AASHTO Journal - New AASHTO Domestic Materials Self-Certification Form

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials recently introduced a new self-certification form to help states easily ensure they are using domestically-made products complying with federal “Build America, Buy America” requirements in their transportation projects.

[Above image by AASHTO]

AASHTO worked with the Federal Highway Administration to develop a consistent format for manufacturers and suppliers to self-certify their products – thereby allowing state departments of transportation to easily know that the products for their infrastructure projects comply with the “Build America, Buy America” requirements, saving them time when it comes to completing projects – which ultimately benefits users of those projects.

Completed forms will then be uploaded electronically to an “Industry Document Repository” or IDR hosted on the AASHTO Product Evaluation & Audit Solutions DataMine website.

In an interview with the AASHTO Journal, Katheryn Malusky – program director for the AASHTO Product Evaluation and Audit Solutions technical service program – said the prime reason for putting this form together stems from the need to create a “simple and standardized” process for state DOTs to comply with rules regarding the use of domestically-made construction materials, including everything from polymer products and engineered wood to fiber optic cable.

“States wanted a way to ensure they are using compliant products without requesting industry to fill out a different form for every state agency,” she said. “We wanted to create a unified and consistent compliance process that offers a ‘one-stop-shop’ approach for states and the FHWA alike.”

“It also gives the industry a more efficient means to certify that their products are in compliance with the regulations,” added Kevin Marshia, AASHTO’s director of engineering.

Malusky also noted that, though the self-certification form may be updated and changed over time to reflect the addition of new requirements, the form’s template and document repository process will stay the same – giving states a long-term consistent approach to “Build America, Buy America” compliance.

In the coming weeks, AASHTO will be hosting a series of webinars for state DOTs to illustrate how to use the new form and the document repository process:

Northeast States: Monday, November 24 at 10:00 AM (EST): Click here to register.
Midwest States: Monday, November 24 at 12:00 PM (EST): Click here to register.
Southeast States: Monday, December 1 at 11:00 AM (EST): Click here to register.
Western States: Monday, December 1 at 1:00 PM (EST): Click here to register.