Author: Dan Osborn

2023 LDC RETREAT REPORT

Posted on by Dan Osborn

WEDNESDAY EVENING, JULY 26

It was quite toasty at 82° F.

We had around 15-30 attend the informal reception in the Valley Bar. Fish convinced the John the barkeep to open the extra room for us at no cost. John was fantastic and accommodating. Those in attendance had a great time. A few tables stayed after we closed our tab.

THURSDAY MORNING, JULY 27

The day started out at 88° F. Whew.

Dr. Rich Arkanoff spoke about the book, “The 6 Types of Working Genius: A Better Way to Understand Your Gifts, Your Frustrations, and Your Team”, by Patrick Lencioni. Most session attendees participated in a survey and received their results prior to attending Dr. Arkanoff’s presentation. With great energy and engagement, he showed them how they could leverage their “genius” and help develop that of their coworkers.

THURSDAY AFTERNOON, JULY 27

Hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk at 93° F.

Eric Fisher presented advice to contractors to build their “on-ramp” for new talent – including a recommendation for a talent acquisition specialist position for high school recruitment.

Dan Osborn brought MORE HEAT to the day filling in the attendees about newly enacted project delivery methods Construction Manager/General Contractor (CMGC) Progressive Design-Build (P D-B) and Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT).

Many folks hit the pool for a couple hours prior to the welcome reception.

THURSDAY EVENING, JULY 27

Still sweltering at 91° F.

The welcome reception turnout was great – almost 60 attendees! They gathered at the Valley Bar adjacent to the casino for drinks and heavy apps. Lots of shop talk about projects they worked on together. New attendees met old attendees and forged new friendships.

FRIDAY MORNING, JULY 28

It was a scorcher at 93° F.

It was *so hot* our 13 golfers chose sports drinks and water over beer. What else is there to say?

The after-golf pool party featured attendees moving back and forth between the pool and the poolside bar all afternoon, enjoying the best of both worlds and making the most of their time with friends.

You can find photos of the event here.

Annual FHWA 1391 Report

Posted on by Dan Osborn

Source: Katie Daniels, INDOT Lead Workforce & Education Specialist

Annual FHWA 1391 Report

This applies to all Prime contractors, subcontractors, and haulers (NOT including material suppliers) working on a federal-aid highway construction contract in excess of $10,000.00.
The FHWA 1391 Report continues to be an ITAP application and all reporting must be done via that application. Paper forms or excel spreadsheets will not be accepted and will be returned. To create an ITAP account go to: https://itap.indot.in.gov/login.aspx and the application needed is called FHWA 1391 Report.

This year’s reporting period will be for the week of July 23-July 29, 2023. Detailed instructions can be found within the FHWA 1391 Report application itself by clicking on the “HELP” icon. The application will open on July 23, 2023 and close on August 31, 2023. Once it closes you will not be able to submit your workforce and you will be in non-compliance with the FHWA requirements.

Workforce reporting is simplified, it is no longer necessary to report your workforce by each individual contract. Instead, each contractor or hauler will be required to submit one FHWA 1391 Report for their entire workforce on ALL federal-aid contracts. If your company does not have workforce on any federal-aid contracts during the reporting period there is a box to click indicating “No Activity” and then submit the report.

Please feel free to contact kdaniels2@indot.in.gov with any questions.

CPESC Certification Requirements

Posted on by Dan Osborn

Envirocert (ECI), one of INDOT’s approved environmental certification providers, has recently decided that individuals holding a Certified Professional in Erosion & Sediment Control (CPESC) certification are now required to obtain a Certified Erosion, Sediment and Storm Water Inspector (CESSWI) certification if they perform storm water, erosion and sediment control inspections.

Anyone performing inspections holding a CPESC certification shall obtain a CESSWI certification on or after July 1, 2023.

CPESC certification holders wishing to obtain CESSWI certification should visit the following link for instructions.
https://envirocert.org/cpesc-field-inspection-authority/

ECI also published a FAQ notice accessed via the following link.
https://envirocert.org/cpesc-field-inspection-authority-faq/

Contact Dan Osborn (317) 634-7547 with any questions regarding certification.

IRI Training Opportunity

Posted on by Dan Osborn
Source: Indiana Department of Transportation Construction Management

INDOT has fully implemented IRI for measuring highway smoothness on all QC/QA HMA & PCCP contracts. The 2023 construction season will be our first with full implementation of IRI utilizing high speed inertial profilers. The following RSP’s are now included in contracts when smoothness measurement is required: RSP 401-R-577 for HMA and RSP 501-R-752 for PCCP.

