MTC News: Year Four (2003) Progress Report

Outreach and Technology Transfer

Coordinating State, Regional, and National Efforts

MTC-affiliated faculty and staff are incrementally expanding from state, local, and regional asset management initiatives to increasing involvement in coordinating national outreach activities. The following, partial outline of activities illustrates the MTC’s evolving role:

• The MTC arranged for Iowa State University, the Iowa League of Cities, the Iowa Association of Counties, the Iowa State Auditor’s Office, the Iowa County Engineers Association, Howard R. Green Company, and others to partner together to develop an introductory workshop on Government Accounting Standards Board Statement 34 (GASB 34) that was carried out in August 2000.
• The MTC was asked by the Iowa County Finance Committee to assist in developing guidelines for counties to use in complying with GASB 34. The joint effort coordinated the expertise of Iowa State University, the State Auditor’s Office, Iowa County Engineers’ Service Bureau (ICESB), several county auditors, and several county engineers, and resulted in a web-based system to help counties and cities comply with GASB 34 reporting requirements using a uniform depreciation-based approach. The system is now in use and supported with the MTC’s training capabilities.
• Lincoln University and University of Missouri-Columbia joined forces following a request by the Missouri LTAP center and the Missouri Division of the FHWA to develop a one-day short course on learning GASB 34. Following preliminary discussions, Dr. Sherrie Koechling-Andrae from Lincoln took the lead in developing the program, and Dr. Cindy Wilson Orndoff, Dr. Charles Nemmers, and Dr. Dana Baker from the University of Missouri-Columbia provided additional support. Five presentations were carried out across Missouri with funding provided by the MTC, FHWA, MoDOT, and the Missouri LTAP Center. Involvement with the MTC helped to prompt Lincoln University’s first major transportation event.
• The MTC coordinated with the Midwestern Regional University Transportation Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to co-host the 2001 Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Access Management Task Force meeting.
• MTC representatives Omar Smadi (ISU) and Charles Nemmers (UM-C) have participated extensively in the activities of the AASHTO Asset Management Task Force and the TRB Asset Management Task Force. These activities have led directly to opportunities for MTC schools to join teams to respond to several National Cooperative Highway Research Program requests for proposals on asset management tools and techniques and on GASB 34 implementation.
• FHWA approached the MTC for assistance in developing a workshop for practitioners looking to improve the management of their bridge assets by using live load testing as part of the condition evaluation process. The event was coordinated using videoconferencing and e-mail between FHWA, MTC-affiliated faculty, and state DOT engineers. UM-C arranged speakers, advertisements, and registration.

Conferences and Workshops

The following provides a partial list of workshops, conferences, and presentations that were carried out to develop awareness of asset management concepts.

