The Minnesota Department of Transportation will interview manufacturers and other freight haulers in southeast Minnesota this fall to inform and guide its efforts for the state’s transportation system in the region.

More than 100 interviews are scheduled through November in MnDOT District 6, which is an 11-county region in southeast Minnesota. The effort is called Manufacturers’ Perspectives on Minnesota’s Transportation System.

The program’s goals are to:

Better understand business perspectives and priorities for transportation

Better align the transportation system with shippers’ needs with low-cost, high-value solutions

Support continuous improvement at MnDOT with on-going input from this customer segment.

Manufacturers, freight-related businesses, and other employers in MnDOT District 6 are being invited to participate in 1-hour on-site interviews. The final report will be finished in 2018.

MnDOT has conducted four other Manufacturers’ Perspectives projects and has another project starting in its metro district. The southeast Minnesota survey is expected to produce the largest number of interviews of any of the projects to date.

Manufacturers and other businesses were selected based on a variety of criteria to ensure that the southeast region is represented. MnDOT is partnering in this effort with local economic development organizations in Southeast Minnesota, the Department of Employment and Economic Development, Minnesota Management and Budget, and the University of Minnesota.

“We’re very interested in learning from the people who use our transportation system and rely on it daily,” said Jeff Vlaminck, District 6 engineer and MnDOT’s leader in southeast Minnesota. “We want to know what works and where we can improve.”

Vlaminck also likes the fact that MnDOT District 6 employees across many departments are involved in the interview process, which is likely to lead to better connections with manufacturers and better communication beyond the project.

The final report for Southeast Minnesota is expected in 2018. To read final reports from other MnDOT districts, go to: www.dot.state.mn.us/ofrw/mps.html

For more information about the Manufacturers’ Perspectives project, please contact: Donna Koren, market research director, 651-366-4840, donna.koren@state.mn.us.