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
March 20, 2026
While the Upper Peninsula was busy reminding us that winter isn’t done until it says so, the rest of us have been gearing up for spring construction season. As the snowflakes settle and we edge a little closer to orange‑barrel weather, our team has been tidying up reports, and working on some exciting system updates that will be coming over the next few weeks. Grab a warm drink, shake off that UP snowstorm energy, and let’s dig into what’s new this month.
Announcements
If you are in a construction oversight role (Office Tech, etc.) you may now notice a new screen within the Contract Materials and Acceptance Actions area of your contract called Contractor Material Sources (CMS). The CMS area of the system was made visible as a first step in developing some new workflows to streamline the material approval and tracking processes for construction staff. These new processes and workflows will be implemented in the coming months. At this time there is no need to place any data in this area of the system and the screens can be ignored until further notice.
System Configurations
- Stockpile Recovery Warning Message – A new warning message was created to assist offices in creating construction stockpiles for materials. A warning message will now be displayed during stockpile setup if the user inputs an item recovery percentage that causes the recovery dollar amount per item unit to exceed the contract unit price of the item.
- Update to Consultant Construction Materials Read Only roles – This role has been updated to be able to run certain reports regarding person qualifications and also now has the ability to search person qualifications like several other roles.
Report Updates
- Item Posting By Contractor Report (XLS Verison) – This report was updated to remove duplicated item posting data that was appearing on the report.
Did you know?...
AASHTOWare Project calculates subcontract value using two key sources:
- The Trucking, Brokering, and Supplying amounts entered on the General tab of the subcontract, and
- The item values entered on the subcontract Items/Item Worksheet screen.
For subcontract items, the system gives users a lot of flexibility. Instead of requiring the full contract unit price, you can enter partial values or adjust the unit of measure to better reflect the nature of the subcontract work. For example, if there is a subcontracted consultant for concrete testing, you can select any concrete item from the contract, set the subcontract item’s unit to something like “Dollars”, set the subcontract price to $1 and enter the quantity of dollars needed. The subcontract item will then have the total value of their testing services — no need to force it into a cubic yard or square yard structure just because the parent contract item uses one.
This setup ensures the subcontract value accurately represents the actual scope and pricing of the subcontractor’s work, whether it's material supply, trucking, testing, or something more specialized.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shadow Contracts | Added a new page for Shadow Contracts and added it to Special Topics link page. | See what changed here. | |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shadow Contracts | Updated "Background" information related to Shadow Contracts to reflect Progressive Design Builds along with some clarifications to "Adding Items" | See what changed here. | |
| Main Page | Added training registration section to main page. | See what changed here. | |
| Pay Estimates Appendix A | Updated Appendix A to better show pre-programmed approval workflows. | See what changed here. | |
| Change Orders | Updated Appendix A to better show pre-programmed workflows and edited directions for manually creating Change Order workflow. | See what changed here. | |
| Materials Acceptance | Added content for how to Copy Material Approvals when working with Sample Records. | See what changed here. | |
| Generating Materials and Acceptance Actions | Updated Generating Materials and Acceptance Actions. | See what changed here. | |
| 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
[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:
- 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.
