July 16, 2008
CDOT Honors Greeley Engineer for
Innovation, Customer Service
DENVER, COLORADO – Daniel Thomas of Greeley, Professional Engineer I in the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) Region 4 Traffic & Safety Section, received a CDOT Achievement Award in the double categories of Innovation and Customer Service in Denver on July 16.
Thomas was honored for his work, in addition to his regular job responsibilities as a Design Engineer for Region 4 Traffic, to develop a set of electronic tools to improve access to roadway information such as aerial photographs, traffic counts, section maps, surface conditions, intersection configurations, striping, and other important data. While this information was previously available in numerous locations, his application provides a graphic link through a map interface that facilitiates quick access to the data.
Thomas’ award was presented by the nominator, Region 4 Traffic & Safety Engineer Ina Zisman of Johnstown, who told the Colorado Transportation Commission that Thomas went even a step further when he had completed the electronic tools.
“He first developed this tool for our Region 4 routes in northeastern Colorado, where it became essential for our Engineering, Traffic, Planning, and Maintenance divisions. In many cases, it became unnecessary for our employees to make long trips to remote locations to review roadway conditions,” Zisman said. “Daniel then shared the information with the other five CDOT transportation regions and helped them get up and running with the system. As a result, our efficiency, productivity, and customer service have improved.”
During the award presentation, CDOT Executive Director Russell George told the Transportation Commission that Thomas’ achievements are another example of what he called ‘the ingenuity of CDOT employees.’ He added, “It’s remarkable. Whenever a need arises, someone in our workforce steps forward with with the answer. Daniel Thomas did an outstanding job in developing this tool to assist all of our employees.”
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