By Kristi Loobeek

“It’s not the same old ‘sitting at a desk every day.’ It’s always different.”

Mike Howe’s description of his job on the Freeway Incident Response Safety Team was especially true Nov. 28 when he rescued a runaway Siberian Husky from the side of Hwy 36 in Little Canada.

Howe, a FIRST truck driver, has been assisting motorists (and the occasional canine) in the Twin Cities for more than three years.

The rescue began with a stopped vehicle on the side of the road. A passing driver had spotted the handsome hound and pulled over to attempt to corral him.

Howe said that, normally, a lost dog will run for miles and when captured, they are anything but friendly.

That was not the case with Parker, the two-year-old Siberian Husky.

“I opened the truck door and said, ‘Wanna come in?’ and he hopped right up,” said Howe, noting that Parker was calm and friendly during the whole incident.

Once the dog was out of harm’s way, the search for the owner began. Howe took a few photos of Parker and passed them along to his supervisor.

Eventually, the photo landed on the MnDOT Facebook page, explaining the situation and asking anyone who recognized the animal to alert its owner.

The dog’s information and owner were later identified through a scanned microchip at Hillcrest Animal Hospital. In the meantime, multiple people on Facebook offered to adopt the dog if no owner was located; thankfully, that was not needed. Parker and his overjoyed owner were reunited the next day.

After posting the story and photo on the MnDOT Facebook page, the post reached 52,962 people, received 757 likes and had 422 shares.

By Sue Roe

Motorists using MnDOT’s 511 traveler information system this winter have several new features to help them know what the state’s road conditions are before they venture out on the roadways.

“Overall, the 511 traveler information system is getting better each year and more people are using it,” said Kelly Braunig, 511 program manager. “These new features will help the traveling public make good decisions about winter travel.”

She said one million more motorists used the mobile app in 2015-16 than in the previous winter season. There were also significant increases in the number of users on the truckers’ and full-featured web pages.

Some of the new features this winter are:

• Personalize Your 511 – Motorists can enter up to 20 routes they travel to see where incidents, such as crashes or construction, are located. Users can also click on a specific incident to see a camera view. This is available on the full-featured and truckers’ pages.
• Smart 511 – This is the same as Personalize Your 511, but for a smartphone. Motorists sign up online and then enter their phone number to receive information. 
• Citizen Reporting – Motorists can submit driving conditions to the 511 system along a saved route. To use this function, users must have an account through the “Personalize Your 511” feature. Users take a short online course to get registered. Motorists are advised to report driving conditions after they reach their destination. This is available on the full- featured site, but soon will also be on the truckers’ site.
• Tell Me – Motorists receive hands-free and eyes-free audio notifications on their smartphones about traffic conditions. Users download and open the app before they start driving. The feature uses motorists’ GPS information.
• Traffic Delay – On the traffic map, there is now an orange glow around an icon when there is a traffic delay due to a crash, construction or other traffic-slowing incidents. When users click on the orange glow, information will be provided on delays, travel times and direction of the delay. This is currently available only for interstate driving and shows a delay within two miles in each direction of an incident. This feature is on the truckers’ and full-featured sites.
• Road Weather Information System Alert – On the full-featured and truckers’ sites, motorists will see a red triangle over a weather station icon when weather conditions such as fog, high winds, rain, ice and snow exist.

Most of the features are beneficial for winter driving, but they can also be used year-round.

Braunig encouraged MnDOT employees to go to www.511mn.org to check out how the site and features work and use it this winter. The mobile device app is free to download.

By Judy Jacobs

Interstate 94 from Detroit, Mich., to the Minnesota/North Dakota border is one of 55 routes the Federal Highway Administration has designated nationally to promote alternative fuels and help drivers find vehicle charging stations nationwide.

This new network spans 35 states, covers 85,000 miles and was created under the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act. The alternative fuel corridors designation will be used to promote electric, hydrogen, propane and natural gas vehicles by encouraging development of fueling and charging stations along these routes. 

“Alternative fuels and electric vehicles will play an integral part in the future of Minnesota’s transportation,” said Commissioner Charlie Zelle. “MnDOT is excited to be a part of helping drivers identify routes that will help them refuel and recharge those vehicles. Designating the I-94 Corridor is a great place to start the process.”

MnDOT and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency submitted an application to designate I-94 as a ‘Zero Emissions Corridor,’ a type of alternative fuel corridor, to promote electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

“Interstate 94 from Minneapolis to St. Cloud has been designated as ‘signage-ready’,” said Tim Sexton, Office of Environmental Stewardship’s Construction and Operations Section director. “The designation means there is an existing network of public fast-charging stations close enough to one another for motorists to reliably travel the corridor with today’s models of electric vehicles. FHWA is developing final guidance on sign design and placement, but they’re expected to look similar to existing signage that alert drivers to gas stations, food and lodging.”

