Back from Louisville: Our TechEx 2026 Recap

This year’s AASHTO re:source Technical Exchange wrapped up last week in Louisville, and we're still processing everything we heard, learned, and talked through over four days at the Louisville Marriott Downtown. Over 250 construction materials testing professionals made the trip, and the energy in the room reflected just how much this industry has on its mind right now.

The Conversation Has Shifted

If TechEx 2025 was about recognizing that change was coming to the CMT industry, 2026 felt like the year people started getting specific about what to do about it. Sessions across all three tracks kept circling back to the same underlying question: how do you build a lab operation that's genuinely resilient, not just accredited?

That showed up in discussions about quality management systems that go beyond AASHTO R18, management reviews that actually drive improvement rather than just document it, and training programs that set new lab managers up to succeed rather than leaving them to figure it out on their own. The technical content was strong, but the leadership and culture sessions drew some of the most engaged rooms we saw all week.

Technology Front & Center

The technology conversations at this year's TechEx were more grounded than in previous years. The LIMS-focused sessions moved past the question of whether labs should adopt modern software and into the practical details of how to configure it, what friction points to watch for, and how to use it to actually manage turnaround time rather than just record results after the fact.

The generative AI session was a standout. Mike Copeland from the Idaho Transportation Department walked through real, working examples of AI-built tools solving actual QA problems, including pulling structured data from PDFs, turning procedures into checklists, and standardizing report outputs. The room was full of people who came in skeptical and left with a list of things they wanted to try. That's a good sign.

What We Heard at Our Booth

Sponsoring and exhibiting gives us something that sessions alone don't: unfiltered, one-on-one conversation with people who are in the middle of real problems. This year, a few things came up over and over. Labs are tired of managing compliance through spreadsheets and email threads. Field teams want access to the same data that's sitting in the office. And when it comes to evaluating software, integration with existing systems has moved from a nice-to-have to a requirement.

We don't take that kind of feedback lightly. It goes straight into how we think about where Omnant needs to go next.

A Note on the PSP's 60th Anniversary

Thursday's behind-the-scenes look at the Proficiency Sample Program was a highlight we didn't expect to enjoy quite as much as we did. Drone footage of the sample production facility made it real in a way that a slide deck never could. Sixty years of producing the samples that labs across the country use to benchmark their own performance is worth pausing to appreciate.

We asked Omnant's cofounder Chad Dunham what stuck with him most from this year's TechEx:

"Every year at TechEx, I'm inspired by how much the people in this industry genuinely want to improve,” said Dunham. “The conversations we had in Louisville reinforced that the challenges labs are facing are real, and so is the motivation to solve them."

What Attendees Were Asking About

Some of the most common questions we fielded at our booth this year pointed to a few foundational areas where labs are still looking for guidance. If these came up for you too, here are some places to start:

Proficiency Classes

A lot of attendees had questions about how to get more out of their PSP results, not just what the scores mean, but how to use them to drive real improvement. AASHTO re:source offers proficiency classes specifically designed to help labs do exactly that. Learn more.

AASHTO re:source University

Staff training came up constantly. Labs want flexible options that don't require pulling people off the floor, and several folks weren't aware that AASHTO re:source University offers on-demand courses covering a wide range of CMT topics. It’s worth exploring at aashtoresource.org/university/home.

What to Expect from an Assessment

Newer quality managers and labs approaching their first assessment had a lot of questions about the process. AASHTO re:source has guidance on what to expect and how to prepare, which is a good starting point if this is new territory for your team. Get details.

See You Next Year

Louisville was a good one. If you were there, we hope you left with as much as we did. If you weren't, there's always next year. In the meantime, we'd love to keep the conversation going. Whether you want to see Omnant in action or just talk through what's keeping your lab up at night, we're easy to reach. Schedule a demo or contact us today.