Jason Jones

Greasing the gears between people, process, and tech, so the whole system works better.

Who I Am

I am a problem solver by nature, an engineer by education, and an operations guy by experience. I cut through the noise, frame the problem, and implement effective solutions—with or without technology.

My Story

Transforming Bureaucracy Into Performance

I started as a field engineer in operations-intensive work—large crews, diverse equipment and materials, tight weather windows, and a 24/7, all-season operation (highway maintenance at the DOT). We were a large, inefficient organization, but I saw that we didn't have to be. With support from trusting leadership, we transformed the operation into a lean, performance-driven organization—with measured outcomes and costs. We successfully changed both the operations and the culture. Then I took it statewide. As Statewide Maintenance Director, the scale jumped: a 1,500-person staff, a nine-figure operating budget, and the responsibility to keep thousands of miles of roads and bridges in shape. With a team that bought in, we built a performance-driven organization that cut costs, increased output, improved quality, and measured results. We knew our core business and our unit costs, and contractors couldn't compete with us. Along the way, we developed and empowered leaders who could sustain and grow the culture of performance.

Building Software for Real Users

After a couple of decades, I moved into software—a new world at the time, building SaaS and IoT systems for tracking assets and managing large mixed fleets for contractors and public agencies. My operations background and experience managing large fleets provided a deep understanding of customer needs. With an outcomes mindset and curiosity, I dug in wherever I could help. As small teams often require, I wore many hats—with my hands in product design and prototyping, software development, testing and validation, data analysis and cleaning (large datasets), customer support, custom client projects, and product documentation and training. Over six years, I learned to design, build, and apply technology that improves operations: tools people actually use and data shaped to their decisions—and I learned just as much about what doesn't work.

The Consulting Chapter

I was always skeptical of consultants-how did I become one? What began as helping a colleague solve an operational problem grew into my focus—helping small and mid-sized organizations make operations run cleaner and cost less. I bring an outside set of eyes and a pragmatic playbook: define outcomes, map what's really happening, isolate the few levers that move results, identify where tools and technology add value, design simple steps people actually run, and set an execution cadence with visible measures. Depending on the job, that can mean an operational deep dive, process documentation, an AI readiness check or roadmap, lightweight tools or prototypes to prove value, or training and change support so improvements last. If tech or AI pays back, we use it; if not, we don't.

How I Work

I stay hands-on and intentionally lean—that's one of the advantages of AI. I like to work with real people, on projects where I can make an impact. I'm not a big-firm model chasing utilization and billable hours. When I need extra capacity or specialty expertise, I bring in trusted people from my network, and lead the work. If you're chasing measurable improvements—in ops, processes, or people—or you're considering where AI and tech might fit, let's talk—maybe I can help.

Beyond the Work

I'm good at building teams and growing people, turning messy processes into clean, lean systems, teasing out the real drivers from the busywork, finding the few critical pieces that move results, translating between operations and engineering, and teaching technical topics to non-technical people. I enjoy thinking, learning, explaining, helping people grow, and solving problems—creatively, simply, and effectively.

My AI Journey

The timing was right—I'd just finished studying the history of AI and machine learning when ChatGPT landed in late 2022. Since then, I've been using, studying, building, and experimenting with AI. I understand how it works, but more importantly, I know what it's good at, where it falls short, and why. AI, applied correctly, is a force multiplier for the right work—but used poorly, it just adds complexity.

What It's Like to Work With Me

Over 45+ working sessions, AI agents independently recorded observations about how I work, think, and communicate. No self-assessment, no marketing copy — just raw, unfiltered observations compiled into a data-driven portrait.

Some things we did along the way...

