# Presentation: 737376

## FHWA Work Zone Safety Program                 Springfield, Illinois 

- Revamping NJDOT Maintenance and Operations
- Rod Roberson

## Project Goals

**Establish an effective force account maintenance program that:**
**Planned work & was performance based**
**was understood by the workforce**
**Required no additional general fund $$**
**reduced customer complaints by 50%**
**“****Move Operations and Maintenance to the forefront of NJDOT “**

**Notes:**
Maintenance and operations was traditionally viewed to be expendable
	impacts from lack of maintenance are not immediately recognized
	many work activities are done transparent to the customer
	low political value---not many ribbon cuttings at a pot hole repair

## Move Operations and Maintenance to the Forefront of the Department

**“ ****I do not know how to articulate what exactly that means, but I do know what it will feel like, and what it will look like.  When Ops and Maint is leading the department, we’ll both know it, and we will like it.” **
**R. Roberson Asst. Commissioner. **
**Feb. 1996 **

## What is road maintenance?

**The term “Road Maintenance” is  misunderstood........**
**Funding language**
**Capital vs general fund**
**Federal vs state**
**Types of work**
**Recurring activities**
**Routine activities**
**Capital eligible activities**

##        Our Most Valuable Resource                 “Our Workers”

**98% come to work and want to do a good job**
**Employees need to feel needed**
**Employees need to feel important**
**A strong organizational position on work zone safety requires consistency,  continual training and “un-dying” support.**

## Where we were..............1980

**1725 staff**
**10,000 lane miles**
**Updated equip**
**Modern MMS**
**Maint. Activities**
**Preventive**
**Repairs**

**Minimal contracted out**
**No state TTF $$**
**4 maint regions**
**Centrally controlled organ.**

## NJDOT’s Ops and Maint. Program

**Basic Safety Program**
**Outdated safety manual**
**Inadequate safety training**
**Outdated safety devices**
**Rules and P&P that could not be met**
**Neglected workforce**
**Felt disconnected / unappreciated**
**safety was punishment****	**
**We talked safety–---**

## Where we went...................

**1981-first layoff in state history (downsizing)**
**Maintenance impacted by several hundred**
**MMS staff cut**
**Maintenance activities begin to be deferred**

**Training program cut**
**Still building – inventory increasing=????**
**Crews barely keeping up**
**Contracting out based on funding source**

## The slide continues...............

**1986 second round of layoffs hit maint. **
**Equipment budget slashed**
**Work activities extremely restricted**

**Retirement package offered to lower number of employees**
**Maint. Workforce hit hard**

## Nearing the bottom...........1992

**Third round of layoffs**
**(right sizing)**
**No promotions**
**No new hires**
**Work relegated to “putting out fires”**
**MMS is dead**

**Some equipment moves to NJ TTF**
**Focus is on survival**
**No work planning**

## 1994......Crash.........the bottom was much deeper than anyone imagined!!

**Staffing level 524**
**     ****(capsizing)**
**Features inventory unknown**
**Approximately 15,000 lane miles**
**All salary dollars for 524 employees vanishes**

**no work plan**
**Initiate federal plan- need is for $11M for salary**
**Contractors had open season- we had no records, we weren’t working efficiently**
**We could not justify our jobs**

## Workforce Impacts

**Employee morale – non-existent**
**No work plan**
**No measure of accomplishment**
**Focus was on survival**
**Stay out of sight**
**Don’t block roadways**
**	****no complaints to the front office**

## Work zone Safety..................      what happened to it???????????

**Employees were rushing from complaint to complaint...putting out fires....answering complaints- of course- everything was to be done yesterday. Trucks and employees were going faster than ever, accomplishments were minimal**
**We talked safety, we did not walk safely.**
**The crews were trying to “save time” and would cut corners or not even set up safety.  (“don’t block traffic”)**

## WORK ZONE SAFETY-for who?

**Contractors**
**Represented-vocal**
**Capital / federal $$**
**Police assistance**
**MUTCD-standards**
**Permanent closure**
**High profile work**
**Tangible / visible**

**Force Account**
**Short duration**
**No capital / fed $$$**
**Minimal police asst**
**MUTCD – vague**
**Low profile work-(no ribbon cutting)**
**High worker exposure**

## Temporary Set -Ups

**Greatest exposure is during the construction of the work zones**
**Coordination of setting up safety devices under traffic (planning)**
**Having all employees fully understand what they are to do and when to do it  (training)**
**Customers are aggravated by inconvenience**
**MUTCD provides guidance-does not address every situation**
**Availability of training and equipment are directly related to budgets**

## The turn around begins...1996

**Department publicly recognizes that we cannot build our way out of congestion**
**The transportation network must be “operated’ efficiently to maximize the resource-where are the controls to operate**
**Ops and Maintenance launches aggressive campaign to assume the role of operator..  “move to the forefront of the department”**

## PLANNING  

**Maximize our most valuable resource**
**Apply labor to those activities that we do well, that we know how to do, allow labor to have input to how to do the work.**
**Review the contracted items and de-privatize those activities that we should be doing**
**Develop a schedule for work and stick to it**
**Plan for 70% of available time**