“By supporting lower emission vehicles, alternative fuel corridors will help reduce transportation emissions, the leading source of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions,” Sexton said.   

“Identifying where alternative fueling stations can be found will help the public in many ways,” Zelle said. “We can accelerate the use of innovative vehicles, improve air quality and ensure that our transportation system meets the needs of the 21st century drivers.” 

For a complete list of alternative fuel corridors, visit the FHWA website.  

By Sue Roe

This winter, MnDOT is using its Maintenance Decision Support System, or MDSS, to full capacity and expectations are that it will bring the ability to fight snow and ice to a new level and with greater efficiencies.

The system provides real-time weather, road conditions and maintenance information to supervisors and snowplow operators to help them make decisions about salt, sand and chemical use. The system also helps managers in the efficient distribution of drivers and equipment.

The Maintenance Office has used the MDSS system for years, but it was in the development and testing stages. The technology is combined with the Automated Vehicle Location technology and mobile data computers. The AVL supports MDSS by continuously recording plow truck locations, spreader controllers and road and air temperatures. The mobile data computers process and send data to host servers from the truck. Together, these three technologies are a powerful tool that assist MnDOT operators and supervisors in managing each unique winter event. 

“All the pieces are now in place for MnDOT to use the system as it was intended,” said Joe Huneke, road weather technology section supervisor. “In the road weather technology world, this is what we’ve been working toward for a long time.”

MDSS helps snowplow operators determine the correct amount of materials to apply to the roadway surface, which many times is less than what operators would normally apply. That lessens the environmental impacts of salt and chemical use and there can be significant financial savings.

Those savings can include reducing snowplow passes, which saves time, fuel and equipment wear and tear. Information from the MDSS system goes directly to the trucks via the AVL system, giving operators up-to-the-minute weather and treatment recommendations without returning to the truck stations.

Operators can also input road and weather information, and the system automatically collects information such as pavement and air temperatures. MDSS translates all the data into a pavement model and provides recommendations back to the truck within a few minutes.

The system uses all this information to make recommendations unique to each individual route, Huenke said.

“The more information we can provide from the truck to MDSS, the better. This helps the logic of MDSS to create efficiencies,” he said. “Using MDSS in tandem with the AVL and mobile data computers has the potential to produce dramatic savings and help manage our snow and ice records.”

Savings in 2015 was estimated at $380,000 when the system was partially activated. By 2020, the system is expected to save an estimated $5.8 million annually.

Huneke said the system is capable of providing reports of salt and materials usage on each plow route. The reports are available to operators in the vehicle at the end of the shift. Reports can also help with speed compliance of plow operators while applying materials. This helps keep more material on the target area of the road for more efficient melting.

“The system shows us how we managed a winter event and helps us learn how to manage the next one more efficiently,” Huneke said. 

Nearly 75 percent of MnDOT’s snowplows are equipped with MDSS, he said. By 2020, MnDOT’s entire snowplow fleet will be outfitted with MDSS.

A grant from the Federal Highway Administration helped MnDOT implement the system. In return, MnDOT provides data to FHWA, National Weather Service and the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

By Marcia Lochner, Office of Freight & Commercial Vehicle Operations

Another shipping season came to its end on the Upper Mississippi River Dec. 1. The David L. Fields towboat was the last tow to leave St. Paul late in the evening heading for St. Louis, Mo. The tow pushed six barges loaded with grain, scrap and Distiller’s Dried Grains.

Although final tonnage figures are not tallied for the river’s five ports, the Saint Paul Port Authority reports a great shipping year.

“We expect 2016 tonnages to be close to six million tons through the port of Saint Paul,” said Kathryn Sarnecki, vice president of Redevelopment and Harbor Management for the St. Paul Port Authority. “This is a significant increase for us, which we suspect is mainly due to the great growing season for agricultural products over the last two years.”

Minnesota shipped more than 3.4 million tons of grain down the river in 2015. The river ports also handle other dry commodities, such as fertilizer, cement, sand, gravel, salt, coal and steel, and liquid materials such as petroleum, caustic soda, vegetable oils, molasses and anhydrous ammonia.

The Mississippi River Navigation System is maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps dredges the width and depth of the channel to accommodate 9-foot deep barges, and they operate the 29 locks and dams on the Upper Mississippi.

