The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) has sought to reduce expenditures by better utilizing their maintenance forces through a compressed workweek. The focus of this thesis is a before and after comparison of maintenance crews at TxDOT during a standard 5-day forty hour workweek and a compressed 4-day forty hour workweek. Compressed workweeks are work arrangements in which full-time employees are allowed to work longer days for part of the week or pay period in exchange for shorter days or a day off during the same week or pay period. This type of schedule allows for numerous benefits including increased productivity, additional time to handle personal business, less travel time, less start up and shut down time, improved morale, as well as less stress. Originally three districts were placed upon the compressed workweek but after four months of trial, three additional districts were included. Maintenance activity data from previous years was compared to data collected over the trial period to assess productivity impacts as well as vehicular travel. Surveys of maintenance crews were conducted throughout the study to address personal concerns. The results of the study were that there were no significant impacts to productivity or vehicular usage but a significant improvement in work conditions for the maintenance crews. Further assessment is recommended utilizing additional functional codes for more illustrative results. / text

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Ohio State University, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 184-196).

With the increasing need for highway maintenance and the decreasingly available funds, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Austin District has sought to better utilize maintenance section employee resources by implementing a compressed workweek. The primary goal of this thesis is to establish a framework and methodology to study the effects of a compressed workweek on maintenance crews in both rural and urban environments. Secondly, this thesis will provide a background of best practices of popular flexible work arrangements, including compressed workweeks, telework, and flextime. The compressed workweek is a type of flexible work arrangement that allows employees to work longer days during a part of the week in exchange for a partial or full day off later in the week. Compressed workweeks can offer numerous benefits to maintenance crews, including increased production, less set up and shut down time per week, decreased operating costs, reduced overhead, and increased employee morale. TxDOT will implement a six-month pilot project in two rural maintenance sections and one urban section. Compressed workweeks have proven to be successful in other districts with rural maintenance sections, but application of a compressed workweek in an urban maintenance section has yet to be studied. Therefore, maintenance crew activity data from previous years will be compared to data collected during the trial period to understand changes in productivity and to estimate vehicle operating costs. Lastly, surveys of maintenance employees will be conducted throughout the study to solve any personal issues that arise as well as determine employee satisfaction with the new schedule. / text

This thesis, as its title indicates, deals primarily with the economic aspects of shorter hours. The emphasis throughout the thesis is upon economic principles combined with explanatory factual material. With labor issues on the front pages of newspapers, the reader may acquire many miscellaneous scraps of information about labor, but he generally lacks an understanding of the underlying forces that explain the surface facts. If, however, a firm theoretical foundation is developed to which various factual material may be attached in a meaningful manner, not only is the reader less likely to forget the facts but he has a basis for interpreting new data and current affairs. He then is in a position to relate new facts to old ones and to evaluate existing labor policies. / Master of Science

The present rate of fossil fuel burning, the main source of commercial energy, is adversely impacting global climate. Present social and economic practices need to be examined to question their level of energy use and related greenhouse gas emission. Energy used to operate buildings and to transport people is a significant portion of the total energy consumption and reductions in these uses will be crucial to addressing the global issues. This thesis examines the potential for energy use reduction in the performance of office work through the use of Alternative Work Arrangements ("AWAs"). The analysis considers the operating energy of an office building, operating energy of alternative work locations and the transportation energy spent by employees in commuting from home to work. A brief synopsis of the present atmospheric, energy use and workplace trend is presented. The synthesis of these trends is used as a framework to evaluate the impact of AWAs. The work arrangements in the Burnaby Fraser Tax Services Office ('BFTSO'), Surrey, BC are used as a case study to analyze the operating and commuting energy spent by the employees working by different arrangements. Telework is found to be the most energy efficient work arrangement implemented at the BFTSO. Under optimum operating conditions, net energy saving per teleworker can be 34.06 GJ per annum. Net savings in greenhouse gas emission per teleworker can be 1950 kg per annum. For hoteling work arrangement, net energy savings per hoteling employee under optimum conditions can be 32 GJ per annum. Related savings in greenhouse gas emissions can be 1532 kg per annum. The proportion of total operating and total commuting energy for the BFTSO is almost equal. However, the greenhouse gas emission from total commuting energy is three times that from operating energy due to differences in carbon intensity of the fuel mix. Under optimum conditions the implementation of AWAs at the BFTSO can result in 36 percent saving in total operating energy and 43 percent saving in total commuting energy. The magnitude of the savings is location dependent due to differences in climate, fuel mix and transportation patterns. Alternative Work Arrangements have mixed social impact. It can improve the ability of employees to balance their personal and professional life. It can also lead to isolation that can adversely impact morale and work output. The participation rate in AWAs within organizations is currently low, less than 2 percent. However, the implementation of AWA is widespread with most organizations using some form of AWA. To increase the participation rate in AWAs, a comprehensive approach needs to be adopted, considering the professional, personal, economic and social impact of AWAs. Government intervention through supporting regulations and incentives can be a strong catalyst for increasing participation rates in AWAs.

The present rate of fossil fuel burning, the main source of commercial energy, is adversely impacting global climate. Present social and economic practices need to be examined to question their level of energy use and related greenhouse gas emission. Energy used to operate buildings and to transport people is a significant portion of the total energy consumption and reductions in these uses will be crucial to addressing the global issues. This thesis examines the potential for energy use reduction in the performance of office work through the use of Alternative Work Arrangements ("AWAs"). The analysis considers the operating energy of an office building, operating energy of alternative work locations and the transportation energy spent by employees in commuting from home to work. A brief synopsis of the present atmospheric, energy use and workplace trend is presented. The synthesis of these trends is used as a framework to evaluate the impact of AWAs. The work arrangements in the Burnaby Fraser Tax Services Office ('BFTSO'), Surrey, BC are used as a case study to analyze the operating and commuting energy spent by the employees working by different arrangements. Telework is found to be the most energy efficient work arrangement implemented at the BFTSO. Under optimum operating conditions, net energy saving per teleworker can be 34.06 GJ per annum. Net savings in greenhouse gas emission per teleworker can be 1950 kg per annum. For hoteling work arrangement, net energy savings per hoteling employee under optimum conditions can be 32 GJ per annum. Related savings in greenhouse gas emissions can be 1532 kg per annum. The proportion of total operating and total commuting energy for the BFTSO is almost equal. However, the greenhouse gas emission from total commuting energy is three times that from operating energy due to differences in carbon intensity of the fuel mix. Under optimum conditions the implementation of AWAs at the BFTSO can result in 36 percent saving in total operating energy and 43 percent saving in total commuting energy. The magnitude of the savings is location dependent due to differences in climate, fuel mix and transportation patterns. Alternative Work Arrangements have mixed social impact. It can improve the ability of employees to balance their personal and professional life. It can also lead to isolation that can adversely impact morale and work output. The participation rate in AWAs within organizations is currently low, less than 2 percent. However, the implementation of AWA is widespread with most organizations using some form of AWA. To increase the participation rate in AWAs, a comprehensive approach needs to be adopted, considering the professional, personal, economic and social impact of AWAs. Government intervention through supporting regulations and incentives can be a strong catalyst for increasing participation rates in AWAs. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Architecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA), School of / Graduate