Date Available

4-26-2024

Year of Publication

2024

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Document Type

Doctoral Dissertation

College

Engineering

Department/School/Program

Civil Engineering

First Advisor

Dr. Gabriel Dadi

Abstract

e-Ticketing was an intriguing technology to many state transportation agencies (STAs) pre-COVID-19 pandemic but gained significant attention upon arrival of the pandemic due to the contactless nature of the technology. Research completed prior to the pandemic into e-ticketing for asphalt paving primarily identified qualitative benefits and concerns. However, minimal academic literature exists in the post-pandemic era discussing the additional e-ticketing benefits not previously captured which resulted in increased implementation by STAs. This research seeks to address this gap by gathering information from state members of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials Committee on Construction (AASHTO COC), employees of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC), and members of the Kentucky Association of Highway Contractors (KAHC) and the Plantmix Asphalt Industry of Kentucky (PAIKY) regarding e-ticketing practices for asphalt paving in the post-pandemic era.

The first portion of the study combines national and state-level survey responses to create a qualitative benefit-cost analysis for e-ticketing for asphalt paving operations based upon experience gained through emergency implementation during the pandemic. To reinforce the results of the qualitative analysis and increase the power of the study, the second portion of the research creates a quantitative benefit-cost analysis (BCA) from data collected from KYTC construction projects to compare the traditional weigh ticket collection process with e-ticketing processes for both project engineers and inspectors. The analysis shows a statistically significant time savings for field employees but not project management personnel. The monetary analysis for Kentucky indicates that while e-ticketing does not result in significant time savings for all employees, there is substantial monetary benefit worthy of STAs adopting e-ticketing as policy. Cluster analysis was completed for both project engineers and inspectors to group project types where e-ticketing impact was maximized, and a decision matrix was created to aid agencies in creating implementation plans.

The primary contributions to the body of knowledge include an improved BCA methodology utilizing a modified action research approach applied to a new domain of electronic bulk material tickets and an informed quantitative valuation framework useful for STAs as a proof-of-concept to champion and effectively implement e-ticketing and by transportation-focused researchers for evaluating emerging technological applications.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2024.57

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