February 11, 2025 • 38 mins
We dive into the 2025 AASHTO re:source Technical Exchange with insights from key planners Bob Lutz and Tracy Barnhart. This episode focuses on the event's unique structure, networking opportunities, and targeted sessions for various professional roles. Attendees can expect valuable insights, interactive experiences, and assurance of fresh content during the event on March 17-20, 2025 in Bellevue, WA. Learn more on our website: https://aashtoresource.org/events
Have questions, comments, or want to be a guest on an upcoming episode? Email podcast@aashtoresource.org.
Related information on this and other episodes can be found at aashtoresource.org.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Kim Swanson (00:03):
Welcome to AASHTO Resource Q&A.
We're taking time to discussconstruction materials, testing
and inspection with people inthe know.
From exploring testing problemsand solutions to laboratory
best practices and qualitymanagement, we're covering
topics important to you.
Brian Johnson (00:19):
Welcome to AASHTO Resource Q&A.
I'm Brian Johnson.
Kim Swanson (00:23):
And I'm Kim Swanson , and we are here today with one
of the last few episodes ofSeason 5, and we're talking
about everyone's favorite event,the AASHTO Resource Technical
Exchange.
Brian Johnson (00:34):
That's right.
Today we are joined by Bob Lutzand Tracy Barnhart, our usual
go-to guests when talking aboutthe technical exchange, since
they are our most significantdirection setters and planners
for the event.
So welcome to the podcast, Bob.
Bob Lutz (00:58):
Thanks, Brian and Kim.
I feel like we just did this.
Has it been a year?
Kim Swanson (01:05):
It has.
It has.
Brian Johnson (01:08):
Indeed it has.
It has felt like very littletime has gone by and somehow we
managed to get another season ofthe podcast out and circle back
to the next TechX Tracy.
Welcome.
Circle back to the next TechXTracy welcome.
Tracy Barnhart (01:26):
Well, thank you, Brian, and thank you for
referring to me as MissSignificant.
I'm not sure the last timeanyone ever said that to me
except my husband, so thank you.
Kim Swanson (01:36):
That might be an actual dig at your boss, who is
on this call.
I'm just saying.
Brian Johnson (01:41):
Well, you certainly have provided a
significant contribution andcontinue to do so.
Related to the technicalexchange, we are going to talk
about some of the things thatare different.
One of the things that iscertainly different between the
AASHTO Resource TechnicalExchange and just about every
(02:03):
event I've ever gone to is thatthere is a lot of preparation
for attendees.
Most events I go to you getsome information, but there
certainly aren't podcasts orspecial events where you get to
learn about how to make the mostof the event.
For a relatively short eventthat only draws about 300 people
(02:29):
Actually, does anybody want totake a stab at, or does anybody
want to guess less violentlythat, how many attendees we
typically have for the technicalexchange?
Tracy Barnhart (02:46):
I will take a stab at that.
I think we had about 250 inBoston last year.
Is that correct, Bob?
That's what I recollect anyway,and the numbers are trending so
far this year pretty close tothat.
So hopefully we'll get aroundthat number, maybe more.
Bob Lutz (03:03):
Yeah, I'm sure we know the exact number somewhere so
we probably don't have to guess,but somewhere between 250 and
260.
Brian Johnson (03:12):
Yeah, and there's plenty of time for people to
sign up.
So this is just to get youexcited and get you to sign up.
You may have not gotten theapproval yet from your
management, but time's a wasting.
It is time to book thoseflights, make those hotel
reservations, figure out whatyou're going to do to get there.
This year, the event's going tobe held in Bellevue, Washington
(03:35):
.
Kim Swanson (03:36):
Before we get too far into this episode, I did
want to point out that thetechnical exchange is going to
be March 17th through the 20th,so I think we forgot to mention
the date of that.
We have the city, but there isthe date, so you have time.
As of the recording and releaseof this podcast, you should
still have time to make all yourplans to attend.
Brian Johnson (03:58):
So this is the first time we've gone to the
Pacific Northwest for thetechnical exchange.
It is our second time on theWest Coast.
The first time we were in theSan Diego area and that was a
great experience and it's reallynice to get in touch with
attendees who are in that regionof the country.
(04:21):
So what usually happens and I'mgonna just jump into the answer
to my own question is the typeof attendees that we get are
typically your laboratorymanagers, supervisors,
technicians and peripheralservices around laboratory
operations like calibration andcertification and training
(04:45):
programs, lims, which arelaboratory information
management systems organizationsand all sorts of equipment
manufacturers and sellers.
But we tend to have a littlebit of a local feel to our
(05:07):
technical exchanges when weactually show up.
I would say, tracy, what wouldyou say if you had to say a
percentage breakdown of localversus national attendees?
Tracy Barnhart (05:20):
Oh, wow.
I would probably say 25%, 30%,local.
Definitely we pick up.
We're already noticing we'repicking up a lot of people in
Idaho, which is pretty, veryclose by, so that's great for
those folks.
But we're seeing some peoplefrom California and even Texas.
(05:41):
I noticed today there were somepeople from Texas heading on up
there.
So yeah, I think it helps thosepeople to cut down on expenses
when we're in the area and maybethey don't have to fly across
the country and pay for that.
Kim Swanson (05:57):
Yeah, and I will say we do get some international
attendees as well, brian, sodon't forget that.
You were just saying local andnational, so I don't want to
forget about the people thattravel internationally to come
to this event.
Brian Johnson (06:10):
No offense to our Canadian friends, but I mean,
you're practically right there.
Tracy Barnhart (06:15):
That's right.
Brian Johnson (06:16):
When you're in Washington state.
That's very close.
But yeah, technically that isinternational and we have
actually some excellent andactive participants from Canada
that go to the technicalexchange every year, including
some speakers.
So, yeah, we definitely do notwant to bring any disrespect to
(06:37):
our Canadian friends that cometo TechX and support that event.
Let's talk about the layout ofthis one we're doing things a
little bit differently andsupport that event.
Let's talk about the layout ofthis one.
We're doing things a little bitdifferently.
Bob, why don't you tell usabout how this technical
exchange is going to bestructured, as opposed to what
we've done in the past?
Bob Lutz (06:54):
Yeah.
So we're going to do somethingdifferent this year first time
and, fingers crossed, I thinkit's going to go well.
The major change that we madethis year are making is that we
have, like always, we have threeconcurrent sessions and three
concurrent tracks, but this yearthey are defined a little bit
(07:15):
better and differently.
So track one, the first track,is content geared toward
technicians and inspectors.
Track two is geared towards labmanagers and quality managers.
Track three is geared towardsmanagers, directors and leaders.
(07:38):
Now, having said that, anybodycan go to any session that they
want, but we're hoping that thisis going to provide a little
bit better balance.
No matter who you are, you'regoing to have a number of
sessions that fit your currentrole.
One of the bits of feedbackwe've received in the past is
that, well, you seem a littleheavy in this area and a little
(08:00):
light in this area.
So we went into this planningwith okay, let's define the
audience a little bit better andlet's try and make sure we have
enough sessions and goodbalance for everybody.
Brian Johnson (08:12):
Now, that type of structure seems like it would
create some challenges as well,because there are some topics
that kind of overlap among thosedifferent positions, lap among
those different positions.
Tracy, can you tell us aboutwhat somebody can expect?
Tracy Barnhart (08:41):
Do a little bit deeper, dive into the technician
path.
Sure, I'm taking a look at theagenda that we have at this
moment For the technician track.
We have laboratory tips andtricks, so things that we can
share from our perspective andas well as attendees sharing
with each other ways to maketheir lives easier in the
laboratory setting.
We have laboratory samplingpractices setting.
(09:08):
We have laboratory samplingpractices I'm going to bring in
a subject matter expert on thatto go through how to properly
obtain samples for testing inthe laboratory.
We have some common findingssessions where we're going to
get into common findings that wenote on AASHTO resource and
sometimes CCRL assessmentreports and why those things are
(09:29):
common kind of digging a littlebit deeper into those things.
