Bulletin No.21 Enance
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///^ .HIGHWAY RESEARCH BOARD Bulletin No.21 enance 1949 HIGHWAY RESEARCH BOARD 1949 OFFICERS Chairman F. V. Reage] Vice-Chairman . R. A. Moyer Director . R. W. Crum Associate Director Fred Burggraf EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Thomas H. MacDonald Conriissioner, Public Roads Administration Louis Jordan Eixecutive Secretary, Division of Eiigineering and Industrial Research, National Research Council Ha] H. Hale Executive Secretary, American Association of State Highway Officials R. H. Baldock State Highway Engineer, Oregon State Highway Com• mission, Salem, Oregon Pyke Johnson President, Automotive Safety Foundation, 700 Hill Building, Washington, D. C. Burton W. Marsh Director, Safety and Traffic Engineering Depart• ment, American Automobile Association, Mills Building, Washington, D. C. Roger L. Morrison Professor of Highway Engineering and Highway Trans• port, Department of Civi1 Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan R. A. Moyer Research Engineer, Institute of Transportation and Traffic Engineering, University of California, Berkeley 4, California F. V. Reage1 Engineer of Materials, Missouri State Highway Department, Jefferson City, Missouri Charles M. Upham Engineer-Director, American Road Builders' Asso- ciatiMi, 1319 F Street, N. W., Washington, D. C. Stallion Walker Director of Engineering, National Sand and Gravel Association, Munsey Building, Washington, D. C. EDITORIAL STAFF R. W, Crum Fred Burggraf W. N. Carey, Jr. PUBLICATION OFFICES 2101 Constitution Avenue Washington 25, D. C. HIGHWAY RESEARCH BOARD Bulletin No.21 |MAINTENANCE COSTS REPORT OF COMMITTEE AND TWO PAPERS PRESENTED AT THE TWENTY-EIGHTH ANNUAL MEETING HIGHWAY RESEARCH BOARD DIVISION OF ENGINEERING AND INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL Washington 25, D. C. September 1949 DEPARTOENT OF MAINTENANCE W. H. Root, Chairman Maintenance Engineer Iowa State Highway Commission COMMITTEE CW MAINTENANCE COSTS J. S. Bright, Chairman Deputy Commfssioner Public Roads Administration William H. Behrens, County Engineer, Linn County, Iowa T. H. Dennis, Maintenance Engineer, California Division of Highways Professor A. Diefendorf, Head, Civil Engineering Department, University of Utah J. J. Forrer, Maintenance Engineer, Virginia Department of Highways W. K. Myers, Chief Maintenance Engineer, Pennsylvania Department of Highways CONTENTS Page PROGRESS REPORT OF THE PROJECT COMMITTEE ON MAINTENANCE COSTS, J. S. Bright, Chairman 1 COST OF MECHANICAL LOADERS IN DITCH CLEANING AS COMPARED WITH COSTS OF HAND OPERATIONS IN VIRGINIA, J. J. Forrer 7 ECONOMICS OF RESURFACING DISINTEGRATED PAVEMENTS, C. Owen Beckley 10 111 PROGRESS REPORT OF PROJECT COMMITTEE ON MAINTENANCE COSTS J. S. BRIGHT, Oiairmtm Deputy Comnissioner, I\iblic Roads Administration This committee presented at last year's the most substantial rise, seven percent meeting a report on the rise in mainten• over 1947 and 113 percent over 1935 ance costs from 1935 to 1947. The interest (Graph 1). Material costs have increased in this report was so extensive that it 11 percent over 1947 (Graph 2). Tliis is was decided to issue the index on a semi• principally due to the large rise in the annual basis. In June of this year we cost of bituminous material, approximately computed the index for the first half of two cents per gallon. Equipment costs 1948. A report on the subject was dis• have also increased materially, 12 percent tributed throughout the States in the hope over 1947 ((jraph 3). As usual, the over• that it would be of value to the highway head costs have risen least of all, five departments in substantiating their budgets percent since 1947 (Graph 4)« Even this for the coining year. five percent increase is due principally TABLE 1 COST TRENDS HIGHWAY MAINTENANCE AND OPERATION Year Labor Material Equipment Overhead Total 1935 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 1936 102.19 104.31 97.97 100.29 101.24 1937 108.48 104.42 99.31 102.50 104.46 1938 110.17 103.73 103.51 103.97 106.36 1939 111.29 101.64 105.87 105.83 107.23 1940 112.33 100.30 107.12 110.20 108.13 1941 121.16 102.86 '110.11 111.33 113.30 1942 134.93 115.68 113.27 113.93 122.83 1943 151.82 117.76 114.46 116.87 130.88 1944 162.42 123.22 116.77 119.81 137.34 1945 171.16 130.10 129.89 135.01 147.52 1946 180.56 132.62 141.28 148.30 156.40 1947 198.40 145.83 153.39 162.38 171.28 First 1/2 1948 212.74 161.20 171.60 170.42 186.42 The maintenance cost index for the to the rise in the lower salaries and first half of 1948 showed an increase of wages; the engineering salaries have gone eight percent over 1947, 72 percent over up even less. 1940 and 86 percent over 1935 (Graph 5 We are currently engaged in compiling and Table 1.) Labor has, of course, shown the index for the second half of 1948. To MAINTENANCE COST THENDS Highway Valntenance and Operation 240 2S0 LABOR COST 220 GRAPH 1 210 200 190 180 170 160 190 120 1939 1937 1939 1941 1943 1949 1947 1949 240 230 MATE R1AL COST 220 GRAPH 2 210 200 190 ISO 170 130 120 no 100 1937 1949 date, sufficient data have not been re• above the 1935 cost. In other words, the ceived to indicate an exact index figure. 