By Dana Hernandez

MnDOT’s STEM program has been steadily gaining momentum in promoting science, technology, engineering and mathematics to Minnesota students.

Recently, MnDOT STEM staff began bringing Bridge-in-a-Bag kits to classrooms and afterschool programs to engage students. The kit contains a 6-foot-long truss metal bridge that children and adults can put together, test, crawl through and take down.

“It’s a great learning tool,” said Nicole Bartelt, Bridge Office and STEM education and outreach coordinator. “Activities like this show young people how interests in science and math can be fun and rewarding.”

When District 1’s Duane Hill and Pat Huston were first introduced to the kit, they knew they wanted to find a way for each district to use them.

“I heard about the bridge-in-the-bag when I worked in the Bridge Office,” said Hill, District 1 engineer. “Once I saw it, I understood the usefulness of this as an educational tool in promoting STEM careers. I wanted to make this available to others around the state.”

Huston, assistant district engineer for project support, enlisted the help of Grand Rapids High School and staff members to make this a reality. Today, each district has a kit to use for demonstrations and activities to enter STEM careers—maybe even in transportation. Staff dedicated to STEM are using the kits in classrooms across the state to help introduce MnDOT to the next generation.

The following MnDOT staff, along with Tim Larson from Grand Rapids High School, helped to ensure that each district received the Bridge-in-a-Bag resource:

District 1
Forest Anderson              Chris Eastman                    Isaac Schatz
Noel Bednarek                 Pat Huston                        Janelle Strewler
John Benson                     Chris Morris                     Chris Werner
Mike Chell                        Scott Pearson                   Gary Wright
Randy Costley                   James Pratt                      James Zetah
Robert Dahl                       Kevin Rohling    

Bridge Office
Rodney Carter
Diana Flores Castillo

For more information on the STEM program, check out iHUB STEM and the external STEM site.

Micki Lane, District 1 soils and materials, and Tim Gilder, Metro District maintenance supervisor, have been approved for the vacation donation program.

Lane has been working for District 1 in Duluth for 10 years in Roadway Maintenance and most recently in Soils & Materials.

She has recently been diagnosed with cancer, has exhausted her leave accruals, and would greatly appreciate any donations.

Gilder is a 27-year employee of MnDOT. He is a maintenance supervisor at the Plymouth Truck Station.

Gilder was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease a few years ago and his condition has now deteriorated to the point he is no longer able to work. He recently used the last of his paid leave and would greatly appreciate any donations of time that will allow him to continue his salary and benefits.

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.

By Judy Jacobs

WIG 2.0 Shout Out! Round 2 winners were announced at the recent WIG 2.0 quarterly report out held at the Shoreview Community Center Dec. 4. Champions from WIG 2.0 Priority, Focus and Goal areas served as judges for this friendly competition, annouced the winners as part of their presentations. 

In Round 2, in addition to recognizing complete subWIGS, opportunities were given to WIG teams that had reached major milestones with their longer term subWIGS. The decision to acknowledge key milestones was based on feedback from employees during the Shout Out! Round 1 recognition.

“We realize that employees are at different places in their WIG 2.0 journey and that’s ok,” said Tracy Hatch, deputy commissioner, chief financial officer and chief operation officer. “The Shout Outs! give us a chance to recognize these efforts.”      
   
Sue Mulvihill, deputy commissioner and chief engineer, said, “Through the WIG 2.0 efforts we’ve been able to spotlight innovative and promising approaches to advancing equity and improving customer engagement.”

The 15 Shout Out! Round 2 winners were:

