By Bob Filipczak

Work has resumed on all MnDOT construction projects following the nearly three-week long state government shutdown.

Some of the most-asked questions now that the shutdown is over are about the status of construction projects. Tom Ravn, state construction engineer, and Joel Williams, contract administration engineer, are working to get solid answers to these questions.

How many projects have resumed?

Of the nearly 100 projects that were started and then stopped by the shutdown, all are back up and running again. Some of the work began July 21, the first day back, because contractors were very eager to get back to work, according to Williams.

Some projects took longer to restart because contractors had other projects they had switched to when the shutdown began, resulting in the removal of equipment from the MnDOT site, according to Ravn.

What do the new project schedules look like?

Other projects, especially those that were scheduled to begin during the weeks of the shutdown, are being rescheduled. Some projects that could have finished this fall will probably be extended to 2012. 

“We run up against the end of the construction season pretty quickly in Minnesota,” Williams said.

Employees on the front line with contractors are the resident engineers in each district. They are working to get the schedules readjusted while making sure there is consistency in how they deal with each contractor, according to Ravn and Williams.

“These engineers are pretty used to juggling a lot of priorities during construction season,” Williams said. “But this shutdown has added a new level of complexity and urgency to their workday.”  

What about project costs?

The department probably won’t have answers to those questions for months, according to Ravn.

By Erik Rudeen, Government Affairs

Gov. Mark Dayton signed 12 new laws into effect July 20, ending the nearly three-week state government shutdown.

The transportation bill appropriates nearly $5 billion to MnDOT, the Department of Public Safety and the Metropolitan Council for the biennium. Although general fund spending is reduced for greater Minnesota transit, anticipated growth in motor vehicle sales tax revenue should help cover the cut.

MnDOT’s Office of Passenger Rail will continue receiving general funds of $500,000 per year. At the department’s request, the Better Roads program got an additional appropriation of $127 million, and the Legislature provided $20 million for a new economic development program. The program will be used to increase employment and relieve growing traffic congestion.

The Legislature also passed a $530 million bonding bill that includes almost $56 million for MnDOT. Local bridges received $33 million; local roads received $10 million. The legislation includes money for rail, transit, ports and airports. In addition, Metropolitan Council receives $20 million for transit ways.

State government bill

The state government bill has policy that affects all state agencies, but does not include numerous provisions that were in a version of the bill the governor vetoed May 24.

The state government bill includes the Minnesota Sunset Act, which will subject all state agencies to a sunset review on June 30, 2018. A new commission must review:

• Agency efficiency and effectiveness
• The extent to which agency mission, goals and objectives are met
• Cooperation with other agencies
• Agency compliance with federal and state laws
• Agency fees, inspections, enforcement and penalties
• Agency administrative hearings process, rulemaking activities and data practices compliance

The bill also directs MMB to establish an employee gain sharing program to provide bonus compensation to state employees for efforts made to reduce the costs of operating state government, or for ways of providing better or more efficient state services. Up to 10 percent of any savings may be awarded a maximum of $1,000 per individual or $2,500 per group of employees.

The bill allows MMB to create an incentive for efficient use of the state employee group insurance program. Awards of one-half of cost savings can be made to employees’ health reimbursement accounts. It also directs MMB, in consultation with bargaining units, to report on a process to redesign and consolidate the state job classification plan that increases flexibility for workforce management and improves the ability of employees to transfer to other positions for which they are qualified.

Another provision in the state government bill requires MMB to report on a redesigned performance appraisal system for state employees that includes evaluation of an individual’s performance relative to goals for that person. Employees may not receive step or lane raises unless their performance has been satisfactory. The bill also stipulates that state employees laid off during the shutdown receive credit and credited salary in retirement plans as if they had been employed during that period.

In addition, the bill consolidates all information technology services, equipment and staff within the Office of Enterprise Technology. It transfers all assets to OET as of Oct. 1, 2011, and requires the CIO to enter into service-level agreements with state agencies by July 1, 2013. (see article in Business Section)

Finally, the bill provides that the state cannot pay or settle judgments for damages by contractors or third parties arising out of the shutdown, unless a contract expressly allows it.