• During August 2000, the MTC implemented a statewide (Iowa) workshop on GASB 34. Over 400 people attended, including government decision-makers, financial officers, managers, and approximately 100 municipal or county engineers.
• During November 2000, the MTC implemented a regional Asset Management/GASB 34 Workshop in Kansas City, Missouri, focused on the requirements of GASB 34 and how they relate to asset management systems for infrastructure. The event involved ISU, Lincoln University, UM-C, and the FHWA; approximately 100 people from throughout the MTC region attended.
• During September 2001, the MTC and the Midwestern Regional University Transportation Center based at the University of Wisconsin-Madison co-hosted the Fourth Annual National Asset Management Workshop, which was targeted toward helping organizations take the next steps in implementing asset management. Additional sponsors included AASHTO, the American Public Transit Association, the American Public Works Association (APWA), the FHWA, the National Association of County Engineers, the TRB, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the University of Illinois-Chicago, and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Approximately 250 people from across the United States and Canada attended. In addition to participating on the planning committee, the following faculty, staff, and students from the MTC schools presented at the workshop:
  • Moderator for GASB 34 and Valuation Issues Session, David Plazak, ISU
  • “Evaluating Remotely Sensed Images for Use in Inventorying Roadway Features,” Shauna Hallmark, ISU
  • “Building and Asset Management Mindset,” Charles Nemmers, UM-C
  • “Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining to Expand the Use of Pavement Management Data,” poster by Vanessa Amado Gonzalez, UM-C
  • Moderator for Integrating and Using Data Session, Cynthia Wilson Orndorf, UM-C
  • “Automated Asset Data Collection and Integration,” Omar Smadi, ISU
  • Moderator for Planning and Implementing an Asset Management Program Session, Charles Nemmers, UM-C
  • “Jackson County Asset Management: A Success Story,” Ali Roohanirad, UM-KC
  • “Educating Students to Manage Civil Infrastructure Assets,” Kristen Sanford-Bernhardt, formerly with UM-C and now with Lafayette College
• During Fall 2002, Lincoln University and ISU partnered through the MTC to deliver a workshop on GASB 34 and transportation asset management for all of the regional planning agencies in Iowa and Missouri. The workshop was held in Kansas City and received very positive evaluations. Regional planning agencies are strategically positioned to provide intermediary assistance to small cities and counties in coping with GASB34 and to implementing asset management strategies.
• During March 2003, MTC organized, developed, and hosted the first National Bridge Live Load Testing and Rating Workshop in Kansas City, Missouri, where UM-C showcased its field bridge load-testing vehicle. About 90 people attended and actively participated in the event. Other presenters included
  • Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center in Washington, D.C.
  • The FHWA Midwest Recourse Center in Olympia Fields, Illinois
  • State DOTs from Alabama, Iowa, Missouri, New York, and Wisconsin
  • Universities, including Missouri-Columbia, Iowa State and Wyoming
  • The BDI consulting group from Colorado.
• The MTC planned and co-hosted (along with AASHTO and FHWA) the first National Prefabricated Bridge Elements and Systems Conference. In doing so, the MTC continues to pursue its goal of being a catalyst for technology transfer activities related to transportation asset management and new transportation technologies in the Midwest.
• In addition to the previous events that were, in part, formally organized by the MTC, consortium affiliates also provided the following presentations at the invitation of other organizations:
  • Dr. Kristen Sanford-Barnhardt, asset management and GASB 34, Missouri Highway Engineers’ Association annual meeting
  • Mr. Nemmers, asset management at
    • Southeastern Public Works Officials annual workshop
    • Missouri Society of Professional Engineers annual meeting
    • Midwest Local Roads Conference
    • Transportation Highway Engineers (THE) Conference
    • Purdue Roads School
    • Michigan Local Roads Conference
  • Dr. Cindy Wilson-Orndoff, asset management and GASB 34, APWA Missouri Chapter annual meeting
  • Mr. Nemmers and Dr. Sherrie Koechling-Burnett, GASB 34 and asset management, Anchorage, Alaska in November 2002.
  • Nemmers, Wilson-Orndoff and Koechling-Burnett, GASB 34 and asset management, American Society of Civil Engineers in Chicago (December 2002) and Washington, D.C. (January 2003).
  • Dr. Ali Roohanirad, traffic impact studies, 2003 Missouri Traffic and Safety Conference

Web Based Media

During 2000, the MTC developed a website to assist local governments in complying with the infrastructure accounting provisions of GASB 34. The website contains a number of articles prepared by MTC universities, an online training needs survey, and links to other useful information. The MTC site is even linked from the Government Accounting Standards Board. The MTC site is at http://www.ctre.iastate.edu/gasb34/index.htm

In response to a request by the Missouri DOT, UM-C’s Engineering School joined with its College of Information Science in an effort to improve accessibility to MoDOT’s Transportation Library. The project generated a multi-disciplinary effort to integrate digital and library technologies and improve the management of information assets. The project also provided opportunities for graduate students from information science to become engaged in the MTC’s Transportation Scholars Program. The U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics has expressed an interest in this initiative.

A website (http://www.trexpo.org) was developed during the first year of the MTC to facilitate the dissemination of research in the member universities. The original intent was to provide a portal where state DOTs, along with local, federal, and private agencies, could establish an exchange with research faculty and staff. The vision was that faculty could post their research interests on the site where practitioners would access them and generate an evolutionary progression that would eventually focus research on industry needs.

However, it seems that the more proactive efforts of MTC, such as workshops and videoconferencing applications, provide a more effective means of distributing asset management information. Although the Trexpo site still has potential as a support mechanism, face-to-face contact is still essential to building dialogue between research producers and consumers.