Not only these are the thingsthat we see pretty regularly,
but what is it about thesethings that?
Why do they end up beingfindings?
On reports, is the standard notclear?
Is there a training issuethat's not being communicated to
the technical staff?
So we have a lot of things likethat planned for the technician
(09:52):
track.
Kim Swanson (09:55):
I'm going to say as well, when we're talking about
all these sessions, they're notjust the same thing, right, we
have a couple different.
We have sessions labeled as acouple different things, and so
we have a presentation, whichmay be what you are thinking
mostly when you think of asession, but that's mostly
lecture with some Q&A time atthe end.
But then we also have paneldiscussions and round tables and
(10:17):
workshops.
So there's variety, not only inthe topics and who it's
targeted for, but also in thetypes of sessions that we are
offering this year.
Tracy Barnhart (10:29):
Yeah, that's absolutely true, kim.
We've received a lot offeedback over the years since
we've been doing this.
In 2017 was our first year.
People wanted more panels.
The first time we did a panelor two, people loved that.
The attendees were like give memore of that.
So we've infused more and morepanels over the course of the
years and continue to get greatfeedback on that, and people
(10:52):
also love the networking duringthe sessions.
You're not, as Kim mentioned,you're not just sitting there
listening to somebody talk theentire time.
You're going to be activelyparticipating.
If you'd like to, you don'thave to.
You're welcome to activelyparticipate in most, if not all,
of these sessions, and wewelcome that at the technical
(11:13):
exchange.
Kim Swanson (11:15):
I think that's what really sets this event apart is
the interaction and it is anexchange which I'm surprised Bob
has not mentioned yet, but itis an exchange of information
and we do want the attendeeparticipation and I think from
the feedback that we've gottenfrom years past is that
sometimes people think that likejust the interaction with other
attendees is just like wasvaluable enough.
(11:37):
Like just the interaction withother attendees was valuable
enough In addition to thecontent that we have.
That was just kind of a bonus.
But they really got enoughvalue out of it.
Just meeting and interactingand networking and kind of just
like sessions were a bonus.
Tracy Barnhart (11:51):
And I wanted to mention also that we get many
repeat attendees at this eventand it surprised us at first
like, oh wow, they keep comingback and that's great.
And when Bob and I aretypically the ones preparing the
agenda, we keep that in mindthat we're going to have a lot
of new people attending thetechnical exchange, but we're
(12:13):
also going to have repeatattendees, so we're very careful
about keeping the content freshand at least again I'm looking
at the draft agenda at leasthalf of these sessions are brand
new to the technical exchangethis year, in 2025.
Every year, based on feedbackwe've received from attendees.
(12:41):
It's not like we're justpulling out the PowerPoint that
we used in 2017 and here we'regoing to use this again in 2025.
That is not how we operate.
We often we just start fromscratch, even on those topics
that we repeat each year, tokeep the content fresh.
Kim Swanson (12:53):
Yes, and especially since we're targeting in with
the tracks, like so.
Perhaps there was a topic thatwas more general last year
because it wanted to covereverybody, but now, because it's
assigned the technician track,it's going to talk a little bit
more about how the techniciansand inspectors can use this
information or use that stuff.
(13:13):
So I think everything has beenrevamped for a little bit of a
deeper understanding of thesubject, even if it is a repeat,
like you said.
Bob Lutz (13:25):
Right, and even if it's a topic that we've covered
before, you're probably going tohear a different and a fresh
perspective just because of thepeople who were involved.
It's not going to be the sameexact people that got it last
year or the year before and wealso have a really interesting
and different event or sessionpre-conference session on Monday
(13:46):
afternoon that Tracy's doing.
If you want to talk about thata little bit, Tracy.
Tracy Barnhart (13:51):
Sure, that session's an internal audit
certificate course.
We have always been coveringinternal audits in some way at
the technical exchange and weasked for some feedback from
attendees if they wanted alittle bit more on that topic in
a future event, referring to acertificate, where you're
(14:12):
working in small groups andlarge groups.
So I've been working on puttingthis session together.
I'm actually going to do a runthrough with staff tomorrow.
I'm excited about it, but thisis a three-hour course that's
going to take place on Mondayafternoon with a lot of
(14:34):
activities.
I think I have 15 activitiesplanned during that particular
session, activities plannedduring that particular session
and I hope that, if you'relistening, this is something
that you would want to come toand learn more about internal
audits.
If you're already doing internalaudits, you will probably pick
(14:54):
up a lot of tips and tricks thatyou can implement going forward
in your internal audit processin your own facility.
But we'll be writingnonconformities, we'll be going
through audit scenarios.
There's an audit skit to addsome humor to it.
We'll be identifyingnon-conformities, all kinds of
things.
So I'm really excited about it.
Something brand new for the2025 Technical Exchange.
Brian Johnson (15:14):
I'm excited about that too, because if there's
one thing people need trainingon, it's internal audits,
because I can tell, tell you,even among all the accredited
laboratories, they reallystruggle to carry out effective
internal audits, even whenthey're trying.
And, yes, that does imply thatsome are not trying, it's true,
(15:39):
sorry.
Well, yeah, it's more than justchecking.
Tracy Barnhart (15:40):
Well, yeah, it's more than just checking the box
, right?
Brian Johnson (15:42):
Yeah, it's more than checking the box, Far far
more than that.
Kim Swanson (15:46):
And that three-hour session is broken up into two
parts, so don't think thatyou're just going to be sitting
there doing activities for threehours straight.
There are built-in breaks, sono worries about that.
Bob Lutz (15:57):
Yep you get bathroom breaks.
Don't worry, In case you'relistening and not watching this
podcast.
That last came from BrianJohnson.
Brian Johnson (16:07):
Yep, that was me.
Bob Lutz (16:08):
That was me.
Brian Johnson (16:10):
Thank you.
Send all your hate mail topodcast at ashtoresourceorg.
We would love to hear from you.
Yep, love to hear from you.
Please do resourceorg.
We would love to hear from you.
Yeah, love to hear from you,please do so.
Tracy, I had you go down theone path with the technician.
I think we should go down.
Just a summary of the other twoas well.
(16:30):
Sure, let's take the middle one, the manager-supervisor track.
What kind of sessions canpeople expect to see there?
Tracy Barnhart (16:35):
Sure On that one .
We're going to dive into theaccreditation program
requirements.
That'll be a good session forthat.
Best practices for lab managerseffective corrective actions
we're going to get into best QMSpractices from ISO this is a
new session for 2025, wherewe're going to go through some
(16:58):
things that are in ISO standards9001, 17.025, that are not in
AASHTO R18, that managers andsupervisors may want to consider
implementing in theirorganization.
So that's going to be a paneland quality manager best
practices is on there too, andwe'll have Benjamin Trujillo
(17:20):
returning as a guest speaker forthat particular session, and he
always is very well received atthe Technical Exchange and
we're very glad to have him backagain in 2025.
Kim Swanson (17:33):
He was also a guest on the podcast.
So if you were like thatepisode then you can meet him in
person at the TechnicalExchange.
Tracy Barnhart (17:42):
That's right, and then, on the director's
track, I'm taking a look at that.
We have Michelle Wolf of theUnited States Geological Survey.
She's going to do a session onrisk management.
We have a leadership panel thisis new for 2025, recruiting,
challenges and solutionssolutions.
So that's something a lot ofpeople are struggling with, so
(18:04):
come on and join us for thatdiscussion.
Another thing that's new for2025 is effective communication
techniques.
We're actually going to havethe communication manager
communications manager fromAASHTO in Washington DC give a
presentation on communicationtechniques.
I'm going to get into astrategic planning panel and the
(18:27):
cost of poor quality.
Another returning guest speaker, dennis DeVos, is going to give
a session on the cost of poorquality.
Kim Swanson (18:36):
And I just wanted to note that the communication
session is going to be done byMaggie, who is the director of
communications and marketing atAASHTO.
I didn't want you to demote heron that.
She's the director, yes.
Tracy Barnhart (18:51):
Thank you for that.
