Communicating Railroad–DOT Mitigation Strategies (2014)

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63 CHAPTER 8 Lessons Learned and Recommendations from Project Work 8.1 Lessons Learned The StarIsis project team consciously addressed the challenges identified by stakeholders in the initial research project, particularly relating to the historically contentious nature of discussions between the two entities. The teams’ efforts were successful in that the numerous discussions that have taken place among the community of interest members during the course of this project occurred in an environment of collaboration and trust. These discussions provide some insight into what it takes to improve the working relationships between transportation agencies and railroad companies. It also provides some perspective on what it takes to promote a healthy relationship between these entities nationwide. The ultimate outcome of these efforts would be more streamlined delivery of projects that can be completed on schedule and within scope and budget. The lessons learned summarized below will provide guidance and recommendations to those involved in road and rail projects in implementing practices, improving coordination, and expediting project delivery. Note that the lessons learned have been broken into categories only for convenience. Many of the lessons learned span across the categories listed. 8.1.1 Success Through Collaboration  The success of the community of interest shows that transportation agencies and railroads can work together in partnership to implement solutions that can stave off issues on projects and when issues do arise, they can collaboratively work on implementing solutions.  Though they exist in isolated pockets, examples of successful practices do exist that address many of the common challenges across the country. Investing resources in disseminating these innovative solutions and making them readily available nationally will eliminate peers recreating similar solutions. The resources saved can be redirected to implementing the solutions. 8.1.2 Understanding Cultural Differences  The culture and approach of the railroads to projects are different from those of public agencies. The railroads are in a mode of expansion and growth, so the factors that existed when a decision was made may not apply a year or two later. Decisions made within railroads are often quick, followed by action to implement those decisions. Therefore, once decisions are made on projects involving the two parties, implementation should follow quickly thereafter. When there is a delay between the decision and the

64 implementation, it is important to validate the assumptions with the railroads again, before continuing work.  Because of the pressing needs on multiple fronts that demand attention from railroad personnel, their focus will change from the project to other important aspects of their business. This may result in railroads losing interest when there is a significant time lag between the decisions and their implementation. 8.1.3 Building Trust Is Essential  COI members stated in various project discussions and at the May 2013 FHWA- sponsored Implementation Planning Workshop that resources need to be invested in supporting and continuing the efforts of the community of interest. Members were emphatic about it and let it be known that trust and good relationships are a key element to collaborative discussions between the two parties.  When there is trust and respect, both railroads and agencies willingly participate in information dissemination as well as in championing and trying out successful solutions.  Having a signed MOU between a transportation agency and a railroad will kick-start the improvement of work processes between the two parties. It will also help in clarifying roles and responsibilities and create a common understanding of expectations. The MOU will create partnership between the two organizations to facilitate continuous improvements that benefit both parties.  Having various levels of personnel from the railroads and the transportation agencies involved in best practices and supporting the implementation effort catalyzes the implementation process.  Once the two parties involved get comfortable with the intent and outcomes of the best practices, they are more open to implementing them.  Having more updated master agreements improves the working relationships. Also, addressing safety aspects, such as having the appropriate permits and agreements for right-of-entry, will help with building the trust.  Transportation agencies and railroads that have a relationship of trust often get project agreements completed much sooner than otherwise (within a period of weeks for simpler projects and months if the structure and level of project detail involved are more complex). Examples of these can be seen in Florida DOT, Iowa DOT, and North Carolina DOT. 8.1.4 Internal and External Coordination and Communication  Early and frequent coordination by transportation agencies is important to working with the railroads.

65  Transportation agencies that involve railroads early in the decision-making process often find the railroads suggesting new options to project designs that are acceptable to both parties. Such exchanges early in the project development process will eliminate the need for more expensive alternatives later in the project development process. These are win- win strategies that meet the requirements of both parties.  The railroads’ public project managers have very busy travel schedules. These managers cover multiple states; therefore, frequent follow-up from the agency will result in faster decisions.  Annual meetings and well-planned project update meetings help open communications, while also providing a forum that enables both parties to address any miscommunications that may have occurred.  Communicating and providing the background on best practices and getting the buy-in from both the railroad and the transportation agency representatives is the important first step to implementing any new practices.  Internal coordination between offices and personnel within the transportation agency is also extremely important.  Transportation agency personnel should engage the railroad divisions within the agency early in project development process. DOTs that have mature processes start this internal involvement in early planning phases when it is expected that some involvement with railroads may be needed. These agency personnel in turn can get the railroads involved early in the project process.  Sharing best practices with local agencies makes for the use of consistent processes on projects with the railroads. The more consistent the roadway projects are, the faster the approval process becomes for the railroads. An example is the Iowa DOT instructional memorandum that provides guidance to local agencies on specifications, agreement language, and other processes on projects involving the railroads.  In comparison to agencies where railroad expertise is spread throughout the department, transportation agencies that have consolidated the rail operations into one office or into a one-stop shop have been more successful in mitigating issues. They have also been more successful in having early coordination and frequent communication with stakeholders through the life of the project.  With the railroads outsourcing the review of public project work, one more entity gets involved in the project. Often the transportation agencies also use consultants for plan and design development. The need for closer coordination and communication becomes further enhanced with four organizations involved versus two organizations.  Good coordination and clear communication with the railroad is enhanced by having a single point of first contact in a transportation agency.  Good relationships, as well as the trust that comes with them, are critical to the entire process. Having a good working relationship makes it easier to have open conversations, raise issues constructively, and find solutions collaboratively.

