This report from the second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2), which is administered by the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, describes suggested performance specifications for different application areas and delivery methods that users may tailor to address rapid highway renewal project-specific goals and conditions.
"The majority of specifications used by state departments of transportation (DOTs) attempt to describe how a construction contractor should conduct certain operations using minimum standards of equipment and materials. These prescriptive specifications, commonly known as method specifications, have generally worked well in the past. However, with changes in the technology and the emphasis on providing more rapid solutions, more innovative specifications may be required in the future. Performance specifications can be used as a communication tool that translates the owner's performance requirements into language that will allow the contracting industry to understand, plan, and build the project to meet the requirements. Over the past decades many transportation agencies have experienced workforce reductions, thus diminishing the level of experience and number of engineers and inspectors. These demands have caused some agencies to experiment with the use of performance specifications in an effort to meet both the initial quality and long-term durability needs of the constructed products. Performance specifications have been used successfully on a project-by-project basis, but a general framework is needed to help agencies use performance specifications systematically. This report and the associated materials provide a framework that state DOTs can use to develop performance specifications; they include sample specifications language and implementation guidelines for both managers and specification writers."--Foreword.
"These proceedings contain a summary of the Transportation Research Board conference on U.S. and international approaches to performance measurement for transportation systems that was conducted on September 9-12, 2007, at the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center of the National Academies in Irvine, California. The theme for this third in a series of international conferences, Better Decisions and Better Communication, was selected to highlight opportunities for and experiences in using performance measurement as a strategic tool to better communicate goals and objectives and results to a wide range of stakeholder groups. Presentations highlighted cases in which performance measures have proved useful in guiding resource allocation decisions, improving day-to-day operations, establishing and demonstrating agency competency and accountability and, in some instances, making the case for more resources. The conference consisted of five plenary sessions, each followed by a series of corresponding, concurrent breakout sessions. The topics of the five plenary sessions were Performance Measures as an Organizational Management Tool to Establish Accountability, Communicating Performance Results Effectively to Your Customers, Data and Tools, Hot Topics (addressing the use of performance measures to gauge the effectiveness of tolling and congestion pricing and other innovative transportation strategies to address sustainability and safety issues), and Performance-Based Contracting and Measuring Project Delivery. Three resource papers were developed for the conference. The conference attracted 180 participants from Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States and featured 70 transportation specialists offering real-world expertise, from the application of performance metrics to case studies drawn from six countries. This range of experiences provided attendees with a comprehensive overview of the performance measurement techniques and approaches being applied to transportation systems in the United States and abroad."--Pub. desc.
This report from the second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP 2), which is administered by the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, provides help in the development and implementation of fatigue risk management in rapid renewal highway construction environments. The guide includes organization practices guidance, technical reference materials, fatigue training materials, and work scheduling aids and guidance.
TRB’s National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) Research Report 838: Guidelines for Optimizing the Risk and Cost of Materials QA Programs proposes guidelines for optimizing the risk and cost of materials quality assurance (QA) programs. It develops a methodology for establishing a materials QA program that optimizes risk and cost by providing appropriate types, levels, and frequencies of agency testing and inspection for transportation projects across their full range of type, size, complexity, and project-delivery method.
The 2005 Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users authorized the Dept. of Transportation (DoT) to establish a highway research program to address future challenges facing the U.S. highway system. In 2006, the Second Strategic Highway Research Program was established to conduct research in four areas -- safety, renewal, reliability, and capacity. The legislation also required a review of the program no later than three years after the first research contracts were awarded. This report provides information about the process for selecting the program's projects for funding, the projects' status, and what, if any, research was eliminated because of funding and time constraints. Charts and tables.
TRB Special Report 295, The Federal Investment in Highway Research, 2006-2009: Strengths and Weaknesses assesses how well the investments that Congress made in research programs through the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users comply with the principles articulated in the preface to the act's research title. The book contains findings and recommendations about specific research programs and calls for reliance on competition and merit review in awarding funds through the Federal Highway Administration and in selecting institutions for the University Transportation Centers program of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration.
