On the Move
Quarterly NewsletterOn the Move
Quarterly Newsletter
When any organization, public or private, does a cost analysis of the services or products they provide, personnel costs typically register the highest on the ledger sheet. In today's market, the key to minimizing these costs resides in developing and equipping personnel to be more productive and to provide better services. Since addressing the matter of personnel development in an earlier issue of On the Move (Fall 1999); the demand for versatile, highly skilled, and productive workers has not diminished. If anything, the demand has increased while the available workforce pool has diminished.
The challenge of maintaining, renewing, and improving the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) of the workforce pool has also become even more complicated. The KSA's, as well as the cultural and generational values of today's workforce pool, are becoming quite diverse. Young people (called "Generation X's") who are entering the workforce are expected to change jobs many times during their careers. This in itself presents a significant challenge to personnel development.
Workforce development through training and hands-on technical assistance is a primary mission of the Utah Tē Center's Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP). Over the past several months the Utah Tē Center has continued to work closely with its local and national partners to develop comprehensive and coordinated training programs to assist in the development of personnel engaged in the transportation and public works industry. The organizations currently involved in this cooperative workforce development effort include: American Public Works Association (APWA), Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT), Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Utah Association of Counties (UAC), Association of General Contractors (AGC), American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), Utah Local Governments Trust (ULGT), Utah Risk Management Mutual Association (URMMA), the Utah League of Cities & Towns, National Highway Institute (NHI), and various other professional and industry trade associations. The goals of this effort are five-fold: (1) to provide current, well-developed training courses and programs; (2) to minimize duplication of efforts; (3) to leverage training resources; (4) to facilitate the use of new technologies and state-of-the-art practices; and (5) to proactively address the development needs of a diverse workforce.
As a result of these cooperative efforts, significant results are being registered. Among these are the Western Alliance for Training & Certification Program of Technicians, UDOT's Transportation Technician Training Program, APWA's Introduction to Construction Inspection, and the Utah Tē Center's Road Scholar Program.
In addition, a variety of technical roundtables, state-of-the practice forums, conferences and workshops are being organized in cooperation with professional and trade associations. The National Highway Institute is also developing modular training courses that can be easily adapted to meet local agency needs.
As the winter training season approaches, we encourage each local agency to make a special effort to assess their current personnel assets and to determine what their current and future training and personnel needs will be. The following steps are suggested for making this assessment:
The Utah Tē Center and our partners stand ready to assist local, state and Federal agencies--and the transportation industry as a whole--in meeting the staffing and workforce needs of the 21st Century. A standing program offered by the Utah Tē Center is the ROAD SCHOLAR program. This training and development program offers a variety of training opportunities for different job levels: equipment operators, technical staff, and supervisors and administrators. A summary listing of the Road Scholar course offerings follows:
We also endeavor to keep the transportation and public works community in Utah informed of all appropriate training or development opportunities by posting the course offerings of our partners through our quarterly newsletter, Web site, or special announcements. In this capacity, we attempt to serve as a clearing/coordinating house for training, personnel development and new technology relating to the transportation and public works industry. If your analysis of personnel assets indicates there are areas of training and development that are not currently offered, the Utah Tē Center would be pleased to take the necessary steps to make such training/development opportunities available.
For more information on the courses currently scheduled, see our calendar (pages 6-7) in this newsletter, or check out our calendar on-line. You will also want to check out "what our partners are doing" (page 5) for opportunities to tap into their offerings.
If you have a request and need to schedule a workshop or have a specific training or personnel development need, please call Keri at 1-800-822-8878!
In 2003, the Congress must reauthorize funding for Federal-aid Highway and Mass Transit Programs. To help focus the debate on this key national legislation, the American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) convened a task force of more than 100 industry experts to study how current federal transportation law is working and to suggest recommendations for the future. The task force included views from both the public and private sectors of the U.S. transportation industry and from agencies and firms that design, build and manage infrastructure for all modes of transportation. The result is a report reviewing the history of Federal-aid Highway and Mass Transit Program funding with a critique of effectiveness for the two most recent authorizations (ISTEA and TEA-21). Below are the nine areas of recommendations considered by ARTBA regarding reauthorization:
To read a complete report, please see ARTBA's Web site at [www.artba.org]. While ARTBA has made their recommendations to Congress, don't forget that you can have input as well. Don't miss your chance to make recommendations to your congressional delegation regarding your ideas for reauthorization.
