D11 Innovation Newsletter | Vol 1

Innovation Newsletter Caltrans District 11 July 2021

Caltrans District 11 Innovation Newsletter

district11.onramp.dot.ca.gov/d11-innovation

Established 07/ 01 / 2021

D11.Innovation@dot.ca.gov

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District 11 Innovation Newsletter

What’s a newsletter without a name?

Help us find the perfect one!

Send us your ideas!

The District 11 Innovation Team is

name to D11.Innovation@dot.ca.gov by

D11.Innovation@dot.ca.gov

excited to announce the launch of our

June 30, 2021.

new newsletter.

In addition to bragging rights, we will Each quarter the newsletter will

feature you in our next edition. So, put

highlight innovations within District 11,

on your thinking cap on and come up

the innovators whose ideas led to change,

with something innovative.

and other articles designed to get you thinking.

The newsletter needs a name that reflects the spirit of innovation and we need your help. Send your ideas for the newsletter’s

district11.onramp.dot.ca.gov/d11-innovation D11.Innovation@dot.ca.gov

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District 11 Innovation Newsletter

Contents

Contents

3

Introduction

4

DOTs Innovate

5

D11 Innovation Spotlight

6

Blast from the Past

9

Volunteers Needed!

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district11.onramp.dot.ca.gov/d11-innovation D11.Innovation@dot.ca.gov

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District 11 Innovation Newsletter

District 11 Innovation Committee Learn more about us at district11.onramp.dot.ca.gov/d11-innovation

The District 11 Innovation Committee, chaired by Lima Saft, comprises a diverse group of representatives from District 11 divisions. The team meets monthly to provide leadership support to: • Foster a workplace culture of innovation and creativity by encouraging out-of-the-box thinking • Promote, advocate, and facilitate the implementation of innovations that add value to District 11 products and services by providing a platform for sharing the innovations, listing available resources, and recognizing successes • Assure that innovation is supported and encouraged by management by engaging the executive team

The Innovation Committee is

tiation date, the division responsible,

p ro b a b l y b e s t k n o w n f o r

the par tner agency’s involvement,

planning and coordinating

and webpage links with additional

the highly successful

information.

D 1 1 I n n o v a t i o n Fa i r.

H o w e v e r, t h e I n n o v a t i o n

For more information about the

Committee also tracks pilots and

Innovation Committee, its members, and

innovative projects on the D11 Innovation

the innovation tracker, check out the

website.

Innovation website available through the District 11 home page.

In 2020, the Committee began work to identify and track 5-years of innovation in District 11. Information collected for each innovation included a short description of the innovation, the ini-

district11.onramp.dot.ca.gov/d11-innovation D11.Innovation@dot.ca.gov

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District 11 Innovation Newsletter

DOTs Innovate

JAWS Debris Remover Missouri Department of Transportation

Watch This

“Large debris, such as mattresses, ladders, and furniture, are a safety

Video of JAWS in Action

hazard to those who travel the roadways and especially dangerous for the

youtu.be/K71hYQ6LVV8

maintenance crews who remove the debris from the travel lanes. To keep maintenance employees out of the roadway while clearing away debris, the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDot) developed JAWS.”

JAWS or Julie’s Automated Waste Removal System was named after a MoDot employee who lost her life while removing debris from the freeway.

The integrated debris removal system is a pickup truck outfitted with a drop-down skid plate, controlled with a joystick inside the truck’s cab.

A camera activates when the skid plate is lowered, allowing the operator to see the debris on the roadway. The driver is then able to push the object from the roadway to an area where the debris can be safely be broken down and loaded into a vehicle for disposal.

district11.onramp.dot.ca.gov/d11-innovation D11.Innovation@dot.ca.gov

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District 11 Innovation Newsletter

Curb Ramp Detail Winner of the 2020 WASHTO Award

Wameedh Tozy

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District 11 Innovation Newsletter

District 11 Innovation Spotlight Time-Saving Innovation of Curb Ramp Detail

What was the problem?

How did the solution come about?

Which units helped develop it?

Were there any problems

Tables provided by previous projects in detail did not fulfill the needs of Surveys and made it hard for Surveys’ checkers to follow the design against the submitted plans after RTL. It also required a lot of drafting.

It was decided to place the staking notes in detail instead. This would be more efficient to check in the office and stake in the field. It also required far less drafting because the information is automatically generated from the Civil 3D corridor.

North County Corridor Design Team, Surveys, Design Office Engineering, and CADD & Drafting Review.

The Slope Staking Notes (SSN) output from Civil-3D (C3D) is in MS Word format, requiring transferring into MS Excel and later linked to Microstation through Axiom.

or roadblocks?

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District 11 Innovation Newsletter

What are the benefits?

By placing the staking notes on the plans, Surveys were able to check the design and plans before RTL and give their multiple rounds of comments during constructability reviews and PS&E submittal. This eliminated the extensive rework due to lack of checking after updates made to the design and efficiency by delivering the notes with the plans simultaneously.

What is next for the innovation?

We are currently establishing the C3D SSN output in a table automation form that can be referenced directly to Microstation.

The Innovator • Wameedh Tozy is an engineer working in the North County Corridor projects (I-5/Sr-76/SR-78) • Wameedh joined Caltrans 13 years ago.

• In his free time, Wameedh likes to play sports and attend church activities.

district11.onramp.dot.ca.gov/d11-innovation D11.Innovation@dot.ca.gov

Fun Fact about Wameedh He has lived in five countries, including Iraq (home country), England, Jordan, Syria, and the United States.

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District 11 Innovation Newsletter

Blast from the Past!

Building of the Plank Road In this edition of “Blast from the past,” we share an issue from 1924 of the official publication of the California H ighway Commission.

This issue shows views on the California State Highway in southern Imperial County, near the Mexican border, the trunk line to Yuma, and a description of the materials and techniques used in constructing the Plank Road.

Click here to view the full document.

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District 11 Innovation Newsletter

Volunteers Needed!

District 11’s Innovation Fair is always a big success, and we are looking forward to this year’s event.

Even though the Fair will be virtual, volunteers are needed to help with the event and to present innovations from their divisions. The Innovation Fair will be held this year on Wednesday, November 3.”

If you are interested in helping with the Fair or presenting an innovation, please contact D11.Innovation@dot.ca.gov

district11.onramp.dot.ca.gov/d11-innovation D11.Innovation@dot.ca.gov

2021D11

innovation

SAVE THE DATE District 11 2021 Virtual Innovation Fair November 3rd, 2021

Submit your Innovation to present at the Fair here!* This year’s focus presentation format will be in the form of video Lighting Talk.

Lighting talks are 6 Minute (maximum) presentations requiring presenters to quickly and efficiently share information for new ideas, projects, and policies to a large audience within a limited window of time. There will be an opportunity for a 4-5 Minute live Q&A session following your streamed focus presentation.

It is up to the presentation team how they will choose to present their topic.

Presenters may use video segments, PowerPoint slides, pictures, etc. *Presentation idea submisions are due on August 10th.