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This report summarizes an evaluation of the first year of the Cambridge Telework Center, where Minnesota Department of Transportation employee volunteers work one or two days a week instead of commuting to Twin Cities sites. Researchers surveyed participants and their supervisors at the beginning of their involvement, six months later, and a final survey a year later. The surveys asked questions about commuting time and distance, expectations about and experiences with telework, job satisfaction and other work attitudes, job performance, day-to-day operations at Cambridge, and other issues. The Telework Center reduces commuting time and distance by a per day average of 32 miles and 74 minutes. In the first survey, participants and supervisors expected to see improvements in a wide variety of areas, including quality and quantity of work, job satisfaction, and reduced stress. One year later, the two groups reported that most of these expectations were met, and they rated their telework experience as positive. However, according to direct measurements, teleworker job satisfaction and commitment to the organization remained unchanged from the program's start to one year later. The same proved true with job performance.

These are the Appendices for report number MN/RC - 1999-24: An Evaluation of the Cambridge Telework Center.

The situation of growing demand, and level or dwindling supply for civil engineering positions poses a significant challenge for Minnesota and for the country at large. To avoid turning the pending reality into a major crisis, though, Minnesota decided to take action. The Research Implementation Committee of Minnesota's Local Road Research Board sponsored the Minnesota Summit on Civil Engineering Workforce Development to address civil engineering employment issues. Held August 9, 2000, the summit attracted 44 leaders from the private and public sector, including representatives from city and county government, the Minnesota Department of Transportation, federal government, private engineering firms, industry and organizations, and educational institutions. Summit participants focused on the following tasks: Reviewing recent research on the expected demand and supply of civil engineers, surveyors, and technicians; Showcasing innovative methods of recruiting and retaining civil engineers, surveyors, and technicians by reviewing nationwide best practices; Examining the survey of cities, counties, and industry that assessed the nature of the problem in Minnesota; Developing an action plan that collaboratively leverages the resources of all the workforce development stakeholders; and Defining roles and responsibilities for solving the program among all stakeholders. Divided into four smaller groups, participants completed problem and vision statements for four key areas; awareness, attraction, access; recruiting; retention and redesign; and re-recruiting. The report details work completed at the summit and the actions that resulted from the summit.

The primary cause of injury to field workers who perform laborious tasks is over-exertion. Due to changing environmental and situational conditions for field workers, it is difficult to apply engineering controls to reduce exposure to over-exertion or strain that contributes to musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). Workplace health promotion and wellness programs are meant to provide employees with opportunities to learn about lifestyle changes to improve their overall health and wellness status. The goal of this project was to create a reference guide for the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) that addresses the different components of a workplace health and wellness promotion program. Results indicate that to be successful, health promotion and wellness should be considered a process instead of a program or initiative. First, management commitment and leadership must be established along with involvement of key stakeholders (such as healthcare providers, workers compensation, etc.). Second, a joint management-worker committee needs to be formed to define how health promotion and wellness can be aligned with organizational goals, policies, and measures, and to assess the needs of workers. The committee needs guidance from a health promotion and wellness expert. Before implementation, baseline measures of health conditions, worker perceptions, and injury/illness and workers compensation data need to be established and periodically monitored to ensure progress. Establishing health promotion and wellness into the culture of the organization, careful planning by a well-represented committee, and evaluation on the performance of the program using a variety of measures, are keys to success.

An analysis of workers' compensation data showed that five job classifications accounted for over 93% of all cases. This analysis also showed that 48% of the cases resulted in sprains and strains, and 70% of those cases were caused by over-exertion and/or awkward work postures. Based on these findings, a research proposal was created to investigate worker perceptions of potential musculoskeletal injury factors and possible corrective actions. Fifty randomly-selected Mn/DOT transportation generalists and mechanics from District 1 were interviewed via telephone. Interviews were voice recorded, transcribed, and analyzed by shortening and separating responses. Each of the six questions produced between fifteen to twenty-one response categories and total response counts between 63-to-123. The most frequently cited safety concern was exposure to public traffic on road projects; followed by heavy or awkward lifting, "rushing" to get a job done and exposure to typical construction site hazards. Overall, workers felt management and co-workers were committed to safety on the job. Possible safety improvements revolved around: general awareness, watching out for each other, planning ahead, taking time to do the job right, and proper use of personal protective equipment. Most of the workers interviewed indicated interest in participating and promoting a workplace wellness program to improve their health and fitness. Efforts to reduce musculoskeletal injuries need to incorporate the concerns and ideas of workers, building off of what was learned in this study.