The Utah Tē Center is pleased to announce another addition to our professional staff. After graduating from Utah State University earlier this year in business information systems, Brian Birch, has accepted the full-time position of network and Web administrator for the Center.
Brian served the Center well as a part-time student employee, and now continues his work in a full-time capacity. His work includes providing excellent network support for our office needs as well as outstanding Web administration support for the expanding services we offer on-line to local Utah agencies. Welcome aboard, Brian!
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A group of conservation minded partners have teamed up to design a better street. The Utah Association of Conservation Districts, North Logan City, the Utah Botanical Center and Stantec Engineering have developed designs for low-impact streets to better handle storm water runoff.
Low-impact streets feature reduced pavement width without concrete gutters, therefore minimizing impervious surfaces and reducing storm water runoff. On both sides of the street, naturally landscaped swales reduce the speed of storm water, filter urban-borne contaminants and allow smaller volumes of water into irrigation canal systems.
The street design has also shown other benefits such as reduced construction costs, slower traffic speeds and more attractive and livable neighborhoods. Using the new design, North Logan City and the Utah Botanical Center will build two streets to demonstrate a more environmentally friendly alternative to traditional street design. The design standards can also be applied to other Utah communities and are available at the North Logan City Web site [www.ci.north-logan.ut.us].
Key features of the low-impact design:
Parts of the MUTCD are finally available! We have copies of parts 1, 5, and 6 available for $13 from our office. We are still waiting for the entire MUTCD to be ready. When it becomes available, we will carry a limited quantity for local Utah agencies to purchase and will list additional sources in upcoming newsletters.
Our thanks to these important partners for sharing this information and working with us in our efforts to serve the local agencies of Utah.
October 10-12 (Springdale)--Utah Water Planning Conference. This event is being co-sponsored with the Department of Environmental Quality. Registration is less than $100 for the entire event. Call the League for more information.
October 10-12 (Moab)--Statewide Association of Public Attorneys.
November 14-16 (St. George)--Utah Association of Counties Annual Meeting. This meeting is for all elected county officials. The registration deadline is rapidly approaching, so please go to their Web site to register as soon as possible. You won't want to miss this important training event.
October 25--Monthly Luncheon
December 13--Monthly Luncheon
There will be no monthly luncheon held in November. The October and December luncheons will be held at the West Valley Family Fitness Center (5415 West 3100 South, West Valley City) beginning at 12 noon.
October 16--Monthly Luncheon
November 20--Monthly Luncheon
All monthly luncheons will be held at the Shanghai Restaurant (7200 South 300 West, Salt Lake City) at 12 noon.
December (TBD)--Christmas Party
The date and location for the Christmas Party is still being determined, but ITE chapter members will be contacted with the final details when they become available.
October 19-20 (Brigham City)--Certified Citizen Planner Training. This training will cover the following topics: introduction to community planning; the planning commission; the board of adjustment; the general plan; assuring due process in public meetings; land use regulations; subdivisions; and legal perils, pitfalls and unforeseen consequences. Training will begin at 8 am on both days. Cost for this training is $25/person for Trust members, $50/person for non-members.
November 14 (North Ogden)--Select Regional Training. This training will cover the following topics: reducing sewer back-up liability; training for appeals board members; liability claims management; understanding and using your medical benefits; and discipline and termination of employees. There is no cost for this training.
November 15 (Santaquin)--Select Regional Training. See list of topics above. There is no cost for this training.
November 16-17 (Price)--Certified Citizen Planner Training. This training will cover the following topics: introduction to community planning; the planning commission; the board of adjustment; the general plan; assuring due process in public meetings; land use regulations; subdivisions; and legal perils, pitfalls and unforeseen consequences. Training will begin at 8 am on both days. Cost for this training is $25/person for Trust members, $50/person for non-members.
November 25 (Roosevelt)--Select Regional Training. See list of topics above
(November 14). There is no cost for this training.
November 29 (Gunnison)--Select Regional Training. See list of topics above (November 14). There is no cost for this training.
December 5 (Moab)--Select Regional Training. See list of topics above (November 14). There is no cost for this training.
December 12 (Springdale)--Select Regional Training. See list of topics above (November 14). There is no cost for this training.
