Mn/DOT and partners are filming an eight-minute winter safety video to be shown statewide in 3rd and 4th grade classrooms next fall.

Children and snowplows do not mix. That’s the main message of an eight-minute safety video being produced by Mn/DOT, Ramsey County, the Local Road Research Board and other partners.

Based on an idea by Scott Jahnke, Ramsey County safety officer, and Kent Barnard, Communications and Public Relations, the video tells the story of two children who narrowly escape injury after an alert snowplow operator stops to inspect their snow fort built too near the street.

The video, being created by Mn/DOT’s Video Unit, will be distributed next fall to 3^rd and 4^th grade classrooms statewide to help educate students about winter safety. A short workbook and activity sheets will accompany the presentation. In addition, snowplow operators may visit the classrooms to reinforce the video’s messages.

Wendy Frederickson, transportation generalist, Virginia, is the snowplow operator in the video.

Additional plans for educating about the potential dangers of snowplows include sending information home to parents, as well as eventually distributing the video and educational materials to other Snow Belt states.

Text and photo by Kent Barnard

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Mn/DOT is attacking potholes on several fronts, including using the automated patcher to make repairs as quickly as possible and using Superpave and other advanced pavement designs to reduce the potential for potholes.

Mn/DOT is ready to do all it can to smooth drivers’ paths when the inevitable pothole outbreaks occur this spring, said Mark Wikelius, Mn/DOT’s state maintenance engineer.

Potholes are created when the moisture from snow, ice and rain combines with severe cold to crack the pavement. This allows water to seep in, freeze and displace paving material. Varying temperatures keep the damaging freeze/thaw cycle in motion.

"We’re attacking potholes on several fronts," Wikelius said. "In the short-term, we’re using the automated patcher to make repairs as quickly as possible. In the long-term, we are expanding our use of Superpave and other advanced pavement designs that we hope will greatly reduce the potential for roadway damage caused by potholes."

The automated process uses a truck- or trailer-mounted boom to save time and money, and to improve safety by reducing the exposure of highway workers to traffic. Twin Cities and St. Cloud maintenance crews, for example, use the automated patcher because of its suitability for high-traffic areas.

Mn/DOT’s long-range efforts to extend pavement life include the growing use of Superpave, a high-performance asphalt pavement design that shows potential to resist damage caused by the freeze/thaw cycle and the extremes in temperature that damage pavement, Wikelius said.

The department also invests time in preventing potholes from forming. Preventive maintenance involves constant pavement monitoring to identify sections of roadway most prone to potholes, rutting, cracking and other damage. Problem areas are then scheduled for repairs or resurfacing to minimize future damage to the roadway.

Resurfacing techniques include methods such as traditional crack filling, seal coating with thin layers of asphalt and micosurfacing, which uses a quick curing mixture of an asphalt emulsion, a mineral such as Portland cement and aggregate. Microsurfacing provides a smooth surface repair that will last until more extensive repairs are needed.

For more information, contact John Garrity, Mn/DOT bituminous engineer, 651-779-5580, or visit our Web site on potholes.

By Craig Wilkins
Graphic provided by the Michigan Department of Transportation

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There’s room for improvement, but a recent study of the Resource Consumption Application concluded that overall the department’s new timesheet reporting system is working.

Bottom line: employees are being paid properly.

These are the findings Paul Leegard, project specialist, Management Operations Group, presented to the Senior Management Team Feb. 27.

Mn/DOT began implementing RCA in 1999 to centralize the collection of data—both time and materials information—about employee work functions. At that time employees were using ATS (automated timesheet application), OMS (operations management system) or paper timesheets. The multiple reporting mechanisms required payroll administrators and operations staff to spend a great deal of time reconciling data.

Concerns about RCA implementation prompted SMT to assign Leegard to document and validate various issues expressed about the system. He talked to more than 100 employees about RCA during the research phase of his project.

"By far the most concerns about RCA expressed by employees relate to the efficiency of entering data and that some of the functions of the application are located differently than the employee expected them to be," Leegard said.

The most important finding of Leegard’s RCA review is that employees are being paid properly and the data is passed to the systems that need it (e.g., MAPS, SEMA4). Leegard also determined that:

• RCA could be more efficient and user friendly.
• Reporting of data out of storage systems could be easier.
• Payroll functions and activity codes should be standardized among offices and districts.
• Management of RCA should be centralized.
• Information technology connection to remote Mn/DOT locations is satisfactory but should continue to be improved.

SMT formally assigned oversight and operation of the RCA application to the Office of Financial Management. The Office of Human Resources will be responsible for determining reporting relationships in the payroll administration policies area. The Management Operations Group will determine how payroll activity codes should be established, used and integrated with activity based costing efforts.

To date, about two-thirds of the department’s employees use RCA.

"RCA has been improved and continues to be enhanced to make it more user friendly. It is an effective application that helps with the collection of the important information Mn/DOT needs to manage its business," noted Dick Swanson, director, Financial Management.

