Infrastructure Problems Will Lag as the Government Fails to Act

Infrastructure Problems Will Lag 
as the Government Fails to Act

Well it appears Congress has finally decided to extend funding for the Federal Highway Trust Fund. Though they may have extended the funding they have not fixed the problem of how to fund the Trust Fund. Once again Congress has decided to create potential disaster down the road, by allowing companies to delay contributions to pension funds with the promise of making them up in the future. They are also going to transfer money from the fund established to clean up leaking underground storage tanks, which they state is currently over funded. Providing funding to the trust fund through methods like this are not going to solve the issue of how to adequately fund the Federal Highway Trust Fund. The constant temporary fixes which Congress passes only delay the inevitable. There can be no long-term planning when the highway bill is only extended for 10 months. The politicians in Washington will once again be blaming each other and fighting over how to create funding when next May rolls around.

The United States continues to fall behind other industrialized nations when it comes to our infrastructure. Without the proper infrastructure in place and upgrades made, the United States cannot compete in the world market. Congress, The President and others in Washington continue to tell us that the economy is improving and how much they are doing for us, yet we constantly see hundred year old water lines falling apart, roadways deteriorating, dams falling into disrepair, and a railroad infrastructure which lags behind much of the industrialized world. They could begin the funding by raising the fuel tax, however we won’t want to do that so close to an election, that might just cost someone their office. The lawmakers in Washington no longer care about doing what is right and planning for the future; they simply care about being reelected and keeping their lucrative jobs. I am beginning to wonder what happened to the integrity of the people we elect.

Back here in the real world we perform construction every day. You can see the deterioration of our infrastructure on the news and in the streets where we drive. Some states have decided to make changes to try to improve their infrastructure. I applaud Pennsylvania for passing an infrastructure bill that will hopefully improve the infrastructure of the state and eventually put us in a better position than other states when it comes to moving goods and services and providing jobs. I am sure that there will be some legislators who will lose their jobs over the infrastructure bill that was passed in Pennsylvania. I would like to think that they voted with their conscience to help improve the state and their communities over whether they would keep their job or not. Perhaps that is just wishful thinking, or perhaps it was passed far enough in advance of the election that many people will forget.

Construction and infrastructure improvement provide a tremendous amount of jobs in this country. By constantly repairing and improving our infrastructure the United States can remain a top industrialized country, however time is running short. Our government leaders are constantly concerned about increasing employment for our citizens, yet one of the most important pieces of being an industrialized nation continues to be pushed to the side. I doubt if President Eisenhower ever envisioned the disrepair that our infrastructure has fallen into when he created the federal highway system.

One of the other wastes of our infrastructure dollars is a prevailing or scale wages required to be paid on these projects. As a business owner for nearly 30 years I do not understand the concept of why, just because someone steps foot on a federal government-funded project their wages should increase above what they are currently being paid. I fully advocate paying employees decent wages so that they can live and provide for their families, however doubling and sometimes tripling their wages seems to be ridiculous. I have heard the arguments back and forth both ways. I have spoken to political representatives who have said they are getting a better quality of work by paying the better wages. Specifications are already established and must be maintained, therefore everyone is held to the same standard. The argument for better quality of work is simply a copout as far as I’m concerned. By paying prevailing or scale wages for government projects, many times we increase the cost of those projects by 40 and sometimes 50 percent. Imagine how much more work we could perform and how much more improved our infrastructure could be with those additional monies going back into additional projects. Prevailing or scale wages were established based on union formulas, I believe currently only approximate 12 to14 percent of the private sector is unionized, most of the unions are in the public sector. Therefore the basis of union wages to establish scale and prevailing wages for projects is obsolete.

And then we are facing a lack of qualified workers to perform the tasks related to infrastructure repairs and building. Many companies that I work with and are in related fields are having a difficult time getting qualified applicants for the job openings, which many of us have. The construction industry is willing to train personnel to perform needed skills so that they can grow and have a viable career in the construction field. The United States government is spending billions of dollars on education, yet many applicants applying for jobs lack basic math, reading and writing skills. In my conversation with other business owners, we are all wondering what the education system is doing and why people are permitted to graduate from high school and trade schools without these basic skills. I am here to tell you that there are vast opportunities in the construction trade for people that are willing to apply themselves, have the initiative to study and learn, and be willing to embrace new and different technologies. The construction industry is not simply low-paying jobs and a place for people to go when they can’t find anything else. The construction industry is now a technical industry requiring a vast array of skills, including computer, mathematics, reading and writing, and so much more. Many of these jobs do not require any more than a high school education, and the willingness to take training provided by the employer and the desire to succeed. After a short time in the construction industry with the willingness to study, learn and excel many construction workers make above the average income for the areas in which they work. Perhaps the schools should allow students to use their imagination, not deter them from using their hands and get back to teaching some of the basic skills needed to succeed in the world. If the schools can send us the people with the basic skills we can get them started on a path to a career that will last a lifetime.

