Document Library

The objectives of this project are to (a) update the comparative analysis of DOT performance regarding construction project cost and schedule, (b) expand that analysis to incorporate more of the nation’s DOTs, and (c) report on successful techniques employed by leading agencies. While the techniques developed in the initial NCHRP 20-24(37)A may be employed to make this update, this study will give attention also to creating a data specification and data submission process to support on-time and on-budget project delivery measurement across DOTs.

The initial NCHRP 20-24(37)A project was completed in 2007. The research agency's final report of that 1st phase is available here . AASHTO’s leadership believe that periodic updates and extensions of that study will help DOTs both to assess the effectiveness of their efforts to control project delivery time and cost variances and to participate more effectively in discussions related to evolving national transportation program management policy. A second analysis was completed in 2011. The final report of that work is available for download by clicking here .

The objective of this research was to hold an executive forum for senior DOT officials to share their views, assess their experiences with performance-based maintenance and operations contracting, and identify strategies for further advancing agency management practices in this area.

The research team conducted a critical review of transportation-agencies’ experience with contracting for maintenance and operations services, using published literature, telephone interviews, and other sources to gather experience from states, cities, and other countries. This review provided background information for participants in the executive forum. The forum was held with invited participants in Tampa, FL, in April 2009.

Transportation agencies are increasingly using performance measurement to solve complex management challenges. As applications of performance measurement have increased among state departments of transportation (DOTs), senior managers and technical staff have increased their interest in learning from the performance of their peer agencies that share similar goals and objectives. Comparative performance measurement offers a way to share DOT performance data and knowledge about best practices among agencies, and in turn to enhance managers' ability to judge their own agencies' effectiveness in program and system management. Identifying "best-in-class" practices and "lessons learned" facilitates managers' efforts to learn from experience.

The NCHRP 20-24(37) project series was requested by state DOT CEOs, who recognize that comparative performance measurement is a tool with potential to help improve their organizations. The initial development of the series explored the concept, opportunities, and obstacles for comparative performance measurement through discussions in a series of regional workshops held in summer 2004 that brought together representatives of DOTs from across the country and in interviews with senior DOT staff in selected states. A subsequent test of actual comparative measurement engaged seven volunteer states and served as the prototype for the project series.

The approach that emerged from the workshops, interviews and prototype testing relies on groups of volunteer state DOTs working together to establish meaningful performance measures and then sharing data to enable an individual agency to compare its own performance to the range of experience represented in the data set. Analysis of the data set is typically undertaken to identify typical- and best-performance experience without identifying the specific performance experience of any particular agency. Guiding principles for the program include a strong emphasis on overall integrity of comparisons, reliance on existing data, and avoidance of additional bureaucracy. The agency's final report describing the activities that led to the NCHRP 20-24(37) series has been published by AASHTO and is available on the website of the AASHTO Standing Committee on Quality.

Each of the projects in the NCHRP 20-24(37) series is selected to address a single important aspect of performance or to provide the framework for a consistent approach to state DOT's measurement and reporting of performance. NCHRP works with the AASHTO Standing Committee on Performance to ensure that performance measurement is an informative and effective management tool for DOT officials, transportation system users, and the public.

An active project / no abstract available.

This collection of documents focuses on the Wisconsin DOT's five main goals and additional performance measures for the MAPSS Performance Improvement Program. The five goals include: mobility, accountability, preservation, safety, and service.

This collection of documents includes the Lean project results for every project within the Wisconsin DOT Government Initiative. The topic areas of the projects include mobility, accountability, preservation, safety, and service.

A document summarizing a number of Lean initiatives undertaken by the Connecticut Department of Transportation. The individual summaries address the challenges, the initiatives, and the impacts observed and/or measured.

This research project produced a guidebook that provides a comprehensive framework for implementing TPM practices, assess current TPM capabilities and identify actions to improve upon those capabilities. It includes case studies and illustrative examples to demonstrate how performance management results in improved decision-making. The guide also has an assessment feature that provides results linked to clear practical actionable steps for state DOT leadership, management, and staff to enhance performance-management practices.

Active project, abstract pending.