• Office of Statewide Radio Communications – Radio training/subscriber management – Key milestone reached: The team sourced radio training materials, organized them and supplemented them with new material. They created a training document containing proper procedures for the end radio user. This document stands alone, but can also be used as the basis of a presentation.
• Office of Transportation System Management – Library and Research Services – Key milestone reached: Improve dissemination of transportation research results by redesigning the Local Road Research Board website and establishing a mandatory email distribution of research reports to national partners. Next step is to upgrade MnDOT Research Services’ website so people can receive automated alerts for projects they’re interested in.  
• Negotiated Maintenance Contracts project team – Key milestone reached - The Office of Maintenance led this project with team members from several districts and offices. They created a website to build awareness for internal customers, are currently working on just-in-time training resources, and have awarded 73 statewide negotiated maintenance contracts small businesses, surpassing their initial goal and several more are expected to be awarded in spring 2018. This team has generated awareness and enthusiasm about NMCs, both internally and externally.
• Office of Maintenance – Building Services Section – Key milestone reached: In an effort to recruit interested future job applicants the team has made presentations at high schools, job fairs and career exploration and STEM days and produced recruitment materials. In addition to generating excitement about working for MnDOT, they have discovered potential opportunities to use new and innovative technology to benefit the Building Services Section’s customers.  
• District 8 – Admin – Human Resources - Worked to build and strengthen partnerships and increase diversity in the district by reaching out to 12 local partners, including Upper and Lower Sioux Communities, Willmar High School, ACGC School, St. Cloud Technical College and Southwest Minnesota State University Student Career Fair, Job Fair in Worthington, Southwest Minnesota Career Pathways Program-a partnership with DEED/PIC/MN West Community and Technical College.
• Aeronautics - Developed a new, improved process for the Air Transportation Request Form that will allow dispatchers to assess needs and arrange ground transportation when needed. Aeronautics has “gone the extra mile” by arranging cars for folks using their air services – this makes the customer experience efficient and convenient for travelers.
• District 3 – Baxter/Brainerd Administration – In an effort to enhance the internal customer experience, team members asked their customers what they wanted and then set out to deliver. This included reducing the number of phone call transfers and working towards getting callers to the right person the first time. They also worked to streamline some processes for better and quicker customer service.
• Office of Traffic, Safety and Technology – Streamlined reporting process for crash data now provides the requested information almost immediately, versus the previous up to two-week turnaround time. The team now has a clear direction about what their customers are looking for in data and a plan to deliver it.   
• Metro Business Services – Finance – This subWIG implemented changes to provide a more customer-centered experience, including providing more information about Metro Finance in the new employee orientation process, creating a customer friendly website and central mail drop-off point, responding to customer needs by updating office area signage and reconfiguring the office space to provide easier access to staff. 
• District 1 – Safety – Created a series of new “toolbox talks” based on feedback from internal customers on what safety issues they wanted to know more about.
• Metro Business Services – To promote the use of certified small business vendors, this team created a document that includes a link to Minnesota Department of Management and Budget’s procurement page, where you can search Disadvantaged Business Enterprise and other vendors to fit your needs, and made it available to other workgroups. This helped employees to easily find a resource that was previously unknown.
• Metro Program Delivery – Consultant Administration -  Partnered with Metro’s Project Management team and identified one design-build project within the Metro District as a pilot project to create individual direct select contract opportunities from a number of Targeted Group and one Veteran-owned business, resulting in five new Targeted Group Business and one Veteran Direct Select contracts. 
• District 3 – Monticello Truck Station - The team focused on making guard rail repairs more efficient so that crews now spend less time and effort preparing to make repairs and more time making repairs and other road maintenance. 
• District 8 – Program Delivery/Planning - Implemented a new workshop to provide utility companies with the information they need to apply for a utility permit as the right of way mapping has changed, and to train new utility staff. This workshop helps build good working relationships with external partners and increase efficiencies for both MnDOT staff and utility representatives.   
• Metro Program Delivery – Final Design 3 - Team members compiled a list of benefits and opportunities for improvement in their work area and narrowed down factors on potential for positive impact in an effort to help retain current employees. This prepared the team for their current subWIG in which they will address each factor, making Metro Design a more welcoming and equitable environment.

By Judy Jacobs

MnDOT managers, WIG champions, 4DX coaches and other agency leaders presented their progress at the quarterly WIG 2.0 Report Out, held Dec. 4 at the Shoreview Community Center.

Participants were welcomed to the meeting by Tracy Hatch, deputy commissioner, chief operating officer and chief financial officer, and Sue Mulvihill, deputy commissioner and chief engineer.

“MnDOT employees across the state are working on hundreds of sub-WIGs and are at various stages along the way,” said Hatch. “This meeting provides an opportunity for each of you to talk about where you are at in the WIG 2.0 journey and support each other in the process.”

“The quarterly report outs help us maintain a cadence of accountability,” said Mulvihill. “It’s important to hear more about what the WIG teams are doing to move the needle towards earning customer trust.”  
   
