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TAM - Scoping Study to Identify Curriculum Development Needs for Workforce Development in Transportation Asset Management (for NCHRP 20-123)

Funding

$225,000

Research Period

12 months

Background Information

2. Please provide a brief description (1-2 paragraphs) of the scope of the task/activity sought by the committee or council. Please include the task objectives and anticipated deliverables.

Aging transportation infrastructure, increasing demands, budget limitations, and new regulations are placing increasing levels of pressure on transportation asset management professionals. TAM professionals are expected to possess technical knowledge and soft skills to be able to lead their agency’s implementation efforts. These skills and knowledge areas include, but are not limited to, data collection, filtering, and analysis; visualization; multi-criteria decision making; optimization; communication; and leadership. Unfortunately, academic programs offered by universities are falling short of providing asset management professionals with the necessary knowledge and skills in their formative years. Asset management is a multidisciplinary field that involves aspects of multiple disciplines (e.g., engineering, finance, planning, etc.). Because of its multidisciplinary nature, asset management does not necessarily fit into traditional university programs that are often structured in domain-specific disciplines. Due to the limited offerings at educational institutions, a substantial number of transportation professionals are ill-prepared to take on responsibilities expected from a TAM professional and struggle with acquiring these skills on-the-spot while balancing the demands placed on them due to their day-to-day duties. Non-academic organizations have developed educational and professional development opportunities in asset management to address this demand, but these offerings are often not targeted to applications in transportation and can be viewed as expensive, time-consuming alternatives that only offer partial solutions to specific gaps in knowledge.

There is an urgent need to determine the competencies and skills expected from TAM professionals and identify needs for the development of new curriculum and/or new accreditation programs for workforce development in transportation asset management. In order to develop such curricula, extensive research needs to be conducted to specifically identify educational needs by examining the gap between required competencies and available offerings. This project will identify these gaps and recommend specific curriculum and/or accreditation programs needed for workforce development in transportation asset management. This project is the first step needed to improve our TAM professionals’ capabilities and capacity in improving the performance of our transportation assets and maximizing the benefits of asset management decision-making.

This scoping study will explore the need to develop new curriculum and/or accreditation programs for workforce development in transportation asset management. The study is structured along four tasks. First, the study will identify the competencies and skills transportation asset managers need to successfully develop and implement TAM. Second, a comprehensive review of existing programs offered by universities and non-academic organizations will be conducted. Third, a gap analysis will be performed to identify gaps between currently available offerings and the desired competencies. Finally, the study will summarize these gaps and recommend needs for the development of new curriculum and/or accreditation programs for workforce development in TAM. If the recommendation is made to develop new curricula and/or accreditation programs, then an NCHPR problem statement will be prepared that can be submitted for funding consideration by AASHTO.

It is anticipated that this scoping study would be part of a three-phase research project if the recommendation is to develop new curricula for workforce development in transportation asset management:

  • Phase I (this proposal): Scoping Study to identify curriculum development needs for workforce development in Transportation Asset Management.
  • Phase II: Development of new curriculum and/or accreditation programs for workforce development in transportation asset management.
  • Phase III: Implementation of TAM workforce development program.

Literature Search Summary


Objectives

- Looking at current practice and examples from states like NM. Utah looking beyond engineering disciplines. Multidisciplinary teams. What do agencies need from TAM professionals? Competencies for asset management. Mapping needs (TAM Guide may have needs) to core skills.
- (Not sure if we limit to just Univ - we talked about other options)

Champion
Shannon McGrath
Team
Susan Lime (Culvery Asset Management Program - CAMP), NM DOT
Chris Whipple, UDOT
Baris Salman
Alma Mujanovic
Basak Bektas


Keywords/Terms


Link to 2021-2026 AASHTO Strategic Plan


Urgency and Potential Benefits


Implementation Considerations

Task Description

Task 1: Identify required and desired competencies and skills to successfully develop and implement TAM

  • Survey of TAM professionals on the competencies and skills needed to successfully develop and implement TAM
  • Synthesis of competencies and skills needed in TAM professionals
  • Convene a peer exchange/workshop to solicit targeted input from public sector, private sector, and academic sector TAM practitioners.

Task 2: Examine existing curriculum and accreditation programs in TAM

  • Review existing curriculum in TAM offered at higher education institutions at both the undergraduate and graduate level.
  • Review accreditation programs offered by non-academic organizations
  • Synthesis of existing curriculum and programs in TAM

Task 3: Conduct a Gap Analysis

  • Identify gaps between competencies and skills needed for TAM and existing curriculum and accreditation programs.

Task 4: Develop Recommendations

  • Summarize findings from previous tasks (1 through 3).
  • Recommend strategies for addressing the gaps identified in Task 3.
  • Present findings and recommendations in a final report.
  • Prepare a Research Problem Statement(s) to develop the recommendations.

7. Confirm YES to the following:

  • YES The task will contribute to the development of research problem statements
  • YES The task provides widespread benefits for AASHTO member states
  • YES The task will be 18 months or less
  • YES The budget is less than $250K
  • YES This is the most feasible funding source for this task
  • YES The task is appropriate for NCHRP 20-123

Author(s)

Matthew Hardy

Spy Pond Partners

[email protected]

Cristina Torres-Machi

University of Colorado Boulder

[email protected]

(303) 735-4609

Baris Salman

Syracuse University

[email protected]

(315) 443-1452


Others Supporting Problem Statement

AASHTO Committee on Performance-Based Management


Potential Panel Members

Please add at least one potential panel member.

Person Submitting Statement

Please add information about the person submitting the statement.

Notes