An action model to identify the areas of expertise to be developed by operating staff in the field of winter road maintenance.

In 2004, AQTR undertook, over a 3-year period, a redesign of its trainingprogram on winter road maintenance in collaboration with the industry's stakeholders. The development method used by AQTR for its proposed trainingis based on a concept using consensus-building between key stakeholders in the field. Therefore, it ensures the relevance of the technical content and the achievement of training objectives targeted by clients, and an optimal transfer of knowledge made possible through a strategic alliance withan R&D center specialized in the development of innovative didactic tools. This approach is a three-step process: planning (needs analysis), training courses development and program implementation. The training program put in place by committees includes twelve technical training courses on diverse aspects of winter maintenance. It constitutes a knowledge distribution tool of which the industry has great need, particularly cities and both public and private enterprises working in the field. It meets the needs ofoperating staff-managers, supervisors and operators-working in winter maintenance over the entire Canadian territory. The project as a whole is a large scale R&D initiative that required a concerted effort from all the stakeholders involved in the area of winter maintenance. For the covering abstract see ITRD E143097.