explained in their FAQ page.
Until we are all on the other side of this novel virus, we must remain vigilant in the efforts to mitigate its damage. Your understanding is greatly appreciated and we look forward to seeing you in your labs soon. Be safe. Be healthy. Be kind.