This presentation was part of project 2004-18, "Toolkit for a Career in Civil Engineering." This tool kit was designed for use in school presentations, and contains information for high school students on how to pursue a career as a civil engineer or civil engineering technician. The kit contains a video, an FAQ document, a PowerPoint presentation and a brochure, all on one convenient CD-ROM.

This FAQ document was part of the final deliverables for project 2004-18, "Toolkit for a Career in Civil Engineering.' This tool kit was designed for use in school presentations, and contains information for high school students on how to pursue a career as a civil engineer or civil engineering technician. The kit contains a video, an FAQ document, a PowerPoint presentation and a brochure, all on one convenient CD-ROM. The video and PowerPoint presentation give an overview of how to prepare for a civil engineering career while in high school, and list several schools in the region that offer civil engineering or civil engineering technician degrees.

This brochure was part of the final deliverables for project 2004-18, " Toolkit for a Career in Civil Engineering." This tool kit was designed for use in school presentations, and contains information for high school students on how to pursue a career as a civil engineer or civil engineering technician. The kit contains a video, an FAQ document, a PowerPoint presentation and a brochure, all on one convenient CD-ROM.

This study explored and examined possible causes of the workforce shortage in Minnesota's transportation industry. Appropriate human resource strategies were proposed in response. Four interrelated approaches were undertaken: 1) a literature review, 2) a questionnaire, 3)audio interviews, and 4) integration of data to generate recommendations for Minnesota's public transportation agencies. The findings showed a general level of agreement for a shortage of qualified individuals. Generational differences in the context of the transportation industry appeared to operate differently than in other sectors. Additional investigation will be needed to further examine whether differences in perceptions are more prominent at the industry or organizational level. When asked about recruitment strategies implemented by their agency, 17.4% of respondents reported that nothing was being done. The stated benefits of working for public agencies included job stability, set work hours for some positions, and work-life balance. Constraints of working in the public sector largely dealt with inflexible regulations, politics, and the complex barriers to new employee integration. Interviewees expressed overall satisfaction with their agency, but several noted problems that reflected bureaucratic policies. Standard pay scales, preferences for seniority, and lack of transparency for job roles were believed to be significant issues. In this report, we recommended a holistic approach to developing Minnesota's public transportation industry through purposive change that focuses on existing opportunities related to the state's and the nation's changing demographics, as well as significant shifts related to the meaning and purpose of work.

The objective of this project was to recommend cost-effective equipment solutions to mitigate fatigue experienced by winter maintenance operators. A questionnaire collected the opinions on the relationship between equipment and fatigue from 2,011 winter maintenance operators in 23 Clear Roads states. An analysis of the existing literature and questionnaire results produced eight cost-effective equipment solutions and eight non-equipment solutions to mitigate winter maintenance operator fatigue. These 16 solutions are believed to be the most promising to mitigate fatigue at low cost (in no particular order): (1) provide dimmable interior cab lighting, (2) use light emitting diode (LED) bulbs for exterior lighting, (3) equip winter maintenance vehicles with warning lights that have a nighttime setting (i.e., dimmable), (4) install a compact disc player or satellite radio in all winter maintenance vehicles, (5) equip winter maintenance vehicles with a heated windshield, (6) install snow deflectors on front plows, (7) install LED narrow-beam bulbs on auxiliary lighting, (8) use an ergonomically designed seat with vibration dampening/air-ride technology, (9) instruct winter maintenance operators to take a 15- to 30-minute break every 4 to 5 hours, (10) provide education and training to winter maintenance operators to identify early signs of fatigue, (11) investigate reduced shift lengths, start/end times, and overtime rules/limits, (12) create an agency-wide fatigue management policy, (13) investigate methods to provide early notifications of an impending swing shift, (14) encourage heathy lifestyles, (15) encourage winter maintenance operator input in equipment purchases, and (16) provide a dedicated place for winter maintenance operators to rest at each garage/terminal.