## Organizational culture change

**Planning was not something ops and maintenance knew how to do**
**Planning was not something that was seen to have any value**
**Planning was taking time away from doing “our job”**

## Mission changes

**The organization required “culture change”**
**	****We needed to run like a business – not like a civil service agency with a unionized workforce.  We developed an operations mission statement that reflected our role in meeting the department mission.**
**	****Ops and Maintenance needed to:**
**	****	****a.  become visible –(direct opposite) **
**	****	****b.  challenge ourselves / at all levels  **
**    ****	****	****c.  identify / focus on critical activities**
**             ****d.  Insure that results were known-we had to promote ourselves**
**             ****e.  Become customer oriented**
**	****	****	**

## Why only 70% of time

**261 work days**
**13 holidays**
**15 sick days**
**3 admin days**
**20 va days (avg)**
**12 rain days (avg)**
**26 snow days**
**7 training days**
**165 available days **

**165 available days**
**115 days = 70%**
**50 days available for incident response **
**respond to complaints **
**Unscheduled work**
**Crew super / pride work**

## Defining the work program

** ****Quantify the problem**
**	****	****what features and how many are ****	****we maintaining?  We had no MMS**
**What activities do we do well but still allow us to be flexible in scheduling and work assignment?**
**Routine / recurring / capital**
**Restrict activities – what has to be done**
**No more mowing where not needed**

## Action steps

**Review all maintenance activities**
**	****including those done by contract.**
**Review equipment fleet for activity compatibility-what is still running**
**Assess skill sets of workforce**
**Match skills, equipment and activities**

## Seize the opportunity-look for work

**Mix and Match program-ITS projects**
**Over-height, rollover, LED’s, **
**Tapped into the knowledge, skills and ability of staff from all areas of ops and maint. married them to non-traditional projects.**

## Forced networking- new direction

**Specialty crews had the skills to do the work, needed resources to set up work zone safety.**
**Road crews rec’d training to provide the safety**
**Road crews became IMRT responders working with Traffic Ops and clearing incidents within 2 hrs**
**Coordinate work with T. Ops. –customer sensitive**
**Formed close ties to NJSP – emerg. mgt., field ops, planning units**

## Activites to do and not to do

**No**
**High injury cost-guiderail**
**High maint equip-sweeping**
**High skills needed-new const. concrete work**
**Health/safety concerns (pipe, confined space, bridge painting)**
**Took us too long-resurfacing **

**Yes**
**Activities that we like to do (restricted / scheduled mowing)**
**Clear incidents**
**Respond to police emergencies**
**Safety related repairs –signs, delineators,**
**High visibility-litter**
**Sight clearance**
**Snow removal**

## Driving the plan

**The work plan was developed by the management team in concert with the workforce.**
**Middle managers disliked the plan more than the field supervisors because they now had to drive it, track it and help their subordinates achieve the program goals**
**Field supervisors were no longer the “reason” work did not get done**
**Middle managers were directly accountable,  this was a new concept in NJDOT**
** **

## Empower the troops-tangible evidence that we cared about them

**Needed to show employees that they are important and needed**
**Institute supervisory training**
**5 day resident crew super academy**
**4 one day seminars on best practices**
**Develop new safety manual**
**Walk the talk about safety**
**Accountability up the chain of command ..not down the chain**
**Institute new MMS  -  federal $$$**
**Promote department mission **
**Promoted agency employee memorial **

## Empowerment cont.

**All management levels were required to be visible and accessible to all employees/incorporated in performance contracts**
**Open door policy and encouraged the movement of issues—who knows the issues better than those closest to the work**
**Monthly management forums with AC-off site-federal $$$**
**Monthly regional meetings to share info **
**Decentralize purchasing activities**
**Celebrate the successes-from the 30% tiime**
**Institute work zone safety program-sole value for field supervisors and field employees- federal $$$**

## Technology / equipment 

**Scorpion impact attenuators all trks**
**Spray patcher-employee comment-buy**
**Polycrack sealer-employee comment-buy**
**HAR’s (highway adv. Radio)**
** ****Portable VMS**
**Emerg. Service Patrol – FHWA partnership**
**800 mg. hz. Radio**
**Trk mount and trailer arrowboards**
**IMRT teams**

## Work zone circuit rider program

**1999 NJ Division FHWA partnered with NJDOT Ops and Maintenance to institute a “circuit rider” whose single purpose was to educate field supervisors and workers in proper safety set up of work zone safety.**
**Licensed traffic engineer**
**No discipline**
**Tool box meetings**
**On site visits**

## NJDOT & FHWA Partnership

## NJDOT & FHWA  PARTNERSHIP                  FOR SAFETY 

## Lessons learned

**Management must walk the talk of work zone safety and must be accountable for it.**
**FHWA is a willing partner, with resources beyond $$$.  Creative programs can be born regardless of funding issues.**
**Organizations must be effective planners, and part of the plan must be that the organization will change as required to survive and prosper.**
**While we are public sector employees, we are in an extremely competitive business**
**	****TRANSPORTATION, and all of your efforts are recognized and appreciated.  You cannot give up.**
**Thank you!!!**