e-Ticketing Task Force Seeks to Digitize Material Supply Chain on Public Infrastructure Projects

National e-Ticketing Task Force, which includes former Federal Highway Administrator Greg Nadeau, seeks to eliminate paper tickets associated with Hot Mix Asphalt, Aggregates and Ready-mix Concrete for all public infrastructure construction projects.

Highway construction projects across the U.S. produce massive amounts of paper, with the data from those infrastructure projects often lost in storage bins, warehouses and filing drawers. A newly announced industry task force seeks to change this model by transitioning the industry away from a paper-based system to a more efficient digital model.

The National Construction Materials e-Ticketing Task Force (e-Ticketing Task Force) has launched as a partnership between State Departments of Transportation, producers and contractors who are committed to digitizing the construction materials supply chain. The industry seeks to promote the use of e-Ticketing, as well as find innovative ways to enhance productivity, reduce environmental impacts and improve safety.

“The conditions exist to create a real national movement to evolving our supply chain delivery system from a paper-based system to a digital system,” stated Greg Nadeau, e-Ticketing Task Force Senior Advisor and former Federal Highway Administrator under President Obama. “The purpose of the National Construction Materials e-Ticketing Task Force is to provide the support necessary to advance e-Ticketing across the United States. We are excited to launch and we particularly look forward to more members joining us in this national effort.”

Model for Public-Private Collaboration on Digitalization

e-Ticketing is a paperless process for creating, sharing, tracking, documenting and archiving information on the movement of materials. According to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the information included within an e-ticket is accessible in real time via mobile devices and “provides all stakeholders with an electronic means to verify materials deliveries while enhancing safety, streamlining inspections, and improving contract administration procedures.”

The FHWA has included e-Ticketing as part of the Every Day Counts-6 (EDC-6) program, which it rolled out in late 2020 as a means to bi-annually introduce innovative programs and policies to be led at the local and state level for the purpose of integrating automation, shortening delivery process and improving roadway safety..

The e-Ticketing Task Force will serve as a first in the nation model for how the public and private sector can work together to facilitate the digital transformation of the construction industry. Its goal is the elimination of paper tickets associated with Hot Mix Asphalt, Aggregates and Ready-mix Concrete for all public infrastructure construction projects nationwide.

“The Task Force serves as a ‘rising tides lifts all boats’ to the national effort to digitize public infrastructure construction operations,” commented Tim Oakes, President and CEO of Digital Fleet, LCC. “We are proud to be a member because the only way e-Ticketing becomes a reality is through industry collaboration.”

“Technology adoption in the construction industry is not easy, but when you have a united front, the challenge of e-Ticketing is not so hard,” said Craig Yeack, President and Co-Founder of BCMI Corporation. “We have witnessed several states jump at the opportunity to embrace this new technology and look forward to elevating this conversation to a national level to bring everyone on board across all 50 states.”

Resources to Promote Move to “Game-changing” Process

The launch of the e-Ticketing Task Force included the debut of an informational website  that provides information for both state departments of transportation (DOTs) and materials contractors. Case studies highlight the various methods that can be used to transition to e-Ticketing and showcase recent pilot projects at the Delaware and Indiana DOTs. The site will provide industry updates and post information about future national conversations, industry conventions and events.

The launch also introduced a seven-minute video highlighting the benefits of digital ticketing. It stars task force members as well as both public and private sector DOT and contractor workers.

In the video, Nadeau noted, “Paper tickets end up in a place where data goes to die. Digital ticketing allows for better management and real-time access to project data,” and “we must use the 21st century tools that are available to us.”

Scott Fernald, Paving Manager at Granite Construction – Utah Region, and a Task Force member, agreed. “As someone who has over the years collected, tracked, coded and lost paper tickets, Granite is all in on assisting with this effort,” he said. “e-Ticketing just makes sense.”

“We know e-Ticketing is more efficient – it reduces processing time and allows for faster accounting of quantities – meaning processes that can take days now only take hours,” added Dan Ganoe, Vice President of Operations at Lindy Paving Inc., and a Task Force Co-Chair. “It’s a game changer for the construction materials industry.”

“This Task Force will establish the foundation for which all public construction projects are built on for decades to come. e-Ticketing is just the first step,” stated Joe Spinelli, founder & CEO of Haul Hub Technologies, and also a Task Force Co-Chair. “What this Task Force accomplishes in the coming years will pave the way for future engineers and project managers to be empowered to be more efficient, [safer] and ultimately happier in their job because they will have 21st Century tools that the industry has desperately been wanting for decades.”