Perhaps the time is come for our government, so called leaders to come out and spend some time with us in the real world, leaving their suits, the television crews and all their little liaisons behind. We can show them what truly happens out here in the real world, not in the little bubble they have created in Washington. I am more than happy to extend an invitation to any of them that would like to spend a week in a real-world business and see how it truly operates and the challenges we face. They need to stop looking forward to elections and start looking at what is best for our country and its future. 10 months of funding is not the future, it is a short-term fix which they have become so accustomed to in Washington. Both parties should be ashamed of themselves for kicking the can down the road when it comes to dealing with real-world problems and throwing money at education that is not improving our education system, but simply letting us all behind the rest of the industrialized world. 


Dave E. Gemmill
D. E. Gemmill, Inc. 
www.degemmill.com

When and Where will the Enforcement Apply!?

When and Where will the Enforcement Apply!?

                Recently I spoke about the new “Publication 213 - Temporary Traffic Control Guidelines” that the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation released in Spring of this year. I applaud them for the excellent job that they did putting this information together. It is easy to understand and the diagrams provide excellent details for field personnel to use during the set up process. 

                Fantastic!! But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Every program has multiple steps required to reach the goals and objectives of the program. I assume that the end goal of this new manual is to keep both construction personnel and the traveling public safe when approaching, moving through, exiting and performing work within that work zone. 

                “Step One” complete! My question has anyone thought about the remaining steps? Hello!  There are more steps, Right?

                Well if you read the manual there is a great deal of information contained within the three hundred plus pages. And might I say, the information is vital to anyone, who wants to be knowledgeable when discussing, planning or applying temporary traffic control for even the most minute work zone. 

                Ok, but here is where I jump up on my soap box and bring up some valid points  that I can only hope have been considered.

                Where is Step Two! I was fortunate to be attending a meeting in March 2014 when the new manual was discussed. Unfortunately I only found out about the new manual a week before it was distributed and a few weeks before it went into effect. Thank goodness I went to that meeting. As for everyone else who was not present at the meeting, well I guess all I can say is GOOD LUCK!

                My theory is apparently someone missed step two, perhaps it was Penn DOT or maybe an agency they hired to rollout the new manual. You are probably wondering what I am talking about. Well you and everyone else. In conversations I have brought up the new manual to general contractors, project managers, construction superintendents, flagging companies and many others in the construction business, and you know what, they look at me like I have three heads. Or I get “What are you talking about?”. No one knows about the new publication. Holy smokes! My understanding is we are to be implementing the information in the new publication.  

                Now, I do not consider myself to be a genius, and most of the time not even a smart person. But if you want people to use a new and improved manual, particularly for their own and improved safety, shouldn’t you, well, TELL EVERYONE!!!!!! We are living in the information age, how about emailing everyone registered with Penn DOT and the Turnpike Commission from contractors to engineers to inspectors. I even spoke with an inspector recently that was unaware of the new publication, aren’t they one of the people who will enforce the new rules. 

                I look around and see all types of items, discussed in the manual, that do not meet the current standards or are no longer compliant because the devices are in such poor condition. Yet they can be found from private work being performed within the state’s right of way to state funded highway projects and they go ignored. 

                Step three should be education and information. Penn DOT has included training which will certify Traffic Control Mangers and will implement their requirement on each project over the next few years. I believe they are trying to provide a time frame that is reasonable to get everyone compliant with the Traffic Control Manager portion of their manual. But one person is not enough.  We need to educate everyone operating within that work zone about the proper technics and aspects of a proper work zone setup. We also need to educate the driving public about what we do, why we do it, and how it helps protect them as well. This is really something that should have been instituted a long time ago. Might I even suggest, that any state funded projects require every person working on that project to be provided a minimum of one hour of documented training per year relating to the various components of a work zone? And Hey Penn DOT how about allotting a line item that will be paid to each contractor and subcontractor for this training time for each employee trained on state funded projects. Safety and understanding a work zone is not something we should take for granted. 

Which brings me to step four. Enforcement! Penn DOT has to quit ignoring the offenders, the non-compliant devises and the temporary work zone signs that are not removed when work is not being performed. I have driven through a temporary work zone for over four weeks at various times of the day and night and the signs are always present. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? The rules state that temporary signage is to be removed when work is not being performed. Who is liable if a motorist strikes a worker or a piece of equipment, or goes speeding through the work zone? It should be the project manager or the superintendent! Why, because they do not remove the signs at the end of the work shift. How is the driver to know when you are working if the temporary signage is up 24 /7? If it is a long term project then PUT UP THE CORRECT LONG TERM SIGNAGE!!! And hey Penn DOT you have people that drive through this same site every day.  ENFORCE YOUR RULES!

