NPHQ LONG RANGE PLAN FOR YEARS 2004-2008

VISION

Total commitment to Highway Quality and Customer Satisfaction in every State

MISSION

Champion ever-improving highway quality and customer service with all partners and stakeholders

GOALS

1. Establish an effective State highway quality program (SQP) (local, mini-version of NPHQ) in every state. (Primary responsibility: State Highway Quality Partnerships Subcommittee)
2. Project partnering used effectively at each stage of project delivery on all major projects in every state. (Primary responsibility: Awards and Technology Subcommittee)
3. National recognition as a leader in disseminating methods of advancing quality in project delivery, traffic and work zone safety, maintenance, and operation of highways and streets (Primary responsibility: Awards and Technology Subcommittee)
4. Maintain an effective Communication Program. (Primary responsibility: Communications Subcommittee)
5. Ensure an adequate workforce with a strong quality orientation in the highway industry. (Primary responsibility: Training and Certification Subcommittee)
6. Implement objective measures of improved quality and customer satisfaction. (Primary responsibility: Measurements Subcommittee)
   

OBJECTIVES FOR GOAL 1.

Establish an effective State highway quality program (SQP) (local, mini-version of NPHQ) in every state. (Primary responsibility: State Highway Quality Partnerships Subcommittee)

1.1 Design and implement activities to present the benefits of and encourage the formation of an active (SQP)

Strategies for Objective 1.1

1.1.1. Develop, publish, and widely distribute a “State Highway Quality Program” document that demonstrates the imperatives of an SQP; that serves as a user’s guide for initiating or restarting an SQP and that encourages involving all of the disciplines of highway delivery and operation that impact quality, including environmental, preservation, work force development and safety, and traffic safety; and that offers the services of NPHQ in assisting any state or U.S. Territory with their SQP (Year 2004-2005)

1.1.2. Recreate the SQP Lead State Team to showcase the successes and benefits of SQPs (Year 2004-2005)

1.1.3. Host regional conferences to re-introduce and promote the SQP concept (Year 2004-2005)

OBJECTIVES FOR GOAL 2.

Project partnering used effectively at each stage of project delivery on all major projects in every state. (Primary responsibility: Awards and Technology Subcommittee)

2.1. To champion effective project partnering with all appropriate disciplines at all stages of project delivery

Strategies for Objective 2.1

2.1.1. Work with FHWA and TCCC to reintroduce and promote project partnering in each applicable stage of project delivery and to develop, publish, and widely distribute convincing evidence that partnering improves project quality and customer service, results in early project completion, enables early resolution of project conflicts and claims, and reduces current and future costs. (Year 2004-2008)

2.1.2. Develop, publish, and widely distribute a “Good Practices in Partnering” document that showcases partnering successes in the various applicable stages of project delivery. (Year 2004-2006)

OBJECTIVES FOR GOAL 3.

National recognition as a leader in disseminating methods of advancing quality in project delivery, congestion relief, environmental consideration, roadway and work zone safety, preservation, maintenance, and operations of highways and streets. (Primary responsibility: Awards and Technology Subcommittee)

3.1. Identification, development, demonstration, and/or introduction of quality advancements in delivering roadways in the following work elements: planning, designing, mitigating environmental impacts, work force training and safety, traffic and roadway information, roadway and work zone safety, contracting, constructing, maintaining, and operating roadways

Strategies for Objective 3.1

3.1.1. Disseminate highway quality advancements and good practices in every work element of highway delivery and operation (Year 2004-2008)

3.1.2. Showcase and publicize good practices extracted from awards winners, NPHQ member organization’s technologies, and other sources in conferences, workshops, publications, and the NPHQ web site (Year 2004-2008)

3.1.3. To partner with NPHQ Member Organizations in creating specific Task Groups for developing and/or introducing advancements in planning; design; congestion relief; roadway safety; contracting; constructing; work force training, certification, and safety; environmental considerations; preserving, maintaining, and/or operating of roadways; and in holding National, regional, or State workshops for demonstrating such advancements (Year 2004-2008)

3.1.4. Develop guidelines for identifying and securing the assistance of proper industry practitioners to provide suitable expertise in each development or demonstration opportunity involving NPHQ (Year 2004-2005)

