Many State DOTs are establishing quality assurance programs for their maintenance operations. As budgets get smaller, these agencies need to have the best information available to make sound decisions on how best to manage and operate the transportation system. Quality assurance programs are essential for better communication and for responding to calls for increased accountability. For example, state DOTs need to be able to effectively compare the costs of contracting maintenance to keeping it in-house. The targeted workshop audience is the day-to-day program manager at state DOTs. The workshop concept was presented to the AASHTO Maintenance Committee at its Duluth meeting in July 2003. The idea generated considerable interest.

The Transportation Asset Management Pooled Fund Research Program (TPF-5(036) is soliciting additional state participants for one of its work plan projects for FFY 2005, Maintenance Quality Assurance Peer Exchange, to be held in the fall of 2004. (This and other selected projects will be listed on the Midwest Regional University Transportation Center Web site in December at www.mrutc.org/research/pooledfund.htm.) The Maintenance Quality Assurance Peer Exchange will serve as a national workshop on quality assurance of state DOT maintenance programs. The objectives of the workshop are to collect and disseminate current and best practices, serving, in part, as a follow-up to a similar activity in Scottsdale. The tentative title is "Maintenance Performance Measures in Action." The objective isn't to standardize measures and programs but rather to stimulate an exchange and gather the results in a single document, such as workshop proceedings.

Interested states should contact Jason Bittner at bittner@engr.wisc.edu or Alison Lebwohl, Wisconsin Department of Transportation, alison.lebwohl@dot.state.wi.us. The expected state share is $5000 each.