By Nick Carpenter

The Office of Information and Technology Services recently announced the completion of a record 17 projects totaling $3 million in Fiscal Year 2011. An additional 20 projects are in the process of being implemented and another 31 are being scoped. 

The record number of projects in FY 11 is due in large part to a modified Division Directors’ IT Process, which was originally put in place seven years ago so division directors could oversee significant IT initiatives regardless of their source of funding. The improved process is the result of an IT Kaizen training event held last fall that allowed a team of employees, including several from OI&TS, to identify areas for improvement in the process and design something more efficient.

“At last year’s Kaizen event, our team was able to identify bottlenecks and areas for improvement in the original process and then design an entirely new, efficient process that adds value at every step,” said John Rindal, OI&TS.
 
The team reduced the original five-stage process to three stages, which has resulted in a larger number of IT projects being scoped more quickly—defined by Rindal as any technology effort that:

• Has an IT component
• Costs more than $5,000 (combined hard and soft dollar cost)
• Requires more than 80 person hours of effort
• Has a duration of more than three calendar weeks to fully implement

The 17 projects completed in FY 11 satisfy all IT project criteria. These efforts include:

• Improved methods of capturing commission orders
• New crash analysis tools
• Improved data sharing with districts and MnDOT partners

“Even though these projects are only a small percentage of the IT work that goes on at MnDOT, it’s important work because the largest, most complex IT efforts go through this process,” said Christina Tamondong, OI&TS. “All in all, our office is pleased with the new streamlined process that reduces the average IT project duration from 44 months to 26 months.”

Newsline recently spoke with Kathy Hofstedt Bode, MnDOT's chief information officer, about new legislation that calls for the consolidation of Minnesota’s information technology services under the state chief information officer. The new law mandates that the state CIO will control and direct all executive branch information and telecommunication technology spending by July 1, 2013. To view the law in its entirety, click here and scroll down to Article 4.

How does the IT consolidation legislation affect the state and MnDOT?

The law significantly affects every aspect of IT business and operations. In particular, it affects more than 1,800 state employees, 264 of whom are MnDOT IT employees, and the IT systems upon which the state of Minnesota depends to get its business done.

What job classifications are included in the consolidation?

The statute does not dictate the exact job classifications that are included. It instead focuses on IT as a business line within state agencies and specifies that support for IT functions is included. OET will work with the MnDOT and other agencies to identify the actual activity that is dedicated to information technology and develop a method to determine who is included.

What does it mean for hiring in MnDOT’s Office of Information and Technology Services?

If MnDOT currently has a key IT position it needs to fill or if there is an IT vacancy, OET will allow the department to continue filling those positions. 

Will all IT employees be moving to a new location?

No. The new law allows the state CIO to assign employees to work for agencies and does not require a physical move. As is the case with all other agencies, MnDOT’s IT employees will still work on behalf of their agency and be housed in their current location. Physical changes for individuals over time will only happen when there is a business need.

How will IT staff be integrated? Are there any jobs in jeopardy due to the consolidation?

At this point, we are only a few weeks into the process and it will take time for all the details to be worked out. There is no way of knowing whether changes in roles and responsibilities will occur. The goal is to keep operations running to continue and improve on meeting the business needs of agencies through IT. With this consolidation, we do know that all IT employees will have the same opportunities for career advancement and retraining.

What are most employees concerned about?

How seniority will work. OET is working with MMB and Labor to see how this will be addressed in long-range planning. At the time of the transfer, OET leadership anticipates that staff will maintain their current positions, classifications and salaries.

Employees are invited to attend the latest Commissioner’s Reading Corner discussion Wednesday, Sept. 7, at 1:30 p.m., in the MnDOT Library at Central Office. Tracy Hatch, chief financial officer, will lead a discussion of “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership,” by John C. Maxwell.