Recognizing that this is an emerging technology, INDOT will be offering an “Advanced IRI Pavement Smoothness for Construction” training course for contractors. This advanced training will be delivered by Brian Schleppi and Steve Karamihas. Schleppi is retired from the Ohio Department of Transportation and has decades of technical and field-based experience working with both DOT and contractor personnel on IRI equipment and software. Karamihas is a research area specialist at the University of Michigan Transportation Institute and has been involved in the research and development of IRI technology for decades and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience from his work in multiple states.

This “Advanced IRI Pavement Smoothness for Construction” course will cover the effective use of ProVAL by reviewing the following concepts: overall smoothness and payment utilizing the Ride Quality Module, areas of localized roughness utilizing the SAM Module, verifying equipment utilizing the Certification Module, verifying corrective work ahead of time utilizing the Grinding Simulation Module, and much much more.

This training course will be a single day event offered on two separate dates: May 24 and May 25 at INDOT’s Traffic Management Center (TMC) on the east side of Indianapolis. Training will be from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on both days. Cost for the training will be $180 per attendee. To register and make payment for this Advanced IRI training event, please contact our training vendor: Brian Schleppi at (614) 270-7001 or indottraining@vihsc.com.

INDOT and the training vendor require registration and payment be completed by May 11th. This Advanced IRI training requires each operator attending the course to bring a laptop computer and have the latest version of the ProVal software downloaded and installed.

This training is not mandatory and is not required as part of the requirements found in ITM 917 Section 7.1 in order to attend INDOT’s Annual IRI Certification day. All contractor personnel planning to attend this Advanced IRI training event should have already attended one of the mandatory training methods listed in ITM 917 Section 7.1 in order to have a baseline working knowledge of IRI concepts and IRI software use. However, for contractor operators that are re-certifying, this training course will count towards the ITM 917 Section 7.1 Triennial operator training requirement.

Stormwater Master General Permit in Final Stages

Posted on by Dan Osborn

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) is in the late stages of a process transitioning from a permit by rule to a Master General Permit (MGP) for the three stormwater programs currently administered through Indiana Administrative Code (Rules). The three programs effected are Construction Stormwater (“Rule 5”) (327 IAC 15-5), Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (“MS4s”) (327 IAC 15-13), and Industrial Stormwater (327 IAC 15-6). The change was spurred in 2016 via urging of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA).

IDEM developed draft language and engaged an advisory group in 2017. The advisory group, including representation from ICI, ACEC, INDOT and several other local and statewide stakeholder groups, met with IDEM leadership in multiple sessions throughout 2017 and 2018 to review and discuss draft language, current practices, and improvements. Brian Wolff, IDEM surface water and operations branch chief recently sent a notice to advisory group members thanking them for their participation.

“The draft language presented to the advisory group was vastly different from the output representing compromises for stakeholders and significant collaboration,” said Wolff, when asked about successes of this effort.

As an advisory member, ICI’s Director of Government Relations Dan Osborn appreciated IDEMs openness and active listening to considering stakeholder input throughout the process.

After finalizing the language in 2018, IDEM submitted the document to US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for review. After two years of review, public comment sessions, and revisions, IDEM received a notice of “non-objection” from the EPA. Wolff explained that the permits have been submitted to the Indiana Governor’s office for signature consideration. After 15 days, the permit will be submitted to the Indiana Secretary of State’s office for further processing. The permits become effective after a 30-day wait period post publishing of the final language. Wolff noted that owners or permittees of current permits will need to file for an “amendment-continue of coverage” under the new MGP within 90 days of the MGP effective date. IDEM cannot continue coverage under 327 IAC 15-5 for projects that will continue to operate once 327 IAC 15-5 is repealed.

IDEM has posted a copy of the MGPs and associated public comments/questions and has scheduled two public information sessions. Please see information and links below.

The information session on the Construction Stormwater General Permit will take place on November 16th at 10:00 AM
Zoom Link : https://zoom.us/j/94985414355?pwd=ak9kRXlHakZBOGtRdldkVHRPU1Q0Zz09&from=addon
Telephone: 301-715-8592 or 312-626-6799 or 646-876-9923 or 346-248-7799 or 408-638-0968 or 669-900-6833 or 253-215-8782
Meeting ID: 949 8541 4355
Passcode: 841374
Question Form: https://forms.office.com/g/1rXLXQyX8v

The information session for the MS4 General permit will take place on November 30th at 10:00 AM
Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/92346799028?pwd=bWR1YksveGgvckZJVmFlNm1SdExTZz09&from=addon
Telephone: 312-626-6799 or 646-876-9923 or 301-715-8592 or 253-215-8782 or 346-248-7799 or 408-638-0968 or 669-900-6833
Meeting ID: 923 4679 9028
Passcode: 710924
Question form: https://forms.office.com/g/GAS7dWxbBB