February 17, 2022
Innovation of the Month: Strategic Workforce Development
Across the nation, there is a shortage of highway construction workers. To help address this challenge, FHWA partnered with other key national highway organizations and the Department of Labor Federal Employment and Training Administration to establish the Highway Construction Workforce Partnership (HCWP). The partnership brings highway construction, education, and workforce interests together at state and local levels to identify, train, and place individuals into trade occupations to fill industry workforce gaps. In our last issue, we discussed the working groups that help make these HCWPs successful. Once these groups were established, the regional HCWPs quickly learned that many individuals identified as candidates needed additional support to launch their careers.
Additional HCWP support services help candidates transition into the workforce. (Credit: Getty Images)
Individuals expressing interest in joining the highway construction workforce may face roadblocks obtaining the education, transportation, time, and cost requirements that can accompany job training. HCWPs offer help to support successful completion of training programs and provide a seamless transition into the workforce. This support can include everything from housing and rental assistance to protective clothing, tools, and transportation to and from training and the job site.
In Rhode Island, case managers meet with individuals at the time they express interest in joining the program. They discuss employment barriers as well as career goals to determine what resources will help ensure success for each applicant. Rhode Island’s HCWP working group establishes a budget around helping people make the transition into the workforce. The working group can help candidates reinstate driver's licenses, provide health and nutritional benefits, or offer language support services. The group also hosts alumni events for training program graduates to help build professional networks.
To learn more about support services that your HCWP working group can offer to help candidates, please contact Karen Bobo or Joe Conway, EDC-6 Strategic Workforce Development (SWD) co-leads. To learn more about SWD, watch the innovation spotlight video.
New Mexico DOT Demonstrates Synergy Deploying Multiple EDC Innovations
The New Mexico DOT (NMDOT) demonstrated an innovative approach to Advanced Digital Construction Management to deliver a quality highway reconstruction project on Interstate 40, between Thoreau and Prewitt, NM. NMDOT employed a variety of innovations promoted in EDC including 3D Modeling for Construction, e-Construction, Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), and Digital As-Builts in conjunction with Automated Machine Guidance. For final grade control of the project, a rover was used to verify grade to the original 3D Model. Differences between model and final grade were consistently within 1/100 of a foot. NMDOT also used UAS with the 3D Model to verify installation and quality of roadside features. The combined deployments of the innovations resulted in a Digital As-Builts model for future safe, efficient, and effective operations and maintenance.
If you would like to learn more about the success of this NM DOT project, please contact Priscilla Benavides, Central Region Design Manager, NM DOT. If you would like to learn more about FHWA EDC efforts with these innovations and others please visit the Every Day Counts homepage.
Florida Integrates Crowdsource Data for Improved Incident Detection and Traveler Information
The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) inspires its team to leverage innovative solutions that improve safety and enhance mobility, and one of those solutions includes FDOT's advanced use of crowdsourced data.
From as early as 2014, FDOT partnered with Waze to share data to benefit road users and increase safety and system reliability. In addition, effective handling of the crowdsource data has helped FDOT use the information without burdening Traffic Management Center (TMC) operators.
When road users report roadway incidents using the Waze app, Waze creates alerts that FDOT downloads every two minutes. The FDOT Incident Detection System classifies Waze alerts by type of incident and roadway location and determines whether to pass the alert to the FDOT SunGuide® TMC software, which supports 12 TMCs. Operators at the relevant TMC are alerted, directing their attention to the event. After verifying the incident, the TMC operator can create a new event in SunGuide with the click of a button to populate relevant SunGuide fields based on the Waze data.
SunGuide doesn't stop there — the system updates the location and type of incident and passes this information to the third-party data feed, which navigation providers then share with users traveling in the area. The events are also simultaneously pushed to the Florida 511 system. TMC operators can also use the state's extensive network of Dynamic Message Signs to further inform motorists of potential problems ahead.
To learn more about the FDOT Incident Detection System and broader crowdsourced data applications for incident detection and traveler information, please contact the FHWA EDC-6 Crowdsourcing for Advancing Operations Co-Leads, James Colyar, Greg Jones, or Ralph Volpe.
Strategic Workforce Development EDC Storyboard-Building Tomorrow's Highway Construction Workforce
EDC storyboards share innovation deployment stories in an interactive digital slideshow that incorporates images, video, and graphics to create a highly visual experience for our readers.
This storyboard comes from our innovation of the month, Strategic Workforce Development and discusses the workforce challenge faced by highway construction firms around the country along with some of the steps taken by States like Arizona, Idaho, and Alabama to meet the challenge.
To learn more about Strategic Workforce Development, please contact Karen Bobo, Office of Innovative Program Delivery Center for Transportation Workforce Development, or Joe Conway, Office of Innovative Program Delivery Center for Local Aid Support.
Stay Up to Date on the EDC Innovations That Interest You Most
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Recent bulletins:
NextGen TIM – 2/8/22
e-Ticketing & Digital As-Builts – 2/7/22
TOPS – 2/1/22
About EDC
Every Day Counts, a state-based initiative of the Federal Highway Administration's Center for Accelerating Innovation, works with state, local and private sector partners to encourage the adoption of proven technologies and innovations to shorten and enhance project delivery.
EDC News is published weekly by the FHWA Center for Accelerating Innovation.
Notice: The U.S. Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trademarks or manufacturers' names appear in this presentation only because they are considered essential to the objective of the presentation. They are included for informational purposes only and are not intended to reflect a preference, approval, or endorsement of any one product or entity.
Recommended Citation:
U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration
EDC News: February 17, 2022
Washington, DC:
https://doi.org/10.21949/1521824