And then, bob, there's a couple, there's a session mental
health awareness.
Maybe you wanted to give a plugfor that one.
Bob Lutz (19:01):
Yeah, so on Thursday we don't have the tracks anymore
.
We have two sessions in themorning, one on mental health
awareness, and this has beendone at a couple other AASHTO
meetings and I'm just going tosay it's been very, very
powerful and you need to bethere, so I hope we'll have good
attendance.
We're also going to have a timemanagement panel.
I think that's need to be there, so I hope we'll have good
(19:21):
attendance.
We're also going to have a timemanagement panel.
I think that's going to be agreat topic.
Everybody struggles with nothaving enough time and trying to
get everything done in the timethat you do have.
So we're going to have a panelsession there and Maggie
Kasparsky, aashto's Director ofCommunications and Marketing,
will also be on that panel Firsttime for her being at TechX.
(19:43):
So thanks, maggie, she's goingto be great.
You're going to love Maggie.
Then we'll have one othersession about common ASTM
quality managementnon-conformities and then we'll
have our closing session, wherewe have a general Q&A, give out
some prizes, take your questions, take your suggestions and wrap
(20:08):
it up.
Brian Johnson (20:09):
Now, one thing I was noticing as we were going
through the summaries of thedifferent tracks is there appear
to be a lot of sessions thatmight even convey to other
industries, of sessions thatmight even convey to other
industries.
Tracy, do you think there's anyopportunities for people in
that?
And I'm especially thinking inthat Seattle area that there
(20:35):
probably are people from othercompanies that might be
interested in hearing what goeson in another industry related
to quality.
Tracy Barnhart (20:39):
Yeah, that's absolutely right.
I had mentioned Michelle Wolf.
She works for the federalgovernment with the United
States Geological Survey.
She's not working in a testinglaboratory, construction
materials testing laboratory.
She brings a fresh perspectiveto risk management, risk
analysis.
But that concept applies to allindustries.
(20:59):
So absolutely, that goes beyondthe CMT industry.
Same with Dennis DeVos.
His background is in theautomotive industry but he gave
a presentation last year andrelated it to what he's
experienced in the automotiveindustry.
But again, that crosses overinto our industry.
A lot of those principles andpractices.
(21:20):
So absolutely, yeah, anyone.
Lot of those principles andpractices.
So absolutely, yeah, anyoneoutside of this industry is most
welcome to attend and they cancome.
You can even just come for aday to the technical exchange.
There's a daily rate to attendinstead of, you know, committing
to the entire four days.
Bob Lutz (21:36):
Yeah, that's a good point, Tracy.
We're also going to have KarenDove from ANU, which is a local
organization in the Seattle area, also talking about recruiting.
So she'll be on that panel andshe has nothing to do with our
industry, but I know that she'sgoing to provide a lot of great
information that can apply toany industry.
So I feel like we have a reallywell-rounded, diverse group of
(22:00):
people that will be talking andpresenting.
So, brian, I think everybodyfrom Microsoft and Costco and
Boeing should show up to thetechnical exchange.
Brian Johnson (22:15):
It wouldn't hurt.
It really wouldn't, becausethere are some lessons to be
learned from every industry, andI know construction materials
might not sound like the mostthat have been imparted by our.
You know people in ourindustries and they're kind of
(22:48):
interested in it and they say,wow, you know, I wouldn't have
thought about it that way.
You know, it stretches theirbrains a little bit.
It gives them some differentperspective.
It might help them solveproblems that they have that
they're dealing with, becausethey always think about it the
way that they've thought aboutit.
We've even had people fromaerospace backgrounds come in
(23:09):
and say, why are you guys sofocused on calibration of this
insignificant thing?
And I think, wow, well, maybewe're going a little bit too far
.
If the people in the aerospaceindustry think that it's where
it's a little bit overkill,perhaps they are correct.
So it's good for us to hearthat stuff too.
Kim Swanson (23:28):
I also want to point out that if you are
curious and you want to see thedraft agenda that Tracy was
talking about, you can go toashtoresourceorg slash events
and there's a link there to theregistration site and the
meeting site and I will put thatin the show notes as well.
But you get more than just allthis great content that we are
(23:51):
going over.
We get more than the sessions.
Yes, there are over 31different sessions this year,
including the pre-eventworkshops that Tracy is doing.
I am doing one that's virtualon March 11th, about how to
prepare for the technicalexchange as an attendee.
If this is your first time orif you're an introvert and a
little nervous about going to abig event, this will definitely
(24:15):
help.
It'll be recorded for those whocan't do it.
Tracy Barnhart (24:17):
But what else is included?
I'll tell you, the thing thatpeople I think love the most
about this event are thenetworking opportunities, and we
hear that over and over andover again on the feedback that
people love talking to theirpeers about these topics and
learning from each other,sharing best practices.
That's what it's all about.
(24:38):
That's why we called it atechnical exchange.
From the get-go, and every yearyou'll just see more and more
of that networking.
You can network within thesessions because, again, you're
not just sitting there listeningto a person talk the whole time
.
You're actually working withother people in groups at many
of the sessions and there aretons of breaks in the mornings
and afternoons.
(24:58):
We purposely scheduled 30minute breaks, so there is
enough time to do somenetworking with people.
Of course, you can sit withpeople at lunchtime and chat
with them At that time.
You can network with oursponsors that are exhibiting
there at the technical exchange.
We also have an off-site event.
The planning is in the worksfor that and a lot of networking
(25:22):
takes place there in a morecasual setting.
So I would say that that is oneof the biggest draws of this
event.
Kim Swanson (25:31):
And we can't forget about the icebreaker on Monday
night that's right.
Did you mention that I did not.
So see okay, as I started tosay it.
Tracy Barnhart (25:39):
I'm like, oh wait, you might have mentioned
it, as I kind of half zoned out,since I already know what's
included.
And that's right.
After that three-hour internalaudit certificate course with
Tracy, then you can go to theicebreaker reception and you
know, let loose a little bit andbreak that ice.
Yeah, that's right, break thatice.
Somebody mentioned food.
Break that ice.
Yeah, that's right.
Bob Lutz (26:01):
Break that ice.
Somebody mentioned food, so I'mgoing to jump in and mention
food, because your registrycovers all of those things that
Tracy and Kim mentioned, but italso includes food.
Let's see Breakfast on Tuesday,wednesday, thursday, Lunch on
Tuesday and Wednesday, thebreaks.
We always have food at theafternoon breaks.
We always have food at theafternoon breaks.
(26:21):
We'll have food at theicebreaker reception.
So all of that the offsiteevent on Wednesday night
everything is included in yourregistration fee.
Kim Swanson (26:35):
And the event ends on noon on Thursday, so you
actually do have time to travelback and get back home Thursday
night.
It's not a full day, so I dothink some people do enjoy that
of that.
They're not having to then addanother travel day after it, and
that is why we also start theevent on Monday, technically
like Monday night, so peopledon't have to travel over the
(26:56):
weekend All right.
Brian Johnson (26:58):
So we talked a little bit about the uh time of
year that this is in and whereit's going to be, and, uh, I'm
going to talk about, uh,something kind of mundane
related to that travel, but Iwant let's talk about, let's
talk about packing.
How do you pack for this trip?
You need to have plenty ofdifferent situations covered,
(27:26):
correct?
Because we've got the sessionswhere you're sitting and you're
in a more professional setting.
You've got the evening events.
How do you prepare yourself forsuch a trip?
Tracy Barnhart (27:39):
Right?
Well, I would like to begin bysaying I am in awe of Sonia
Puderbaugh, who is theLaboratory Assessment Program
Director here.
She packs everything in herbackpack.
That is all she takes for aweek-long event.
I don't think I could ever dothat.
But yes, brian, I like options.
(28:00):
Yes, I do.
The four people three otherpeople on the call here know
that I have a little bit of anobsession with shoes, so I want
to make sure that I'm packingmany shoe options.
(28:32):
But yes, the meeting rooms cantend to get a little bit chilly,
so we do recommend that peoplebring something with long
sleeves.