66  Collaborating ahead with the railroad on projects can help the agency manage project costs. The railroads can suggest design options that limit costs while meeting the requirements of both parties. 8.1.5 Peer Confirmation  The railroads are more open to reviewing solutions proposed or implemented by peers. Forums of regular contact and sharing of ideas, such as what took place with the project’s COI, serve as a great platform for such peer-to-peer exchanges. These can trigger the widespread adoption of solutions already implemented by peers.  Sharing best practices through working peer-exchange sessions between an agency that has successfully implemented a best practice and an agency that needs a solution to a similar problem is a good way to expedite the implementation of such practices and the solving of issues. Depending on the challenges being addressed, such sessions should include the railroads.  Facilitated panel discussions involving transportation agencies and railroads showcasing successful collaborations help build the confidence in other transportation agencies and railroad pairs to test similar solutions. 8.1.6 Best Practices and Implementation  Where progress has been limited, start with implementing simple best practices to build trust and good working relationships, and progressively move to more complex best practices.  The use of best practices, such as a formal escalation process, goes a long way in expediting agreement processing and project delivery.  Streamlining processes and eliminating redundancies is important to many of the processes involved.  For transportation agencies that have millions of dollars invested in railroad projects, investing in a dedicated railroad project manager is well worth the cost. This is similar to investing in a good project manager on a highway project that does not involve railroads.  Expect the development of master agreements to take time. Know that once a master agreement is developed, it will more than compensate for the time spent on developing it.  Starting small and having simpler master agreements, such as with flagging or routine maintenance activities, will create the environment and set the path for more complex master agreements.  Safety is at the top of the railroad priorities. Railroads are looking for projects that involve closing at-grade crossings or replacing grade crossings with grade separation projects. Best practices in these areas will get traction faster.

67  Simplifying administrative processes, such as payment by lump-sum amounts, minimizes administrative costs and helps expedite agreement processing and delivery of projects.  Transportation agencies such as Texas DOT are ensuring that contractors have the appropriate insurance before awarding them the contract. Such practices build confidence and trust with the railroads.  Simplifying projects and separating those that do not need flagging services and sharing the list of such projects six months or a year ahead will eliminate the review time and expedite project work.  Where possible, streamlining the processing of flagging agreements through the use of master flagging agreements will expedite projects.  Other process streamlining efforts, such as coordinating flagging managed by agency contractors to avoid unnecessary requests for and unplanned dismissal of flaggers, can eliminate unnecessary costs on projects. These costs often add up to a good percentage of the project cost.  Ensuring early coordination on all projects involving railroads, which will limit the need for expensive changes and design alternatives later in the project process. Design-build projects need special attention. Streamlining the process and starting coordination with the railroads and the design-build contractor earlier than in the traditional projects is important to the on-time, on-cost and within-scope delivery of projects.  Improving the collection and storing of data relating to railroad crossings and other grade-separated projects helps provide better quality of data to FRA and also improves decision making.  Using electronic agreement processing helps keep all parties informed and updated on upcoming activities. The electronic workflow can also expedite the processing of agreements. 8.1.7 Resources for Initial Implementation and Knowledge Transfer  Providing external personnel and resources to guide the implementation of practices is important to the success of implementation. With staff turnover and downsizing, agency and railroad personnel are busy with day-to-day operations. This may result in practices not getting the necessary attention to get successfully implemented. Once a best practice is implemented and integrated into routine operations, it will require minimal additional resources and will continue to be used successfully.  Having knowledge transfer and training of agency personnel on best practices and cultural differences of the railroads is important to successful management and expeditious delivery of projects.  Access to a single repository of best practices and other resources will empower agency personnel and give them access to experts in other agencies who have successfully addressed similar challenges that they face.

