Introduction
Welcome to the MDOT AASHTOWare Project Construction & Materials Software Manual!
AASHTOWare Project Construction & Materials is a fast, easy-to-use, web-based system for documenting construction progress, initiating contractor payment, and communicating with your agency's central office administration applications. Construction & Materials focuses on refining the work flow of construction contract management at all agency levels. With Construction & Materials, the field office can manage field-gathered data and then interface with a central office. Construction & Materials allows several users to update contract information, and it implements a shared database to expand an agency's data sharing ability. This user's guide is the key to discovering Construction & Materials’ vast capabilities and is a valuable resource both for novice and experienced users.
For more background information regarding AASHTOWare Project software visit the AASHTOWare Project webpage or the AASHTOWare Project Construction & Materials webpage.
Construction Technology News
AASHTOWare Project 5.00 is here!
On April 15th MDOT upgraded to the 5.00 version of AASHTOWare Project software. By upgrading from version 4.8 to 5.00, MDOT is now able to take advantage of the more than 180 fixes and enhancements that were resolved or added across the system. Many of the fixes were behind the scenes and won’t be directly apparent to you as a user. However, there were a few that we would like to point out that will show up in the new version. We have compiled the list below with some matching updates to this manual.
- The drop-down options on the funding field in the change order area have been simplified and should only now show the correct funding for the new item based on the project category chosen when adding new items to the contract.
- The policy that creators of DWRs cannot approve their own DWR has now fully been implemented in the system and the office tech role is being changed back to allow them to see their own DWRs under the Office Technician roles.
- Some estimate errors that occur while the estimate is being created will now be shown to the user in a pop-up message like other errors and warnings.
- The blue bar that contains the save button and corresponding action menu will now travel with you as you scroll long pages. This should make navigation and saving on pages with long lists easier.
- A new tab in the subcontract entry area has been added. This tab contains a scrollable grid similar to an excel spreadsheet and should make subcontract entry easier.
Recent Updates
Recent Major Changes
The table below is a list of Major changes.
| Updated | Page | Summary | What Changed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contract Administration | New section related to Adding Subcontracts | See what changed here. | |
| Created new page for related content | N/A | ||
| Uploaded manual. | N/A |
Recent Minor Changes
The table below is a list of Minor changes.
| Updated | Page | Summary | What Changed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Change Orders | Updated content related to verifying funding source in the following Change Order Sections: | See what changed here. | |
| Daily Work Reports | Added note specifically related to Approving Daily Work Reports | See what changed here. | |
| Main Page | Update related to the release of AASHTOWare Project 5.00 | See Construction Technology News | |
| Special Topics | Created new Special Topics Page for Final Project Review Reporting | See what changed here. | |
| Contract Administration | Created section related to Transferring Contracts Between Offices | See what changed here. | |
| Contract Administration - Closing and Archiving a Contract | Updated steps for Closing and Archiving a Contract. | See what changed here. | |
| Mobile Applications | Provided content related to Syncing Contracts with Mobile Inspector | Next section added [here] | |
| Change Orders | Minor updates to clarify use of New Items tab for a change order. | Changed title of Contract Items section and added explanation note to adding new items. | |
| Access and Roles - Available Roles | Added page to main menu and added role names and descriptions to page. | Tables for abbreviations and role names | |
| Contract Administration - Closing and Archiving a Contract | Updated the Workflow Phase selection when archiving a contract. | "Archived Contract" was changed to "Finance Closeout" |
Tracked Known Issues
Most Recent Identified Known Issues
| Issue Number | Area of Impact | Description | Date Identified | Workaround | Fix Plan | Fix Status | Manual Reference Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | System Wide | When running a report that outputs in an Microsoft Excel file or other Microsoft Office file format, the report does not download and the system provides an ".htm" file that shows an error | 6/15/2022 | N/A | User needs to udpate Microsoft Edge settings | Closed | Updating Microsoft Edge Settings for Reports |
| 4 | Payments, Insufficient Materials | An update appears to have cause some materials that previously were approved to now show as insufficient. | 9/1/2022 | N/A | The issues has been verified to be inconsistent sources listed on DWRs and Sample Records. Office Technicians and Inspectors are advised to take note and care when recording material sources in the system. Reports are being developed to assist with data verification. | Closed | |
| 5 | Payments, $0 priced items | $0 priced items can cause the create payment estimate process to stop when a $0 priced item has any type of payment estimate exception that causes a payment item adjustment (insufficient material, overrun, etc.). | 11/2/2022 | Office Technicians are encouraged to process all material approvals and change orders prior to creating estimates. A DWR temporarily backing out the posting of the $0 priced item, with a negative posting, can temporarily allow estimates to be created until the proper material approvals and change orders for the $0 priced items can be processed. Once material approvals and change orders are processed to avoid payment exceptions, a followup DWR can be made to restore the original item posting. | TBD | Pending | |
| 6 | DWR, Item Quantities | On a DWR, an error is being returned when trying to post item quantities to the third decimal place. (example: 0.123) | 3/15/2023 | N/A | An emergency ticket has been submitted to DTMB to allow three decimal places for postings. | Pending | |
| 7 | Subcontracts, Approval Dates, DWR, Item Quantities | The 4.8 upgrade process appears to have caused data loss of the already entered approval dates for subcontracts. This is preventing the posting of quantities to subcontractors. | 3/15/2023 | The approval date can be manually re-entered to allow postings. | An emergency Ticket has been submitted to DTMB to restore the missing data. | Pending |
Tracked Issues Complete List
The complete list of tracked known issues can be found on the Known Issues List page.
Support Information
AASHTOWare Construction & Materials Helpdesk
MDOT-ConstructionSoftware@michigan.gov
Preamble
This manual provides guidance to administrative, engineering, and technical staff. Engineering practice requires that professionals use a combination of technical skills and judgment in decision making. Engineering judgment is necessary to allow decisions to account for unique site-specific conditions and considerations to provide high quality products, within budget, and to protect the public health, safety, and welfare. This manual provides the general operational guidelines; however, it is understood that adaptation, adjustments, and deviations are sometimes necessary. Innovation is a key foundational element to advance the state of engineering practice and develop more effective and efficient engineering solutions and materials. As such, it is essential that our engineering manuals provide a vehicle to promote, pilot, or implement technologies or practices that provide efficiencies and quality products, while maintaining the safety, health, and welfare of the public. It is expected when making significant or impactful deviations from the technical information from these guidance materials, that reasonable consultations with experts, technical committees, and/or policy setting bodies occur prior to actions within the timeframes allowed. It is also expected that these consultations will eliminate any potential conflicts of interest, perceived or otherwise. MDOT Leadership is committed to a culture of innovation to optimize engineering solutions. The National Society of Professional Engineers Code of Ethics for Engineering is founded on six fundamental canons. Those canons are provided below. Engineers, in the fulfillment of their professional duties, shall:
- Hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public.
- Perform Services only in areas of their competence.
- Issue public statement only in an objective and truthful manner.
- Act for each employer or client as faithful agents or trustees.
- Avoid deceptive acts.
- Conduct themselves honorably, reasonably, ethically and lawfully so as to enhance the honor, reputation, and usefulness of the profession.
Additional information about MDOT Construction Practices and Policies can be found on the Wiki Construction Manual.
For additional information about the AASHTOWare Wiki and to submit revision suggestions, please contact the AASHTOWare Construction & Materials Helpdesk.