It's probably going to bechilly outside as well, but all
of you have probably been inmeeting rooms, but then it could
also get really hot in therooms.
It's hard to tell.
It's always a balancing actwith that, but the event in
general is casual.
There is no specific dress code.
Be comfortable.
(28:52):
If you want to dress businesscasual, that's great.
If you are more comfortable injeans and a T-shirt, that's
awesome.
We don't care, we just want tosee you there.
I just rhymed, which is reallygreat, right.
Bob Lutz (29:08):
Yeah, but just be comfortable.
Yeah, I would say most peopleare dressing, at least business
casual.
Brian Johnson (29:15):
Right, yeah, I would agree with that and and
and that's I.
I know I asked the right personthat question because you
covered.
You covered it all.
Uh, because, because really myexperience going to these
conferences is you think it'sgoing to be too cold, you drive,
you bring a bunch of warmclothes, it's too hot, right,
and sometimes you think it'sgoing to be too hot, it's
(29:37):
freezing, and you just can't,and sometimes it goes back and
forth.
So, just if you're not used togoing to be too hot, it's
freezing and sometimes it goesback and forth.
So, just if you're not used togoing to conferences, this is
just the way it is and you haveto be prepared for it.
Tracy Barnhart (29:47):
And, being in the Pacific Northwest, you may
have heard that it sometimesrains in the Pacific Northwest,
so there is probably pretty highlikelihood that it's going to
rain at some point during TechXweek.
Yes, we're going to be insidealmost the entire time, but the
off-site event is at a differentlocation and I believe it's
(30:07):
walkable from our hotel.
So if you want to walk to theoff-site event, you might want
to bring a rain jacket or anumbrella or something like that
just to cover your bases in theevent of precipitation.
Brian Johnson (30:19):
Just to cover your bases in the event of
precipitation.
Yeah, and in the sessions, youknow, typically you can just
bring something to write with oryour laptop or something.
You know because typically like, if there's an activity, you're
going to be provided with aworksheet or something, but have
something to write with.
You know, people usually havetheir mobile phones on them.
Tracy Barnhart (30:38):
Sometimes there are surveys that happen, so just
be prepared for those kinds ofactivities as well absolutely,
or visit one of our exhibitorsand grab a free pen from them,
because many of our exhibitorsbring those types of things with
them that's a good point.
Brian Johnson (30:57):
Let's talk about that for a second.
We do have sponsors and I thinkwe're still we're still, uh,
accepting sponsors for thisevent.
What we'd like to do is fill upour sponsors room, and usually
a lot of activity is going onwith the sponsors at our meeting
.
Bob, do you want to talk aboutthat?
Bob Lutz (31:17):
Every year we have sponsors, vendors, exhibitors,
and I think last year we had 22or 23, and we'd like to hit that
same number this year.
We provide a lot ofopportunities for the sponsors
to meet the attendees, so wewere very intentional about
where we put the sponsors andthe vendors.
(31:39):
Where we schedule breaks, wetry and get them as much traffic
as possible.
Last year in Boston wasdefinitely our best year in
terms of numbers, but I canremember seeing so many
conversations going on duringthe breaks, a lot of really good
conversations, a lot of goodinput, a lot of good exchanges.
(32:02):
And the sponsors and the vendorsthey are a critical part to
this because not only do theyhelp us with the cost of the
meeting but, more importantly,they are vital pieces to this
industry, whether they'reequipment manufacturers,
standards producers, calibrationagency, lims Gosh.
(32:27):
Who am I?
What type of vendor am Imissing?
I mean everybody really who isinvolved in this industry in one
way or another generally isthere.
Great for them, but it's alsogreat for the attendees as well.
And, brian, I heard thatperhaps there might be, since
(32:48):
we're on a podcast right now, Iheard there might be an actual
recording of a podcast inBellevue in March.
Brian Johnson (32:56):
There might be.
Yeah, I have done this beforeat another meeting, but it was a
NetPep meeting.
But I think what we should dois conduct a few interviews
during the week with attendeesand then Kim can package it to
kick off the next season of thepodcast and we can have a little
(33:16):
series about what's been goingon with different activities.
So it wouldn't necessarily beabout the event.
It would be more about what'sgoing on.
What kind of conversations aregoing on?
Kim Swanson (33:29):
And I would encourage anyone who's listening
to this podcast to come up toBrian and say I heard your
podcast and I love it, because Iwant to have a little friendly
wager with him of how many timesthat's going to happen at the
technical exchange.
So I encourage you to do that,brian did not know.
We were going to have thatfriendly little bet, but we are
are.
Bob Lutz (33:49):
Are we doing an over under bet?
Is that what we're?
Yes, I haven't.
Kim Swanson (33:52):
Yes, we haven't set the parameters yet, but I'm
just saying I don't know whatthe number is, but I'm leaning
over.
I'm more optimistic, I think,than brian is yeah, the number
is 10 and well 9.5.
You can't have that over underat an even number.
You can't tie, so it has to behalf half Nine point something.
Brian Johnson (34:12):
I think he might be less optimistic than I am
with that, because I think wecan beat that oh yeah, I think
just out of spite.
Somebody will beat that.
Bob Lutz (34:23):
The number can and will change right up to the mark
.
Kim Swanson (34:29):
But, yes, go and bug Brian about the podcast,
because I know he would lovethat, and bob too, because he's
our boss.
So tell uh, tell him how muchyou love listening to the
podcast I love the podcast.
I feel like we covered all ofthe bases for the gist of what
the agenda is going to be like.
(34:49):
All the fun, extra stuff, thewhy we've done it we haven't
really talked on.
I know we've talked about it inprevious episodes and previous
years, but I think, bob, whydon't you go into a short little
?
Why do we even host a technicalexchange?
That is a lot of work for ourstaff, so why do we put this
(35:10):
much effort into a four-dayevent?
Bob Lutz (35:13):
We do it because there's so much great
information out there and thisis a way to connect all the
people on the great informationso that everybody can learn
together and improve together.
In a nutshell, and we want tobe part of that conversation, we
want to be the conduit, we wantto be that mechanism that
(35:34):
brings all that together, and wehave found that it has worked
really well.
So we will keep on doing it,keep on trying and keep on
making it better, on making itbetter.
Nobody mentioned feedback.
(35:54):
There will be a number ofopportunities to provide
feedback, including in personand just letting us know.
We really want to hear feedback, all of it, what you like, what
you don't like, suggestions forthe future If you'd like to be
involved as a speaker or apanelist.
All that we want to hear, andwe'd love to have those
conversations on site inBellevue.
Tracy Barnhart (36:14):
I wanted to touch on something Kim mentioned
the fun factor.
I think people really do have agreat time at the technical
exchange.
I know we do.
People from Ashtray Resourcethat are attending it's a
tremendous amount of work.
Yes, you're absolutely right,Kim, but once we're there and
everything's in place, we reallyenjoy being there and talking
(36:35):
to our customers and answeringquestions and I think they
really enjoy meeting us for thefirst time.
They may have been a customerfor 25, 30 years but have never
met us in person, so they lovethe opportunity to get to talk
to us.
But you've been hearing thebanter throughout this podcast
and you'll find that at TechX,especially for the AASHTO
(36:55):
resource-led sessions, they'relight.
The topics can be heavy, but weinfuse some fun and we try not
to keep everything super serious.
There are a lot of things tolearn, but you can learn and
have fun at the same time, so Idid want to put a plug in for
that.
Kim Swanson (37:12):
You can find more information about the technical
exchange at ashtoresourceorg.
Slash events.
Brian Johnson (37:18):
All right Sounds good, so I hope this episode
encourages you to come and joinus in Bellevue, washington, on
March 16th, 17th, 17th that'swhen I'm flying out with my
giant luggage, with all my stuff.
Tracy Barnhart (37:32):
With all your shoes?
Brian Johnson (37:33):
Yes, with all my shoes and come help us join or
come join us there to be part ofthe quality management system
revolution in the constructionmaterials industry, and the
revolution will be podcasted.