Operational Efficiency (63% ↑): Shifted 1,500 employees and a $180M operating budget away from low-value activities toward the work that mattered most — boosting output in key activities by 63%, cutting overhead 52%, and reducing man-hours 13%.
Crash Damage Recovery ($5.7M ↑): Crash damage routinely went unbilled — too slow to document, too late to prove who did it. Rebuilt the process end to end: police tagged damage at the scene, a rapid estimate system priced routine repairs in minutes, and billing went out within days. $5.7M recovered annually.
Bridge Deficiencies (83% ↓): Developed a statewide bridge maintenance program that cut active deficiencies 83% and new ones 62% within two years — across 5,000+ bridges.
Energy & Lighting ($1.5M ↓): Transitioned highway lighting to LED — the single biggest driver, saving $1M annually. Extended overhead sign life 20 years by designing reflective overlay skins built in-shop and bolted on, eliminating sign lighting on most structures. $1.5M saved annually in total.
Vegetation Management ($4M ↓): Modernized vegetation management statewide — shifted to environmentally friendly methods while cutting $4M annually. Recognized by FHWA as a national best practice.
Federal Funding (1st): The federal highway program didn't fund maintenance — and it certainly didn't pay state crews to do it. We changed both. Built preservation programs that proved our approach added value, then proved our in-house operation was more cost-effective than contracting. First state to win FHWA approval for a federally funded in-house preservation program.
Alternative Fuels ($1M ↓): Converted 600+ state vehicles to alternative fuels and built a statewide fueling network — one of the largest projects of its kind in the country. $1M in annual fuel savings.
Pavement Markings ($1.3M ↓): Instead of repainting every road line on a fixed schedule, measured which ones actually needed it — and only replaced what was worn. $1.3M saved per year.
Budget & Staffing: Built statewide budget and staffing models tied to asset inventories, condition inspections, pavement deterioration models, and historical production data — answering 'how much money and people do we need, where, and why?' at a scale far beyond a spreadsheet.
Performance Standards: Defined how every maintenance activity should be performed, tracked, staffed, and measured — statewide. Became the foundation for budgeting, scheduling, QA/QC, and ultimately federal funding approval.
RFID Asset Tracking: Designed and deployed a low-cost RFID + cellular tracking system for equipment and tools — the AirTag concept, four years before Apple built theirs.
QA/QC Programs: Built quality programs that measured maintenance by what the public actually experiences — not just internal metrics. Gave taxpayers, officials, and FHWA a clear picture of outcomes.
Winter Operations: Proposed and advised the research behind Indiana's Winter Severity Index — a data-driven way to measure storm impact and match resources to conditions instead of guessing.
Work Zone Safety: Part of the team that developed Indiana's Work Zone Traffic Control Guidelines — bridging federal safety mandates with day-to-day maintenance reality.

Resume

Career History

1997–2005: Operations Field Engineer, INDOT — Provided engineering, operational, and technical support to field operations and crews.
2005–2009: District Maintenance Director, INDOT — Headed regional operations with 350 staff and a fleet of 1,500 vehicles/equipment, overseeing $50M OPEX within regional operations.
2009–2017: Statewide Maintenance Director, INDOT — Directed 1,500 staff and 5,000+ assets, overseeing $250M+ OPEX while driving efficiency, performance, and culture transformation.
2017–2020: Client Solutions & Product Dev, Gauge Telematics — Worked across client solutions, operations, product development, and customer support. Interfaced with clients and dev teams to translate operational needs into usable software tools, while also contributing to early product design.
2021–2024: Product Manager / Product Dev, Gauge Telematics — Led product design and development for SaaS fleet/asset management platform and IoT hardware. Also managed the software development team for a period, overseeing priorities and delivery.
2022–Present: Independent Consultant, Tsunami Swami — Advising small and mid-sized organizations on operational efficiency, process improvement, and AI readiness.

Education & Licensure

1993: B.S. Civil Engineering, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
2003: Registered Professional Engineer (PE), Indiana — Indiana PE No. PE10302393, Issued 2003.

Awards & Recognition

2012: Governor's Public Service Award, State of Indiana — Team and individual recognition for operations leadership and public service excellence at INDOT.
2013: AASHTO President's Award, AASHTO — Awarded to INDOT's DamageWise program for performance excellence in transportation operations.
2015: National Best Practice, FHWA — Recognized INDOT's vegetation management program — environmentally sound methods saving $4M annually.

Training & Development

Completed multiple leadership, management, project management, and technical training programs.

You want to know where AI fits? Show me your operations. That's where things either cost you money or make you money — and that's where we start.

Ready to make your operation run smarter?

Start with a 30-minute ops audit

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