How the DOT’s view Machine Control

I recently had the opportunity to speak at a committee meeting of the Transportation Research Board (TRB),  near my home in Colorado. This committee is very focused on construction machine control, which they refer to as Automated Machine Guidance (AMG). Next month I will write about the positions the state Departments of Transportation are talking regarding AMG and its adoption by the contracting community.  The future support they will provide and what mandates they may impose on contractors are still under discussion, however it is already clear that the majoriity of DOT’s see significant benefits to the public and are in favor of AMG use on their transportation projects.  If this topic interests you, you can get a head start by reading the document that the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Technology Implementation Group (TIG) has published.  (Sorry about all the acronyms but we are dealing with government agencies and it comes with the turf.)  The publication is titled “Advancing Safer, Faster, More Accurate, and Less Expensive Roadway Construction”. To access this publication use the following link: http://tig.transportation.org/sites/aashtotig/docs/tigamgbrochurefinal.pdf

-Paul