A common practice of all DOTs is to evaluate the potential application and long term performance of many products and materials. However, there is no standard approach on product management evaluation, leaving agencies to develop their own methods and procedures. This problem is exacerbated by many DOTs' limited internal staff dedicated to the product approval process. A growing number of transportation agencies and other public owners have begun streamlining these processes and have had some initial success (including reduced evaluation time and increased user satisfaction). This proposed research project will synthesize the best practices, lessons learned, tools, management techniques, and workflows of other transportation departments throughout the United States. The final deliverables will provide key insights on the optimal strategy as NCDOT evaluates its internal Approved Product List (APL) processes.
The proposed scope of work is designed to:
- Evaluate national industry practices in DOT product evaluation to capture current methods and available options.
- Compare results to analyze NCDOT's current product management approach to identify points of differential between NCDOT and other agencies.
- Prepare a summary of the gaps to establish the recommended next steps and structure for an optimized APL structure.
The research products resulting from this project are:
- Product Alignment Matrix, which summarizes the latest industry product-tracking offerings and other state DOT practices, and compares these options with NCDOT's current structure.
- Survey results of other state-level DOT practices (including categories of Approved Product Lists, definitions, recertification processes, etc.).
- White paper summary and PowerPoint slide deck (to assist the Value Management Team in communicating their current APL evaluation needs for future strategic planning).
- Summary of best practices in product tracking, monitoring, and asset lifecycle performance.