3.1.5. Maintain a list of experts that are effective communicators for making presentations in national or regional workshops or NPHQ Annual Conferences (Year 2005-2008)

3.2. Maintain a premier awards program to assist in identifying good practices

Strategies for Objective 3.2

3.2.1. Continue present National Achievement Awards and Making A Difference Awards (Year 2004-2008)

3.2.2. Search for new award concepts/criteria by which to enhance/expand NPHQ awards offered as opportunity permits and as is warranted and effective. (Year 2004-2008)

3.2.3. Modify existing award rating criteria to include roadway and work zone safety, worker training in roadway and work zone safety, and proper and/or innovative use of roadway safety devices. (Year 2004)

3.2.4. Evaluate announcing NPHQ awards in conjunction with other meetings (such as the State engineering conferences, State highway quality partnership meetings, industry organizations’ annual meetings, AASHTO Annual Meeting, which announces the Standing Committee on Quality Awards at a special luncheon where most DOT CEOs and chief Engineers attend) on a selective basis. (These could provide a larger and broader audience than just the NPHQ award winners themselves and make award winners feel truly honored in front of industry leaders and peers.) (Year 2004-2008)

3.2.5. Benchmark against other award programs and presentation forums and ceremonies to ensure effectiveness of NPHQ Awards Program. (Year 2004-2008).

3.2.5. Continue efforts of Task Force on Recognition of Industry Awards and effectively incorporate recognition of NPHQ member organizations’ awards with NPHQ award presentation ceremonies for most effective acceptance and impact. (Year 2004-2005)

OBJECTIVES FOR GOAL 4.

To have an effective Communications Program. (Primary responsibility: Communications Subcommittee

4.1. Have an effective and innovative Communications program that taps a broad range of resources to guide the Subcommittee’s activities.

Strategies for Objective 4.1.

4.1.1. Reconfigure Subcommittee member roles to make them more serviceable within an ambitious communications plan. (Year 2004)

4.1.2. Identify and solicit support from a broad range of communication resources to involve and utilize the best minds in communicating highway quality imperatives and successes. (Year 2004-2005) Establish an editorial peer review. (Year 2004-2005)

4.2. Conduct periodic and on-going outreach with appropriate communications personnel in each Steering Committee member organization, leading State quality programs, and/or relevant third parties. (Year 2004-2008)

Strategies for Objective 4.2.

4.2.1 Established contact with publications and awards staff within each partner organization to fuel content for website, yearbook, and newsletter. (Year 2004- 2005)

4.2.2. Establish live contact with communications director to build benefit of each partnership opportunity (lunch, breakfast, coffee, meeting). (Year 2004-2005)

4.2.3. Research each organization for allied goals and activities in order to be proactive in opportunities for cooperation. (Year 2004-2005)

4.2.4. Establish contact with communications director in each state quality partnership (live contact, telephone, or e-mail) and have periodic dialogue on opportunities for cooperation. Year 2004-2008

4.2.5. Assemble and lead a team of volunteer public relations professionals to work in support of NPHQ, based on the contacts named in this objective, said team to be
balanced in terms of industry and agencies and of four AASHTO regions. (Year 2004-2005)

4.2.6. Work with appropriate personnel at all member organizations, leading State quality programs, and relevant third parties to generate resulting media, printed, and/or audio-visual materials, and other opportunities for exposure of relevant NPHQ priorities, services, and achievements. (Year 2004-2008)

4.3. Improve the visibility, accessibility, and appeal to visitors and the effectiveness of the NPHQ web site. (Year 2004-2008)

Strategies for Objective 4.3.

4.3.1 Redesign website with customer/roadway user focus and feature attractive publications as resource for visitors. Year 2004-2005

4.3.2. Drafting and posting new content for website that reflects customer-focused tone and language. (Year 2004-2008)

4.3.3. Initiate new and evolving features for the website that keep it fresh and encourage repeat visits. Year 2005-2008)

4.3.3. Boost the content regarding partner activities in support of highway quality to demonstrate the breadth of the NPHQ partnership. (Year 2004-2008)

4.4. Collaborate with the Awards and Technology Subcommittee and search out successes beyond those nominated for NPHQ awards and release more quality innovation and achievement reports. (Year 2004-2008)

Strategies for Objective 4.4.