Nothing in this manual will work if step four is not addressed. If there is no enforcement, and I mean true enforcement, you know like, if you are not compliant, they shut you down and you get off the road until you can provide the correct and compliant devices, trained staff and equipment to perform the work safely according to the requirements of the publication. This needs to be enforced from large road construction projects, utility companies, maintenance contractors and contractors’ workers on private projects within the state right of way. And do not forget about the local municipalities. If you do not force them to buy in, the program will not be uniformed. We all know if the manual and rules are not enforced for everyone uniformly, then the manual will become nothing more than a door stop. Local municipalities can be forced to buy in by simply tying the compliance to them receiving their Liquid Fuels Monies.  Find a way to make sure compliance is followed by everyone working on our roadways!

 

                I am not sure how many steps are intended for this program, but I hope there are enough to reach the top of where we are going. If we are only going to reach the first landing, then this will be nothing more than another failed government program and that would be a shame for everyone involved. Mothers, Fathers, Sons, Daughters, Family and Friends. They all travel or labor in temporary traffic control work zones and shouldn’t the ultimate step be to get everyone home safely.

               

I believe we  are in a new era and Penn DOT is moving forward, let’s work together to make sure that this bus doesn’t  stop, we are all getting on board and the next stop can be the top of the mountain, BUT ONLY IF THE RULES ARE ENFORCED. 

Dave E. Gemmill

www.degemmill.com

ftp://ftp.dot.state.pa.us/public/PubsForms/Publications/PUB%20213.pdf

Do you and your Insurance Company know your liability?

Do you and your Insurance Company know your Liability?

Traffic signs are everywhere. They provide us with warnings, directions and information. They can be found along public roadways, private roadways and parking lots. As of June 13, 2014 all agencies with public and private roadways which are opened for public travel are required to have a traffic sign assessment and management plan in place.

I know what you are thinking, that’s great the government has more paperwork to add to their already inflated bureaucracy. Though that may be the case, if you are a commercial or industrial business, mall, shopping center, home owner’s association, convenience store, gas station, just to name a few, with a parking lot or roadways, you should be preparing for traffic sign Retroreflectivity.

Why should you be concerned or taking note of traffic sign assessment and man

agement? Well simply put if you allow motorists to drive on your property, which would almost be impossible not to, you are entering new realm of possible liability.

You along with your Insurance Company should know what the failure to prepare and plan for traffic sign assessment and management can mean. I bet most agencies and businesses don’t even know what traffic signs are their responsibilities.

Why don’t you humor me and let me give you an example how this can affect you. When your property was built, more than likely you or the owner at the time had to obtain a driveway or highway occupancy permit to enter and exit the public roadway. More than likely your plan had a stop sign at the entrance, no big deal, right? Wrong, if a driver leaving your property pulls out into the path of an oncoming vehicle and there is an accident, one of the things that the investigating agencies will be looked at is whether the proper traffic signs are in place and in operational condition. They will look at the signs in helping to determine who is at fault. Maybe not a huge deal if it is a fender bender, but what if there are major injuries or even worse a death. Now you can be certain the insuring parties, or family of the injured or dead are going to be looking for someone to pay for the damages and pain and suffering.

Get my point! In the example above we are only talking about one sign, a stop sign. Let me ask you a few things that the investigators will probably asking.

Property owner, what was the date the stop sign was installed?  Do you have records of the purchase? Did the stop sign meet the highway traffic sign standards at the time of installation? Where did you purchase the sign? Was it installed to the proper height and mounting standards as required by the highway standards? When was the sign last assessed for compliance?

Holy cow! As a property owner how would you know any of that information? Simple: a traffic sign assessment and management program.

Now many permit and civil plans for properties have more than one stop sign on them, many have multiple signs. Did you also know that some state, county and local agencies add wording to the permit plans that give responsibility for the new roadway signs added during construction to the property owner. I know, you are asking why, would they do that. Simple, alleviate or pass the responsibility to someone else. Smart on their part, but bad for you and you insurance company.

The MUTCD (Manual on Uniformed Traffic Control Devices) is about to make all of our lives a little bit more interesting. I believe the door is opening for a flood of liability claims relating to traffic signs. The MUTCD and Federal Highway Administration have stated that private roads open to public travel are required to meet provisions of the MUTCD, including the minimum retroreflectivity standards. I know some people will argue that parking lots are not included, however I believe this extends to parking lots. My logic behind this is that there are drive lanes in a parking lot and what is a drive lane other than a private road. But hey I will let the lawyers argue that point in court.

A statistic obtained from Auto Insurance quotes.com, indicated that Nationwide Insurance’s 2012 claim data showed 13 percent of all accidents occur in parking lots. During my research I have found that injuries to pedestrians are one of the fastest growing types of accidents which occur in parking lots. So my next question is are your Pedestrian crossing signs compliant?

As you can see, I am trying to make a point, if you do not have a traffic sign assessment and management plan in place or think that it can’t happen to you all I can say is good luck. But just remember an implemented plan may be the cheapest insurance you could purchase. 

                

Dave Gemmil

D. E. Gemmill, Inc.

1-866-755-9794

www.degemmill.com

http://degemmill.com/selecting_%20d_.e_.%20gemmill2.html