September 23, 2020 | BUFFALO, NEW YORK – Calspan Corporation is pleased to announce that the company has achieved accreditation to be recognized as a test provider by the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to perform barrier certification testing to the Manual for Assessing Safety Hardware (MASH). MASH represents uniform guidelines for conducting full-scale crash tests for permanent and temporary highway safety features. MASH is recognized throughout the United States, but it is also referenced and recognized in many other countries. The systems that would be subject to MASH testing include common guardrails, crash cushions, end terminals, attenuators, and unique devices to protect work zone areas. This certification is another step in Calspan’s goal of making the road safer for all. Through the MASH certification, Calspan will further expand its world-leading crash testing services to offer roadside furniture manufacturers with the capability to test the quality and crashworthiness of safety hardware.
As an independent, third-party testing solution, Calspan is positioned to provide confidential and secure barrier testing to a wide variety of barrier manufacturers. In addition to testing to MASH, Calspan is also capable of performing the common barrier test standards ASTM F2656, ASTM F3016, IWA 1-14: 2013, and PAS 68: 2013 along with the NHTSA, FMVSS and NCAP test standards that all vehicle manufacturers are required to meet. Calspan is an ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accredited facility that takes great pride in its accuracy and quality of testing.
Jon Gondek, Calspan’s Barrier Operations Manager, said, “We are really excited to be able to add MASH to our barrier crash testing capabilities. The ability to perform this test standard will give these manufacturers the right tools and data to develop innovative highway safety systems to meet the new stringent standard while also increasing the safety across all highways.” The sunset dates laid out by FHWA have passed and now require manufacturers to pass to the latest MASH standard versus the common NCHRP 350 standard of the past. “This certification helps us to solidify our customer-centric philosophy here at Calspan, and it’s a tremendous addition to being a turn key testing solution for our current and future customers.” said Jon. “As technology in our vehicles has enhanced tremendously over the last 10 years, we are beginning to see the same trend in the infrastructure of our highway systems with unique and advanced systems being developed to close the gap on the differences between infrastructure safety and vehicle safety, especially with autonomous vehicles. We’re excited Calspan will be a part of it.”
MASH Certification Testing is available now, contact the team at Calspan to reserve your space, or learn more about the new service here.
About Calspan
For more than 75 years, Calspan has been providing research and testing services in the aerospace and transportation industries. Internationally recognized for safety research and innovation, the company’s headquarters is located in Buffalo, NY, housing a variety of research and testing facilities, including a transonic wind tunnel, ground vehicle crash testing, dynamic sled testing and research, and tire research and performance testing. Calspan conducts flight-testing, flight training, and aircraft modifications in Niagara Falls, NY where they own and operate a fleet of seven airborne testbeds. Calspan also has prototype test device manufacturing capabilities in Newport News, Virginia, as well as force measurement equipment manufacturing capabilities in San Diego, California.
Date Posted
9/23/20Topic
Company News Mobility & Safety