Employees also can participate virtually via Adobe Connect and should log in as a guest no earlier than 1:15 p.m. All employees are encouraged to attend, even if they have not yet read the book, according to Qin Tang, Mn/DOT librarian.

This will be the fifth book discussion of the 2011 season.

For more information on the Commissioner’s Reading Corner, visit ihub/readingcorner. Employees with questions can contact Rebecca Fabunmi at 651-366-4808. To read an interview featuring Hatch’s take on the latest book, visit ihub.dot.state.mn.us/readingcorner/interviews.html.

The June/July 2011 edition of New Library Materials is now available at www.dot.state.mn.us/library/newlibmat.html.

Check out this issue to watch some of your MnDOT colleagues talking about Intelligent Transportation Systems and career opportunities in ITS in “Intelligent Transportation Systems: Your Road to the Future,” produced by the ITS Institute at the University of Minnesota.

Archived editions of New Library Materials are available at www.dot.state.mn.us/library/recacq-archive.html.

New Library Materials is a compilation of new titles and other resources added to the library collection during the previous month. If you would like to be added to the distribution list, contact Pam Gonzalez at 651-366-3749.

Employees interested in attending Systematic Development of Informed Consent training Aug. 30-31 have until Aug. 12 to register. Employees can register online or by contacting Emily Siedschlag at 763-278-5985.

The two-day course, originally sponsored through MnDOT’s Hear Every Voice public participation initiative, will be held at the Hiway Federal Credit Union in St. Paul from 7 a.m. – 6 p.m. on both days. Cost for individual participation is $400.   

SDIC is a management strategy designed for aiding in the implementation of potentially controversial projects and programs.  

The HDR Minneapolis Office is hosting the event. For more information about SDIC, visit www.ipmp.com.

North Minneapolis tornado clean-up

By Jessica Wiens

Central Office and District 3 employees volunteered to help with clean-up efforts in the Jordan Neighborhood of North Minneapolis during the state government shutdown.

Organizer Shawn Combs Walding, Office of Capital Programs and Performance Measures, got the idea as the shutdown approached.

“The minute I started feeling sorry for my own predicament, the stories and images of the tornado in some of the poorest Twin Cities neighborhoods reminded me that there are others in far worse situations,” he said.

The volunteer group used crowbars, hammers and circular saws to remove existing carpeting and expose the oak floors in a foreclosed home being prepared for a new owner.

After lunch, they cleaned an apartment building for tornado refugees to move in as soon it meets building code requirements. 

Volunteers included:

1. Becky Alper, Transit
2. Brian Mclafferty, OCPPM
3. Deanna Belden, OCPPM
4. John Wilson, OCPPM
5. Mark Gieseke, OCPPM
6. Mary Safgren, District 3
7. Shawn Combs Walding, OCPPM

“It was really fun to do something with co-workers completely unlike our normal MnDOT jobs,” Combs said. “We all gained a greater awareness of how devastating this disaster was and how much is left to do.”

2011 Air Expo

Members of MnDOT’s African-American Resource Group staffed the CAF Red Tail Squadron-Tuskegee Airmen booth at the 2011 Air Expo in Eden Prairie July 16-17. The group included Victoria Hopwood, Office of Financial Management; Michael Johnson, Office of Civil Rights; Vanessa Levingston, Office of Customer Relations; and John Tompkins, Office of Freight & Commercial Vehicle Operations.

The staff had an opportunity to spend some one-on-one time with retired Maj. Joe Gomer, 91, Minnesota’s last surviving Tuskegee Airmen pilot.

“The time that I spent with Maj. Gomer brought to life the heroic stories of the Tuskegee Airmen shared with me by my father, a Marine sergeant veteran,” Tompkins said.

For Hopwood and Levingston, it was their first experience at an air show.

“I was in awe of the interest and knowledge of the history of the Tuskegee Airmen by the expo’s visitors,” Levingston said. “The impact of the shutdown became more of a reality for me as I looked at the empty MnDOT Office of Aeronautics booth at the expo, but the experience of the day overrode the disappointment.”