Transportation News, Volume 28, Number 5, February 2003 Page: 2
16 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Quality - it takes you to make it happen
by Mike Behrens
Executive Director
This month, I want to talk about
qality.
Notice anything about the last word
in the previous sentence? It's mis-
spelled. A vital "u" is missing.
It's the same in TxDOT. We need
"you" - all of you as we strive to
achieve high quality in everything we do.
Quality is the second of the three
Ts of TxDOT: accountabiliTy, qualiTy
and safeTy. In a previous issue, I talked
about accountability; next month, I'll
discuss safety.
TxDOT is taking the first steps to
re-energize its program to help each of
us meet standards for high quality in
all that we do.
Recenlty, we instituted the TxDOT
Quality Council, chaired by the depart-
ment's deputy executive director, Steve
Simmons. This group of senior TxDOT
managers will plan, implement and
monitor the department's quality process.
You can expect to hear more from this
council in the months ahead as it forges
a planned strategy to ensure we will be
able to produce quality -work.
Whether some people call our pro-,
gram "continuous quality improvement,"
"CQ," "quality circles," "TQM," or
"total quality management," the purpose
is the same. We want to do better.
It doesn't much matter what we call
our program, so long as we know qual-
ity when we see it - and so long as
we strive to achieve tha: quality.
You are the person who will make
this happen. It may be corny, but it'salso easy to remember - you are the
"u" in quality.
This is not a new idea for the people
of TxDOT. In fact, the quest for quality
has been with the people of this depart-
ment since its beginning nearly 90 years
ago. I am encouraged every day by your
efforts to see that we maintain our high-
quality standards. And I am excited by
knowing that we can achieve even
higher standards of quality.
0 Legislative session
The 78th Texas Legislature is now
in session. It's a good time to think about
our rights as Texans and to remember
our obligations as public servants.
Yes, state employees can let their
legislators know how they feel about
an issue. Nothing restricts employees,
acting as private citizens, from con-
tacting elected representatives.
However, doing it properly is critical.
We all must be able to draw the line
between departmental and personal
interests.
For example, employees may write a
letter of personal opinion on their ownstationery and send it on their own
personal time. However, an employee
may not write such a letter on TxDOT
letterhead, nor fax it on TxDOT
equipment, nor on TxDOT time.
Further, employees should not
express personal opinions when repre-
senting TxDOT. When you identify
yourself as a TxDOT employee, you
are an official representative and your
comments must be restricted to official
TxDOT positions.
The department's Legislative
Affairs Office (LAO) is best suited to
respond to legislative requests. While
responses to simple questions (project
start dates, the dollar amount of an
award, or basic department statistics)
are normally best handled as promptly
as possible, any responses to legislative
inquiries must be reported to LAO.
The department's working relation-
ships with legislators are very impor-
tant. As this session unfolds, we will
be providing the information they
need to appropriate funds so we can
continue to provide transportation sys-
tems that we all expect and deserve.Letter from the editor
To say these are challenging times is
a Texas-sized understatement. The fed-
eral government warns us to make sure
we have a sufficient supply of duct tape
and plastic to cover our windows in the
event of a chemical attack, and the
Texas Legislature struggles with a rev-
enue shortfall of $10 billion and
change.
We can't improve on the job themainstream news media are doing to
keep us informed on the national situa-
tion, from fears of terrorism at home to
the prospect of war abroad, but we can
give you a good idea of what's going to
be happening in Austin this spring. This
is the 78th regular session of our law-
making body since statehood, but one
" See Letter, Page 4Transportation NEWS
On the cover
& page 8 -
These striking views of the
Capitol at night were taken
by J. Griffis Smith, Tlavel
Division photographer.Texas Department of Transportation
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR EDITOR
Mike Behrens Mike Cox
Transportation News is published by the DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MANAGING EDITOR
TxDOT Public Information Office Steve Simmons Judith Curtis
125 E. 11th, Austin, TX 78701-2483 PUBLISHER GRAPHIC DESIGN
Phone: (512) 463-8588 Randall Dillard Buddy Allison
Circulation: 18,863
Printed by TxDOT, General Services Division
In compliance with the State Depository Law copies of this publication are available at the Texas State Library. Recycled
2003 by Texas Department of Transportation; all rights reserved. paper
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Texas. Department of Transportation. Transportation News, Volume 28, Number 5, February 2003, periodical, February 2003; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth902997/m1/2/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.