Withrow, Josh (2024) Impact of augmented documentation workflows on transportation agency asphalt paving operations: A qualitative and quantitative study. PhD thesis, University of Kentucky, USA.
Abstract
e-Ticketing was an intriguing technology to many state transportation agencies (STAs) pre-COVID-19 pandemic but gained significant attention upon arrival of the pandemic due to the contactless nature of the technology. Research completed prior to the pandemic into e-ticketing for asphalt paving primarily identified qualitative benefits and concerns. However, minimal academic literature exists in the post-pandemic era discussing the additional e-ticketing benefits not previously captured which resulted in increased implementation by STAs. This research seeks to address this gap by gathering information from state members of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Committee on Construction (AASHTO COC), employees of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC), and members of the Kentucky Association of Highway Contractors (KAHC) and the Plantmix Asphalt Industry of Kentucky (PAIKY) regarding e-ticketing practices for asphalt paving in the post-pandemic era. The first portion of the study combines national and state-level survey responses to create a qualitative benefit-cost analysis for e-ticketing for asphalt paving operations based upon experience gained through emergency implementation during the pandemic. To reinforce the results of the qualitative analysis and increase the power of the study, the second portion of the research creates a quantitative benefit-cost analysis (BCA) from data collected from KYTC construction projects to compare the traditional weigh ticket collection process with e-ticketing processes for both project engineers and inspectors. The analysis shows a statistically significant time savings for field employees but not project management personnel. The monetary analysis for Kentucky indicates that while e-ticketing does not result in significant time savings for all employees, there is substantial monetary benefit worthy of STAs adopting e-ticketing as policy. Cluster analysis was completed for both project engineers and inspectors to group project types where e-ticketing impact was maximized, and a decision matrix was created to aid agencies in creating implementation plans. The primary contributions to the body of knowledge include an improved BCA methodology utilizing a modified action research approach applied to a new domain of electronic bulk material tickets and an informed quantitative valuation framework useful for STAs as a proof-of-concept to champion and effectively implement e-ticketing and by transportation-focused researchers for evaluating emerging technological applications.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Thesis advisor: | Dadi, Gabriel and Chen, Mei |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | asphalt paving; benefit-cost analysis; cluster analysis; e-ticketing; implementation; civil engineering; construction engineering and management; transportation engineering |
| Index terms: | transportation engineering, survey, documentation, COVID-19, cost analysis, personnel, paving, action research, body of knowledge, agency, workflow, methodology, construction project, cluster analysis, qualitative analysis, transportation agency, pandemic, project engineer, implementation, project management, construction engineering, time saving |
| Subjects: | knowledge management, contractual arrangements, research methods, production management, transportation engineering, time analysis, data collection methods, profession, research design and methodology, data analysis and analytics, financial and cost management, health risk and incident analysis, management, engineering methods, civil engineering, professional development, project management theory and practice, sociology |
| Topics: | Research Practice, Information Management, Cost Management, Business Strategy, Roles and Professions, Human Resources, Time Control, Project Management, Engineering Principles, Health and Safety, Procurement |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here