++ Minutes of Meeting

Georgia Partnership for Transportation Quality (GPTQ)

Consultant Relations Committee (CRC)

March 21, 2017

GDOT Conference Room 28th Floor

1. Opening o Hiral Patel welcomed everyone and thanked new co-chairs o Included in agenda packet was last year’s GPTQ subcommittee highlights. Hiral thanked everyone for

their efforts last year o Hiral welcomed Rob Lewis as CRC Co-Chair o Introductions were made around the room

2. GPTQ Charter Affirmation/Expectations o The GPTQ Charter was started in 1993 and focused on goals of quality and delivery. This is the time to

refresh subcommittee goals as appropriate o Rob mentioned and referenced the operating charter and introduced the charter attachments provided in a

hand-out o Each subcommittee meeting should be added to a calendar and notes are needed a few days after each

meeting. Minutes are sent to Rob/Hiral. Rob subsequently forwards to Sasha at ACEC/G for posting to

GPTQ website. o Subcommittees should identify top 3-5 initiatives for the coming year to focus on and be prepared to report

at the next 5/16/2017 CRC meeting o The CRC will review meeting minutes to determine any issues that require attention o Rob thanked co-chairs for distributing minutes. Rob asked that all subcommittee do their best

documenting discussion. These are being posted to http://www.acecga.org/pages/GPTQ. o Scott Gero added that meeting minutes are intended for the masses, and it is helpful to include detail that is

understood by the general audience

3. CRC Subcommittee Reports

a. CEI – http://www.acecga.org/crc-cei-subcommittee o Ed Hill/Lenicia Rogers-Lattimore (last meeting notes March 11, 201 on ACECGA website) o Initiatives include training, field technology, recruiting, partnership with Technical College

System of GA (TCSG), updating job descriptions to allow a deeper bench of qualifications and

procurement for CEI o There is an industry meeting for CEI in April o 5/25 is the next CEI meeting o D6 CEI is advertised. o D2 CEI out later this year. o Group discussed outreach to GA Tech College System and desired outcome.

1. The goal is to make the TCSG aware of CEI industry needs

2. Rob mentioned Cobb Works which he understood was under umbrella of GA Economic

Development; and that there may be other opportunities to enlist support, or help focus

other parallel efforts, of other groups

3. Other disciplines too are needing to grow the ranks including engineering, material

technicians, construction related

4. What would help in the discussions with others is in a program level illustration of staffing

needs o Al Bowman asked what training is required for GDOT CEI jobs?

1. There is GDOT in-house training. Consultants do external training

2. CEI consultants under contract with GDOT can take GDOT courses

3. Firms awarded a CEI contract have a 6 month grace period to take GDOT courses

4. Courses include work traffic control, worksite erosion control, etc

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b. Bridge – http://www.acecga.org/pages/CRCBridgeStructuresSubcommittee o Bill DuVall/Greg Grant (last meeting notes February 2, 2017 on ACECGA website) o Update on CONSPAN and RCPIER task forces. Goal is to ensure consistent with software

utilization. o Initiatives include environmental permitting, bridge programs for LRFD, innovative solutions

1. Innovative solutions - FL I Beams, appropriate use, sharing successes. o More bridge batches coming. o Workshop scheduled on 4/19 for Pre-stressed Concrete Bridge Design put on by PCI and GDOT.

Workshop will focus on design, fabrication, delivery, etc. o Presentation on bridge design/environmental permitting at the ASHE/ITE workshop

1. Panel provided practical ways of working together

2. Bridge subcommittee is close finalizing policy guidance document

c. Engineering Services – http://www.acecga.org/pages/CRCEngineeringServicesSubcommittee1 o Lisa Myers/David Henry (last meeting notes March 17, 2017 on ACECGA website) o (Mike Moseley reporting as committee member) o Initiatives - see meeting notes

1. Conduct fifteen (15) PCEs this calendar year – other than DB

2. Update commonly seen comments for Field Plan Reviews and EPD ESPCP

3. Assist GDOT with achieving an 80% success rate meeting letting schedule

processing dates

http://www.dot.ga.gov/PartnerSmart/Business/Documents/Contractor/LettingSche

duleProcessingProjects.pdf o CES/pay item issues

1. Ensure use of 2013 specifications manual.

2. CES is not being turned over to Engineering Services in time

3. Earthwork is not presented correct and turned in properly. Group discussed training Matt

Sanders prepared in mid 2000. Rob Lewis to provide a copy. May be an opportunity to

conduct a refresher for GDOT. o GDOT has a pilot project(s) using 3D design modeling. GDOT engaged CW Matthews as part of

the pilot for comment. Contractors are a step ahead in 3D modeling. o Joe Macrina- what is the status of the comments from contractors on quality issues? Mike recalls

there were earthwork issues, missing pay items, conflicting information, incorrect stationed points

and earthwork files in Caice. o GDOT has had issues during the bidding process whereby contractor questions are not getting

answered in a timely fashion. A new process and timetable has been developed. Questions to

CBA -> to PM -> to consultant. Consultant PMs are encouraged to monitor their projects through

the bidding process at https://www.bidx.com/ga/lettings

1. Mark Mastronardi met with the Chief. It is normal to get 25 - 30 questions on a good size

project. CBA will put timeline too on contractor for questions deadline.

