Before reading contract bids aloud to construction company vendors attending Mn/DOT’s first electronic bid letting, Don Orgeman thumps this "cowboy hat" to prove that it’s really a hard hat.

Nine road construction contractors plunged into the future Jan. 18 when they filed 13 electronic bids on 16 Mn/DOT construction projects in the department’s first week of electronic bidding.

But change comes in stages: other contractors filed a combined total of 67 bids by paper, choosing not to try the e-bidding process this time.

On this first day of e-bidding, about 150 owners and staff filled the Mn/DOT lunchroom for their monthly—sometimes biweekly—ritual. They listened as Don Orgeman, contract administrative engineer, Office of Construction and Contract Administration, read the bids aloud, and wrote down what their competitors had bid.

Orgeman celebrated the occasion—and the media attention—by wearing a hard hat that’s shaped like a cowboy hat while he announced the bids.

"People have been teasing me about the microphone," Orgeman said. "But if I have to be Garth Brooks today, let me put on my hat here." After thumping his hat, he added, "I want all of the contractors to know this: it’s a hard hat."

Orgeman added, "I want to thank the contractors who submitted computer discs with their bids. We won’t have to key in the numbers on these, and that will help us out a lot."

The process went smoothly, despite a couple of bumps in the road.

Gary Ericksen handles the transition from paper to cyberspace as he enters the paper bids into the electronic forms at Bid Express’s Web site.

"We’ll pause here so that Gary can catch up," Orgeman said at one point, while Gary Ericksen, pre-awards supervisor for Construction and Contract Administration, entered amounts from paper bids into a laptop computer. The laptop was wired and connected to the Mn/DOT Internet page set up by e-bidding vendor Bid Express.

The other glitch—solved shortly before the meeting began—concerned Internet access.

"Things were a little touch-and-go for awhile when our Internet connection went down," Ericksen said, "but we pulled things together at the last minute and went ahead. We had it all set up back in our office as well so that we could have run the figures up there instead. But we wanted to do it this way."

Last week, Ericksen had talked about this type of problem, but from the contractors’ point of view, saying that contractors were "talking about getting two Internet service providers so they can be sure of getting their bids in on time."

Although his office had built in a backup connection as well, Ericksen said that they might try a different approach—one that could function at the bidding site itself.

"We’re thinking of getting a wireless setup and bouncing it off a satellite to avoid problems with Internet access," he said.

Awarding of contracts for the 16 construction contracts—with a combined total cost of more than $18 million—begins this week, Ericksen said, and will continue over the next two to three weeks.

At this point, e-bidding has made a dent in the number of bids submitted on paper, but Ericksen said he expects that to increase quickly.

"I talked with several contractors who said that they would be submitting electronic bids in our next letting on Feb. 22," Ericksen said. "I expect the percentage of electronic bids will go way up. I think that, when we start getting 70 percent of the bids submitted electronically, we might look at requiring electronic bid submittal on those projects that are over a certain dollar amount—possibly $1 million."

The 2001 Minnesota Legislature authorized electronic bidding—among several other measures—to streamline Mn/DOT’s contracting procedures. These include:

• Clarification of municipal consent laws

• Expanded authority in design-build projects

• Work order signatures

• Informal RFP contracts

• Qualification-based selection of consultants

"Mn/DOT is looking at many ways to speed up projects," said Doug Weiszhaar, Deputy Commissioner. "Electronic bidding shows how technology can help us streamline the process and build projects more quickly."

Click here to read the Jan. 16 Mn/DOT Newsline article on electronic bidding.

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Dick Stehr is acting director of the Program Support Group. In addition, he will continue to lead efforts for moving the organization to the distributed products/ services model envisioned in the Shaping Our Future plan.

Dick Stehr will serve as acting director of the Program Support Group, Deputy Commissioner Doug Weiszhaar announced Jan. 2. He replaces Pat Hughes, who will manage the development of the department’s design/build efforts.

In addition to his new responsibilities, Stehr will continue to lead the department’s efforts to move the organization to the distributed products/services model envisioned in the Shaping Our Future plan.

Stehr said he plans to spend the next few weeks gathering information on the work that has already been accomplished in the streamlining efforts, task force initiatives and customer satisfaction surveys.