1948 dollar produced, in terms of the 1935 It IS estimated, however, from the data dollar, only fifty-three cents worth of so far received that the index for the maintenance. last half of 1948 will be approximately This rapid increase in costs indicates 190, two percent over the first half of that we, as maintenance administrators, 1948 and 90 percent higher than 1935. In must devise new and improved maintenance this case, the average cost of maintenance equipment and new and improved mainten• for the year 1948 would be 88 percent ance methods and procedures in order to BRIGHT - MAINTENANCE COSTS COST THENDS Highway MointenancP and Operation EQUIPMENT RENTAL COST GRAPH 3 1939 1937 1939 1941 1943 1949 1947 1949 ,5 ZOO 190 OVE R H EAO COST ISO GRAPH 4 170 160 ISO 140 I JO 120 no 00 90 increase the productivity of our mainten• operations well below the increase in the ance effort and thereby increase the value general level of prices. An indication of the maintenance dollar. of the increased productivity of the main• With this increased production we can tenance man, or at least the increased afford to improve our wage standards with• use of the highways that he was called on out increasing the actual cost of the work. to service, may be obtained from the re• As an illustration of this, we can recall cords of revenue-producing traffic. The the plight of the coal miners in the pick following increases have occurred per and shovel days. Today, the Bituminous maintenance man employed in 1947 as com• Coal Institute reports, more than 91 per• pared to the number of men employed in cent of all bituminous coal mined under• 1936: ground IS mechanically cut, about 60 per• 1947 percent cent IS mechanically loaded and only four increase over percent is mined by pick and shovel Item 1936 for each methods. This has not only made better maintenance man wages possible but has also improved the employed working conditions of the coal miner. While these data reflect the advance• Motor vehicle registration . 60 ments in other fields, it must be recog- Vehicle miles of travel ... 79 ni7,ed that our maintenance organizations Ton-miles of traffic . 120 have also made great strides in holding the increase in the costs of certain It IS to be noted that the 1947 main- MAINTENANCE COST TRENDS HIOHWAT MAINTENANCE AND OPERATION TOTAL yAlNTENANCE AND OPERATINO COST ORAPH IW IMS YEARS tenance man was assigned to repair the The use of almost half of the surface deteriorations caused on highways by the maintenance funds for direct labor shows movenient of over twice as many ton-railes that we, the highway maintenance industry, of traffic as was the case 11 years are not doing much better. earlier. Material handling is an important part An analysis of the distribution of the of all our maintenance operations. Due to expenditures for labor, material and the large expenditure for surface main• equipment between the various highway tenance, it is particularly important in maintenance operations is shown graphical• this operation. Here the material for ly on Chart 6. Ch this chart, the over• surface treatment or patching, bitumen head charges have been distributed be• and stone, must be picked up, either from tween the labor, material and equipment a plant, stock pile or from the surface Items. This chart indicates that half itself; in some cases graded and screened; of the total maintenance expenditure is transferred to sane type of mixing opera• used in maintaining the highway surface. tion; and, finally, placed evenly on the "Riis, based on the 1947 expenditure for surface and compacted. As you can see, State highway maintenance, maintenance this involves possibly four separate overhead and maintenance equipment, amounts handling operations, loading, two transfers to 220 million dollars. Based on the and placing. During the past 20 years, we total maintenance expenditure of the have made many important advances in the Nation (States, counties, townships and handling of these materials and still municipalities) in 1947, it amounts to almost half of our surface maintenance about 570 million dollars. The size of expenditure is used for labor. this expenditure indicates the large sav• Several new types of equipment are ings that could be accomplished by in• being developed that should measurably in• creasing the productivity of the direct crease the productivity of this operation.