Guide for Conducting Forensic Investigations of Highway Pavements (2013)

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62 The investigation close-out is the final stage of any pavement forensic investigation and includes a review of the investigation, identifying actions that need to be implemented based on the investigation findings, and finalizing project management tasks. 9.1 Investigation Review An investigation review (or post mortem) by the team (and if appropriate, the project director, division program manager, or other relevant manager) is recommended for all forensic investigations to: • Check that the objectives have been met and whether or not the investigation was successful (e.g., an investigation scorecard). • Revisit the initial investigation and reasons for conduct- ing (or not) various investigation phases and determine whether these were valid. • Establish with hindsight whether the approach followed in the investigation was appropriate or whether a different one would have provided the same result more quickly or with less effort. • Compare approach and results to previous forensic inves- tigations to determine if there are any trends that need to be considered when implementing the recommendations and disseminating the findings, or that could be used to support the recommendations. • Discuss approaches for best disseminating and imple- menting the findings. • Discuss changes in the process for planning and conduct- ing future forensic investigations. The investigation coordinator should document the dis- cussions and revise agency forensic investigation protocols accordingly. The results of the investigation review may influ- ence how the recommendations are implemented and find- ings are disseminated. 9.2 Actions Resulting from the Forensic Investigation The distribution of the forensic investigation report to appropriate agency personnel and use of its findings, conclu- sions, recommendations, and lessons learned is an important step in enhancing agency practices for pavement design, con- struction, rehabilitation, and maintenance. Depending on the reasons for the investigation and the nature of the information contained in the investigation report and agency processes adopted, actions from the foren- sic investigation could include one or more of the following: • Recommendations for changes to design guides, specifi- cations, test methods, and/or contractual documentation. • Preparation of technical bulletins or briefs to disseminate information resulting from the investigation such as: – Lessons learned (i.e., how to carry out better investi- gations). – Improved design, construction, or quality control practices. – Means for dealing with contractual claims and corrective actions on premature failures, and calibration factors for local mechanistic models. • Preparation of papers and/or presentations for dissemina- tion of the investigation findings at conferences, workshops, webinars, etc. The forensic investigation coordinator is responsible for initiating these actions and should ensure that: • An estimate of the resources required for completion of the action items is prepared and, if necessary, approved by the project director. • If required, an individual is identified and assigned respon- sibility for the implementation of the action items. • A due date is assigned for the actions. • Progress on the action items is monitored. C h a p t e r 9 Investigation Close-Out

63 9.3 Investigation Close-Out The investigation close-out is the final task for the forensic investigation coordinator. This includes: • Acknowledgments to all individuals involved in the study. • Notifications to all parties affected by the outcome of the investigation. • Initiating any actions listed in the final report. • Completing the documentation process. • Completing the investigation cost spreadsheet. • Updating the forensic investigation database. • Completing and closing the project file. An example checklist for investigation close-out is provided in Appendix D (example Checklist #9).