Production
Quality control laboratory

The company has its own quality control laboratory.

The laboratory is an integral part of a technological process of production and installation of our products. Nowadays, all market approved products are the result of scientific laboratory research and they are constantly monitored in laboratories during production.

QUALITY CONTROL OF ASPHALT

Criteria for the quality of asphalt roads are growing more rigorous every day due to the increasing traffic; therefore, the role of laboratories is becoming more significant. This means that the laboratory constantly participates in production, with constant insight into workflow of the technological process of production and installation; thus, in case it is necessary, the production process is quickly returned to the normal level, i.e. it is constantly maintained within the limits of designed quality. In a nutshell, quality assurance is a sum of constant activities, tests, measurements, observations and corrections.

Laboratory tests are regulated by standards which reflect needs and potential of one country in its efforts to reach quality in a certain area of business. In terms of the Law on Standardisation, construction facilities are considered as products subject to quality norms; therefore, application of standards is mandatory.

Standards are divided into:

• Standards for tests which define test subject, application, equipment, the course of experiment and result calculation.
• Technical conditions or technical specifications.

During the building of road construction and some of its layers, the following checks and tests are carried out:

• Previous tests
• Current tests
• Control tests

All these types of tests comprise three positions:

• Testing materials for production of asphalt compound
• Testing produced asphalt compound
• Testing derived layer of asphalt.

Laboratories must be equipped for current and control tests according to project requests, i.e. they must be equipped with the equipment capable of performing tests in accordance with the type, scope and technical conditions of the project. Standard JUS U.E9. 030/95 “field laboratory  equipment for asphalt“ prescribes minimum equipment for a laboratory.

QUALITY CONTROL OF STONE AGGREGATE

Tests and issuing attestation for the stone and stone aggregate are performed by registered and authorised laboratories.

In the company Borovica, in our own cutting edge laboratory, we test natural aggregate (gravel and debris) and aggregate from crushing plants.

Mineral mixtures are tested in order to assess their suitability for the application for blanket courses and asphalt compounds for DBNS and BNS.

Fractioned stone aggregate is subject to mandatory attestation according to ’’Regulation on Mandatory Attestation of Fractioned Stone Aggregate for Asphalt and Concrete’’.

This regulation regulates:

• properties which are being tested;
• standards according to which they are tested;
• the scope of testing;
• the method of issuing the attestation.

According to specifications for asphalt compounds, we test the following on fractioned stone aggregate:

• granulometric composition;
• resistance to crushing;
• the degree of aggregate polishing;
• resistance to freezing;
• bitumen coating of the aggregate grain;
• water absorption;
• the form of grain;
• frequency of clay ball;
• resistance to heat;
• mineralogical and petrographic composition;
• density (volume mass).