Kim Swanson (37:51):
Thanks for listening to AASHTO Resource Q&A
.
If you'd like to be a guest orjust submit a question, send us
an email at podcast atAASHTOresourceorg, or call Brian
at 240-436-4820.
For other news and relatedcontent, check out AASHTO
Resources social media accountsor go to aashtoresourceorg.
Welcome to AASHTO Resource Q&A.
We're taking time to discussconstruction materials, testing
and inspection with people inthe know.
From exploring testing problemsand solutions to laboratory
best practices and qualitymanagement, we're covering
topics important to you.
Brian Johnson (00:19):
Welcome to AASHTO Resource Q&A.
I'm Brian Johnson.
Kim Swanson (00:23):
And I'm Kim Swanson , and we are here today with one
of the last few episodes ofSeason 5, and we're talking
about everyone's favorite event,the AASHTO Resource Technical
Exchange.
Brian Johnson (00:34):
That's right.
Today we are joined by Bob Lutzand Tracy Barnhart, our usual
go-to guests when talking aboutthe technical exchange, since
they are our most significantdirection setters and planners
for the event.
So welcome to the podcast, Bob.
Bob Lutz (00:58):
Thanks, Brian and Kim.
I feel like we just did this.
Has it been a year?
Kim Swanson (01:05):
It has.
It has.
Brian Johnson (01:08):
Indeed it has.
It has felt like very littletime has gone by and somehow we
managed to get another season ofthe podcast out and circle back
to the next TechX Tracy.
Welcome.
Circle back to the next TechXTracy welcome.
Tracy Barnhart (01:26):
Well, thank you, Brian, and thank you for
referring to me as MissSignificant.
I'm not sure the last timeanyone ever said that to me
except my husband, so thank you.
Kim Swanson (01:36):
That might be an actual dig at your boss, who is
on this call.
I'm just saying.
Brian Johnson (01:41):
Well, you certainly have provided a
significant contribution andcontinue to do so.
Related to the technicalexchange, we are going to talk
about some of the things thatare different.
One of the things that iscertainly different between the
AASHTO Resource TechnicalExchange and just about every
(02:03):
event I've ever gone to is thatthere is a lot of preparation
for attendees.
Most events I go to you getsome information, but there
certainly aren't podcasts orspecial events where you get to
learn about how to make the mostof the event.
For a relatively short eventthat only draws about 300 people
(02:29):
Actually, does anybody want totake a stab at, or does anybody
want to guess less violentlythat, how many attendees we
typically have for the technicalexchange?
Tracy Barnhart (02:46):
I will take a stab at that.
I think we had about 250 inBoston last year.
Is that correct, Bob?
That's what I recollect anyway,and the numbers are trending so
far this year pretty close tothat.
So hopefully we'll get aroundthat number, maybe more.
Bob Lutz (03:03):
Yeah, I'm sure we know the exact number somewhere so
we probably don't have to guess,but somewhere between 250 and
260.
Brian Johnson (03:12):
Yeah, and there's plenty of time for people to
sign up.
So this is just to get youexcited and get you to sign up.
You may have not gotten theapproval yet from your
management, but time's a wasting.
It is time to book thoseflights, make those hotel
reservations, figure out whatyou're going to do to get there.
This year, the event's going tobe held in Bellevue, Washington
(03:35):
.
Kim Swanson (03:36):
Before we get too far into this episode, I did
want to point out that thetechnical exchange is going to
be March 17th through the 20th,so I think we forgot to mention
the date of that.
We have the city, but there isthe date, so you have time.
As of the recording and releaseof this podcast, you should
still have time to make all yourplans to attend.
Brian Johnson (03:58):
So this is the first time we've gone to the
Pacific Northwest for thetechnical exchange.
It is our second time on theWest Coast.
The first time we were in theSan Diego area and that was a
great experience and it's reallynice to get in touch with
attendees who are in that regionof the country.
(04:21):
So what usually happens and I'mgonna just jump into the answer
to my own question is the typeof attendees that we get are
typically your laboratorymanagers, supervisors,
technicians and peripheralservices around laboratory
operations like calibration andcertification and training
(04:45):
programs, lims, which arelaboratory information
management systems organizationsand all sorts of equipment
manufacturers and sellers.
But we tend to have a littlebit of a local feel to our
(05:07):
technical exchanges when weactually show up.
I would say, tracy, what wouldyou say if you had to say a
percentage breakdown of localversus national attendees?
Tracy Barnhart (05:20):
Oh, wow.
I would probably say 25%, 30%,local.
Definitely we pick up.
We're already noticing we'repicking up a lot of people in
Idaho, which is pretty, veryclose by, so that's great for
those folks.
But we're seeing some peoplefrom California and even Texas.
(05:41):
I noticed today there were somepeople from Texas heading on up
there.
So yeah, I think it helps thosepeople to cut down on expenses
when we're in the area and maybethey don't have to fly across
the country and pay for that.
Kim Swanson (05:57):
Yeah, and I will say we do get some international
attendees as well, brian, sodon't forget that.
You were just saying local andnational, so I don't want to
forget about the people thattravel internationally to come
to this event.
Brian Johnson (06:10):
No offense to our Canadian friends, but I mean,
you're practically right there.
Tracy Barnhart (06:15):
That's right.
Brian Johnson (06:16):
When you're in Washington state.
That's very close.
But yeah, technically that isinternational and we have
actually some excellent andactive participants from Canada
that go to the technicalexchange every year, including
some speakers.
So, yeah, we definitely do notwant to bring any disrespect to
(06:37):
our Canadian friends that cometo TechX and support that event.
Let's talk about the layout ofthis one we're doing things a
little bit differently andsupport that event.
Let's talk about the layout ofthis one.
We're doing things a little bitdifferently.
Bob, why don't you tell usabout how this technical
exchange is going to bestructured, as opposed to what
we've done in the past?
Bob Lutz (06:54):
Yeah.
So we're going to do somethingdifferent this year first time
and, fingers crossed, I thinkit's going to go well.
The major change that we madethis year are making is that we
have, like always, we have threeconcurrent sessions and three
concurrent tracks, but this yearthey are defined a little bit
(07:15):
better and differently.
So track one, the first track,is content geared toward
technicians and inspectors.
Track two is geared towards labmanagers and quality managers.
Track three is geared towardsmanagers, directors and leaders.
(07:38):
Now, having said that, anybodycan go to any session that they
want, but we're hoping that thisis going to provide a little
bit better balance.
No matter who you are, you'regoing to have a number of
sessions that fit your currentrole.
One of the bits of feedbackwe've received in the past is
that, well, you seem a littleheavy in this area and a little
(08:00):
light in this area.
So we went into this planningwith okay, let's define the
audience a little bit better andlet's try and make sure we have
enough sessions and goodbalance for everybody.
Brian Johnson (08:12):
Now, that type of structure seems like it would
create some challenges as well,because there are some topics
that kind of overlap among thosedifferent positions, lap among
those different positions.
Tracy, can you tell us aboutwhat somebody can expect?
Tracy Barnhart (08:41):
Do a little bit deeper, dive into the technician
path.
Sure, I'm taking a look at theagenda that we have at this
moment For the technician track.
We have laboratory tips andtricks, so things that we can
share from our perspective andas well as attendees sharing
with each other ways to maketheir lives easier in the
laboratory setting.
We have laboratory samplingpractices setting.
(09:08):
We have laboratory samplingpractices I'm going to bring in
a subject matter expert on thatto go through how to properly
obtain samples for testing inthe laboratory.
We have some common findingssessions where we're going to
get into common findings that wenote on AASHTO resource and
sometimes CCRL assessmentreports and why those things are
(09:29):
common kind of digging a littlebit deeper into those things.
Not only these are the thingsthat we see pretty regularly,
but what is it about thesethings that?
Why do they end up beingfindings?
On reports, is the standard notclear?
Is there a training issuethat's not being communicated to
the technical staff?
So we have a lot of things likethat planned for the technician
(09:52):
track.