68  Without a national forum that keeps railroads and transportation agencies engaged in discussions, all parties are likely to get focused on day-to-day pressing needs and return to working in isolation. The progress made in the last several years will slowly erode and the collaboration between all the stakeholders will diminish. It is therefore imperative that appropriate resources and support be mobilized to ensure that the current spirit of cooperation is sustained.  Having a virtual discussion forum that is monitored and managed to facilitate productive discussions that go hand-in-hand with the COI meetings will keep the community engaged and continue the discussions on new challenges that are bound to come up. Solutions can be brainstormed in facilitated COI meetings, strategies can be tested by members, and successes can be shared in the virtual forums. 8.1.8 The COI Sustaining the Collaboration  With the right representation and facilitation, the community of interest can continue to be a great resource for enhancing existing solutions as well as developing new solutions to address common challenges. The approach to how projects are planned, designed, and constructed is changing. For example, the challenges associated with design-build projects are different from those faced on traditional projects. Similarly, the landscape of projects between transportation agencies and railroads are being influenced by factors such as global trade and industries such as new oil exploration and fracking. These reveal new challenges, and similar new challenges will arise in the future.  The priorities and demands on the time and resources of the two organizations are very different. Without funding and the active support and engagement of an external team to facilitate meetings and keep the discussions alive, the likelihood of the group continuing to be engaged and productive as it has been in this project is very low.  This COI can be the forum to help track the pulse and health of activities relating to projects involving transportation agencies and railroads. It can be a great forum to track new challenges and to facilitate discussions and exchanges between peers between those who have solutions and others who are looking for solutions to similar challenges.  The COI can serve as an ongoing forum to support development and testing of new solutions. Also, having facilitated brainstorming discussions between various stakeholders will keep members engaged productively in finding solutions.  An ongoing facilitated virtual forum for stakeholders that augments the COI discussions will facilitate frequent exchange of ideas. This will provide members the additional option of posting questions about new challenges and seeking feedback from peers who have addressed similar challenges. When effectively moderated and managed, these virtual forums can cost effectively provide solutions and enable discussions between peers.

69  Using the format and approach taken in the conduct of this project, similar COI- facilitated discussions can be held and members engaged to discuss new challenges and brainstorm on solutions, as well as to volunteer and test these new solutions. The successful new solutions can then be added on a continual basis to the existing web suite of tools (the Solution Suite) that house strategies for national dissemination. 8.2 Barriers to Long-Term Success The lessons learned section addresses many of the barriers to the long-term achievement of the project objectives. Following are some of the additional barriers identified during the COI meetings:  Funding limitations pose major challenges to the continuation of the dissemination and to the support of the facilitated activities required to keep members engaged. With additional funding and with the right style of management, the current spirit of partnering can be leveraged for the next phase of member engagement, information dissemination, and innovation adoption.  Delay or discontinuation of the collaboration between stakeholders developed in the project is another barrier to expedited adoption of the innovations. With the current project community of interest members from both railroads and transportation agencies, the momentum of adoption and acceptance can be carried forward successfully to the national stage. The continuation of the partnering and ongoing collaborative discussions will also allow the development of new solutions and refinement of existing solutions. Continuing the collaboration and showcasing the adoption of solutions by members will make it more attractive for other peers new to the innovations to adopt them.  Delays in funding and support for implementation can disengage the railroads and other stakeholders. This can be addressed by expeditiously following up on implementation activities once a decision to implement a solution is made.  Contentious relations and lack of trust between various stakeholders. This can be addressed through good facilitation and other strategies detailed earlier in the report.  Lack of project management support can be a barrier to national deployment of the project innovations. Funding to provide project management support, follow-up, and coordination of activities between the railroads and transportation agencies is necessary to keep and build upon the buy-in achieved during the national implementation phase can help mitigate this issue.  Lack of resources in the state DOTs for travel to conferences and meetings. This was identified as a barrier for exchange of ideas between peers. This lack of communication was leading to a silo approach to addressing challenges and resulting in limiting the implementation of innovations to the innovators.  Lack of an online community to facilitate discussions on innovations or to trigger discussion in a continuous way. The communication and dissemination project is a one-

70 time event that has triggered a lot of discussion and innovation. The team identified the need for an ongoing forum for continuing the discussions between the parties.  Lack of an updated repository of innovations. There is not one place where stakeholders can go to get information on all the innovations (best practices, streamlined processes, and model agreements). The team explained that many of these issues relating to a single repository will get resolved in the next phase of the SHRP 2 project.  Lack of a single updated source of contact information about DOT-railroad subject matter experts.  Reduction in DOT resources resulting in lack of internal resources to focus on internal innovation. Most of the resources are focused on keeping day-to-day operational activities going.  Lack of facilitated peer-exchange forums and no resources to assist with beta testing of innovations from the innovation catalogue.  Reduction in federal funding for safety and other railroad–DOT efforts.