United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2001-03-16 monographic deposited born digital 19 p. GA 1.13:GAO-01-347R https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-347R P0b002ee180387b22 f:d01347r DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-28 GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-347R machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-347R GAO-01-347R Human resources utilization Labor supply Privatization Reengineering (management) Private sector practices FHwA Federal-Aid Highway Program South Carolina Arizona District of Columbia Correspondence To handle staffing shortages and increased workloads, states and other engineering and construction organizations have been relying more on contractors to perform functions that were previously done in-house. This trend was reflected in two state highway departments, identified by the Federal Highway Administration, that GAO visited. Both Arizona and South Carolina were relying extensively on consulting engineers to handle major portions of their workloads. Two recent studies also identified ways in which organizations acquiring design and construction services have dealt with staffing shortages and increased workloads. These include team building, partnering, and involving all stakeholders in the early stages of a project's development and in design review activities throughout the project. The acting Director of the District of Columbia's Department of Public Works, Division of Transportation (DDOT) has started to reorganize DDOT to improve performance. Specifically, he has developed plans to increase the use of contractors to supplement DDOT's staff and has established cooperative relationships with other governmental agencies by adopting strategies and best practices that others have found to be effective. The Director also plans to reorganize staff into four project teams that will have all the disciplines necessary to be responsible and accountable for assigned projects from beginning to end. Since the reorganization is just beginning, it is too early to tell whether it will be successful. However, both Arizona and South Carolina have adopted these ways to improve their situations. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-347R/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-347R.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-347R/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-347R.pdf GAO-01-347R https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-347R Correspondence GAO-01-347R; Restructuring of the District of Columbia Department of; Human resources utilization Labor supply Privatization Reengineering (management) Private sector practices FHwA Federal-Aid Highway Program South Carolina Arizona District of Columbia