Kim Swanson (09:55):
I'm going to say as well, when we're talking about
all these sessions, they're notjust the same thing, right, we
have a couple different.
We have sessions labeled as acouple different things, and so
we have a presentation, whichmay be what you are thinking
mostly when you think of asession, but that's mostly
lecture with some Q&A time atthe end.
But then we also have paneldiscussions and round tables and
(10:17):
workshops.
So there's variety, not only inthe topics and who it's
targeted for, but also in thetypes of sessions that we are
offering this year.
Tracy Barnhart (10:29):
Yeah, that's absolutely true, kim.
We've received a lot offeedback over the years since
we've been doing this.
In 2017 was our first year.
People wanted more panels.
The first time we did a panelor two, people loved that.
The attendees were like give memore of that.
So we've infused more and morepanels over the course of the
years and continue to get greatfeedback on that, and people
(10:52):
also love the networking duringthe sessions.
You're not, as Kim mentioned,you're not just sitting there
listening to somebody talk theentire time.
You're going to be activelyparticipating.
If you'd like to, you don'thave to.
You're welcome to activelyparticipate in most, if not all,
of these sessions, and wewelcome that at the technical
(11:13):
exchange.
Kim Swanson (11:15):
I think that's what really sets this event apart is
the interaction and it is anexchange which I'm surprised Bob
has not mentioned yet, but itis an exchange of information
and we do want the attendeeparticipation and I think from
the feedback that we've gottenfrom years past is that
sometimes people think that likejust the interaction with other
attendees is just like wasvaluable enough.
(11:37):
Like just the interaction withother attendees was valuable
enough In addition to thecontent that we have.
That was just kind of a bonus.
But they really got enoughvalue out of it.
Just meeting and interactingand networking and kind of just
like sessions were a bonus.
Tracy Barnhart (11:51):
And I wanted to mention also that we get many
repeat attendees at this eventand it surprised us at first
like, oh wow, they keep comingback and that's great.
And when Bob and I aretypically the ones preparing the
agenda, we keep that in mindthat we're going to have a lot
of new people attending thetechnical exchange, but we're
(12:13):
also going to have repeatattendees, so we're very careful
about keeping the content freshand at least again I'm looking
at the draft agenda at leasthalf of these sessions are brand
new to the technical exchangethis year, in 2025.
Every year, based on feedbackwe've received from attendees.
(12:41):
It's not like we're justpulling out the PowerPoint that
we used in 2017 and here we'regoing to use this again in 2025.
That is not how we operate.
We often we just start fromscratch, even on those topics
that we repeat each year, tokeep the content fresh.
Kim Swanson (12:53):
Yes, and especially since we're targeting in with
the tracks, like so.
Perhaps there was a topic thatwas more general last year
because it wanted to covereverybody, but now, because it's
assigned the technician track,it's going to talk a little bit
more about how the techniciansand inspectors can use this
information or use that stuff.
(13:13):
So I think everything has beenrevamped for a little bit of a
deeper understanding of thesubject, even if it is a repeat,
like you said.
Bob Lutz (13:25):
Right, and even if it's a topic that we've covered
before, you're probably going tohear a different and a fresh
perspective just because of thepeople who were involved.
It's not going to be the sameexact people that got it last
year or the year before and wealso have a really interesting
and different event or sessionpre-conference session on Monday
(13:46):
afternoon that Tracy's doing.
If you want to talk about thata little bit, Tracy.
Tracy Barnhart (13:51):
Sure, that session's an internal audit
certificate course.
We have always been coveringinternal audits in some way at
the technical exchange and weasked for some feedback from
attendees if they wanted alittle bit more on that topic in
a future event, referring to acertificate, where you're
(14:12):
working in small groups andlarge groups.
So I've been working on puttingthis session together.
I'm actually going to do a runthrough with staff tomorrow.
I'm excited about it, but thisis a three-hour course that's
going to take place on Mondayafternoon with a lot of
(14:34):
activities.
I think I have 15 activitiesplanned during that particular
session, activities plannedduring that particular session
and I hope that, if you'relistening, this is something
that you would want to come toand learn more about internal
audits.
If you're already doing internalaudits, you will probably pick
(14:54):
up a lot of tips and tricks thatyou can implement going forward
in your internal audit processin your own facility.
But we'll be writingnonconformities, we'll be going
through audit scenarios.
There's an audit skit to addsome humor to it.
We'll be identifyingnon-conformities, all kinds of
things.
So I'm really excited about it.
Something brand new for the2025 Technical Exchange.
Brian Johnson (15:14):
I'm excited about that too, because if there's
one thing people need trainingon, it's internal audits,
because I can tell, tell you,even among all the accredited
laboratories, they reallystruggle to carry out effective
internal audits, even whenthey're trying.
And, yes, that does imply thatsome are not trying, it's true,
(15:39):
sorry.
Well, yeah, it's more than justchecking.
Tracy Barnhart (15:40):
Well, yeah, it's more than just checking the box
, right?
Brian Johnson (15:42):
Yeah, it's more than checking the box, Far far
more than that.
Kim Swanson (15:46):
And that three-hour session is broken up into two
parts, so don't think thatyou're just going to be sitting
there doing activities for threehours straight.
There are built-in breaks, sono worries about that.
Bob Lutz (15:57):
Yep you get bathroom breaks.
Don't worry, In case you'relistening and not watching this
podcast.
That last came from BrianJohnson.
Brian Johnson (16:07):
Yep, that was me.
Bob Lutz (16:08):
That was me.
Brian Johnson (16:10):
Thank you.
Send all your hate mail topodcast at ashtoresourceorg.
We would love to hear from you.
Yep, love to hear from you.
Please do resourceorg.
We would love to hear from you.
Yeah, love to hear from you,please do so.
Tracy, I had you go down theone path with the technician.
I think we should go down.
Just a summary of the other twoas well.
(16:30):
Sure, let's take the middle one, the manager-supervisor track.
What kind of sessions canpeople expect to see there?
Tracy Barnhart (16:35):
Sure On that one .
We're going to dive into theaccreditation program
requirements.
That'll be a good session forthat.
Best practices for lab managerseffective corrective actions
we're going to get into best QMSpractices from ISO this is a
new session for 2025, wherewe're going to go through some
(16:58):
things that are in ISO standards9001, 17.025, that are not in
AASHTO R18, that managers andsupervisors may want to consider
implementing in theirorganization.
So that's going to be a paneland quality manager best
practices is on there too, andwe'll have Benjamin Trujillo
(17:20):
returning as a guest speaker forthat particular session, and he
always is very well received atthe Technical Exchange and
we're very glad to have him backagain in 2025.
Kim Swanson (17:33):
He was also a guest on the podcast.
So if you were like thatepisode then you can meet him in
person at the TechnicalExchange.
Tracy Barnhart (17:42):
That's right, and then, on the director's
track, I'm taking a look at that.
We have Michelle Wolf of theUnited States Geological Survey.
She's going to do a session onrisk management.
We have a leadership panel thisis new for 2025, recruiting,
challenges and solutionssolutions.
So that's something a lot ofpeople are struggling with, so
(18:04):
come on and join us for thatdiscussion.
Another thing that's new for2025 is effective communication
techniques.
We're actually going to havethe communication manager
communications manager fromAASHTO in Washington DC give a
presentation on communicationtechniques.
I'm going to get into astrategic planning panel and the
(18:27):
cost of poor quality.
Another returning guest speaker, dennis DeVos, is going to give
a session on the cost of poorquality.
Kim Swanson (18:36):
And I just wanted to note that the communication
session is going to be done byMaggie, who is the director of
communications and marketing atAASHTO.
I didn't want you to demote heron that.
She's the director, yes.
Tracy Barnhart (18:51):
Thank you for that.
And then, bob, there's a couple, there's a session mental
health awareness.
Maybe you wanted to give a plugfor that one.
Bob Lutz (19:01):
Yeah, so on Thursday we don't have the tracks anymore
.
We have two sessions in themorning, one on mental health
awareness, and this has beendone at a couple other AASHTO
meetings and I'm just going tosay it's been very, very
powerful and you need to bethere, so I hope we'll have good
attendance.