For more information, contact Paul Leegard, 651-296-7972. Click here to see the RCA report . And watch future issues of Mn/DOT Newsline for tips on how to make RCA work better for you.

By Donna Lindberg

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The task force leading Mn/DOT's transition to the transportation specialist series (TSS) was restructured to continue to implement the department's full use of the new job classifications. Dan Swanson, Detroit Lakes, now leads the implementation team.

Committees involved in the transition include:

• Steering Committee—sets the overall direction for TSS.
• Labor Contracts Team—reviews issues requiring union negotiations.
• Administrative Sub-group—develops and communicates various processes such as certification for snowplow operators, TSS exam reviews, development of "benchmark" position descriptions, filling job vacancies and communications.
• Training and Development Team—develops means to connect work place skills with current and future workloads. When business units define their work needs, the team will determine what skills people in those positions will need, how the skills are learned and arrange for instructors, classrooms and so on.

For more information, contact Dan Swanson, 218-846-0492.

By Craig Wilkins

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Dave Belluck, Environmental Services, recently received the Hammer Award for his work on a national advisory committee for hazardous substances.

Dave Belluck, chief toxicologist, Environmental Services, received the Hammer Award for his work with the National Advisory Committee for Acute Exposure Guideline Levels for Hazardous Substances.

The Hammer Award was created by former Vice President Al Gore to recognize efforts to putting customers first, cutting red tape and empowering employees.

Belluck represented Minnesota on the Environmental Protection Agency’s committee, which has been developing guidelines for exposures to acutely hazardous airborne chemicals.

A Mn/DOT employee since 1999, Belluck holds degrees in agriculture from Cornell University and entomology (pesticide toxicology) from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana.

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Each year, Mn/DOT removes enough trash from roadsides to fill the Twin Cities Metrodome twice.

Litter really T’s (as in trash)-off Cathy Ashfeld, Adopt-a-Highway coordinator, Metro Division.

Ashfeld shared her disgust for roadside litter and her zeal for Minnesota’s Adopt-a-Highway program in an article published this month in Minnesota Monthly magazine. Accompanied by a photograph representing some of the unusual items cleared from our state’s highways—including a pair of underwear—she shares her ideas for a cleaner roadside environment.

And as the snow begins to melt, Ashfeld is busy gearing up for the annual Earth Day activities in April as well as the resumption of roadside clean-up efforts. Some new partnerships are in the works this year, Ashfeld said, including one with the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul to promote litter prevention and trash pick-up.

By Kent Barnard
Photo provided by Cathy Ashfeld

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Help with your computer desktop or applications is just a mouse-click away. The new computer user assistance site is available by going to Mn/DOT's Intranet home page at http://www2.dot.state.mn.us and clicking on the "User Assistance" link under Tech Resources and Groups. You can also follow this link to get directly to the site: http://www2.mo.dot.state.mn.us/irm/userhelp/ or find the site under the "Mn/DOT Web Index" alphabetical listing.

Capitol Complex computer users who used to go to the "T3" site from the Intranet home page can now access User Assistance - Capitol Complex by clicking on the word "Central Office" on the Minnesota Map at the bottom of the page. Others can find their district or MIS support office on the map's appropriate geographic location.

On the computer user assistance site you also can find links to Microsoft Office support with tips to help you convert from other applications to Microsoft Word. The site will soon have information about training opportunities, trouble tickets and purchasing desktop tools.

If you don't find the link to your MIS office, please send a note to the User Assistance Contact uaf@dot.state.mn.us with information about the office you're looking for, and someone will work with you to make sure it is on the map.

By Ed Krum

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Snow removal efforts by Mn/DOT’s maintenance crews in late February have garnered more thanks from drivers around the state. Here are two recent letters:

• My name is Jim Eberhardt. I live in Lakeville. I want to compliment all of your workers (who) helped with the clearing of our state's roads during the storm this weekend. I was thoroughly impressed with the state's ability to keep our travelers moving and at how quickly this was done. Within about 12 hours Mn/DOT had cleared Cedar Ave., 35E, and 35W. Thank you all for all your hard work. I would not be able to make it to work without you.

• I just wanted to thank all the drivers and the rest of the people who kept the roads cleared over the weekend. We had a 7th Basketball tournament in St. Cloud on Saturday and Sunday and drove up from Lindstrom both days. The roads were kept in good condition despite all that Mother Nature could dish out.

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A one-day mini-academy to discover and refine tools for successful project management is being held April 3 at the Four Points Sheraton in Minneapolis.

There is no cost for this class, which is aimed at project managers. Participants should register for the class before March 23 through their employee development specialist or office manager. For more information, contact Mollie Zauner, Technical Support, 651-297-4842, or see the announcement posted on bulletin boards.

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Pop quiz:

1. Who was president of the United States in 1842? Hint: He succeeded another president whose son later became president.
2. What other government event happened in 1842 that continues to affect the timing of present-day Mn/DOT activities?

Answers:

• Question #1: John Tyler succeeded William H. Harrison as president. Harrison’s son, Benjamin, later became president.
• Question #2: See the Question of the Week

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