MnDOT Innovation Focus
We've officially passed the one-year mark of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic, on top of social unrest and climate events, presented new and unprecedented challenges, and MnDOT staff stepped up to address these challenges head on with passion, ingenuity, and a commitment to public service.
In response to a survey sent out last summer, we received over 90 submissions of innovations and 80% of these innovations were permanently adopted.
We've developed an “Innovations During COVID-19 Report” to share all of the amazing ways staff have changed the way we work over the last 12 months. Check it out!
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 MnDOT works hard to keep up with the latest in technology and innovation. District 2 is no exception. When it came time for the Bemidji Community Review Panel to walk the Highway 197 corridor, it was not possible to do that together during the pandemic. Instead, Public Engagement Coordinator TJ Melcher reached out to MnDOT Aeronautics to schedule a live drone flight. Leslie Seitz, public affairs coordinator, assisted in the flight operation.
“There were multiple benefits of hosting this meeting virtually. We were able to all be in attendance as well as have an aerial view of each intersection of the corridor,” said Seitz. The live stream was hosted on Facebook. The host of the meeting, the Headwaters Regional Development Commission, shared their screen so others could view the livestream. The host would communicate with Seitz via the virtual meeting to relay messages to the drone pilot. The group would want to stay at an intersection for discussion, or look in a different direction. All movements were live with only approximately a 10-second delay.
“I am now a licensed drone pilot and we purchased a drone in 2020 for the purpose of public engagement. We plan to continue these efforts of engagement through live stream videos as well as using the drone to show traffic movements through newer intersections, such as RCI’s (Reduced Conflict Intersections) and roundabouts,” added Seitz.
MnDOT is partnering with the Headwaters Regional Development Commission to develop new plans for Highway 197/Paul Bunyan Drive corridor improvements in Bemidji. In 2020, the Bemidji City Council voted against the original proposed plans along the corridor, which put MnDOT back to the drawing board.
The pavement along the Highway 197 corridor will reach the end of its service life by 2025, and will need to be replaced regardless of alternatives selected. The committee meets each month and is working towards a unified vision for the project by the summer of 2021.
 Last fall, MnDOT formed an innovation technical advisory panel with 34 multidisciplinary staff from across the agency to provide insights to MnDOT’s innovation consultant, Employee Strategies.
Throughout their nine-month commitment, members meet monthly for in-depth discussions about their experiences with innovation at MnDOT. Discussion topics include innovation successes and failures, barriers to innovation, and solutions to these barriers.
These findings will help MnDOT thoughtfully plan and prepare a future agency innovation strategy.
 Human-centered design is an approach centered around people – bringing stakeholders into the conversation from the beginning and building solutions that meet their needs. Human-centered design is all about empathy, about brainstorming a lot of ideas, about trying those ideas on and co-creating with stakeholders to build innovative solutions that achieve results.
Commissioner Margaret Anderson Kelliher joined two fellow state agency commissioners in a conversation about human-centered design on February 26.
 With as many as 2,574 MnDOT employees working remotely each day (up from 540 a year ago), the shift to a virtual workplace has drastically impacted how we conduct business and interact with our peers.
On the Teleworking and Virtual Meetings website, we’ve compiled innovative ideas and best practices for working virtually. From tips for virtual meeting etiquette to ideas for creating virtual water cooler moments, learn how you and your team can stay connected, wherever your location.
Tricks for Using Teams
Teams is an essential tool for meeting and connecting virtually, but a few tricks can also help you get the most out of your Teams meetings – and avoid technical difficulties:
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Mute all attendees. Tip: Only a meeting organizer can mute all attendees before a meeting. However, both the organizer and presenters can prevent attendees from unmuting after the meeting starts.
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Download the participant list for follow-up. Tip: Only a meeting organizer can create the list.
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Use the “computer sound” toggle feature to share a video with audio during a presentation. Tip: Your computer and Teams must be set to the same speaker. Avoid audio echo by muting everyone but the presenter.
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Create breakout rooms to facilitate discussion for large groups. Tip: Only a meeting organizer using a desktop version of Teams can create or manage breakout rooms.
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Add a background image during a video call to hide your home. Tip: Blurring or replacing your background might not prevent sensitive information from being visible.
Did You Know? In a recent two-month period, MnDOT held more online meetings (5,670) than any other state agency (the Department of Human Services came in second with 4,838 online meetings.)
 Every Day Counts is FHWA's state-based model that identifies and deploys proven, yet underused innovations—saving time, money and resources that can be used to deliver more projects. To learn more about this program, watch this short video.
A number of MnDOT projects, including e-ticketing and virtual public engagement, are featured on the 2021-2022 list of innovations.
 In recent weeks, crews from the Shakopee substation and Districts 4 and 7 have been testing an affordable lane boundary guidance system that helps plow drivers navigate during heavy snowfall. Plow drivers’ evaluation of an earlier prototype yielded a few improvements to the promising technology that the University of Minnesota is developing for MnDOT.
For the past couple winters, select maintenance crews have also been active in a project that’s figuring out how to use advanced data analytics to reduce plow fuel consumption.
MnDOT's Office of Research & Innovation and Office of Maintenance hosted a webinar on February 24 sharing these and other Minnesota winter research innovations with practitioners across the nation.
The Strategic Women Advancing Transportation (SWAT) Employee Resource Group (ERG) is starting a book club and "Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle" by Emily Nagoski and Amelia Nagoski is their first pick!
SWAT tapped into MnDOT's e-book pilot program to access copies for their members. Library staff were able to quickly obtain three e-books and two audio books to facilitate staff participation.
Browse MnDOT's professional development e-book collection. Interested in a title that isn't currently available? Connect with MnDOT's librarians to see if it can be ordered.
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This newsletter is produced by MnDOT's Office of Research & Innovation. Have a story idea? Let us know! If you have a question or need content in an alternative format, please contact our office at research.dot@state.mn.us or 651-366-3738.
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