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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.

This document shows the success of MnDOT's Seeds program during the first six year of its existence. It lists the graduates of the Seeds program and where they are employed.

This Document recognizes the achievements of the Seeds program and MnDOT's Office of Workforce Equity and Diversity (O/WED). It was created after the Seeds program was nationally recognized for excellent by the Public Employees Roundtable, the Washington Times, and USA.

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.