RISK MANAGEMENT AND PRACTICE ALIGNMENT FOR UTILITY COORDINATION ON TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS

Utility coordination is an exceedingly complex effort of managing, communicating, and facilitating the avoidance and relocation of utility facilities as needed for highway projects. Utility coordination occurs throughout the design and delivery of a project and best practices are used to make sure this occurs efficiently and in the best interest of the public, who are not only the taxpayers but also the ratepayers. Recent research has attempted to enhance utility location technology and procedures, instill frameworks and tools for utility coordination, and proceduralize risk management relative to utility coordination. However, research attempting to improve various aspects of utility coordination simultaneously has led to a lack of consensus on how to integrate these research efforts into an effective standard of practice. These is also not a standard of practice for quantifying utility related risks for transportation projects. This research will attempt to build consensus and contribute to the body of knowledge in this area of utility coordination by presenting an approach to assess the relative utility risks of a project and align current and new practices to minimize those risks. Through statistical analysis of historical project data regarding utility coordination schedules and costs for transportation projects in Kentucky, this study was able to produce a model that estimates utility related risk early in transportation project development. With input and evaluation by subject matter experts, utility coordination best practices were collected and aligned to utility risks on transportation projects. A decision support tool was developed to assist in the use of the mathematical utility risk model and the best practices associated with the varying risk levels. This research also finds that there are disparities among utility stakeholders on transportation projects in regard to the effectiveness or satisfaction with particular best practices. This finding presents the need for early involvement and collaborative utility coordination to select practices that ensure utility related issues on transportation projects are minimized. The research also presents that increased use of alternative contracting methods can pose significant challenges to utility coordination on transportation projects. This stems from the finding that utility coordination practices were not uniformly effective across these varying procurement methods. Furthermore, as Departments of Transportation continue to deal with resource issues, one of which being manpower within utility coordination, the use of consultants for utility coordination presents its own set of complexities. The research finds the best application of consult-led utility coordination is through third-part consultants specializing in utility coordination, those who have been state-specifically trained for utility coordination, and prequalified for utility coordination work

Safety Concepts for Workers from an OSHA Perspective

Highway construction and maintenance workers face numerous hazards on job sites, many of which are unique by industry standards. Despite the exposure of state transportation agency employees and contractors to these hazards, there are few safety standards, regulations, programs that directly target the sector aimed at prevention and mitigation. To help the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) improve employee safety, researchers at the Kentucky Transportation Center (KTC) analyzed the frequency and causes of workplace injuries for 10 essential Cabinet maintenance operations. Most incidents were attributable to human factors or ergonomics. Based on this analysis, the leading causes of incidents, and a review of best practices related to workplace safety, KTC designed and built a pre-task safety tool applicable to the 10 KYTC maintenance operations. Developed in Microsoft Excel, the tool is straightforward and intuitive, addresses the most frequent hazards encountered on jobs sites, and can potentially be expanded to encompass all maintenance operations (once sufficient data are available). The tool contains three sections: 1) an introductory sheet with user instructions; 2) statistical summaries of previous injuries suffered by KYTC maintenance workers for each operation; and 3) examples of incidents that have resulted from each of the most frequent causes of injury and recommended safety practices to minimize or eliminate potential hazards. Site foremen or supervisors can use the tool to develop a pre-task safety talk on scheduled workday activities, their associated hazards, and specific measures to prevent or mitigate those hazards. KTC researchers delivered the pre-task safety tool to KYTC separately

Redefining Construction As-Built Plans to Meet Current Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Needs

