Brian Cunningham, Central Office; Isaac Hunt, District 12 PIO; Lauren Borell, District 11 PIO; Tiffany Oliphant, District 7 PIO
Slightly more than two years ago, Director Marchbanks made the a commitment to Ohio’s legislature and its citizens that ODOT would save $100 million over four years. That revenue savings would then be reinvested back into the state’s transportation network.
The director asked the ODOT workforce for their ideas, big and small, for suggestions, and the One Red Lion (ORL) initiative was born. Thus far, there have been 1,841 recommendations submitted, with 160 of those being accepted for implementation. Those changes have resulted in an excess of $67 million in savings.
“The savings ideas have come from across the state, and have shown that our team can be creative and innovative in how we approach our essential duties on behalf of Ohio citizens,” said Director Marchbanks. “Each suggestion is important and worthy of diligent analysis to determine if it can be implemented and improve our operation.”
Several ideas focused on using ODOT forces to complete work that typically had been completed using a contractor. Finding in-house solutions is one of the best ways ODOT can save time and money.
Overhead sign being removed in January 2021 from sign truss located on Interstate 71 southbound at the I-71/SR 176 split. Photo Credit – Keith Hamilton, District 12 Highway Maintenance Traffic Engineer
District 12 Highway Maintenance Traffic Engineer Keith Hamilton acknowledged one of these smart solutions in January and submitted his idea for savings to the ORL initiative. In March, Hamilton’s submission on using in-house crews for the removal of sign trusses and cantilevers was implemented and contributed $23,521.39 toward the $100 million goal.
After an inspection labeled five sign trusses and two cantilever signs as “critical,” crews from District 12 and District 3 were able to remove them for a total cost of $73,478.61, which included labor, equipment, and materials. The estimated costs for an emergency contract to conduct the work would have exceeded $97,000.00.
“The district was faced with a number of sign trusses and cantilevers that were proving to be structurally deficient,” said Keith. “We chose to pool our traffic and maintenance forces, along with the help of District 3, in order to get these structures removed as quickly as possible. In doing so, significant cost savings were realized by doing this work entirely in-house, as opposed to contracting it out.”
Photos of demolition, construction, and completion of District 7 fuel tank apron at the Clark County facility completed early August 2020. Photo Credit – Kyle Reindel, Clark County Transportation Administrator
Clark County needed a fuel tank apron repaired. It was deteriorated and had standing water most of the time. Large holes had developed and created a hazard. The decision by District 7 to use its workforce instead of a contractor to demo and construct new gas pump pads resulted in a savings of $15,341.
“Because this project went so smooth, a few months later we had another need for new concrete pads to hold our new brine tanks: without hesitation, we did this work in-house,” said Clark County Transportation Administrator Kyle Reindel. “I’m sure we saved ODOT additional money. I know the guys were proud of the final product and enjoyed making improvements to our shop.”
District Deputy Director Randy Chevalley added, “As we know, there are only so many hours in a day and our main focus for our customers is what we call ‘centerline out.’ However, it’s always great to squeeze in these facility betterment projects with our crews. These types of projects engage our employees and really show off their talents.”
District 11’s Highway Management team analyzed its culvert replacement/rehabilitation practices to find ways to save taxpayer money. The team first examined projects completed with DOT contracts that generally would have been a capital project. As a result, District 11 combined four culvert liner jobs to save $28,429 in mobilization costs.
Holmes County U.S. Route 62 culvert replacement project completed in July 2020. Photo Credit – Darrell Hood, Holmes County Transportation Administrator
However, the savings did not stop there. The team also discovered that by having in-house crews perform advanced prep and provide traffic control, the district could save an additional $25,060.56. This work not only provided savings; it allowed the workforce to gain experience with the liner process.
Highway Management eliminated a headwall project from Capital Programs, completed it with in-house forces, and saved the department $44,602.59. The district completed the culvert liner project prior to a resurfacing project and a minimum of four years in advance, preventing further deterioration. In addition, the maintenance crews gained on-the-job training and will be able to use them for future projects.
The district found additional savings with a recent culvert replacement project when installing their fifth box culvert, a 6x4x58-foot box. The total cost was $146,068.37 versus the capital estimate of $177,088.53, saving the department $31,020.16.
"Our department has done an excellent job of assessing and implementing the benefits of performing several proposed projects in-house over the past several years for potential savings, timeliness in getting the jobs completed, and further developing our employee's workforce skills," said District 11 Highway Management Administrator Doug McElroy. "These best practices have been shared with districts across the state, some of which have since adopted this best practice."
