The Kickoff meeting is the first step in the project development process. The project manager will explain the scope, schedule, and budget for the project. At this meeting the project manager will also provide the attendees with a draft Project Definition Document (PDD). The PDD defines the scope for the project and once finalized will be provided to Region leadership for acceptance.  

Maintenance should come prepared to these meetings to understand the purpose of the project and what information they can and need to provide to improve the overall scoping of the project. 

Information that maintenance should be providing includes but is not limited to the following:

• Maintenance Priority List: This is a list of maintenance projects that may be too much for the individual station budget to handle and that are within the limits of the proposed project.

• Hot Spots / Crashes: Depending upon the type of project, maintenance should always look for opportunities to improve safety. Having information related to repeated crashes or areas that can be improved should be discussed at these meetings that are relevant to the project scope. 

• Areas that are subject to repeated maintenance callouts or repairs: These include but are not limited to hard surface treatments, shouldering, barrier/fencing repairs, dilapidated signs or signs that are constantly being knocked down, drainage issues, and/or pavement markings.

As part of the kickoff meeting there should be a field visit with the members of the project team. The field visit is the first opportunity many of the team members have of seeing the project location and may not be aware of maintenance the issues that exist. It is maintenance’s responsibility to be present and be prepared to discuss any issues relevant to the scope of the project or that may impact the scope of the project. At the conclusion of this meeting, the project manager will develop an updated PDD that reflects the decisions of the project team. It is important for maintenance staff to review the PDD and understand what elements of the project will be addressed and those that will not so maintenance can account for those items within their budget request. 

The purpose of the scoping meeting is for the project team to develop a clear scope, schedule, and budget and come to an agreement. The PDD will be finalized and be prepared for signature. 

Maintenance should come prepared to discuss any concerns or issues that came to light during the field visit. Once again, maintenance should understand what the project scope is and what elements will be addressed and what issues will not. This will help maintenance to plan for these items in their future budget requests.

This meeting is to review the initial alignments of the project and this meeting may be eliminated based on the type of project and the determination of the PM and the Region pre-construction engineer. Maintenance should review the proposed alignment and assess how the alignment will impact maintenance operations and be prepared to discuss any potential impacts.

The Plan-in-Hand review meeting is typically held when the design reaches a completion of about 60%. This allows the project team to evaluate the current status of the design and look for opportunities to improve, change, or alter the design based on comments or questions from the project team. This meeting also provides an estimate based on the current status of design. Maintenance crews should evaluate the current plans and look for any possible issues that could be improved or needs to be modified.

The PS&E meeting is held when the design has progressed to a point of about 90% completion. This meeting is vitally important as all project team members should be reviewing the design to ensure consistency with the scope of the project and review the engineers estimate to ensure the project is within the budget. During the meeting the plans, specifications, and estimate will be reviewed in detail. Maintenance should review the plans before the actual meeting and come prepared to discuss any concerns or raise any questions regarding the design of the project. Maintenance should again evaluate the items included in the project plan set and make adjustments to the maintenance stations budget recommendations based on the proposed projects within their respective areas.

This meeting is held to review and resolve any comments or questions that were posed during the PS&E meeting. The design has progressed towards completion and is nearing the point of being advertised. At this point in the project phase Maintenance crews should be reviewing the timing of when the project will be constructed and coordinating with construction on possible staffing needs for construction.