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JILS
421 E. El Segundo Blvd
El Segundo, CA
90245-3922
USA
Tel: +1 310 322 1920
        +1 310 322 1922
Fax: +1 310 322 5146
www.jilsfwd.com
View Comparison Study Results

In 2004, a company called Applied Research Associates, Inc. (ARA), ERES Consultants Division, performed a comparison study between the JILS 20T-FWD and the Dynatest 8002 FWD. ARA has provided FWD services to private and public clients since the early 1990s, and at the time of the test owned two Dynatest Model 8081 Heavy Weight Deflectometers (HWD) and three Dynatest Model 8002 FWDs.
While ARA had been satisfied with the data quality, service, and operation of their fleet of Dynatests, when it came time to acquire additional equipment, they desired to give equal consideration to all manufacturers. They made a precursory screening of all FWD manufacturers currently made, or that will be eventually made, in the United States. The manufacturers considered included Dynatest, JILS, Carl Bro, and KUAB.

Through their research, ARA quickly caught interest in an FWD mounted in a vehicle versus the trailer-mounted FWD with a dedicated tow vehicle. Carl Bro was eliminated because they lacked a strong North American presence. KUAB was eliminated because their choice of vehicle platforms seemed to be bulky and potentially high on maintenance.

Therefore, ARA narrowed the choices down to Dynatest and JILS. ARA conducted side-by-side testing on three different pavement structures for a comparison of load pulses, deflection basins, and back calculated sub grade moduli. In addition, equipment characteristics of both machines were analyzed based onthe following criteria:
Quality of load and deflection data, including past calibration history.
Maneuverability and ease of operation, including field program and data output file format.
Added features (e.g. temperature sensors, distance measuring instrument (DMI), and video camera system).
Maintenance history and customer satisfaction with support and service.
Number of units and references for unites with similar characteristics in operation in North America .
Based on the results of this study, ARA put the JILS 20-T FWD in to service.