Spotlight on Community Involvement – Project Task Force (PTF)

March 03, 2025

My Journey to the Task Force – Charlie Groshens, Minnesota Department of Transportation

My journey may be a little different from most who were or are on the AASHTOWare Project Task Force (PTF), as I would say I grew up with AWP as a member of the original state group that brought together the concept of the Civil Rights and Labor (CRL) module. At the time, I was the Supervisor of the Labor Compliance Unit within MnDOT’s Office of Construction and Innovative Contracting, and I was directed by my management to develop a process to help reduce storage costs for certified payrolls due to Al Gore’s Paper Reduction Act.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, I met with several software companies to develop a program for handling the acceptance and certification of contractor payrolls.

In 2003, I started working with staff from our Civil Rights Office on use cases for a new Civil Rights and Labor program. We issued an RFI based on the developed use cases, but the final cost of developing the program on our own was prohibitive.

The concept was presented at the 2004 TEA/TUG.

In early 2005, 17 agencies met in Minnesota to collaborate on the development of all-agency use cases based on the original MnDOT use cases. These new use cases were presented to InfoTech for an estimate. After AASHTO received the estimate, 12 states responded to the solicitation for funding. The CRLMS TRT was formed in late summer 2005, and the actual work began in 2006. Two groups were formed from the 12-member TRT: the Civil Rights Group and the Labor Group. I was appointed as the TRT Labor Group Leader.

The CRLMS TAG was formed shortly after, and I was appointed as the TAG Co-Coordinator in 2008 and the TAG Coordinator in 2011. I was elected to the PUG Board of Directors as Vice Chair in 2013 and served for three years on the board.

In 2015, I was appointed to the AASHTOWare Project Task Force (PTF) and began my first three-year term in July 2016.

In 2018, MnDOT created a new section, the Project Data Management Section (PDMS), to manage AASHTOWare Project and Bentley products used by the department.

In 2019, I applied for and was appointed to PDMS as an AASHTOWare Supervisor to manage the full suite of modules utilized by the department.

I continued with the PTF until July 2024. Serving on the Board of Directors of a major national organization put me in a unique position to become the Director of PDMS and EUD in 2022.

It was great to meet and work closely with people from across the country. To me, the Task Force was almost like a family, with the objective of building the best product possible within the budget we were provided. I also aimed to keep MnDOT’s interests in play but not to the detriment of the product. My experience with MnDOT and the product helped me make the best decisions possible regarding its enhancement as a whole.

I would add that my management sees the value in having staff involved at all levels of AASHTO—from MAASTO to SCOA, PTF, and TAGs. Their confidence in staff participation in the product and in protecting MnDOT’s interests is a big reason why I have been able to assist in co-funding TMR over the years.