As-built plans have traditionally been used by construction industry practitioners to record changes made during construction. As-builts provide valuable information for new design projects as well as rehabilitation and remediation projects. The completeness and accuracy of these plans are essential for transportation industries and their success. While the importance of as-builts is widely recognized, preparing them can be difficult and time-consuming; many entities — especially public agencies — lack the resources necessary to produce accurate and detailed as-builts. After investigating the current as-built operations of state transportation agencies, Kentucky Transportation Center (KTC) researchers devised recommendations to improve the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s (KYTC) as-built process. To develop their proposed process, researchers conducted in-depth interviews with as-built end users and developers. Along with describing the proposed as-built process, this report outlines a number of suggestions for improving current practices. First, it is imperative to preserve all as-builts in a central storage location that can be accessed by all stakeholders. The Cabinet will also benefit from guidance which standardizes the production of as-built plans/information and specifies what should be included in them. To ensure they are completed on time and accurately, as-built plans should be developed continually throughout the project using simple editing software on iPads. A PDF editor is ideal for as-built development as most end users prefer as-builts in a PDF format. Finally, to ensure this process is being followed, assigning a liaison to serve as a go-between to coordinate the activities of as-built developers and users is recommended

Reducing Construction Costs Through Effective Field Communication and Administration

Falling Road Fund receipts have placed added strain on the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s (KYTC) already-underfunded highway program. Revenue declines have increased the urgency of improving the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the Cabinet’s operations. One method KYTC can use to realize greater cost savings is improving the administration of construction projects. Effective field communication and administration helps control construction costs, enhances quality, and minimizes delays and claims. One challenge the Cabinet will need to confront to more effectively administer projects, however, is the loss of institutional knowledge associated with staff attrition. The report documents KYTC current methods for project staffing, communication, and partnering. It summarizes best practices for field communication and administration used throughout the private and public sector construction industries and discusses findings obtained through interviews with Cabinet staff and industry representatives on the issues in-house staff and external contractors routinely negotiate during projects. Based on analysis of these interviews and the literature reviewed, the report identifies five issues that are commonly encountered on KYTC construction projects and puts forward recommendations for ameliorating them. Additionally, it proposes a new initiative — Putting the Project First — which has as its goal the development of tools, practices, guidance, and training to meet stakeholder needs across all project types. Several recommendations, which can be enacted over the short-, intermediate-, and long-term are advanced to build a sound and practical foundation for all Putting the Project First activities. This initiative will strengthen relationships between the Cabinet and its contractors. It will also help build an institutional framework for conducting field communications and administration, one resilient in the face of staff turnover

Stage-Specific Expression Profiling of Drosophila Spermatogenesis Suggests that Meiotic Sex Chromosome Inactivation Drives Genomic Relocation of Testis-Expressed Genes

In Drosophila, genes expressed in males tend to accumulate on autosomes and are underrepresented on the X chromosome. In particular, genes expressed in testis have been observed to frequently relocate from the X chromosome to the autosomes. The inactivation of X-linked genes during male meiosis (i.e., meiotic sex chromosome inactivation—MSCI) was first proposed to explain male sterility caused by X-autosomal translocation in Drosophila, and more recently it was suggested that MSCI might provide the conditions under which selection would favor the accumulation of testis-expressed genes on autosomes. In order to investigate the impact of MSCI on Drosophila testis-expressed genes, we performed a global gene expression analysis of the three major phases of D. melanogaster spermatogenesis: mitosis, meiosis, and post-meiosis. First, we found evidence supporting the existence of MSCI by comparing the expression levels of X- and autosome-linked genes, finding the former to be significantly reduced in meiosis. Second, we observed that the paucity of X-linked testis-expressed genes was restricted to those genes highly expressed in meiosis. Third, we found that autosomal genes relocated through retroposition from the X chromosome were more often highly expressed in meiosis in contrast to their X-linked parents. These results suggest MSCI as a general mechanism affecting the evolution of some testis-expressed genes

Erratum to: 36th International Symposium on Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s13054-016-1208-6.]

RNA-based gene duplication: mechanistic and evolutionary insights.

Gene copies that stem from the mRNAs of parental source genes have long been viewed as evolutionary dead-ends with little biological relevance. Here we review a range of recent studies that have unveiled a significant number of functional retroposed gene copies in both mammalian and some non-mammalian genomes. These studies have not only revealed previously unknown mechanisms for the emergence of new genes and their functions but have also provided fascinating general insights into molecular and evolutionary processes that have shaped genomes. For example, analyses of chromosomal gene movement patterns via RNA-based gene duplication have shed fresh light on the evolutionary origin and biology of our sex chromosomes