Browsing by Subject "Guidelines"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Cost/Benefit Analysis of the Effectiveness of Crack Sealing Techniques
    (Minnesota Department of Transportation., 2019-06) Barman, Manik; Munch, Jared; Arepalli, Uma M
    Crack sealing is an important preventive treatment in the pavement preservation program. To achieve a cost-effective crack seal, it is important to select a proper crack sealing method. While Minnesota usually seals cracks in asphalt pavements, there is no clear consensus on the most appropriate crack sealing method for a specific job. This study focused on developing a guideline so that a cost-effective crack sealing method could be chosen based on pavement type, functional condition, pavement age, and traffic volume etc. This study includes a literature review, online survey, field performance data collection and analysis, and development of a guideline. The effectiveness of the crack seals was determined using a benefit-cost analysis. Two decision trees were developed for choosing the most appropriate crack sealing method. The first, which can be used in MnDOT’s pavement management system, needs information such as crack severity, pavement type (new vs overlay), pavement analysis period and design life, traffic level, and crack seal occurrence number. The second decision tree, which is a simplified version of the first and can be used by the preventive maintenance crews and requires less information: crack severity, traffic level, and crack sealing occurrence number.
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    Development of Best Practices for Inspection of PT Bridges in Minnesota
    (Minnesota Department of Transportation, 2012-04) Berg, Kyle Matthew; Schokker, Andrea J.
    This report focuses on post-tensioned bridges built in Minnesota prior to 2003. The scope is limited to providing a targeted check of bridges that are most likely to have grouting related corrosion problems based on a review of plans and inspection notes. The project consisted of three phases: 1) review of plans and inspection reports of 40 post-tensioned bridges constructed prior to 2003, 2) selection of 10 bridges for a limited onsite inspection of the exterior of the bridge, and 3) invasive inspection of three select bridges. The bridges were selected to represent different bridge construction types to provide a spot check of the post-tensioned bridge inventory in Minnesota. One of the three bridges has corrosion and voids due to poor grouting, one has major corrosion problem related to construction issues (but appears to have good grout), and one showed no tendon corrosion or grouting problems during the invasive spot checks. Recommendations are given at the end of the report specific to the bridges that were investigated as well as for a general inspection plan for post-tensioned bridges in Minnesota. A concise guide for bridge inspection staff is provided that is specific to post-tensioned bridges.
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    Exhibiting Racism: How collections of difficult cultural heritage are (not) being presented at two universities in the Midwest United States
    (2022-12) Hammer, Jennifer K.
    This paper is about the study and practice of presenting cultural heritage material remains of systemic racism, a form of "difficult cultural heritage" that challenges the "dominant culture narrative" with a "negative self-history". A literature review defines terms, situates the subject within museum history and trends, shows how it is relevant to current scholarship, and connects it to contemporary U.S. cultural debates and museum practices; thus revealing an industry-standard framework that can be used in the exhibition of difficult cultural heritages. This framework is then applied to current exhibition practices at two Midwest university organizations -- the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at the University of Minnesota, and the Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia at Ferris State University in Michigan -- concluding with recommendations for the organizations, followed by discussion and reflection.
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    The Restaurant GHG Guidelines: An Operational Greenhouse Gas Emissions Accounting Protocol for Restaurants
    (2016-05) Messier, Joseph
    This thesis proposes the Restaurant GHG Guideline, a holistic protocol, to document and assess the greenhouse gas emissions generated by processes that occur both directly and indirectly in the operation of a restaurant. Existing greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting protocols either have a narrow focus on emissions from processes that occur directly on the site of the building and indirectly as a result of purchased energy consumption on site or offer only general guidance for identifying emissions sources throughout organizations’ supply chains. For restaurant operations, many offsite processes are necessary to produce goods or services that are critical to their economic success, and therefore carry much weight in management decisions. By including emissions sources throughout a restaurant’s supply chain, this guideline identifies significant hot-spot emissions sources. It provides calculation methods for identifying GHG emissions generated at the scale of individual components, creating a more effective inventory for operators to develop targeted reduction initiatives. Historic operational data from a test case restaurant is used to illustrate how the specificity of the tool can help restaurant operators identify GHG emissions hot-spots at the level of individual components. By utilizing this guideline to identify these emission sources, restaurant operators can then create targeted reduction strategies.