HISTORY OF
NATIONAL PARTNERSHIP FOR HIGHWAY QUALITY

ORIGIN: National Quality Initiative (Nov., 1992 through Nov.15, 2000) and evolved to National Partnership for Highway Quality on Nov. 15, 2000

BACKGROUND:

• The FHWA sponsored a Quality Management Workshop under Demonstration Project 89 (DP-89) on December 12-13, 1990, to develop recommendations for future construction quality management (QM) activities. Approximately 30 leaders in the Quality Management field from State highway departments, academia, consultants, contractors, and industry associations were brought together to discuss this issue. The group recommended development of a national initiative on quality including a national statement of policy, developed jointly by FHWA, AASHTO, industry and academia.
• In June, 1991, the AASHTO Standing Committee on Highways voted to endorse the concept of a national initiative on quality and to appoint a task force to serve on a joint AASHTO/FHWA/industry steering committee to guide the initiative.
• The joint AASHTO/FHWA/industry steering committee was formed in November,1992 to focus national attention and guide future efforts on the issue of quality in the highway industry. The steering committee consisted of the following eight organizations:

American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
Associated General contractors of America (AGC)
American Concrete Pavement Association (ACPA)
American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA)
American Consultant Engineers Council (ACEC)
National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA)
National Ready Mixed Concrete Association (NRMCA)

These were later joined by other organizations. The steering committee currently is composed of the above eight organizations plus the following four organizations:

American Public Works Association (APWA)
Asphalt Institute (AI)
American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA)
National Aggregate Association-National Stone Association

