July-September 2007
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VDOTer in Profile
Best Practices: Cutting Commuting Time
New Culpeper System Matches
Inspectors with Nearby Assignments
Together, Kerrie Humphreys and
Kenneth Shirley produced a district
project map.
There is a new map on the office wall of Kenneth Shirley, Culpeper District construction engineer. At a glance, he can see the location of current and future projects in relation to VDOT facilities — and also construction inspectors’ homes.
The map sprung from a vision Shirley had of a district in which inspectors could be assigned to projects near their homes rather than only to projects associated with the residencies in which they worked. And that vision has become a reality.
While the vision was Shirley’s, the manifestation of it in a map was the work of receptionist Kerrie Humphreys.
“Kerrie did a terrific job,” Shirley said as he presented the map to the district staff at a monthly meeting. “I gave her the ball and she ran with it, even though it required her to become proficient using a software program she was not familiar with.”
Shirley has a clear rational for the new assignment system.
“Transparent boundaries make sense from both a staffing and a cross-training perspective,” he says. “In some cases, an inspector lives just across the county line from another residency’s project, while the nearest inspector for that residency is an hour away.”
He adds that it also makes sense for an inspector in a local residency to pitch in if the regular inspector is sick or on vacation.
In addition, Shirley notes that the new system offers more opportunity to inspectors. “Inspectors interested in expanding their experience can gain opportunities to work on projects that they might not encounter in their own residency territory.”
Shirley says the map is proving its usefulness. Construction managers and area construction engineers are already using the map to quickly match up a project with an inspector.
Oh, by the way: Shirley presented Humphreys with a Spot Award of four movie tickets.
— Dee Brooking