December 14-15 (Trust Office)--Certified Citizen Planner Training. This training will cover the following topics: introduction to community planning; the planning commission; the board of adjustment; the general plan; assuring due process in public meetings; land use regulations; subdivisions; and legal perils, pitfalls and unforeseen consequences. Training will begin at 8 am on both days. Cost for this training is $25/person for Trust members, $50/person for non-members.
October 12 (Cedar City)--Personnel Law for Supervisors. This full-day seminar will begin at 9 am. Cost is $20 for URMMA members, $50 for non-members.
October 18 (Orem)--Due Process & Takings. This evening seminar will begin at 6:30 pm. Cost is $5 for URMMA members, $10 for non-members.
October 23 (Centerville)--Due Process & Takings. This evening seminar will begin at 6:30 pm. Cost is $5 for URMMA members, $10 for non-members.
October 25 (Orem)--OSHA Training. This full-day seminar will begin at 9 am. Cost is $10 for URMMA members, $20 for non-members.
November TBD (Riverdale)--Mock Trail for Law Enforcement. This half-day seminar will begin at 9 am.
November TBD (South Jordan)--Erosion Control. This full-day seminar will begin at 9 am.
December 4 (tentative)--Land Use. This evening seminar will begin at 6:30 pm. Cost is $5 for URMMA members, $10 for non-members.
October 14-17 (Tucson, Arizona)--Region 7 Operation Lifesaver Workshop. Hotel reservations for this conference will need to be made by participants directly.
The registration deadline for the conference is October 1, 2001. This year all Conference registration will be done on-line at [www.dot.state.ut.us/esd/Conference/]. You can see the complete agenda, as well as make break-out session choices at the Web site now! Don't miss this important training opportunity!
15-17 Heavy Equipment Preventive Maintenance & Safety Operation (St. George, Ogden, Tooele)
22-25 Techniques of Heavy Equipment Operation (Tooele--Desert Peaks Complex)
24 Work Zone Traffic Control & Flagging (Vernal)
25 MUTCD Parts 1 & 5--Low Volume Roads (Vernal)
29-31 Techniques of Heavy Equipment Operation (St. George)
1 Work Zone Traffic Control & Flagging (Monticello)
2 Coaching the Van Driver (Monticello)
6-8 Winter Maintenance Roundtables (Park City, Price, Woods Cross)
12 Work Zone Traffic Control & Flagging (Cedar City)
13 Winter Maintenance Roundtable (Cedar City)
14-16 Utah Engineer's Conference (Sandy)
14-16 Utah Association of Counties Annual Meeting (St. George)
27 Work Zone Traffic Control & Flagging (Richfield)
27 MUTCD Parts 1 & 5--Low Volume Roads (Richfield)
29 Work Zone Traffic Control & Flagging (Price)
29 MUTCD Parts 1 & 5--Low Volume Roads (Price)
6 Local Concrete Roads Seminar (Salt Lake City)
12-14 Introduction to Construction Inspection (Salt Lake City)
The Utah Tē Center will conduct a variety of training around the state this quarter, including:
The exact dates and city locations are listed in our calendar. For training cost, location address or to register, please call Keri at 1-800-822-8878.
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New EPA Phase II storm water rules require storm water plans for an additional 56 counties and cities in Cache, Weber, Davis, Salt Lake and Utah counties. These EPA rules require that affected municipalities apply for a storm water permit by December 8, 2002. Local plans and ordinances will need to be in place to address storm water runoff by March 8, 2003.
Who is affected? All municipalities with separate storm sewer systems within the urban areas of Logan, Ogden, Provo-Orem and Salt Lake City. Other municipalities that contribute substantial pollutants to their rivers and lakes may also need to obtain a permit.
What are the six (6) minimum control measures? (1) public education and outreach, (2) public involvement and participation, (3) illicit discharge detection and elimination, (4) construction site runoff, (5) new development and redevelopment, and (6) pollution prevention and good housekeeping for municipal operations.
For more information, contact: Nancy Mesner, Utah State University Extension, at (435) 797-2465.
A state sponsored "Storm Water Best Management Practices for Municipal Programs" workshop will be held October 4, 2001. Contact Stantec Consulting, Inc. at (801) 261-0090 for more information.
