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In addition, without a single source of accurate data,
MnDOT was using classification averages to calculate the
costs of labor for damaged-property repairs, resulting in
reimbursement of only 45% to 60% of the actual labor costs.
Challenges
The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT)
was filing insurance claims seeking millions of dollars in
infrastructure damage restitution annually. The process for
recording and documenting damage claims was very detailed
and time-consuming.
To calculate the cost of these claims, MnDOT staff members
were using data from different IT systems. Detailed damage
repair information was not part of the agency's day-to-day
work reporting programs.
MnDOT had previously developed a standalone computer
application to be used statewide by damage restitution
specialists. However, the claim submission process required
re-entering the same data up to four times on different forms
before the claim could be filed.
Getting road user insurance funds to pay for damaged roadway assets was a
challenge before MnDOT overhauled its claims restitution process.
A downed streetlamp pole caused by a vehicle crash requires costly repairs.
Goals
The MnDOT staff needed a more efficient way to seek
damage restitution. The new approach would need to
streamline and consolidate processes that involved multiple
systems holding data on more than a million individual
assets and components.
MnDOT defined the following goals for the new approach:
1. Streamline the damage restitution claims process,
beginning with better recording of the necessary repairs all
the way through to the final submission of claims.
2. Establish a complete, detailed roadway asset inventory
located in a single, consolidated system to make recording,
reporting, filing, and processing claims much easier and
more thorough. The inventory must include assets such as
signals, lights, signs, barriers, and more.
3. Develop a mechanism to record claims-eligible repair work
on the relevant assets at the time of the repairs.
4. Combine repairs of different asset types into a single claim.
5. Create a system where claims specialists can search and
retrieve records of already-completed work and attach
them to the claim without the need to contact a supervisor.
6. Validate the new process and actions taken to restore
roadway assets to their pre-accident condition.
