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AASHTOWare Project Construction & Materials

Software Manual

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.

Training Registration

All upcoming APCM training sessions can be found and booked online through our dedicated registration pages. Please visit the following links to view available dates, reserve your spot, and access session details.

For Contractors: Michigan APCM for Contractors (Hosted by Infotech)

For MDOT, Local Agency, and Consultant Staff: AASHTOWare Project Construction & Materials Bookings Page

Please note that trainings are offered and based on your job function (office technician, engineer, inspector, etc.) and not your agency affiliation. Trainings are also scheduled based on need, so if the listed dates and times do not work for you, please contact the Help Desk to request alternative options. For any questions or assistance, reach out to [email protected].

Construction Technology News

December 19, 2025

As the year wraps up, we want to thank you for being part of our community and helping us grow. Behind the scenes, our team of “tech elves” has been hard at work crafting exciting new updates to make your experience even better in the year ahead! In this holiday edition, you’ll find helpful tips and the latest news. So, grab a cup of cocoa, settle in, and let’s celebrate the season of progress and possibilities together.

Happy Holidays from the Construction Technology Team!

Announcements

• FieldNet Outage – Both CAS and FieldNet will be unavailable starting at 2:00 pm on January 8th, but will be back up and available no later than start of business on Friday, January 9th. The outage is due to server upgrades.

System Configurations

• FieldManager Contractor Read Only File Process – The scheduled process that creates the FieldManager Contractor Read Only files for AASHTOWare Project contracts has been re-schedule to run every Thursday morning.

• Personnel Fields on The Contract General Tab – Minor updates have been completed to a few fields that were not functioning the same as the other fields. All personnel fields on the general tab should now function the same.

Guidance Updates

• Change Order Approvals Guidance Reminder – Managing offices are reminded that, per policy, contractors have 21 days to review and approve each change order. AASHTOWare Project automatically applies the correct approval workflow for most change orders, so office technicians generally do not need to manually add approval groups to each change order. Updated charts and guidance are available on the AASHTOWare Project wiki—see Appendix A on the Change Order page for details. When the correct change order type is selected on the General tab of the change order, the system assigns the appropriate workflow upon submission. If the contractor does not approve within 21 days, the system sends an email notification to the office technician, who may then approve the change order on the contractor’s behalf.

Did you know?...

That if you get a new computer you may have to adjust some Microsoft Word and Edge settings that you previously changed for AASHTOWare Project. These settings can affect the way reports open and how text is copied and pasted from Microsoft Word. You can review directions on updating these settings on the Special Topics page.

To view previous news articles, visit the Construction Technology News Archive.

Recent Updates

Recent Major Changes

The table below is a list of Major changes.

Updated	Page	Summary	What Changed
10/16/2025	Shadow Contracts	Added a new page for Shadow Contracts and added it to Special Topics link page.	See what changed here.
05/07/2024	Daily Work Reports	Removed Material Comments and Sources section and updated New section related to Posting Item and Material Quantities to a Daily Work Report	See what changed here.
04/15/2024	Contract Administration	New section related to Adding Subcontracts	See what changed here.
4/1/2022	Materials Acceptance	Created new page for related content	N/A
6/16/2021	-	Uploaded manual.	N/A

Recent Minor Changes

The table below is a list of Minor changes.

Updated	Page	Summary	What Changed
1/8/2026	Main Page	Added training registration section to main page.	See what changed here.
12/9/2025	Pay Estimates Appendix A	Updated Appendix A to better show pre-programmed approval workflows.	See what changed here.
12/8/2025	Change Orders	Updated Appendix A to better show pre-programmed workflows and edited directions for manually creating Change Order workflow.	See what changed here.
3/20/2024	Materials Acceptance	Added content for how to Copy Material Approvals when working with Sample Records.	See what changed here.
12/26/2024	Generating Materials and Acceptance Actions	Updated Generating Materials and Acceptance Actions.	See what changed here.
09/12/2024	Main Page	Updated the Construction Technology News section for Fiscal Year-End updates.	See Main Page changes here.
08/29/2024	Main Page	Updated the Construction Technology News section for August system updates. Updated guidance on entering subcontracts for trucking.	See Main Page changes here. See Subcontract changes here.
06/20/2024	Change Orders	Updated content related to verifying funding source. Funding field is no longer shown on the screen in APCM, Related bullet point removed from following Change Order Sections: Adding New Items to a Contract with a Change Order Adding Unattached Items Modifying Contract Items (Modified Originals)	See what changed here.
04/15/2024	Change Orders	Updated content related to verifying funding source in the following Change Order Sections: Adding New Items to a Contract with a Change Order Adding Unattached Items Modifying Contract Items (Modified Originals)	See what changed here.
04/15/2024	Daily Work Reports	Added note specifically related to Approving Daily Work Reports	See what changed here.
04/15/2024	Main Page	Update related to the release of AASHTOWare Project 5.00	See Construction Technology News
03/01/2024	Special Topics	Created new Special Topics Page for Final Project Review Reporting	See what changed here.
01/30/2024	Contract Administration	Created section related to Transferring Contracts Between Offices	See what changed here.
01/08/2024	Contract Administration - Closing and Archiving a Contract	Updated steps for Closing and Archiving a Contract.	See what changed here.
01/09/2023	Mobile Applications	Provided content related to Syncing Contracts with Mobile Inspector	Next section added [here]
09/29/2022	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.
03/29/2022	Access and Roles - Available Roles	Added page to main menu and added role names and descriptions to page.	Tables for abbreviations and role names
03/24/2022	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
8	Unattached Items	Currently, the system will incorrectly pay the entire posted quantity of an Unattached Item, up to that Payment Estimate period end date and does not account for any overrun based on related agency options settings.	7/28/2023	Currently running a SQL statement weekly, to proactively identify which contracts are affected, once identified Contracts will be manualy adjusted to assure proper payment.	Escalated APR-26692 to Critical status, will be a patch for APCM 4.8	Open
9	Materials Section within the Wiki	Please remove the phone number for the help desk as noted, below.	2/29/2024			Open	Materials Acceptance - AASHTOWare Wiki (state.mi.us)
10	Pay Estimate Exception, Item/Material being flagged as insufficient	A new known issue has been discovered within APCM and we are working with InfoTech to correct the issue.If materials are posted to the wrong source, our guidance has been to back out the posting with an opposite/negative posting if a DWR revision is not possible. This guidance is still valid, however we have discovered that in some instances the system is getting locked up and not resetting the insufficient flag, thus continuing to claim the material is insufficient even after the user has corrected the issue by posting a negative material / source posting.	8/20/2024	If you believe you are experiencing this known issue, please double check your materials, sources, and approval documentation to ensure that the item should be paid.  An override for the exception can be used to force payment remembering that you must add a comment when overriding the exception.	Other states have also reported this issue and we are working with InfoTech to get a patch to fix this issue.	Open

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
[email protected]

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:

1. Hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public.
2. Perform Services only in areas of their competence.
3. Issue public statement only in an objective and truthful manner.
4. Act for each employer or client as faithful agents or trustees.
5. Avoid deceptive acts.
6. 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.