You won't want to miss the Region 8 County Road Advisor's Conference this year. The registration deadline is rapidly approaching, so make your plans now to attend. To register, contact Bob Meister, Local Road's Coordinator with Minnehaha County, South Dakota. He can be reached at (605) 367-4316.
In a change from previous years, the North Dakota LTAP Center (Utah's LTAP counterpart in that state) will be hosting the meeting. Topics to be covered include: county experience with road safety audits; gravel roads manual; railroad/highway grade crossing safety; wood bridges; dust control; discussion and roundtable with local road coordinators, etc. This is an important opportunity for local roads personnel to share their experience, perspective, and effective ideas with their colleagues in other western states. Don't miss it!
This conference is intended to provide a concentrated training opportunity to persons involved with developing, advising, or managing tribal road systems. With tracks for elected officials, transportation planning, engineering, and safety there is something for everyone.
Cost for the conference is $250/person and covers all workshop materials, breaks, lunches and an evening banquet. To register, contact the TTAP at Colorado State University, Room 315 Rockwell Hall, Fort Collins CO 80523-1276.
Each year the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) sponsors field and laboratory tests to evaluate the performance of pavement marking materials. These evaluations serve as the standard for the National Transportation Product Evaluation (NTPEP) program for AASHTO member states.
Over a two-year period, four sites are selected for the field evaluations. One site is located in the northeast for a cold-humid climate, the southeast for a hot-humid climate, and the northwest for a cold-dry climate and the southwest for a hot-dry climate. Materials are placed at two of the sites on an alternating annual basis.
Utah was chosen as the site for field evaluations in 2001 for the cold-dry climate. Each site is required to have two decks, one located on a concrete roadway, and one located on a bituminous roadway.
The Utah test deck site was selected by personnel from the Utah DOT and the Utah Tē Center in consultation with representatives from the pavement marking materials industry. The Utah test decks are located on the eastbound lane of Interstate 84 just west of Morgan, Utah. The concrete pavement test deck is east of the bridge at mile marker 102.25 and the bituminous pavement test deck is located west of the same bridge.
The concrete pavement has a tined surface. This roadway section of I-84 has an ADT of approximately 5,000 vehicles per day and generally consists of rolling terrain. There is no significant horizontal curvature and vertical grades are not excessive.
The sections are fully exposed to the sun during the daylight hours and have been open to traffic for at least three (3) years.
Thirteen companies applied 95 products on the Utah test deck. Pavement marking materials included:
The test deck was open to industrial participants for product application from July 9, 2001, through July 27, 2001. All materials, durable and temporary, were applied in accordance with NTPEP standards.
Products will be evaluated for durability, reflectivity and standardization of color. Evaluation results will be made available to interested parties to aid in pavement marking procurement decisions. For further information visit our Web site at [www.utaht2.usu.edu] and click on the research projects link.
Hello everyone this is the new guy on the staff at the Utah Tē Center! In trying to meet your needs in the field, the staff of the heavy equipment training program plans to try a different approach to the Heavy Equipment Training course this year. We hope that this will allow us, as trainers, to get more one-on-one time with each of the operators that come to the course for training.
The way we plan to do this is to have an introductory course that would be held in locations across the state. This course would cover all of the classroom materials, including: OSHA, trenching, equipment, job site safety, basic equipment maintenance, and equipment pre-shift and post-shift (walk around) inspections.
The walk-around inspections are designed to cover the major types of equipment used by local agencies and focuses on the basic areas and elements of equipment inspection and how to prevent equipment damage.
We will also be adding a section on grade stake reading and basic grade control. We feel that an operator must understand the basics of construction staking and grade control to do a good job operating equipment. This would be a one time course with refresher training done on an as-needed basis.
After completing the introductory course, operators will be eligible to take the "techniques of equipment operation" course. The number of people attending this training will be limited so that the instructor(s) can spend one-on-one time with each operator.
We hope this change will provide each operator the opportunity to develop his operating skills and abilities to the maximum extent. We also feel this will make the best use of the time spent in the field training.
There will be a techniques of equipment operation course set up for each piece of equipment. We plan to offer training for the following types of equipment:
It is important to note that while we have a great deal of flexibility in where we offer the introductory course, our "techniques of equipment operation" course will be limited to sites in Tooele, Ogden, and St. George, Utah for the time being.
Please contact the Tē Center (1-800-822-8878) for more information on the times and locations of this equipment operation training.
