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
December 19, 2024
As we bring 2024 to a close, we have a few report updates and a few other things to share with you for the December release train. The Construction Technology Unit wishes everyone a safe and happy holiday season!
Announcements
- For the week of Christmas, estimates will be due to Finance by Noon on Monday, December 23rd, as payments staff will be out of the office on Tuesday and Wednesday. Estimates submitted for final approval after this deadline will be processed the following week.
- For the week of New Years Holiday, estimates will be due to Finance by Noon on Monday, December 30th, as payments staff will be out of the office on Tuesday and Wednesday. Estimates submitted for final approval after this deadline will be processed the following week.
- Please mark your calendars, a required technical upgrade is coming to FieldNet next month. The upgrade will occur January 24th, 2025 from 5:00pm to 6:00pm. The update requires a new agency configuration file to be loaded along with a few other steps. Detailed directions and the new configuration file will be distributed separately.
Report Updates
- Change Order Report – The attachments area of the report has been updated to include hyperlinks for easy access to DWR attachments.
- Payment Estimate Exception Report – The report has been updated to include the contractor associated with the item exception.
- DWRs by Contractor Report – This report was created to show the DWRs that are associated with specific contractors.
- Project Category Level Contract Item Status XLS Report – This report was created and is similar to the Contract Item Status Report XLS, but is broken down by project and category.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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. | |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main Page | Updated the Construction Technology News section for Fiscal Year-End updates. | See Main Page changes here. | |
| Main Page | Updated the Construction Technology News section for August system updates. Updated guidance on entering subcontracts for trucking. | See Main Page changes here. | |
| 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: | See what changed here. | |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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
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.
