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Pages 18-66

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From page 18...
... CHAPTER 5 Products One of the main outcomes of the R16 project has been the successful creation of an environment that is conducive for DOTs and railroads to collaboratively work on resolving roadblocks to the progress of projects. This phase of the project built on the momentum, collaboration, and trust that were developed in the earlier phases to capture the best practices and develop them into lessons.
From page 19...
... Figure 5.1. The six lessons as they appear on the Collaborative Solutions Suite website.
From page 20...
... innovations. The Executive Primer also serves to provide an introduction to the employee new to DOT–railroad projects.
From page 21...
... Figure 5.2. Florida DOT Secretary Ananth Prasad on the benefits of the R16 Partnering on the Collaborative Solutions Suite.
From page 22...
... two parties and results in win-win strategies that help expedite agreement processing and project delivery." Users from DOTs and railroads noted that one of the challenges in identifying the degree and impact of issues is the lack of measures. In discussing the importance of partnering, Carlos Braceras, Executive Director of the Utah DOT, explains the Utah experience: "Measuring performance allows us to identify roadblocks, make improvements, and proactively address problems.
From page 23...
... nationwide. It describes two of the key tactics (and their benefits)
From page 24...
... Lesson 2. Culture and Objectives Lesson 2 goes into greater detail on the cultures of the organizations.
From page 25...
... Topic 2. Corporate Culture of Transportation Agencies This topic highlights some of the key financial and operational concerns of public agencies when working on projects and the public scrutiny that agency executives experience concerning the decisions they make and funds they invest.
From page 26...
... The topic also touches on some of the pertinent operational goals of agencies. The approach and timelines associated with the planning, design, and delivery of transportation projects differ from those of railroad projects.
From page 27...
... The completeness of the submittal and compliance with the recommended design standards are major considerations in the railroad's ability to provide timely feedback. Railroads often require different levels of indemnification from the transportation agencies, a provision that often involves long discussions and negotiations.
From page 28...
... TRANSPORTATION AGENCY FOCUS AND ORGANIZATIONAL CONSIDERATIONS Funding is often a major source of concern for transportation agencies. Agencies often have to deal with uncertainty on project delivery schedules and severe budget constraints when they negotiate with railroads over projects.
From page 29...
... describes how the agency and the railroad liaisons will operate and interact with each other for mutual benefit. CREATE COMMON UNDERSTANDING AND COLLABORATIVE APPROACH This topic discusses the need to have win-win strategies to make partnering work.
From page 30...
... AGREEMENTS VARY IN COMPLEXITY Projects vary in complexity from routine maintenance to complex new construction of structures. Accordingly, agreements vary in complexity based on the project.
From page 31...
... Lesson 3 also discusses how a partnering approach memorialized in the form of an MOU can be successfully implemented between a DOT and a railroad to facilitate collaboration and streamlining. The MOU is intentionally designed to stand apart from the OMA.
From page 32...
... Figure 5.4. Master agreement structure: Consolidation of common provisions at two levels.
From page 33...
... The lesson also discusses the MOU and the common provisions in category-specific agreements, including the following: 1. Preliminary engineering, 2.
From page 34...
... Topic 1. Following Railroad Design Standards This topic discusses the reality that design standards across railroads vary.
From page 35...
... This topic provides perspective and highlights the need for these strict safety requirements. Transportation agency personnel or their contractors and representatives access the railroad right-of-way for a host of activities, including the need to access highway structures that are adjacent to, cross over, or are under railroad property for the purpose of studying the geology and environmental or hydrological aspects of adjacent highway properties.
From page 36...
... Topic 3 explains that construction necessitating closure of tracks has to be well coordinated with the operation of trains. Closure of a section of a track can affect the timely movement of multiple trains in multiple regions.
From page 37...
... Topic 4. Temporary Encroachment Temporary encroachment onto railroad property by transportation agencies often occurs when agency representatives are doing work on property adjacent to the railroad right-of-way.
From page 38...
... • Preventing interference with railroad operations; • Providing notice before commencing work; • Making temporary or permanent changes to wirelines on railroad property; • Hauling across the railroad property or tracks; • Storing of materials and equipment on railroad property during project work; • Procedures for blasting and other construction work; • Maintenance of ditches adjacent to railroad tracks; • Flagging protection; and • Cleanup after work. The topic also discusses the importance of bringing railroads into the planning process early and initiating early and proper coordination of resources to address and minimize delays.
From page 39...
... customers without adding any value and cause the railroad to be less competitive. Neither of these are acceptable options for railroads.
From page 40...
... Topic 1. Formalizing Communication Effective project management practices involve detailed project planning efforts, including the preparation of detailed schedules, identifying items critical to the successful delivery of the project, incorporating provisions in the plans and schedules, and ensuring that all project members understand and follow through on the plan.
From page 41...
... A principal challenge identified by both parties as a reason for delays are plan and design differences that are difficult and time-consuming to reconcile. Joint scoping meetings have been used successfully to address such challenges.
From page 42...
... Many of these formal communication techniques require some planning, but they are not difficult to implement. These proactive measures can minimize or sometimes eliminate angst as well as expensive delays.
From page 43...
... The topic also discusses side benefits to developing an escalation process. Often the act of implementing a formal escalation process forces both organizations to focus on the common causes of delays.
From page 44...