The Utah Tē Center will be starting roundtable discussion where local agencies can have their maintenance personnel and equipment operators meet together to demonstrate and explain to other local agency personnel about their winter maintenance policies and practices.
We will have these discussions in five (5) or six (6) locations within the state, during the first week in November. These roundtables will consist of presentations where each local agency has about thirty (30) minutes to present their program and answer questions.
The optimal number of local agencies to participate is between five (5) and six (6) so that each agency will have sufficient time to share their experience and expertise with the other agencies involved. At the end of the individual presentations, time will be allotted for further discussion on the ideas generated.
So far we have found interest in the following locations: Logan, Tooele, Woods Cross, and Park City. If you are interested in having your local agency participate in one of these roundtable discussions, please contact me (Dee Hadfield) or Keri at the office by calling 1-800-822-8878. Check out the calendar (pages 6-7) for specific dates.
Providing and maintaining a smooth and safe riding surface on roads and streets is a major challenge for local and state highway agencies, especially when the road or street is the principal corridor for utilities. Particularly problematic are the utility manholes that are made in the road surface to provide access to the utilities.
Most of us can identify with hitting a dip in the road where a manhole cover has sunk and had our car bottom out on its shocks. This is a problem in most cities around the State of Utah and for that matter in the rest of the country. A new adjustable manhole cover developed by Precision Cover Systems, Inc. provides a handy solution to the problem. This new manhole cover has been installed in Orem, Pleasant Grove, Lehi, and on the campus of Utah State University. It is currently being evaluated for ease of use, serviceability, and cost.
The "Twist Rise Manhole" as it is called is designed in such a way that it can be rotated to match the exact grade and crown of the road. The manhole fits neatly onto the concrete manhole cone providing full support for the entire assembly. This new manhole can also allow for easy height adjustments up to 2.75 inches. The adjustment is made in 0.25 inch increments. This means that roadways can then be overlaid before any additional hardware is required.
The "Twist Riser Manhole" is estimated to save municipalities anywhere from $150.00 to $500.00 per installation when personnel, equipment and materials costs are considered.
The assembly can be installed very easily in just a few minutes. Prior to paving, the grade is set by rotating the bottom assembly to match the grade and cross slope of the base layer of the street or road.
Then the top riser assembly is set to match the height of the planned surface of the pavement. The paving crew can then pave directly over the manhole cover assembly, rake the excess asphalt off the cover, and then compact the asphalt to proper grade.
If minor adjustments are needed, the manhole lid can be removed, the riser repositioned to the correct height and then replace the lid. The result is a manhole cover that provides a smooth riding surface.
Lawrence G. Burton, Water Reclamation Manager for the City of Orem, Utah is impressed with the product, "This new system eliminates problems by giving the user unlimited variations in height and slope to the finished surface of the manhole without disturbing any surrounding road surface."
We have recently received a limited quantity of publications we are able to distribute to local Utah agencies free of charge. These important publications have been prepared for us by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Asset Management. Here are the titles available and a description of each.
Primer: GASB 34 (Utah Tē Center publication number 6000) serves as a way for the Office of Asset Management to answer many of the questions posed with the adoption of GASB 34 reporting requirements. Topics include: an introduction of GASB, infrastructure requirements, reporting infrastructure cost of use, implementation, asset management and GASB 34, etc.
Asset Management Primer (Utah Tē Center publication number 5999) is the first in a series of documents prepared by the U.S. DOT to introduce and explain asset management principles. Topics include: what is asset management, why asset management, current paradigm for decision-making (what do we have), current practice (how is it working), improving the process (what do we need), strategies for implementation (how do we get there), etc.
To order these publications, please call Keri at 1-800-822-8878 or by e-mail at [utahltap@cc.usu.edu]. Don't wait to add these to your office reference library!
At the end of August our offices at Utah State University moved from the Utah Water Research Lab (our home for the last 4 years) to the EC and SER buildings on the main part of campus (near our former home in Civil and Environmental Engineering).
This means a change in mailing address for any correspondence, but doesn't change our e-mail or web information. Our new mailing address is: Utah Technology Transfer Center, Utah State University, 4111 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT 84322-4111.
If you need directions or a visitor parking pass to come by our on-campus location (EC 325), please call us at 1-800-822-8878.