The locks are also used by recreational boaters at no cost. The commercial barge operators on the river pay a user fee of 20 cents per gallon of fuel purchased. These dollars are then used to pay for half of major federal lock structure improvements.

For more information, visit MnDOT’s Ports and Waterways website. 

By Sue Roe

A 315-mile bicycle route between St. Paul and Grand Portage State Park, near the Canadian border, is the state’s second route to be listed on the U.S. Bicycle Route System.

The route, which is U.S. Bicycle Route 41, will also be known as the North Star Bicycle Route. The public selected the name during MnDOT’s public engagement process to align the route.

The U.S. Bicycle Route System is a network of numbered cross country routes. Currently there are more than 11,500 miles of U.S. Bicycle Routes in 24 states.

Minnesota’s first U.S. Bicycle Route is the Mississippi River Trail, which goes from Hastings to the Iowa border. It was designated in 2013. The MRT is also known as U.S. Bicycle Route 45.

The new North Star Bicycle Route combines existing roads and mixed-use paths and trails that travel through some of the state’s most popular locations, including two national parks, nine state parks and the Superior National Forest. The route also passes through two nationally recognized bicycle friendly communities, Duluth and Grand Marais.

“With nearly half the route on trails, there are many opportunities for families and less-experienced bicyclists to travel and enjoy the route,” said Liz Walton, project manager from the Transit Office. “Also, on a bicycle, there are opportunities to experience the many cities with small-town charm that people miss when traveling on the interstate highway. The route will contribute to more vibrant and healthy communities for those who that take full advantage of bicycling for travel and fun. Bicyclists, businesses and others stand to benefit.”

She said MnDOT is committed to a long-term partnership with the communities and road and trail authorities along the route.

“MnDOT will be a strong partner to support and expand the off-road bicycle network,” Walton said.

A ribbon-cutting is planned May 20, 2017 at the junction of U.S. Bicycle Routes 41 and 45 in St. Paul, which will kick off a six-day bicycle ride to Grand Portage State Park. 

Read more about the North Star Route and the May bicycle ride at www.mndot.gov/bike/usbr41/index.html

By Judy Jacobs

One of the four focus areas of WIG 2.0 is Internal Customer Engagement. This includes the goals of Improving Customer Involvement, Considering Customer Impact and Improving Customer Experience. This focus area challenges employees to think about how we communicate and interact with our coworkers across the state as we shift to having a more customer-centered workplace.

"Research shows that before organizations can successfully improve their external customer engagement, they must first provide a positive internal customer experience," said Sue Stein, assistant commissioner, Corporate Services, and champion for the Internal Customer Engagement focus area. "When we all work together to provide a great internal customer experience, it leads to a great customer focus for our external customers as well."

As part of this effort, the WIG 2.0 champions are conducting a survey that includes all MnDOT employees and is directed at both internal and external customers to establish a baseline. This baseline will help workgroups determine how they, as a team, can work towards improvements in customer engagement. This is a coordinated effort across the state, designed to avoid multiple areas in the agency surveying each other and to prevent “survey fatigue.”

“Once we have established an overall baseline, we’ll set our improvement goals,” said Stein. “We will provide resources for customer-centered best practices and techniques. We may also consider launching a mentoring program, a customer recognition program or creating a place on iHUB to highlight employees who are customer-centered.”  

Plain language is an important part of this focus area. Plain language is communicating so your audience understands the message the first time they read or hear it.

Improving Customer Involvement
One goal area directly affecting the Internal Customer Engagement focus area is Improving Customer Involvement. 

“When we think about our customers, many times we think about external customers,” said Betty Jo Winterowd, District 3 administration manager, and champion of the Improve Customer Involvement goal area.

“However, we also have many internal customers. They are your coworkers who rely on you for information and products so they can perform their job. We all have internal customers at various levels throughout the organization.”

“Once we identify our customers, getting them involved so we understand their needs will be a very important factor to ensuring they are engaged,” said Winterowd.  “One of the best ways to determine if we’re meeting customers’ needs is to ask for feedback. It’s also critical to develop good solid working relationships so our customers are comfortable approaching us and giving us direct feedback about their experience working with us.”

Consider Customer Impact
Another important component of the Internal Customer Engagement focus area is to Consider Customer Impact. 

“Considering customer impact is about how an action or a decision affects or changes the customer’s daily work and how that action or decision addresses the customers’ needs,” said Jean Wallace, assistant division director, Modal Planning and Program Management, and champion for the Consider Customer Impact goal area. “The outcome can be different for every customer, so it’s important to involve our customers before we make our decisions so we better understand how our work could impact them and their ability to do their jobs.”
        