In addition, Stehr said he will institute a bi-weekly forum for employees called "Discussions with Dick." Modeled on one that he used during the reorganization of the Metro Division, the forum will give employees an opportunity to listen, offer input and ask questions about changes the department is undergoing.

"Change is often uncomfortable, but it also brings opportunities," Stehr said. "People with a long Mn/DOT experience have the opportunity to use their experience as a foundation for building the new organization.

"With change comes an opportunity to align your skills and experience with the priorities of the new organization to create work that is both professionally fulfilling as well as personally rewarding," he added.

Stehr has worked for Mn/DOT since 1976 in various management roles, including most recently as director of Program Delivery and as Metro Division Engineer. Prior to Mn/DOT he worked eight years for the California Department of Transportation.

Bob Winter will serve as acting director of Metro Division during Stehr’s reassignment.

Click here for more information about Shaping Our Future.

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A recent television ad depicting a Dodge minivan passing an operating snowplow as the announcer exhorts potential buyers to become the "leader of the pack" was pulled from the air by the Daimler-Chrysler Corporation following viewer protests.

The ad aired nationally until company officials removed it after receiving a flurry of calls and e-mails questioning the ad’s premise.

In a letter to the president and CEO of the corporation’s Chrysler Group, Commissioner Elwyn Tinklenberg applauded the decision to stop using the ad.

"We are pleased to note that our safety awareness program has apparently taken root in the public’s mind because your ad triggered numerous phone calls and e-mails from citizens concerned that the spot sent the wrong message about safe winter driving," he wrote.

In his letter, Tinklenberg also notes Mn/DOT averages 131 snowplow crashes each year. Twenty percent of them result from plows being hit from behind by vehicles that were driven too fast for conditions.

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Rebecca Fabunmi, Maintenance, and Maya Beecham, Administrative Services, staff the Black History exhibit at last year's Transportation Conference. Photo by Chris Joyce

Besides keynote speeches, breakout sessions, Commissioner’s remarks and a video highlighting the ways Mn/DOT is moving Minnesota, this year’s Transportation Conference will also have more than five dozen exhibits highlighting the department and its external partners.

The conference, Moving Minnesota 2002, will be held Feb. 12-13 at the Radisson South hotel in Bloomington.

"We have 61 exhibits so far," says Ted Coulianos, exhibit coordinator. "Last year we had a record 31 external exhibitors and it has increased again this year. Thirty-nine external exhibitors have registered for this year’s conference."

Conference goers will have an opportunity to visit Mn/DOT exhibit booths as well. Twenty-two Mn/DOT offices and programs will be "strutting their stuff" and educating attendees about their work. Exhibits are open each day during the conference. Designated times for visiting include mornings both days, breaks and right after lunch.

Most external exhibitors are engineering firms that do business with Mn/DOT, according to Coulianos. However, there are two aerial survey companies and two engineering testing services as well as other transportation-related businesses. Approximately one-third of the external exhibitors are newcomers this year.

Coulianos is not sure why there is an upsurge in external exhibitors. Invitations are mailed to the consultants who have worked with Mn/DOT in the last year. However, he speculates that the steady increase in exhibitors may indicate that companies are becoming more proactive in promoting their products and services.

There are still a few exhibit spaces available. Contact Coulianos at 651/405-6107 to reserve a spot. Click onto Mn/DOT’s Transportation Conference Web site for more information about the conference. Click here for a list of conference exhibitors.

By Sue Stein

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Updates on legislative issues affecting Mn/DOT are now online on Mn/DOT’s internal government relations Web site.

Updates on legislative issues affecting Mn/DOT are now online on iHUB—Mn/DOT’s internal Web site.

The site includes weekly updates on informational hearings, the status of budget proposals, summaries of official testimony and presentations, and votes on issues that affect Mn/DOT and related transportation issues, notes Pat Bursaw, legislative liaison, Government Relations.

The 2002 Legislative session will formally begin on Jan. 29; however, some informational hearings have already begun.

Check out the legislative updates site at http://www2.dot.state.mn.us/ocpr/legislative

By Kay Korsgaard

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