We're also going to have a timemanagement panel.
I think that's need to be there, so I hope we'll have good
(19:21):
attendance.
We're also going to have a timemanagement panel.
I think that's going to be agreat topic.
Everybody struggles with nothaving enough time and trying to
get everything done in the timethat you do have.
So we're going to have a panelsession there and Maggie
Kasparsky, aashto's Director ofCommunications and Marketing,
will also be on that panel Firsttime for her being at TechX.
(19:43):
So thanks, maggie, she's goingto be great.
You're going to love Maggie.
Then we'll have one othersession about common ASTM
quality managementnon-conformities and then we'll
have our closing session, wherewe have a general Q&A, give out
some prizes, take your questions, take your suggestions and wrap
(20:08):
it up.
Brian Johnson (20:09):
Now, one thing I was noticing as we were going
through the summaries of thedifferent tracks is there appear
to be a lot of sessions thatmight even convey to other
industries, of sessions thatmight even convey to other
industries.
Tracy, do you think there's anyopportunities for people in
that?
And I'm especially thinking inthat Seattle area that there
(20:35):
probably are people from othercompanies that might be
interested in hearing what goeson in another industry related
to quality.
Tracy Barnhart (20:39):
Yeah, that's absolutely right.
I had mentioned Michelle Wolf.
She works for the federalgovernment with the United
States Geological Survey.
She's not working in a testinglaboratory, construction
materials testing laboratory.
She brings a fresh perspectiveto risk management, risk
analysis.
But that concept applies to allindustries.
(20:59):
So absolutely, that goes beyondthe CMT industry.
Same with Dennis DeVos.
His background is in theautomotive industry but he gave
a presentation last year andrelated it to what he's
experienced in the automotiveindustry.
But again, that crosses overinto our industry.
A lot of those principles andpractices.
(21:20):
So absolutely, yeah, anyone.
Lot of those principles andpractices.
So absolutely, yeah, anyoneoutside of this industry is most
welcome to attend and they cancome.
You can even just come for aday to the technical exchange.
There's a daily rate to attendinstead of, you know, committing
to the entire four days.
Bob Lutz (21:36):
Yeah, that's a good point, Tracy.
We're also going to have KarenDove from ANU, which is a local
organization in the Seattle area, also talking about recruiting.
So she'll be on that panel andshe has nothing to do with our
industry, but I know that she'sgoing to provide a lot of great
information that can apply toany industry.
So I feel like we have a reallywell-rounded, diverse group of
(22:00):
people that will be talking andpresenting.
So, brian, I think everybodyfrom Microsoft and Costco and
Boeing should show up to thetechnical exchange.
Brian Johnson (22:15):
It wouldn't hurt.
It really wouldn't, becausethere are some lessons to be
learned from every industry, andI know construction materials
might not sound like the mostthat have been imparted by our.
You know people in ourindustries and they're kind of
(22:48):
interested in it and they say,wow, you know, I wouldn't have
thought about it that way.
You know, it stretches theirbrains a little bit.
It gives them some differentperspective.
It might help them solveproblems that they have that
they're dealing with, becausethey always think about it the
way that they've thought aboutit.
We've even had people fromaerospace backgrounds come in
(23:09):
and say, why are you guys sofocused on calibration of this
insignificant thing?
And I think, wow, well, maybewe're going a little bit too far
.
If the people in the aerospaceindustry think that it's where
it's a little bit overkill,perhaps they are correct.
So it's good for us to hearthat stuff too.
Kim Swanson (23:28):
I also want to point out that if you are
curious and you want to see thedraft agenda that Tracy was
talking about, you can go toashtoresourceorg slash events
and there's a link there to theregistration site and the
meeting site and I will put thatin the show notes as well.
But you get more than just allthis great content that we are
(23:51):
going over.
We get more than the sessions.
Yes, there are over 31different sessions this year,
including the pre-eventworkshops that Tracy is doing.
I am doing one that's virtualon March 11th, about how to
prepare for the technicalexchange as an attendee.
If this is your first time orif you're an introvert and a
little nervous about going to abig event, this will definitely
(24:15):
help.
It'll be recorded for those whocan't do it.
Tracy Barnhart (24:17):
But what else is included?
I'll tell you, the thing thatpeople I think love the most
about this event are thenetworking opportunities, and we
hear that over and over andover again on the feedback that
people love talking to theirpeers about these topics and
learning from each other,sharing best practices.
That's what it's all about.
(24:38):
That's why we called it atechnical exchange.
From the get-go, and every yearyou'll just see more and more
of that networking.
You can network within thesessions because, again, you're
not just sitting there listeningto a person talk the whole time
.
You're actually working withother people in groups at many
of the sessions and there aretons of breaks in the mornings
and afternoons.
(24:58):
We purposely scheduled 30minute breaks, so there is
enough time to do somenetworking with people.
Of course, you can sit withpeople at lunchtime and chat
with them At that time.
You can network with oursponsors that are exhibiting
there at the technical exchange.
We also have an off-site event.
The planning is in the worksfor that and a lot of networking
(25:22):
takes place there in a morecasual setting.
So I would say that that is oneof the biggest draws of this
event.
Kim Swanson (25:31):
And we can't forget about the icebreaker on Monday
night that's right.
Did you mention that I did not.
So see okay, as I started tosay it.
Tracy Barnhart (25:39):
I'm like, oh wait, you might have mentioned
it, as I kind of half zoned out,since I already know what's
included.
And that's right.
After that three-hour internalaudit certificate course with
Tracy, then you can go to theicebreaker reception and you
know, let loose a little bit andbreak that ice.
Yeah, that's right, break thatice.
Somebody mentioned food.
Break that ice.
Yeah, that's right.
Bob Lutz (26:01):
Break that ice.
Somebody mentioned food, so I'mgoing to jump in and mention
food, because your registrycovers all of those things that
Tracy and Kim mentioned, but italso includes food.
Let's see Breakfast on Tuesday,wednesday, thursday, Lunch on
Tuesday and Wednesday, thebreaks.
We always have food at theafternoon breaks.
We always have food at theafternoon breaks.
(26:21):
We'll have food at theicebreaker reception.
So all of that the offsiteevent on Wednesday night
everything is included in yourregistration fee.
Kim Swanson (26:35):
And the event ends on noon on Thursday, so you
actually do have time to travelback and get back home Thursday
night.
It's not a full day, so I dothink some people do enjoy that
of that.
They're not having to then addanother travel day after it, and
that is why we also start theevent on Monday, technically
like Monday night, so peopledon't have to travel over the
(26:56):
weekend All right.
Brian Johnson (26:58):
So we talked a little bit about the uh time of
year that this is in and whereit's going to be, and, uh, I'm
going to talk about, uh,something kind of mundane
related to that travel, but Iwant let's talk about, let's
talk about packing.
How do you pack for this trip?
You need to have plenty ofdifferent situations covered,
(27:26):
correct?
Because we've got the sessionswhere you're sitting and you're
in a more professional setting.
You've got the evening events.
How do you prepare yourself forsuch a trip?
Tracy Barnhart (27:39):
Right?
Well, I would like to begin bysaying I am in awe of Sonia
Puderbaugh, who is theLaboratory Assessment Program
Director here.
She packs everything in herbackpack.
That is all she takes for aweek-long event.
I don't think I could ever dothat.
But yes, brian, I like options.
(28:00):
Yes, I do.
The four people three otherpeople on the call here know
that I have a little bit of anobsession with shoes, so I want
to make sure that I'm packingmany shoe options.
(28:32):
But yes, the meeting rooms cantend to get a little bit chilly,
so we do recommend that peoplebring something with long
sleeves.
It's probably going to bechilly outside as well, but all
of you have probably been inmeeting rooms, but then it could
also get really hot in therooms.
It's hard to tell.
It's always a balancing actwith that, but the event in
general is casual.
There is no specific dress code.
Be comfortable.
(28:52):
If you want to dress businesscasual, that's great.
