Personnel for Transportation Agencies
Administrative and technical positions in transportation and highway agencies are still largely in the hands of and controlled by civil engineers. In certain states, neither an engineering education nor professional registration is required of the chief executive officer; but the great majority of other key persons must be so qualified. In the more important positions, engineers have heavy administrative functions and are in constant contact with elected officials and the public. Recognition by educators that all engineers in key positions have such duties has brought added attention to nontechnical subjects such as written and spoken English and management skills.
Highway and public, transportation agencies today need many skills other than engineering. A typical roster could well include technical specialists in fields such as planning, geology, computer science, economics, political science, anthropology, and possibly archaeology and others from the social sciences, as well as specialists in administration and business. To meet these needs, many agencies have developed in-service professional and preprofessional educational programs. The aim of many of the programs for professionals is to provide rapid development and rounding out of young engineers to fit them for planning, design, or administrative positions of responsibility. Such an approach is necessary since it is seldom possible today for young engineers to have and maintain technical and management competence on their own.
Some highway agencies have instituted in-house management training pro grams for engineers and others in administrative positions. An alternative is to send them to management schools such as those sponsored by AASHTO or given by management consultants or universities.7
A degree-level education commonly is not required for preprofessional employees such as surveyors, draftsmen, inspectors, and computer programmers. Many of them begin employment after two years in a community college or through a training program. In many agencies, attractive civil-service progression leading to positions of reasonable responsibility and prestige have been developed for them. Procedures for certifying such personnel are available through
FHWA.
Developments in such fields as photogrammetry and computer-based planning, design, computation, drafting, scheduling, and record keeping, coupled with a widespread substitution of technicians, draftsmen, and clerks for engineers on routine assignments, have drastically altered the role of engineers in transportation and highway agencies.8 Further changes can be anticipated as new approaches to transportation develop and the emphasis shifts from design and construction toward rehabilitation, maintenance, and operation.
Title Post: Personnel for Transportation Agencies
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Author: aditya
Rating: 100% based on 99998 ratings. 5 user reviews.
Author: aditya
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