“Considering customer impact is a two-way discussion that includes active listening to understand the impacts of our decisions and actions,” said Wallace. “As we work in our WIG teams, and as part of a respectful workplace, it’s important to ensure that we implement processes and practices that will gather the information we need in order to consider customer impact.  It’s also important to be open to diverse opinions and ideas from our internal customers to provide a positive customer experience and deliver the highest quality work and best products to all customers.”

In a recent training on creating a Customer-Centered Culture, more than 50 MnDOT managers, WIG coaches and champions learned that by having a customer-centered mindset, and through strengthening our actions to consider customer impact, employees can build stronger working relationships and more engaged internal customers.

Improve Internal Customer Experience
The third goal area under the Internal Customer Engagement Focus Area Is to Improve Internal Customer Experience.

“As we conduct our daily business at MnDOT, it’s important that we’re mindful of our interactions with our coworkers. These are our internal customers and their work contributes directly to MnDOT’s success as an agency,” said Tom Styrbicki, Project Management and Technical Support director, and champion of the Improve Internal Customer Experience goal area. “How do we not only meet their needs, but serve them in a way that is respectful, professional and truly focused on delivering the best possible customer experience?”

“As we strengthen these internal interactions, we’ll build a more efficient and engaged MnDOT team,” said Styrbicki. “Together we’ll achieve our Wildly Important Goal of Earning Customer Trust.”

Stein said that each WIG team can play a part in Earning Customer Trust by improving customer involvement, considering customer impact, and improving MnDOT’s internal and external customer experience. 

“We will be successful when we can say, ‘Great customer engagement isn’t what we do; it’s who we are,’” she said.

By Rich Kemp

New online form simplifies requests for communications assistance
MnDOT employees now have a new way to request communications assistance. From simple request, such as needing a poster to advertise an upcoming event, to complex needs for communications planning for a new initiative, the place to start is by filling out the communications request form at http://ihub/communications/communicationsform.php.

The new form allows MnDOT staff to ask for help from the comfort of their own desktop and will allow Communications staff to better track and schedule work. Employees will be asked to include information about what objectives they want to accomplish through communications. Understanding the ultimate goal will help communication planning staff chose the best tool for the job.

Simple requests for updates to existing webpages or graphics can still be sent to webteam.dot@state.mn.us.

Video tutorials provide visual support for oversize/overweight permit customers
The Office of Freight and Commercial Vehicle Operations has posted a series of video tutorials on its website to help customers use the routing portion of MnDOT’s online oversize/overweight permitting system.  

Rob Holschbach, transportation program specialist in OFCVO’s Oversize/Overweight Permits section, initiated the project and produced it with Video Services and Marcia Lochner, OFCVO Communications, to teach customers how to plan and enter the routes their OS/OW loads will travel through Minnesota. This effort will also improve efficiency in the office by reducing the quantity and duration of calls OFCVO receives from customers requesting assistance with the routing process.

“None of this would even have been possible without Marcia Lochner and Gary Andrist’s time and energy to help in putting these together,” said Holschbach. “I’ve been very excited about this project since the beginning and believe these tutorials will prove to be an excellent educational resource for the industry to help them understand the routing process and save them valuable time.”

“I really enjoy working with clients like Rob and Marcia who are invested in their project and have a clear mission and message that they want conveyed to their viewing audience,” said Andrist, Video Services team leader. “I appreciate their creativity and input in the production process.”

New Library Materials
New Library Materials are available at www.mndot.gov/library/newlibmat.html. This issue is the last one of the year. The Library staff wishes you a Happy Holiday and looks forward to serving you in 2017.

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.  

Previous editions of New Library Materials are available at www.mndot.gov/library/recacq-archive.html.

For other information requests, contact the Library at 651-366-3791 or email library.dot@state.mn.us, or send requests via the Ask a Librarian Web page at www.mndot.gov/library/asklibrarian.html.

By Jerimiah Moerke, District 4 public affairs coordinator

Do you or a co-worker have an interesting job to share with readers? Send us your ideas, and we’ll contact you for more information.

Recent employee profiles:

• On the Job: Inyan Walking Elk moves into Employee Resource Group rotation
• On the Job: Kristen Zschomler works to understand and preserve the past
• On the Job with Toward Zero Deaths Coordinator Tom Nixon

By Joe Sass, MN.IT Services information technology specialist

Editor's note: To donate vacation hours, go to the Employee Self Service Web site and click “Other Payroll” and then “Leave Donations.” The site also allows employees to view a list of all state employees eligible for the program and to enroll as a recipient.

Current MnDOT employees in the Vacation Donation Program include Curt Pape and Paula Erickson.