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The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) is responsible for state roads, interstates and U. S. routes including adjacent overpasses and ramps on these roadways. Construction and maintenance of these roads is also INDOT's responsibility along with traffic control devices along these roadways, including signs and traffic signals. Local cities, counties and towns are responsible for all other roadways that are not a state road, interstate or U.S. route.

Situation:

INDOT has six district offices across the state that handle day-to-day operations such as construction and detours, traffic signal operations, permits and maintenance operations, for example, filling potholes and plowing snow, along with various other responsibilities.

Solution:

Prior to 2013, INDOT operated two paint trucks per district (one edge line truck and one center line truck). The Greenfield and Crawfordsville districts were chosen to develop and test ideas to enable the transition to painting with just one truck per district. Teams from both districts, including paint truck drivers, painters and managers, participated in a series of Value Stream Mapping (VSM) sessions facilitated by Purdue Technical Assistance Program (TAP). The Value Stream Maps were then used to identify opportunities to improve painting operations.

Results:

These improvement ideas included both process changes and physical alterations to existing paint trucks. Each district created and then followed an action plan that allowed them to test the ideas during the second half of the 2013 and first half of the 2014 paint season. Although the Crawfordsville and Greenfield districts implemented different approaches, both were able to complete all of their scheduled lane miles during the season with just one truck each.

Here is an informational video on the line paint truck project.