No Boundaries

Transportation Maintenance Innovation

Project Updates

No Boundaries Fall Peer Exchange Planned for October 18-19

No Boundaries’ members will be meeting soon for the pooled fund’s fall peer exchange and planning meeting. Hosted by the Indiana Department of Transportation on October 18 and 19 in Indianapolis, the event’s agenda includes an exciting variety of presentations and round-table discussions. The group will also participate in an on-site technical visit of Indiana University’s Transportation and Autonomous Systems Institute.

Other staff from No Boundaries member states are welcome to join remotely to listen to presentations. Please contact Brian Hirt if you would like a Zoom meeting invitation.

Image source: Transportation and Autonomous Systems Institute

No Boundaries Synthesis: Responses to Staffing Shortages

State transportation agencies are struggling to fill maintenance staff vacancies and retain the skilled employees necessary to keep the roads clear and safe. Staffing shortages have generally been an issue for several years—and for some agencies, considerably longer.

No Boundaries Synthesis: Responses to Staffing Shortages documents an effort by No Boundaries to gather data and anecdotal evidence from pooled fund members that describe the current maintenance staffing environment and highlight the practices member agencies are using to attract and retain maintenance staff.

  • Surveys of No Boundaries members and their human resources colleagues sought information about the changes and trends in maintenance staffing levels and the ability of state transportation agencies to attract and retain well-trained maintenance staff.
  • No Boundaries was also interested in agency responses to new federal commercial driver’s license requirements and information about the recruitment and retention practices agencies use to sustain, expand and diversify the applicant pool and retain workers.
  • A limited literature search gathered information to supplement survey results.

In keeping with the No Boundaries mission to identify and share transportation maintenance innovations, this synthesis effort identified innovative practices to mitigate maintenance staffing shortages. “Point of Practice” callouts throughout the report further highlight noteworthy practices and innovative efforts.

No Boundaries May 2022 Peer Exchange Highlights

No Boundaries held its first peer exchange of 2022 from May 3-5 with an in-person meeting in Sacramento. Highlights of the event include roundtable discussions on hot-topic issues: guardrail repair and replacement procedures, the effects of the new federal rules related to commercial driver’s licenses, and states’ approaches to managing materials supply shortages.

Featured presentations showcased other leading efforts and creative solutions, such as Front Range College’s new program designed to create pathways for high schoolers into maintenance careers and Caltrans’ efforts to lower carbon emissions with Zero Emission Vehicles.

During the Innovation Show-and-Tell, consistently one of the most popular sessions, No Boundaries members shared the new tools and practices they’ve developed and adopted to make maintenance work easier and safer in the field. In addition, two technical site visits — to Caltrans’ HQ equipment shop and maintenance training academy backlot – provided behind-the-scenes insights and hands-on demonstrations to round out the event.

Additional information and the full agenda are available on the meeting page. Stay tuned for details about No Boundaries’ future peer exchange events in the fall of 2022 and spring of 2023!

Image source: No Boundaries

No Boundaries’ May Peer Exchange Is Next Week – All No Boundaries Members Are Welcome

No Boundaries members are convening next week for the first peer exchange in 2022 in beautiful Sacramento, California.

With a packed schedule of presentations, discussions and on-site demonstrations, this three-day event hosted by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has been designed to offer informative programming for transportation maintenance professionals and their agency colleagues attending virtually or in person.

All staff from No Boundaries member states are invited to participate remotely in any part of the event. Contact Brian Hirt if you would like a Zoom meeting invitation.

Highlights from the full agenda follow.

Tuesday, May 3 – Our first day will feature guest speakers’ discussions on a range of topics including maintenance education geared for high schoolers, impacts of the federal government’s new rules regarding commercial driver’s licenses, and innovative maintenance solutions. Caltrans’ guest presenters will also give updates on the agency’s research program, zero emissions vehicles program, and drone program.

Wednesday, May 4 – Attendees in Sacramento will take part in a technical site visit and practitioner Q-and-A at Caltrans’ main equipment shop in the morning, followed by a No Boundaries business and planning meeting in the afternoon.

Thursday, May 5 – On the final day of the event, in-person attendees will head to the backlot of Caltrans’ maintenance training academy for behind-the-scenes views and hands-on demonstrations. Later, all attendees are invited to participate in a roundtable discussion on materials supply shortages. Presentations will be given by representatives from the American Public Works Association and the Federal Highway Administration to round out day three.

Image source: Caltrans

Maintenance Sessions and Papers for 2022 TRB Meeting

No Boundaries has published a listing of technical sessions and papers related to maintenance for the 2022 Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting. The compendium includes each poster and lectern session’s title, authors, identification number, and a link to find the work on TRB’s Online Program portal. Note: TRB requires a login to access full papers. If you are having trouble accessing the papers, check with your DOT or other transportation library.

Download the compendium: 2022 TRB Annual Meeting: Technical Sessions and Papers Related to Maintenance.

Ideas and Insights Exchanged at September No Boundaries Meeting

No Boundaries held its second peer exchange of 2021 from September 14-15 with an in-person meeting in Denver that included a simultaneous virtual option for remote participants.

Over two days, No Boundaries pooled fund members, their agency colleagues and guests discussed the timely issues in the field of transportation maintenance. Highlights include informative discussions about issues involved with charging electric vehicles, the use of drones in maintenance activities and federal activities related No Boundaries’ efforts.

Our Innovation Show-and-Tell, which is always one of our most popular sessions, showcased a variety of new tools and practices to make work easier and safer in the field. We capped it all off with a technical tour of the Central 70 Project to view the progress made on the reconstruction and expansion of Interstate-70 and understand the challenges of this major effort.

Additional information and the full agenda are available on our event page. No Boundaries members have full access to all of the meeting materials and presentations on this page.

Stay tuned for our next peer exchange event, coming in 2022. We’ll provide details as soon as they become available.

Image source: No Boundaries