Banking Center survey & Marketing Signage ProposalIllinois Traffic Engineering & Safety Conference
10/23/08
Who we are
WRI is a privately owned company out of the Chicagoland area with over 35 years of experience in the highway signing market helping government agencies with their signing needs. Focusing on; – Design
– Manufacturing
– Installation
Types of signs
Types of signs
An association of manufactures and installers of all
products that make the roadway safe
Temporary traffic control
Pavement markings / delineators
Guardrail / crash cushions
www.ilatssa.com
2. Minimum Reflectivity Rule (MUTCD)
3. Market trends resulting from this rule
1. Reflective sheeting trends
– Daytime colors
IL types for prismatic sheeting – AP – High Intensity Prismatic
– AZ - Prismatic sheeting brighter than AP Used in Warning & School Zone signs
– ZZ – Latest technology in prismatic sheeting. Provides optimal viewing at both short and long
distances (used for guide signs)
2. Minimum reflectivity rule
Mutcd final rule was effective Jan. 22, 2008
4 years to implement a sign management/assessment method
7 years from date of final rule for Ground mounted signs
10 years from date of final rule for Overhead signs and street signs.
Exempt signs – Parking, blue/brown background highway signs, signs on Off-highway multi use paths, adopt-a-highway
New MUTCD Language Section 2A.09 Maintaining Minimum Retroreflectivity
“Standard:
method that is designed to maintain sign
retroreflectivity at or above the minimum
levels in Table 2A-3”
“Support:
Compliance… is achieved by having a method in place and using the method to maintain the minimum levels established in Table 2A-3. Provided that… a method is being used, an agency would be in compliance… even if there are some individual signs that do not meet the… levels at a particular point in time.
Sign Color
I II III III, IV, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X
White on
O ≥ 50 (60 – 265)
O ≥ 75 (60 – 265)
R ≥ 7 (14 – 105)
New MUTCD Table with Specifications for New Sheeting
Minimum reflectivity rule
Assessment / Management Methods
• Visual Nighttime Inspections
• Expected Life
• Blanket Replacement
• Control Signs
Retroreflectivity of an existing sign is assessed by a trained sign
inspector conducting a visual inspection from a moving vehicle during
nighttime conditions.
General Guidance:
follow
- Inspection is conducted using the low-beam headlights
- Signs are evaluated at a normal viewing distance
In addition to the preceding guidance, one or more of the following
procedures can be used to support the connection between visual
inspections and reflectivity…
Visual Night Assessment
Calibration Signs Procedure Calibration signs are viewed prior to inspection
Needed for each color of sign
Viewed using same vehicle that will be used
Critical that signs are stored properly between inspection
Comparison Panels Procedure Small comparison panels are used to assess
When a sign is questionable, panel is attached
Replaced if sign panel brighter than sign
Consistent Parameters Procedure Use same factors used to determine minimum levels
- Full-size SUV or pick-up
- Inspector that is at least 60 years old
- View at typical viewing distance
Visual Night Assessment
obviously below the minimum
Signs are viewed annually
Cons Have to perform on an annual
bases
Many signs not viewed Head On
Costs and Resources to drive ALL roads every year. Ongoing annual cost.
Detailed Record keeping still needed to insure all signs and all roads are viewed
Very subjective based on observer and observers "condition"
Visual Night Assessment
The retroreflectivity is measured and directly compared to the proposed minimum
level appropriate for that sign.
ASTM E1709, Standard Test Method for Measurement of Retroreflective
Signs Using a Portable Retroreflectometer, provides a standard method.
Measured Sign Retroreflectivity
not meet the minimums
Cons Very time consuming
Instrumentation issues, Costs ($10,000), maintenance ,etc.
Safety issues, outside the vehicles, on ladders, etc.
Time and expense of equipment needed to reach the sign
Measured Sign Retroreflectivity
If you have no sign inventory
If you’re sign inventory does not include, Age of signs,
Type of sheeting, and location of signs
.....you may be better off replacing without a costly
assessment
savings by eliminating the “Assessment Phase”
Can establish a complete inventory as signs are replaced
No annual assessment of signs is needed
Can be done in phases over 7 year period
Fulfills 4 year plan requirement
Allows for Budgetary planning
Cons Replacing “good” signs
Adjustments need to be made for signs replaced (knock-down and vandalized)
All signs will need to be replaced over the period
Need to create an inventory system to maximize
Management Phase
Know the sheeting type used
Helpful to know the direction
Compare the age of the sign to the expected service life of the
sign material.
The expected service life can be determined on several factors,
- Sign sheeting warranties,
- Measurements of actual signs.
No need for annual assessment
Easy to implement
Cons
Weathering differences for sign direction are not accounted for
It may be time consuming to inspect date stickers if the stickers are not easily viewable or identifiable on the sign.
Control Environment (Maintenance Yard)
Exactly the Same Conditions
- Each Sheeting type
have Statistical Significance
Can take into account sign direction
Maximum sign life can be obtained
Can implement into current management system
Cons
Need to protect control sign environment
Control Signs
developed
3. Market trends Assessment / Management / Production
Assessment
How much is the sign going to cost per year
Other than the sheeting all other cost remain the same
Market trends Assessment / Management / Production
Production
Performance
– Inventory of signs
Move to a just in time manufacturing
– Date stamping / Bar Coding of product is going to become very
important
Michael Conoscenti