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Key Factors
The next step was to consider all our key factors. Relevant data and information must be gathered and analyzed. The factors are:
Financial, societal, and other potential risk;
Human resource capabilities and needs;
Operational capabilities and needs, and available resources;
Customer and market needs/expectations, including the use of new technology;
Supplier and partnership capabilities and needs.
A central office survey team records deficient conditions on District 10's highway system based on established criteria for all conditions on pavement, signs, painted lines, shoulders and berms, vegetation appearance, litter, and damage.
The survey results are incorporated in the organizational performance index (OPI) and data is then transferred to the District and County Annual Work Plan for the establishment of goals.
District 10 has worked on and processed staffing "right-sizing" plans for over nine years. Initial staff scrutiny started and is a continuing process by all administrators and the District Director, by reviewing all requests for vacancies and new positions. This nine-year process has enabled the District to be linked to core functions and initiatives through an administrative team concept.
Early in the process, public involvement begins with news releases and newsletters, advising the public on transportation proposals. As transportation plans and projects are developed, the public is kept informed of the progress and invited to comment. Public comments assist in identifying and evaluating alternatives for mitigation of adverse impacts and shaping proposals to meet community needs.
Informality is emphasized in public involvement to encourage and exchange of information. Soliciting public involvement cultivates public trust and confidence in the transportation agency. It helps the public better understand project decision-making under constraints of law, funding, and political policy.
ODOT begins determining consensus in early phases of planning, as well as in preliminary development of projects. District 10 frequently consults with local governments, planning agencies and the public for guidance and development of transportation proposals. During this step, participation by other affected agencies is solicited to determine critical issues.
Early agency coordination aids in determining the scope of the study, the level of analysis required, the study team participants, and the specific technical requirements necessary to carry out the project. Cooperating agencies that are identified in a project's environmental document commit to a process in which they have assigned roles, responsibilities and an understanding of the issues.
The agencies with regulatory responsibilities can prevent a highway project from advancing if they do not agree that the environmental impacts a responsibilities it considers most critical have been addressed. District 10 works with the Federal Highway Administration to ensure that the documentation required by the National Environmental Protection Agency adequately addresses all issues. Active participation by a cooperating agency increases the likelihood that the agency will adopt FHWA's document to satisfy its own concerns and jurisdictional responsibilities.
The cooperating agency is a team concept. By joining the project development team, the cooperating agency is offered an in-depth understanding of the project early in the project planning process, which will help it in fulfilling its responsibilities associated with the project. ODOT tries to identify and work with each cooperating agency at the earliest possible stage of project development.
After reviewing our first assessment report written by the Ohio Award for Excellence (OAE) Examiners, subcommittees were formed for each of the seven criteria areas and given the task of analyzing our "room for improvement" areas. A quality team, "Focus on Feedback", was formed to scope the Customer and Market Focus criteria category. Our district maintained that we did handle customer complaints, comments and satisfaction. However, when asked to produce evidence, we fell short.
One-on-one sessions were held with the administrators and their managerial staff. Inquiries into each area gave the team a synopsis of our external customer, i.e., John/Jill public, who visits, travels through, or lives in our district and utilizes our transportation system.
The Focus on Feedback team assembled all the various forms and methods used district-wide. A review of the compiled forms revealed that the majority of the customer complaints and concerns were highway maintenance related. Meetings were held with key personnel in Highway Maintenance to insure that all areas of road maintenance were included in our approach to a unified system.
After consulting with the OAE Coordinator, the District 10 Road Survey was initially sent to 10 randomly selected customers in each of the nine counties with a self-addressed stamped envelope for the customer to use. We received approximately 80% of the surveys back. The initial results were compiled and entered into a simple spreadsheet. Results from the initial survey showed that our district received an overall rating of good to very good from our customers.
Upon further discussion with the OAE Coordinator, who is also the Highway Management Analyst, it was decided to mail the road survey to a more specific customer, i.e., school bus drivers, county commissioners, and local law enforcement agencies, in each county. We, again, received approximately an 80% return on the surveys with a good to a very good rating. The District 10 Road Survey supplied us with customer satisfaction feedback on the current conditions of our transportation system.
A press release, advertising our web site, was sent to all radio and television stations and newspapers covering the nine counties of the district. We experienced a large volume of hits as soon as the press release was published. However, the number of responses slowed down after about four weeks. In order to keep our customers aware of the survey, we publish the press release every quarter.
The Focus of Feedback team discussed what process could be put into place to deploy the road survey into our communities to capture as much customer feedback as possible.
The Focus on Feedback team looked at what results the district wanted to obtain (based on OPI) and developed processes to achieve those goals.
Back to Strategic Planning
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