Because of personnel shortage during the war emergency, the program was dormant for 10 years and was reinstituted in 1946. By then the highway construction and maintenance industry, with its far flung operations reaching into every corner of the country, was using thousands of major equipment units and millions of dollars worth of material each year. Economical and efficient use of this equipment, manpower and materials was of concern to every segment of the industry in order to stretch the highway dollar to meet the need for more and better roads and yet assure the competitive contractor a reasonable profit.
During the next 20 years, production time and motion studies were made on over 400 projects. Over 40 information reports were issued prior to 1960 by Public Roads and the Highway Research Board on performance, time utilization, and costs pertaining to equipment employed on highway construction and maintenance work. In addition to routine production studies on maintenance and construction operations, the program was directed also into other areas to gather information on a particular facet of construction. In 1952, a year-long comprehensive study was made with the objective of developing comparative data regarding net cost to the public of construction work performed by contract and by State forces in North Carolina.
These cost studies were later expanded to obtain data on economics of detours versus carrying traffic through construction and on economics of specifying a single cold feed bin versus multiple bins for hot-mix production. Other cost studies were made on various types of bridge construction and grading and paving work to develop comparative man- and equipment-hour unit cost data. Teams also studied such areas as: (1) Determining relationship between mixing time and productivity for dual drum pavers and for central mix plants, (2) mechanics of aggregate drying in hot-mix plants, (3) optimum rolling pattern on hot-mix construction, (4) benefits of blending material prior to loading the concrete mixer, (5) evaluating a newly developed nuclear gage for determining density of bituminous pavements, (6) evaluating time lapse movies technique for studying construction, and (7) demonstrating the need for surge bins. Also, a series of short-term and long-term pilot maintenance equipment and operations studies were conducted to pinpoint areas needing better organization and training.
Michigan was the site for a winter driving test to determine safe speeds and handling of heavy vehicles on ice and snow, including negotiating turns and curves.
This program was again terminated in 1966. The Federal Highway Administration resumed this program in 1971 on a more limited scale. The benefits that accrued from the early pre-World War II and the later post-World War II programs were widely reflected in many positive improvements in productivity. It can be said that they were a major factor, directly and indirectly, in the constant evolution leading to automation of construction, control, and operation.
Maintenance Management
Even though research on highway materials and construction processes had an influence on highway maintenance and, in part, directly applied in maintenance operations, the separate study of management of maintenance operations differs substantially from the other areas of highway research. These investigations involved a considerable number of States, and their results have affected all States.
Highway maintenance has experienced many changes through the years, most of which were based on intuition and practical considerations rather than factual knowledge and scientific management principles. There were some limited-scope highway maintenance management studies through the 1940’s, but these did not constitute a significant serious research program.
A 1950 joint study with the Connecticut State Highway Department developed facts concerning the performance of labor and equipment and appraised management problems. Subsequently, about 20 other small studies were conducted by the States during the 1950’s. The results were not singularly significant, but indicated a common need for better management. In 1959, a major study by the State of Iowa, in cooperation with Public Roads, developed a comprehensive system for producing facts and analyzing management aspects. This report received considerable publicity and the study’s system was adopted in various ways by many highway maintenance organizations.
During the 1960’s, emerging conditions that required a refined maintenance management role included the new Interstate System, the need for higher levels of maintenance, a rapid change in technology, and labor and budget problems. As a result, maintenance management became much more prominent in both research and practice.
Research to improve maintenance management was greatly expanded to meet these challenges. Between 1960 and 1970, about half of the State highway organizations conducted maintenance management studies. There was considerable cross-fertilization between these studies, and they covered a very wide range of elements, from equipment development and roadside practice to statewide planning and economic investigations. In these studies, a number of major management consultants were involved as well as State universities. The results led to major improvements in maintenance operations throughout the United States, and more refined studies are in progress.
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