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For NQI "Making a Difference" Award Winners, Quality Pays
Quality doesn't cost -- it pays," says Bob Templeton of the National
Quality Initiative (NQI). The many State highway agencies and their Federal
Highway Administration (FHWA) and industry partners who make that statement
a reality every day will be honored with NQI's first "Making a Difference"
awards this month at a ceremony in Dallas, Texas.
NQI, which was formed in 1992 by the American Association of State Highway
and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), various industry associations,
and FHWA, is dedicated to continuous quality improvement in the planning,
design, construction, and maintenance of the Nation's highways. By making
improvements, highway agencies can save in maintenance costs, reduce the
number of work zones, and keep customers happy. The "Making a Difference"
awards recognize those who have excelled at this continuous quality approach.
The four award categories are:
- Partnering - This award recognizes cooperative quality endeavors
in such areas as highway design, construction, and maintenance; material
supply; subcontracting; and communications.
- Breaking the Mold - This category honors champions of new and innovative
techniques and practices.
- Risk Taking - The award is given to those in the highway field who
are taking intelligent and calculated risks to prove there is a better
way than the routines and processes that currently prevail.
- State Quality Initiative - This award recognizes the premier State
Quality Initiatives (SQI) in the country. SQIs are collaborative efforts
among a State highway agency, local industry organizations, and the
local FHWA division office.
Gold, silver, and bronze awards will be given in each category. Some
of the gold award winners include Maryland in the SQI category; the Texas
Department of Transportation (DOT) and Washington State DOT in the risk-taking
category; a coalition of New England State highway agencies and FHWA division
offices in the breaking the mold category; and a collaboration among Indiana
DOT, Indiana Mineral Aggregates Association, and FHWA's Indiana Division
office in the partnering category.
Maryland's accomplishments as the leader in the SQI category include offering
two work zone training courses for highway workers, increasing customer
involvement during both the preconstruction and construction phases of
highway work, and implementing a partnering program that has involved
such groups as the Maryland Department of Environment, Maryland Asphalt
Association, and Consulting Engineers Council of Maryland. The risk-taking
award, meanwhile, honors Washington State DOT and Tucci and Sons for their
I-5/SR 512 Interchange Safety Improvements project. This project significantly
reduced extreme congestion at the southbound I-5 off-ramp to SR 512 by
utilizing a unique set of three left-turn lanes. The triple left-turn
freeway exit design is the first of its kind in Washington State.
Texas DOT is also being honored in the risk-taking category for its use
of a "total maintenance and operations" contract for sections
of the Interstate highway in its Waco and Dallas Districts. This was the
first time this type of contract had been used in Texas. The "total
maintenance and operations" concept means that instead of specifying
the materials and methods to be used, an expected performance level is
defined and it is then up to the contractor to determine what work needs
to be done, when to do it, and what materials and methods to use.
The New England State highway agencies and FHWA division offices are being
recognized in the breaking the mold category for their collaboration on
the New England Transportation Technician Certification Program (NETTCP).
This initiative has developed training and certification programs in a
number of technical areas, including an asphalt binder laboratory certification
program that is the first of its kind in the country. The partnering award
being given to Indiana DOT, FHWA, and the Indiana Mineral Aggregates Association,
meanwhile, is in recognition of their Certified Aggregate Producer Program,
which has introduced a quality control/quality assurance specification
for aggregates to improve the consistency of the materials used in construction.
Award recipients were chosen by the NQI Steering Committee from nominees
submitted by SQI Steering Committees and other officially recognized highway
programs. The NQI Steering Committee includes representatives from AASHTO,
FHWA, the American Concrete Pavement Association, National Asphalt Pavement
Association, National Stone Association, Associated General Contractors
of America, and other industry groups.
Along with presenting the "Making a Difference" awards, NQI
will unveil a new name at its November meeting: the National Partnership
for Highway Quality (NPHQ). The new name, which reflects that the championing
of quality improvements is no longer a new initiative but something that's
here to stay, comes with expanded goals for the partnership. Those goals
include:
- Improving cooperation among industry; State, Federal, and local agencies;
and academia.
- Regularly identifying customer needs through national and State surveys.
- Championing the development and implementation of strategies that
address customer needs.
- Promoting safe highways and work zones through such means as identifying
and publicizing best practices and innovations; encouraging education
and training; and recommending improvements in benchmarking and evaluation.
For more information on NQI or its activities, contact your local FHWA
division office, Ken Jacoby in FHWA's Office of Asset Management at 202-366-6503
(fax: 202-366-9981; email: ken.jacoby@fhwa.dot.gov),
or Bob Templeton at 512-301-9899 (toll free: 877-526-9899; fax: 512-301-9897;
email: btemplenqi@aol.com).
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