If you are more comfortable injeans and a T-shirt, that's
awesome.
We don't care, we just want tosee you there.
I just rhymed, which is reallygreat, right.
Bob Lutz (29:08):
Yeah, but just be comfortable.
Yeah, I would say most peopleare dressing, at least business
casual.
Brian Johnson (29:15):
Right, yeah, I would agree with that and and
and that's I.
I know I asked the right personthat question because you
covered.
You covered it all.
Uh, because, because really myexperience going to these
conferences is you think it'sgoing to be too cold, you drive,
you bring a bunch of warmclothes, it's too hot, right,
and sometimes you think it'sgoing to be too hot, it's
(29:37):
freezing, and you just can't,and sometimes it goes back and
forth.
So, just if you're not used togoing to be too hot, it's
freezing and sometimes it goesback and forth.
So, just if you're not used togoing to conferences, this is
just the way it is and you haveto be prepared for it.
Tracy Barnhart (29:47):
And, being in the Pacific Northwest, you may
have heard that it sometimesrains in the Pacific Northwest,
so there is probably pretty highlikelihood that it's going to
rain at some point during TechXweek.
Yes, we're going to be insidealmost the entire time, but the
off-site event is at a differentlocation and I believe it's
(30:07):
walkable from our hotel.
So if you want to walk to theoff-site event, you might want
to bring a rain jacket or anumbrella or something like that
just to cover your bases in theevent of precipitation.
Brian Johnson (30:19):
Just to cover your bases in the event of
precipitation.
Yeah, and in the sessions, youknow, typically you can just
bring something to write with oryour laptop or something.
You know because typically like, if there's an activity, you're
going to be provided with aworksheet or something, but have
something to write with.
You know, people usually havetheir mobile phones on them.
Tracy Barnhart (30:38):
Sometimes there are surveys that happen, so just
be prepared for those kinds ofactivities as well absolutely,
or visit one of our exhibitorsand grab a free pen from them,
because many of our exhibitorsbring those types of things with
them that's a good point.
Brian Johnson (30:57):
Let's talk about that for a second.
We do have sponsors and I thinkwe're still we're still, uh,
accepting sponsors for thisevent.
What we'd like to do is fill upour sponsors room, and usually
a lot of activity is going onwith the sponsors at our meeting
.
Bob, do you want to talk aboutthat?
Bob Lutz (31:17):
Every year we have sponsors, vendors, exhibitors,
and I think last year we had 22or 23, and we'd like to hit that
same number this year.
We provide a lot ofopportunities for the sponsors
to meet the attendees, so wewere very intentional about
where we put the sponsors andthe vendors.
(31:39):
Where we schedule breaks, wetry and get them as much traffic
as possible.
Last year in Boston wasdefinitely our best year in
terms of numbers, but I canremember seeing so many
conversations going on duringthe breaks, a lot of really good
conversations, a lot of goodinput, a lot of good exchanges.
(32:02):
And the sponsors and the vendorsthey are a critical part to
this because not only do theyhelp us with the cost of the
meeting but, more importantly,they are vital pieces to this
industry, whether they'reequipment manufacturers,
standards producers, calibrationagency, lims Gosh.
(32:27):
Who am I?
What type of vendor am Imissing?
I mean everybody really who isinvolved in this industry in one
way or another generally isthere.
Great for them, but it's alsogreat for the attendees as well.
And, brian, I heard thatperhaps there might be, since
(32:48):
we're on a podcast right now, Iheard there might be an actual
recording of a podcast inBellevue in March.
Brian Johnson (32:56):
There might be.
Yeah, I have done this beforeat another meeting, but it was a
NetPep meeting.
But I think what we should dois conduct a few interviews
during the week with attendeesand then Kim can package it to
kick off the next season of thepodcast and we can have a little
(33:16):
series about what's been goingon with different activities.
So it wouldn't necessarily beabout the event.
It would be more about what'sgoing on.
What kind of conversations aregoing on?
Kim Swanson (33:29):
And I would encourage anyone who's listening
to this podcast to come up toBrian and say I heard your
podcast and I love it, because Iwant to have a little friendly
wager with him of how many timesthat's going to happen at the
technical exchange.
So I encourage you to do that,brian did not know.
We were going to have thatfriendly little bet, but we are
are.
Bob Lutz (33:49):
Are we doing an over under bet?
Is that what we're?
Yes, I haven't.
Kim Swanson (33:52):
Yes, we haven't set the parameters yet, but I'm
just saying I don't know whatthe number is, but I'm leaning
over.
I'm more optimistic, I think,than brian is yeah, the number
is 10 and well 9.5.
You can't have that over underat an even number.
You can't tie, so it has to behalf half Nine point something.
Brian Johnson (34:12):
I think he might be less optimistic than I am
with that, because I think wecan beat that oh yeah, I think
just out of spite.
Somebody will beat that.
Bob Lutz (34:23):
The number can and will change right up to the mark
.
Kim Swanson (34:29):
But, yes, go and bug Brian about the podcast,
because I know he would lovethat, and bob too, because he's
our boss.
So tell uh, tell him how muchyou love listening to the
podcast I love the podcast.
I feel like we covered all ofthe bases for the gist of what
the agenda is going to be like.
(34:49):
All the fun, extra stuff, thewhy we've done it we haven't
really talked on.
I know we've talked about it inprevious episodes and previous
years, but I think, bob, whydon't you go into a short little
?
Why do we even host a technicalexchange?
That is a lot of work for ourstaff, so why do we put this
(35:10):
much effort into a four-dayevent?
Bob Lutz (35:13):
We do it because there's so much great
information out there and thisis a way to connect all the
people on the great informationso that everybody can learn
together and improve together.
In a nutshell, and we want tobe part of that conversation, we
want to be the conduit, we wantto be that mechanism that
(35:34):
brings all that together, and wehave found that it has worked
really well.
So we will keep on doing it,keep on trying and keep on
making it better, on making itbetter.
Nobody mentioned feedback.
(35:54):
There will be a number ofopportunities to provide
feedback, including in personand just letting us know.
We really want to hear feedback, all of it, what you like, what
you don't like, suggestions forthe future If you'd like to be
involved as a speaker or apanelist.
All that we want to hear, andwe'd love to have those
conversations on site inBellevue.
Tracy Barnhart (36:14):
I wanted to touch on something Kim mentioned
the fun factor.
I think people really do have agreat time at the technical
exchange.
I know we do.
People from Ashtray Resourcethat are attending it's a
tremendous amount of work.
Yes, you're absolutely right,Kim, but once we're there and
everything's in place, we reallyenjoy being there and talking
(36:35):
to our customers and answeringquestions and I think they
really enjoy meeting us for thefirst time.
They may have been a customerfor 25, 30 years but have never
met us in person, so they lovethe opportunity to get to talk
to us.
But you've been hearing thebanter throughout this podcast
and you'll find that at TechX,especially for the AASHTO
(36:55):
resource-led sessions, they'relight.
The topics can be heavy, but weinfuse some fun and we try not
to keep everything super serious.
There are a lot of things tolearn, but you can learn and
have fun at the same time, so Idid want to put a plug in for
that.
Kim Swanson (37:12):
You can find more information about the technical
exchange at ashtoresourceorg.
Slash events.
Brian Johnson (37:18):
All right Sounds good, so I hope this episode
encourages you to come and joinus in Bellevue, washington, on
March 16th, 17th, 17th that'swhen I'm flying out with my
giant luggage, with all my stuff.
Tracy Barnhart (37:32):
With all your shoes?
Brian Johnson (37:33):
Yes, with all my shoes and come help us join or
come join us there to be part ofthe quality management system
revolution in the constructionmaterials industry, and the
revolution will be podcasted.
Kim Swanson (37:51):
Thanks for listening to AASHTO Resource Q&A
.
If you'd like to be a guest orjust submit a question, send us
an email at podcast atAASHTOresourceorg, or call Brian
at 240-436-4820.
For other news and relatedcontent, check out AASHTO
Resources social media accountsor go to aashtoresourceorg.
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