• The efforts to accomplish the recommendations from the original FHWA Quality Management Workshop and the 1991 action by the AASHTO Standing Committee on Highways became known as the"National Quality Initiative" (NQI).
• The NQI is a partnership effort between the public and private sectors of the highway industry. This effort marks the first time that such a diverse group within the highway industry have pledged their common support for the issue of quality.
• Since its inception, the NQI has broadened its original focus from construction and materials issues, to include all aspects of planning, design, construction, maintenance, and operations. It addresses a wide spectrum of quality issues including continuous quality improvement, quality control and assurance, partnering, use of state-of-the-art technology and techniques, contracting techniques for improved quality, and investment levels and strategies.
• One of the initial products developed by the NQI Steering committee was the "National Policy on the Quality of Highways." This national policy was jointly signed by the participating organizations on November 10, 1992 at the"Partnerships for Quality" Seminar held in Dallas, Texas.
• Four (one per AASHTO region) follow-up"NQI Regional Seminars" were held during April and May of 1993. Approximately 1,300 middle to top level management personnel from both the public and private sectors of the highway industry attended these seminars. These seminars were funded by FHWA DP-89,"Quality Management."
• Starting in the fall of 1993, States began holding State-level workshops and seminars focusing on important quality issues within the respective States. Various quality reference materials targeted at technical and production personnel were provided to each State in the fall of 1993 to allow development of technically oriented workshops and training.
• Fifty (50) States, including Washington, D.C., held State-level seminars. A number of States are continuing to hold annual seminars and workshops. It is estimated that well over 20,000 people within the highway industry have attended these seminars and heard the "quality message."
• In June, 1994, the Steering committee completed a Long-Range Plan (LRP) to guide future efforts. The LRP was widely distributed to the State-level steering committees, sponsoring organizations, and members of Congress.
• National NQI Conferences were again held in 1995, 1997 and 1999 and included a new initiative, the"NQI Achievement Award." The award concentrates on"highway construction projects" that best exemplify the award criterion for quality and partnerships. Each State steering Committee was invited to select and nominate one exemplary highway project that exhibits quality achievement through ride, appearance, material uniformity, and demonstration of performance. A State's winning project was forwarded for consideration for the national award. The project did not have to be a State Department of Transportation of Federal-aid project. Each State=s nominee was considered to be the"State winner" and received National recognition as such.
• The 1995 NQI National Achievement Award was presented to the North Carolina Department of Transportation and C. C. Mangum, Incorporated for the Raleigh Beltline Rehabilitation Project (Phase I). The 1997 Award was presented to the Indiana Department of Transportation, the joint venture of Berns Construction Company and Weedle Brothers Construction Company, and R. W. Armstrong and Associates for the reconstruction of I-65 in downtown Indianapolis. The 1999 Award was presented to the Texas Department of Transportation, Granite Construction Company, and Brown and Root for the construction of the US 75/North Central Expressway in Dallas.
• In focusing on customer satisfaction, the NQI Steering Committee conducted a National Highway User Survey in 1995. It should be noted that the top three stated priorities for improvement resulting from the survey are: 1.) Safety, 2.) Pavement conditions, and 3.) Traffic flow. Information gathered from the survey also provided the FHWA, States, and industry with a basis for a national baseline and direction in targeting improvement initiatives. In order to ensure widespread accessability, the report was placed the report on the Internet (The NQI Home Page address is http://www.nqi.org). The Steering Committee has commissioned a follow-up survey to be done in 2000.
• One item of the Long-Range Plan was to develop an"information Exchange System." Following a feasibility study, an"NQI Home Page" was established on the Internet to provide the beginning of that system.
• An NQI Accomplishments Report, dated September, 1997 was developed to spotlight accomplishments at the National and State levels over the last several years in improving the quality of highways. It also provides background and history of the NQI./
• The NQI videotape and"quality toolbox" was developed and distributed to each State. The short videotape gives the background and highlights of the NQI, and the "toolbox" contains some resource materials to help organizations in their continuous journey of quality improvement.
• The NQI sponsored a "Quality Improvement Workshop" on Technician Training and Certification on November 19-21, 1996 in Arlington, Virginia. Representatives from 11 State DOTs, NQI organizations, industry, and academia participated in that workshop. The workshop resulted in a report entitled"Guidelines for Establishing a Technician Training and Certification Program." This report was distributed in December 1997. The report includes general administrative guidance to help States establish or revise their current certification programs.
• An NQI sponsored workshop on the subject of "Performance-Related Specifications (PRS) was held on September 3-5, 1997 in Arlington, VA. The workshop was a joint effort involving people from industry, SHAs, FHWA, and academia. The primary focus of the workshop was to develop a strategic PRS plan that will touch on the following: 1.) Education, 2,) Future research, and 3.) Marketing. A follow-up PRS Workshop was held on May 24-26, 2000 in Orlando, Florida. This workshop focused on asphalt and concrete pavement specifications, but did introduce some concepts for bridge construction. The final report for this latest workshop is expected in late 2000.
• The NQI Administrator office was instituted on July 1, 1998 and is a continuing function of this program. The administrator provides technical and administrative support to the Steering Committee and the program.
• NQI sponsored a workshop on"Leadership" on November 16-17, 1998 in Dallas , Texas. Attendees of this workshop again included industry, SHA, FHWA, and academia personnel. The thrust of the workshop was to receive input on the direction and emphasis areas for the NQI Steering Committee to consider.
• At its September 29, 1999, meeting, the NQI Steering Committee appointed a Long Range Planning (LRP) Committee to formulate and recommend a new Long Range Plan that would move the thrust of this program to the next level, an operating budget and a funding plan for this program, and a new name to move away from an"initiative" into a progressive program with a good foundation. The LRP was requested to also provide a recommended organizational and management structure to guide the program into the future. The appointed Committee finished its work by the March 1, 2000 deadline and made report to the NQI Steering Committee at its March 28-29, 2000 meeting. In addition to the charge which it had been given, the LRP Committee recommended an Implementation Team, comprised of an appointed chair person, the chairs of the NQI Subcommittee, the administrator and the NQI secretary, be created to guide the further development of the proposed Long Range Plan, for monitoring its implementation, for periodically updating the plan, and for proposing an annual budget for each coming year. The Steering Committee approved the new name to be the National Partnership for Highway Quality (NPHQ) approved the other LRP Committee recommendations with some minor modifications. The program is being moved forward and the approved LRP recommendations are being implemented. Public introduction of the name change was set for November 15, 2000 at the NQI Workshop
• The final NQI Workshop was held on November 15, 2000 in Dallas, Texas. The Making A Difference Awards made their debut at this workshop. These awards were for four categories of achievement of better quality in projects, processes, or services. These categories are Partnering, Breaking The Mold, Risk Taking, and State Quality Initiatives. A large slate of winners was recognized at this meeting. At that Workshop, the National Partnership for Highway Quality was publicly introduced and began carrying the program forward with a new funding mechanism, a new strategic plan, and a more vigorous communication effort.
• At the close of the November 15, 2000 NQI Workshop, a charge to the NPHQ was delivered by Mr. Frank Francois, former Executive Director of AASHTO, and attending representatives from the NPHQ member organizations signed a new National Policy on the Quality of Highways.
• The call for nominations for the NPHQ National Achievement Award, which is given every two years (in the odd-numbered years), was issued at the end of November, 2000. This prestigious award will be presented to the highway construction project that best exemplifies all of the quality criteria established to judge the nominations for this award.