4.4.1 Annually collect information from partner organizations for an NPHQ Partner Yearbook featuring the winners of all partner organizations’ relevant quality awards programs. (Year 2005-2008)

4.4.3. Post each edition of NPHQ Yearbook on NPHQ web site and arrange for limited print production and distribution. (Year 2005-2008)

4.4.3 Query potential academic partners/awardees in the quality arena for related work and achievement and disseminate resulting information through website. (Year 2005-2008)

4.4.4 Work with appropriate Subcommittees to market information collected about agencies and groups implementing innovations learned from NPHQ initiatives. (Year 2004-2008)

OBJECTIVES FOR GOAL 5.

To have an adequate workforce with a strong quality orientation in the highway industry. (Primary responsibility: Training and Certification Subcommittee)

5.1. Work with FHWA, NICET, ATSSA, other NPHQ member organizations, and TCCC to promote training and certification of all technical skills and skill levels, including traffic management, traffic safety, and work zone safety for both highway workers and traffic, (added by BFT after June 10 teleconference), used in highway work and to identify and develop needed training and certification materials that do not exist.

Strategies for Objective 5.1.

5.1.1. Work with NPHQ member organizations to promote training and certification of identified skills and skill levels to State DOTs (Year 2004-2008)

5.1.2. Champion standardization of training and certifications of skills and skill levels used in highway work (Year 2005-2008)

5.2. . Promote quality training opportunities for all highway program disciplines

Strategies for Objective 5.2.

5.2.1. Contact NPHQ member organizations to identify existing training and certification programs (Year 2004-2005)

5.2.2. Work with respective organizations to promote their training programs (Year 2004-2008)

5.2.3. Be active in promoting existing work force training programs as essential element of improving highway quality (Year 2004-2008)

5.3. Incorporate work force training as an award category or award criteria

Strategies for Objective 5.3.

5.3.1. Awards Subcommittee study and make recommendation on recognizing work force training in NPHQ Awards program (Year 2004)

5.4. Encourage growth of partnerships through academia/existing training

Strategies for Objective 5.4.

5.4.1. Encourage academia with highway curriculums to join NPHQ in achieving Goal 5 (Year 2005-2008)

5.5. Participate in developing core training curriculums

Strategies for Objective 5.5.

5.5.1. Work with NPHQ member organizations to identify and develop needed training curriculums (Year 2004-2008)

5.5.2. Help identify subject experts for task forces to develop needed training materials (Year 2005-2008)

OBJECTIVES FOR GOAL 6.

Identify and promote implementation of objective measures of improved quality, performance, and customer satisfaction. (Primary responsibility: Measurements Subcommittee)

6.1. Identify and promote a collection of technical and customer-view quality measures that evaluate the results produced by each work element involved in delivering highways, the performance of highways, and customer satisfaction

Strategies for Objective 6.1.

6.1.1. Conduct search for existing quality measures and/or new ideas of measures that evaluate performance and customer satisfaction within the NPHQ scope. (Year 2004-2008)

6.1.2. Coordinate with Communications Subcommittee to publish and distribute findings to all DOTs, industry associations, and FHWA (Year 2004-2008)

6.1.3. Work with NPHQ industry organization members to solicit measures utilized in their trade technologies (Year 2004-2005)

6.1.4. Work with NPHQ member organizations to identify opportunities to market effective metrics for measuring improvement of the quality of highway products and services. (Year 2004-2008)

6.1.5. Work with NPHQ member organizations and leading State quality programs to track implementation of measures of quality and customer satisfaction promoted by NPHQ (Year 2004-2008)

6.2. Undertake initiative aimed at increasing the knowledge within the highway community of the development and use of effective benchmarking and performance measures

Strategies for Objective 6.2

6.2.1. Lead in the organization of workshops focused on the development and use of benchmarking data and performance measures for the highway industry. (Year 2004-2008)

6.2.2. Work with FHWA and TCCC* to introduce and promote training in the use of benchmarking data and performance measures. (Year 2004-2008)

6.3. Conduct Highway User Survey every five (5) years

Strategies for Objective 6.3

6.3.1. Develop and commission Highway User Survey every fifth year (Year 2004-2005)

* Transportation Curriculum Coordination Council