2. Consultant/PM must provide some kind of response o Question was raised on Bidx access levels in order to view questions as consultant?

Following meeting was confirmed all questions are posted, e.g.

https://www.bidx.com/ga/qandasearchletting?lettingid=17051901

d. Environmental – http://www.acecga.org/pages/CRCEnvironmentalSubcommittee1 o Eric Duff/Laura Dawood (last meeting notes February 16, 2017 on ACECGA website) o Laura Dawood summarized meeting notes from 2/16/17 - See notes on ACECGA website. o Legislation has been quiet. o Groups have been active. Common focus for NEPA and other committees is agency coordination,

streamlining efforts, and continuous improvement. Working groups continue their efforts which

have included guest speakers.

o NEPA –

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1. Reported on PCE working group focused on criteria for Section 7. July 2017 presentation.

2. Abbreviated FONSI.

3. Job classifications as part of negotiations handbook.

4. Reported on public involvement working group.

o Ecology –

1. Meet every quarter.

2. Developing SOP for delineations of impacts.

3. Areawide buffer variance discussion with EPD.

4. Criteria a & h for statewide variance.

5. Aquatic and muscle survey methodology – guest speakers from DNR.

6. Bat training and bat field guide.

Group discussed when training opportunities are created to let Al Bowman

know for their efforts to track as part of the Training Subcommittee mission.

7. Reminder of new NWP thresholds.

8. NMFS – GDOT working to fill an office position.

o History

1. Interagency coordination with SHPO. GDOT consulting/education SHPO on traffic/ITS

projects to hopefully streamline process.

2. Laura mentioned the plan reading class was successful which included some agency

involvement, new pms and env staff. Group discussed GDOT Engineering Skills

Development (ESD) and opportunities for additional training.

o NAHRGIS database upgraded to receive information in an effort for it to be a current repository

for current info.

o A/N – to focus on state funded noise process.

o GATech reserch. Ongoing with Phase I.

e. Materials – http://www.acecga.org/pages/CRCMaterialsSubcommittee o Monica Flournoy/Tom Hruby (last meeting notes February 16, 2017 on ACECGA website) o Monica summarized meeting notes from 2/16/17 - See notes on ACECGA website o LRFD BFI training – 38 different firms participated. o LRFD WFI training being vetted. 2 training sessions anticipated this year. o Discussed opportunities to grow market of RTT. Similar to the need for inspectors. CEI/Materials

subcommittee to discuss opportunities to collectively engage TCGS. Need to develop a simple

illustration of the overall need of staff in these employment areas. o Finalize pavement design manual. o Deep foundations – pile caissons – spec 524. o Tommy Crochet asked about MS4 soil investigation early to determine presence of rock at

potential treatment basins? Guidance needed and should include DP&S in the discussion.

f. Preconstruction Awards – http://www.acecga.org/pages/CRCPreconstructionAwardsSubcommittee o Tim Matthews/Michael Thomas (last meeting notes March 21, 2017 on ACECGA website) o Michael Thomas summarized meeting notes from 3/21/17 - See notes on ACECGA website o Saurabh Bhattachrya asked if there was opportunity to get feedback from award submittals?

Subcommittee will consider logistics of providing feedback/debrief.

g. Procurement – http://www.acecga.org/pages/CRCProcurementSubcommittee o Treasury Young /Saurabh Bhattacharya (last meeting notes March 1, 2017 on ACECGA website) o Saurabh highlighted the progress on Negotiations Handbook and Consultant Evaluations. See

meeting notes from 2/1/17 & 3/1/17 on ACECGA website.

h. Program Delivery – http://www.acecga.org/pages/CRCProgramDeliverySubcommittee1 o Albert Shelby/Jimmy Garrison (last meeting notes March 8, 2017 on ACECGA website) o Jimmy highlighted initiatives

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1. 3 PM roundtables per year.

2. Program Delivery Website for manuals and delivery of program

3. Risk Assessment of projects

4. Constructability Reviews

5. Progress reports. o See meeting notes from 1/11, 2/8 & 3/8/17 on ACECGA website

i. Roadway Design Policy – http://www.acecga.org/pages/CRCRoadwayDesignPolicySubcommittee o Brent Story /Alex Stone (last meeting notes March 1, 2017 on ACECGA website) o See meeting notes from 3/1/17 on ACECGA website o Topics discussed

1. Aging survey database issues and guidance. Rob mentioned that guidance has been

offered in the PDP. Rob to provide group the PDP guidance issued by Brent.