A wide variety of topics were discussed during the day, including accomplishments, success stories, idea and information sharing and lessons learned. In addition, WIG champions announced the Round 2 Shout Out! award recipients. Fifteen WIG teams were selected from more than 40 sub-WIGs that were submitted for consideration. (See article above)

Office directors and district engineers answered specific questions for their area, such as, “What are your ideas for how we can institutionalize Advancing Equity and Improving Intentional Customer Engagement into MnDOT’s culture?” and “What are ways in which your area’s products and services have improved to advance equity and/or improve intentional customer engagement to increase customer trust since WIG 2.0 launched?”
   
“Perhaps our most dramatic, measureable shift is captured in the remarkable increase in business we are doing with a more diverse group of certified small businesses,” said Eric Davis, chief of staff and co-champion for the Advancing Equity Priority area. “From awarding a new contract to a new certified small business we haven’t worked with before, to voluntarily completing all of the ‘Filter Shift’ and ‘Seeing the Difference’ trainings, to making presentations to young people about career opportunities at MnDOT, we’ve been able to encourage growth, innovation and leadership in the WIG goal of advancing equity.”

Sue Stein, assistant commissioner and champion of the Improve Internal Customer Engagement Focus area, reported that WIG teams are working on 591 sub-WIGs on improving internal customer engagement. Of those, 150 teams are focused on considering internal customer impact, 277 are concentrating on improving internal customer experience and 164 are concentrating their efforts on improving internal customer involvement. Stein explained that there are five themes involved in these sub-WIGs.

“WIG teams focusing on improving internal customer engagement are following a process,” said Stein. “They are focusing their efforts on streamlining, maximizing efficiencies, learning—or improving—their computer skills, organizing and communicating.” 
    
WIG teams are working towards the overarching goal of earning customer trust in a variety of ways including, staffing a booth at a local event, developing a new process to improve and streamline an existing one, reaching out to diverse communities, building partnerships with both internal and external customers, and creating awareness and educating customers about their products and services. Several areas talked about how they asked their customers what they wanted, and then developed their sub-WIG around delivering those requests.

“WIG 2.0 is about building partnerships and earning our customers’ trust,” said Hatch. “It’s exciting for me to see and hear about the innovative ways WIG teams are breaking down barriers to do that.

“I want to personally thank all of the WIG teams across the agency for the time and energy they’ve spent working on their sub-WIGs,” she said. “Let’s keep the momentum going!”

By Jennifer W. Witt, Office of Chief Counsel

The main reason employees can’t use Dropbox or Google docs for large file sharing at MnDOT is because the services are a significant risk to the security of MnDOT’s electronic network. The second reason is that the agency already has a service in place that allows MnDOT to govern the retention and security of data. 

You may notice, “Use” and “Sue” are the same letters, just rearranged.

“Not a day goes by there isn’t some huge data breach that we read about in the news, and there are dedicated folks at MnDOT and MNIT who are working tirelessly to protect our data assets from folks who spend 24/7 trying to get the agencies data," said Josh Root, senior legal counsel and data practices compliance officer. “MnDOT is a business that has responsibilities to protect its information assets and to be able to have accountability for them. One of the ways to do this is by being very selective about what tools and support are used.”

Part of ensuring the safety, security, integrity and accessibility of MnDOT’s data assets is by using only the safest, most reliable systems that leave the agency as the owner of the data, in control of this data. This allows MnDOT to fulfill its obligation to safeguard MnDOT data assets. Dropbox and Google Docs do not provide the protection from breach and access accountability that the agency requires.

What can employees do if they still need to share large files and collaborate with folks outside the state system?

Which tool to use would depend on what type of sharing is needed:

• SharePoint: If someone has a project they are working on or a long-term team effort, they can set up a SharePoint site. Documents and collaboration space would then be accessible via any Internet connection. SharePoint offers a safe, accessible collaborative environment for MnDOT users partnering with people outside the agency.
  
  A SharePoint site can be set up within one month of completing Site Owner training.  Employees can track the status of your request.
  
  For more information on SharePoint or to find out if it’s a good fit, contact Garland Jackson at 651-366-4123 or Garland.Jackson@state.mn.us.
  
  
• Managed File Transfer or MFT: If someone wants to share large files with people outside MnDOT, they can use the newly adopted MFT tool. This tool is Online/Cloud-based, so accessible from anywhere. Use of this tool requires permission to set up initial access. The tool permits exchange of large amounts of information, content is searchable by MnDOT.  For more information on Managed File Transfer or to find out if it’s a good fit, contact Josh Root at 651-366-4799 or Joshua.Root@state.mn.us.

