Developing Assessment Criteria for State DOTs’ Standard Specifications on Contractor Schedules: Fid-Bau Portal

Developing Assessment Criteria for State DOTs’ Standard Specifications on Contractor Schedules

Han, Byung Gi / Son, Junghye / Khwaja, Nabeel / O’Brien, William J.

The standard specifications of state Departments of Transportation (DOTs) serve as the basis for project schedule control, establishing minimum requirements for the contractor schedule quality and allowing DOTs to effectively communicate and manage project schedule performance. However, the level of detail and sophistication varies across DOTs, and few references are available to guide DOTs in improving their standard specifications for contractor schedule management. This paper summarizes the current status of the contractor schedule requirements stipulated in the standard specifications for road construction projects at 18 DOTs. Key schedule requirements were extracted and categorized under four high-level criteria and 14 sub-criteria developed by reviewing past literature and the DOTs’ schedule specifications. The specification items across the 18 DOTs were then compared to identify any gaps between the various states’ requirements. The outcome of this study will help state DOTs assess the current status of their contractor schedule requirements and identify areas for improvement, which will enhance schedule management and contractor schedule quality. It will also contribute to academia by providing insight into the current schedule management practices of DOTs for road construction projects.