PennDOT “Focus on Innovations” Publication Highlights Improved Safety, Efficiencies Created

​Last month, PennDOT released the Focus on Innovations publication, highlighting employee-driven innovations recently piloted and implemented across the organization to develop more efficient processes and improve safety.

At PennDOT, employee-driven innovation councils and committees, an employee suggestion system, a smart practice sharing tool, the State Transportation Innovation Council, and solutions identified and implemented by PennDOT employees, all work together to build better, more efficient, and more intuitive systems to serve Pennsylvanians.

"Our ability to adapt and continuously stay ahead of new technologies and best practices has kept the Commonwealth at the forefront of innovation," said Mike Carroll, Acting PennDOT Secretary. "Our continued focus on identifying unique solutions to complex problems is critical to the continued success of Pennsylvania's multi-modal transportation network."

Highlighted innovations include: 

A cost-effective solution to convert a grader blade into an ice blade to more effectively loosen ice and snowpack that has bonded to the roadway into smaller pieces that can be plowed off;

An innovative 110-foot long Mobile Truck Barrier piloted by PennDOT's Fleet Management Division in Philadelphia County, allowing for quicker and smoother lane transitions and closures, and better protection of crews to improve worker safety; and 

A groundbreaking video sharing agreement that provides traffic camera access to more than 200 participating agencies to enhance public safety and improve situational awareness and response times.

Across the Commonwealth, PennDOT has implemented more than 60 continuous improvement initiatives and nearly 200 employee-driven innovations over the last few years, saving nearly 29,000 workhours. These projects have transformed processes, procedures and programs that benefitted the department and its employees, transportation partners, and the traveling public.

The publication also features information on:

• The STIC and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Every Day Counts (EDC) innovations that Pennsylvania is pursuing.
• The Use of electronic ticketing, or e-Ticketing, for the receipt of aggregate, asphalt, and concrete materials for PennDOT projects entered its second year in 2022, moving from initial pilots in 2021 to small-scale implementation.
• Crowdsourcing for Advancing Operations and Next Generation Traffic Incident Management (TIM).

The Focus on Innovations publication, including an interactive innovation timeline, is available here.