Current and Proposed Organizational Activities

Maine State Government is undergoing a restructuring in which nearly all of the information technology support personnel are being assimilated into a central agency, the Office of Information Technology (OIT). Likewise, some of the administrative functions that previously resided in the DOT are being assimilated into the Department of Administrative and Financial Services (DAFS). While the high-level goals are to achieve greater efficiency, along with more accountability and control, we are now in a phase where everyone is trying to figure out where they stand and how the new organizational structure is going to work. The majority of the former DOT IT staff are still housed in the Transportation facilities and, for the most part, doing the same good work. There has been a somewhat high turnover in personnel during this transition, due partly to the fact that some of the key players got new positions elsewhere in the structure.
CADD applications are still supported internally by the Engineering Systems Support Group, in the Bureau of Project Development. Several other specialized DOT applications are also supported largely by specialists in the units that primarily use them. Much of the current debate and concern is centered around what level of support DOT will get for our specialized applications, and at what cost.

Infrastructure

The reorganization discussed above will have a significant impact on our infrastructure. During the transition to a new management structure, we have proceeded with some critical server and storage replacements and upgrades. Many of our specialized applications require dedicated servers, which runs counter to the consolidation philosophy now being promoted.

New Applications

Executive Dashboard: Maine DOT has embarked on a project to implement an Executive Dashboard system. The Dashboard will provide a user-friendly interface for managers and others to use in retrieving data on the Department’s performance. In order to get consistent, reliable, and current data, some of the underlying systems and procedures will need to be adjusted.

InRoads: In the CADD arena, we have begun the process of migrating our ground modeling and road design applications from Bentley MX to Bentley InRoads. As a part of this migration, we are also updating our MicroStation configuration and standards to better integrate the software components, to take advantage of newer features available, and to position us for better use of the software in project estimating. Our new configuration is close to 80% completed and tested. Our plans include an extensive user training program, with the production roll-out, starting in October, 2006. Related to our CADD system migration, we are also working toward and Enterprise License Subscription with Bentley. The ELS will enable us to deploy software on an as-needed, where-needed basis, and to use components that we do not currently have access to.

Realty Management System (RMS): MaineDOT is in the process of customizing a realty acquisition management system. The original software was written for the Virginia DOT. MaineDOT acquired the software to use as a base from which to customize and build additional functionality. This system will support the right of way acquisition process.

Fleet Management System: MaineDOT went live in September 2006 with its new Fleet management system for heavy and light vehicles. This system uses the Maximus Fleet Focus software. Concurrently, fuel stations are being modernized with software that is integrated with the Maximus system.

CORS: We will soon be implementing a CORS network of base stations across the state. Through an RFP process, a GPS equipment vendor was been selected. Sites are now being assessed for suitability based on NGS requirements.

PONTIS: We implemented Pontis over the Winter as a joint effort between Bridge Maintenance and Bridge Management. We began our first bridge inspection season using the Pontis field data collection software on tablets.

Record of Exchange
We have reviewed information and configuration files from our counterparts in Vermont, New York and Utah in planning the update of our CADD configuration. In other areas of activity, there have been exchanges of information as well.

Information Wanted
We are interested in hearing from States who are implementing project financial management and federal billing systems. We need to replace our 25 year old mainframe system. We have done a high level requirements definition which we had sent out in an RFI to several vendors, with less success than we had hoped.