... organizations involved in making decisions in the work flow process. It requires the two organizations to think through and assign responsibility and authority appropriately at each level of the escalation process to ensure timely action.
From page 45...
... Figure 5.6. Escalation process with four levels of resolution.
From page 46...
... Level 4 of resolution. This level of resolution involves the assistant vice-president of engineering in BNSF and the assistant secretary of transportation in WSDOT.
From page 47...
... railroad public project manager as one of the reasons for long turnaround times on the review of project submittals. Often delays can result in excessive cost overruns on projects.
From page 48...
... When opting to have a DRPM, it is important to explicitly define his or her roles and responsibilities. The topic highlights the following as responsibilities that should be considered for a DRPM: • Oversee public agency construction and maintenance agreement processes; • Plan and schedule meetings between the railroad and transportation agency; • Act as a liaison between the agency and the railroad attorneys; • Manage the escalation process and expedite issue resolution; • Maintain the project plan and ensure key milestones are being achieved to keep the project on track; • Develop and distribute status reports on a regular basis to keep the agency and railroad management informed; and • Ensure that the proper sign-off of key documents, approvals, and agreements is being performed.
From page 49...
... This topic discusses the following benefits of a shared DRPM arrangement: • The partnering agencies can collaborate on developing standard agreements, processes, and practices for arrangements and work between their agency and the railroad; • Information exchange between the agencies on successful practices and lessons learned can help them improve both internal processes and those with the railroad; • The collaboration provides an opportunity for agencies to have time-saving similarity in negotiations, designs, and agreements on projects; and • The partnering agencies can implement common templates or master agreements and adopt common processes that reduce the review time for the railroads. The topic identifies the following steps that the parties will need to accomplish to maximize the benefits from a multiagency collaboration: • The representatives of the partnering agencies and the railroad must identify, approve, and sign off on the responsibilities of the DRPM; • An addendum for each agency must identify the project management strategies, progress of activities, and strategies for issue resolution for each of the agencies; • The DRPM will meet with each of the collaborating agencies in rotation on an agreed schedule; and • If serious issues require more DRPM attention in one agency for a short period, the collaborating agency liaisons can negotiate temporary schedule changes.
From page 50...
... Much of the engineering and design work on highway projects is done by qualified consultants, although in some cases, in-house agency personnel may be involved in these tasks. Though state- and federally funded projects generally require a qualifications-based selection process for consultants, a firm that is qualified for highway work may not have extensive experience with railroad coordination and design standards.
From page 51...
... railroad projects. These institutional practices are devised to ensure that most typical types of project impediments are clearly anticipated and addressed in each submittal to a railroad.
From page 52...
... The steps for establishing metrics include the following: • Identify areas to measure; • Establish performance goals and metrics for the areas identified; • Identify the major activities necessary to meet the goals; • Identify the personnel and the roles and responsibilities of personnel involved in achieving the goals; • Collaborate with the process owners to improve processes and implement mechanisms for monitoring and tracking the performance of each goal; • Meet to review results; • Incorporate lessons learned for continuous improvement of the process; and • Update processes and revise goals and metrics appropriately for the next cycle. This topic provides a case study of the Florida DOT's quality improvement process and discusses the following six major steps: 1.
From page 53...
... Topic 7. Railroad Project Review Process Like transportation agencies, most railroads have a standard process for review and approval of plans and agreements from transportation agencies.
From page 54...
... 8. On receiving agency approval, railroad authorizes engineering firm to review final plan, followed by submission of the reviewed and internally approved final plan to agency.
From page 55...
... This topic also lists situations for which CSX requires right-of-entry permits. These include • Bridge inspection, • Engineering, • Ground water sampling, • Remediation, • Soil sampling, • Staging areas, • Surveying, • Sediment sampling, • Monitoring, and • Geotechnical soil boring.
From page 56...
... companies' perspective as to why permits are essential and why they insist on safety training for agency and contractor personnel. This lesson is an orientation rather than a comprehensive training program on railroad safety requirements or a substitute for formal railroad safety training.
From page 57...
... contractor's activities. This factor influences the approach that railroads use when dealing with highway construction and maintenance activities within or adjacent to their rights-of-way.
From page 58...
... Topic 2. Permits and Coordinating the Access to the Right-of-Way This topic discusses the safety aspects of working around railroads.
From page 59...
... minimizing the impact on train movement. Flaggers play a key role in this coordination, as they allow for the safe passage of trains on the tracks while the project work is being conducted.
From page 60...
... the company's reputation. These various consequences can result in penalties and loss of business for the railroads.
From page 61...
... • Erection, demolition, and hoisting cannot impede the railroad operating envelopes and must be conducted with the approval of the railroad engineers; and • Assurances must be provided that equipment, materials, and other items do not interfere with the operating envelope. The topic includes a case study that demonstrates how demolition work above a railroad track could have resulted in train derailment.
From page 62...
... Figure 5.9. The virtual library home page on the Collaborative Solutions Suite.
From page 63...
... • Railroad resources, guidance, and design standards; and • Website links to resources that will assist the railroad and transportation agencies as they work on projects involving the two parties. The library contains multiple documents in each of the above-listed categories.
From page 64...
... Figure 5.10. Listing of resources within the DOT manual category on the Collaborative Solutions Suite.
From page 65...
... Figure 5.11. The category tree on the Collaborative Solutions Suite.
From page 66...
... Figure 5.12. The tag cloud on the Collaborative Solutions Suite.

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