Leading Practices in Large-Scale Outsourcing and Privatization of Maintenance Functions

The purpose of this scan was to review leading state department of transportation (DOT) practices for outsourcing of maintenance activities. Outsourcing in this context refers to the use of resources not under the DOT’s direct ownership or management to maintain transportation system facilities or equipment. These resources may be engaged under leases, labor contracts, or other business arrangements. Maintenance outsourcing is practiced to a limited extent by many agencies, but typically on a small scale (e.g., through rental of specialized equipment and hiring of temporary labor). When outsourcing becomes large-scale (e.g., engaging contractors to perform selected maintenance activities within a particular district or highway corridor), complex management problems can arise. Large-scale outsourcing is sometimes implemented by spinning off or otherwise eliminating an organizational unit within an agency, then engaging private enterprise to perform the maintenance functions previously performed by in-house forces. Such instances of outsourcing may be termed privatization. An agency’s maintenance division may be asked to submit a bid to continue providing maintenance services, in what is sometimes termed managed competition with outside vendors. This scan was initially undertaken to consider privatization only. However, the practitioners comprising the scan team judged that limited experience with privatization of transportation system maintenance and the difficulty of distinguishing privatization from many other large-scale outsourcing instances would severely limit the scan’s value. The team therefore expanded its scope of inquiry to consider all maintenance outsourcing. However, the primary focus of the team’s work and of this report is large-scale outsourcing, including privatization. Unless important distinctions need to be made, this report refers to all such practices as outsourcing. The scan team undertook a review of recent experience with large-scale maintenance outsourcing to identify leading practices that might offer lessons for other agencies. The team focused particularly on: Maintenance functions and specific practices outsourced; Factors contributing to the decision to outsource maintenance; Contractual arrangements, procurement practices, and performance management; Experience with implementation of outsourcing, including obstacles encountered; and Agency self-assessment of the advantages and disadvantages of maintenance outsourcing.

• Record URL:
  http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/nchrp/docs/NCHRP20-68A_11-01.pdf
• Corporate Authors:

  Arora and Associates, P.C.

  3120 Princeton Pike, 3rd Floor
  Lawrenceville, NJ  United States  08648-2372

  American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)

  444 North Capitol Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001

  National Cooperative Highway Research Program

  Transportation Research Board
  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • Duncan, Greg
  • Brandenburg, Jennifer
  • Christopher, Robert
  • Dill, Carolyn
  • Dobbins, Caleb
  • Lattner, Tim
  • Mix, Leslie
  • Rosales, Agustin
  • Younie, Robert
  • Pletan, Rodney
  • Zimmerman, Katie
• Publication Date: 2014-7

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Edition: Domestic Scan Team Report
• Features: Appendices; Figures; Tables;
• Pagination: 96p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Contracting out; Maintenance; Privatization; State departments of transportation; State of the practice
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Maintenance and Preservation; I10: Economics and Administration; I60: Maintenance;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01541832
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: NCHRP Project 20-68A, Scan 11-01
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Oct 25 2014 11:46AM