What if access to Google Docs or Dropbox is needed to participate in some type of professional training, meeting or information sharing?

Access to Google Docs, Dropbox, or any other non-sanctioned application is often approved and facilitated once an exception request form is completed. This form/process allows MnDOT and MNIT staff to connect employees via safe and accountable paths to the information needed to complete the job, and is usually completed within a few days. The exception form is located online under “Get Started.” It is also available on iHUB A-Z under “E” for ‘Exceptions to desktop applications,’ or contact Root for more information on access to the exception process.

By Mike Dougherty, District 6 public affairs coordinator

The American Segmental Bridge Institute named both the Interstate 90 Dresbach bridge and the new Hwy 43 Winona bridge as winners of the 2017 ASBI Bridge Award of Excellence awards. These bridges were two of the eight recipients for segmental bridges designed and built in Canada, Mexico and the United States.

“The Dresbach bridge’s structural elements provide aesthetically pleasing shapes and forms with the capacity to deliver a record-setting concrete span over a major waterway for its owner," according to the selection committee.  "It is a world class Mississippi River crossing bridge, inclusive of innovative approaches to design, materials and rapid construction. The twin wall piers were nicely integrated in harmony with the Mississippi River Crossing.”

The selection committee made the following comment about the Winona bridge:

“This project demonstrated how combining concrete segmental bridge design with innovative project delivery can result in reduced construction costs and time without sacrificing bridge quality and aesthetics. The bridge has a graceful haunched superstructure with elegant twin wall piers and aesthetic scenic lookouts. An amazing feat of engineering considering the winter construction. Nice form and function with overlooks that blend with the environment.”

Additionally, the Winona Bridge received a 2017 Excellence in Concrete Construction second place award in infrastructure from the American Concrete Institute, and the Dresbach Bridge was named as one of Roads & Bridges TOP 10 Bridges from across the country, coming in at No. 9. MnDOT partnered with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation on the Dresbach Bridge project.

“Each of these projects are the result of hard work from a number of skilled people, both on our MnDOT teams as well as our project partners, namely the Figg Bridge Engineers and the Ames Construction team who worked on both of them,” said Terry Ward, project manager, who also worked on both projects. “The projects were successful because of these people. This is a nice recognition of their work.”

The Dresbach bridge was completed in November 2016 with a new crossing near La Crescent, Minn., along with connecting ramps to Hwy 61 and Hwy14 and the Minnesota Welcome Center, Lock and Dam No. 7 and fishing accesses.

The new Winona bridge was completed in August 2016 upriver from the existing Winona bridge. Traffic uses the new bridge while the historic bridge undergoes rehabilitation to be completed by early 2020.

The two bridges are part of a larger effort in District 6. Four Mississippi River bridges are in District 6 and three new bridges are being built – two as replacements and one as an addition to the existing crossing. Along with Dresbach and Winona, MnDOT is replacing the Hwy 63/Eisenhower bridge in Red Wing. The new bridge will be open for traffic in late 2019.

MnDOT previously won an ASBI award for the I-35W St. Anthony Falls Bridge in 2009, marking the only other time a MnDOT bridge has won this award.

By Rich Kemp

The American Institute of Architects honored 13 Minnesota projects with 2017 Honor Awards. The Straight River northbound safety rest area project received the award during the AIA Minnesota Awards Dinner Dec. 8 in Minneapolis.

The Honor Awards recognize outstanding architecture designed by AIA Minnesota members and member architecture firms. The award committee evaluated 87 projects in five categories: architecture; interiors; renovation and restoration; and urban design and master planning. Entries are evaluated by three internationally renowned architects for their degree of design invention, attention to detail, advancement of sustainable design and other factors.

“A talented consultant design team was only one ingredient in the mix making this project a success,” said Rob Williams, safety rest area program manager. “The strong collaboration among the consultant team and staff from District 6, CO Building Services, Office of Environmental Stewardship and CO Site Development assured it. I greatly appreciate everyone’s contribution to this project.”

Located along the I-35 corridor near Owatonna, the Straight River Northbound Safety Rest Area replaced and expanded an existing facility at the end of its useful life.

The main building of the Straight River Rest Area houses restrooms, vending and information, while two pavilions shelter quiet seating.

Learn more about the Honor Awards on the award website.