2. Pipe condition survey. Including scope in contract.

3. Group discussed property notification letters and need to distribute every six months. o Mario Macrina asked about property access letters needed every 6 months? No information

provided. o MS4 process/flowcharts being evaluated by Brad McManus. Maybe Brad can share status at the

next meeting. o Roundabouts- working on issues with peer reviews. o Section 408 Policy and Procedures, which involves impact to USACE property. USACE is

willing to hold pre-meeting and issue decision at 60% plan level. o MOT – CH 12 staging plans of DPM to provide guidance.

j. Traffic – http://www.acecga.org/pages/CRCTrafficSubcommittee1 o Scott Zehngraff /Bill Rusham (last meeting notes March 1, 2017 on ACECGA website) o See meeting notes from 3/1/17 on ACECGA website. Initial focus of kickoff meeting assessing

last year’s initiatives as part of identifying this year’s initiatives. More to come. o Next meeting 5/3.

k. Training – http://www.acecga.org/crc-training-subcommittee o Jeff Conrad /Al Bowman (no meeting notes yet on website as this is a new subcommittee) o Subcommittee resurrected since 2008 and has met in Feb and March 2017 o A diverse group of construction, environmental, materials, design, etc. including GDOT

involvement. o Goals

1. Assess needs of community

2. Rebuild annual schedule of courses (Intro to Highway Hydraulics, corsim, interchange

design, etc.)

3. Identify in-house training ongoing and strive to share

4. Look out for ongoing in-house training that could be made available to consultants

5. Foster and encourage organic learning and share with community, good and bad

l. Utilities – http://www.acecga.org/pages/CRCUtilityCoordinationSubcommittee o John Tuttle (last meeting notes August 8, 2013 on ACECGA website) o No report

4. New Business o Joe Macrina discussed the possibility of a survey subcommittee. A call to consultants was made and

11 consultants met on 3/6/2017 to brainstorm the following topics. GDOT is interested in having a

dialogue to flesh out the idea. Rob to facilitate a small group meeting with Brent Story, Location

Bureau staff and several consultants to further discuss.

1. Ownership of existing old database

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2. Schedules

3. Utility codes

4. Property resolution

5. GPS usage

6. Automated survey manual- Septic tank location

7. Technology- lidar, mobile scan, drones

8. Aerial mapping methodology by GDOT is old

9. Deliverables

10. Database check durations

5. Action Items Summary – o Rob – provide group with old GDOT earthwork training PPT. – complete, attached o Rob – provide group ageing survey policy guidance. – complete, included in minutes o Rob – schedule meeting with DP&S/Location Bureau and small group of consultants to discuss

potential survey subcommittee. – meeting scheduled for 5/16 o Subcommittee Co-Chairs – include Al Bowman on any training opportunities. o Materials – discuss MS4 soil investigation guidance – possibly work with DP&S. o CEI/Materials subcommittee – discuss inspector and RTT needs and strategy to engage TCSG. o Preconstruction – discuss if a debrief process is logistically feasible.

Next meeting will be held Tuesday, May 16, 2017 @ 10:30 am in Room 403/404.

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Subject: Assessment of Aging Survey Databases

Please share this with your office staff. The primary audience is the GDOT Program/Project Manager

and the Design Phase Leader (in-house or consultant).

In an effort to avoid costly delays during the Final Design Phase of a project, specifically ROW

acquisition, the following new guidance involving “aging survey databases” has been added to Chapter

6 of the Department’s Plan Development Process (PDP).

6.2.3 Assessment of Aging Survey Databases

Normal Project Development - between the Database Complete date and the scheduled finish date for ROW Plans Preparation, the Project Manager and the Design Phase Leader will reassess a project for possible property divisions, real-estate developments, and utility installations or adjustments that need to be incorporated into the survey database. This can be accomplished by field visit, communication with District and State Traffic Operations to identify encroachment permits, periodic review of tax maps on county GIS websites (if available), and communicating with the District ROW Team Manager assigned to a project. The frequency of assessing an aging survey database will depend on the type of existing development along the roadway (i.e. business-commercial, urban, sub-urban, rural, etc.). For example, more frequent assessments may need to occur in rapidly developing commercial, urban, and sub-urban areas than in rural areas. At a minimum, these assessments should occur six months before the scheduled finish date for ROW Plans Preparation. For consultant projects, the prime consultant is responsible for making these assessments as needed, and coordinating with their surveyor (firm) to make the appropriate updates. For projects that are designed in house, the GDOT Project Manager and Design Phase Leader are responsible for making these assessments and coordinating with the State Location Bureau Chief to make the Additional Survey Request if needed.

Delayed Project Development - when project development is delayed, an assessment of the

existing survey databases is required. Some examples are, a project is placed on HOLD status

during database collection, or a project does not advance after Database Complete. This could

also occur if a consultant contract is prematurely terminated for any reason. In these cases the

GDOT Project Manager should request an assessment of the Database from the State Location

Bureau Chief to determine the age and quality of the Database and the extent of additional survey

data needed, if any. This assessment by the SLB should be done before a consultant scope is

negotiated or before in-house Preliminary Engineering resources are resumed or kicked-off.

Brent A. Story, P.E. State Design Policy Engineer

Georgia Department of Transportation

600 West Peachtree Street

Atlanta, GA 30308

Office: (404) 631-1600

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