TxDOT Glossary: O

object code, controller: An object code, or controller, is a four-digit code for revenues and expenditures but with less detail than is required by the department.

object of expenditure, departmental: Materials and Supplies Management System Manual; Finance Division

object of revenue, departmental: An object of expenditure for the department is a four-digit code describing the revenue source (Reference FIMS Code Chart 54).; Finance Division

obligation authority: Finance Division; Design Division

obligations: Obligations are commitments made by federal agencies to pay out money in the future, as distinct from the actual payments, which are “outlays.” Generally, obligations are incurred after the enactment of budget authority. However, since budget authority in many highway programs is in the form of contract authority, obligations in these cases are permitted to be incurred immediately after apportionment or allocation. The obligations are for the federal share of the estimated full cost of each project at the time it is approved, regardless of when the actual payments are made or the expected time of project completion.; Transportation Programming and Scheduling Manual

obligation limitation: Obligation limitation or obligation authority is the amount of federal assistance that may be obligated during a specified time period. Obligation limitation does not affect the scheduled apportionment or allocation of funds; it just controls the rate at which these funds may be used.; Transportation Programming and Scheduling Manual

observation angle: Observation angle is the angle at the reflector between the observer's line of sight and the direction of the light incident on the jiggle bar tile.; Departmental Material Specifications

obsolete items: Obsolete items are those not used by any stock account.; Materials And Supplies Management System Manual

obstruction: An obstruction is any objectionable material not specifically provided for elsewhere in the plans.

Occupant Protection Violators Course: OPVC; The Occupant Protection Violators Course is a safety belt violators course taught by local police officers that can be taken in lieu of paying a fine.

occupational disease: An occupational disease is a disease arising out of and in the course of employment that causes damage or harm to the physical structure of the body, including a repetitive trauma injury.; Human Resources Manual

occupational exposure: Occupational exposure is reasonably anticipated skin, eye, mucous membrane or parenteral contact with blood or other potentially infectious materials that may result from the performance of an employee’s duties.; Occupational Safety Manual

Occupational Safety Division: OCC; The Occupational Safety Division promotes worker safety, deals with workers’ compensation and insurance matters, and handles tort claims.; Inside TxDOT

Odessa District: ODA; The Odessa District is a TxDOT district office including the following counties: Andrews, Crane, Ector, Loving, Martin, Midland, Pecos, Reeves, Terrell, Upton, Ward and Winkler. Area offices are located in Fort Stockton, Midland, Odessa, and Pecos. There is also a Vehicle Titles and Registration Regional Office.; Inside TxDOT

Office of General Counsel: OGC; The Office of General Counsel renders legal advice to every office of the department on all subjects relevant to TxDOT and its operations.; Inside TxDOT

Office of Management and Budget: OMB; The Office of Management and Budget is the federal office responsible for establishing fiscal guidelines for accounting and controlling the use of federal dollars.

office of primary responsibility: OPR; The office of primary responsibility is the organizational unit or individual(s) responsible for identifying and prioritizing department needs associated with specific information resources.; Information Security Manual

office of secondary responsibility: The office of secondary responsibility is the district or division office with secondary responsibility for making decisions on behalf of the department with regard to use, classification, and protection of specific information contained on a resource.; Texas Reference Marker (TRM) System User's Manual

Office of the Attorney General: OAG; The attorney general is the lawyer for the people of Texas and is charged by the Texas Constitution to:; To fulfill these responsibilities, the Office of the Attorney General serves as legal counsel to all boards and agencies of state government, issues legal opinions when requested by the governor, heads of state agencies and other officials and agencies as provided by Texas statutes, sits as an ex-officio member of state committees and commissions, and defends challenges to state laws and suits against both state agencies and individual employees of the State.; Right of Way Manual

Office of the Secretary of Transportation: OST; The Office of the Secretary of Transportation is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

off-premise sign: An off-premise sign is a sign displaying advertising copy that pertains to a business, person, organization, activity, event, place, service or product not principally located or primarily manufactured or sold on the premises on which the sign is located.; Right of Way Manual

off-road equipment: Off-road equipment is equipment used primarily off the roadway. This includes motorgraders, rollers, excavators, pneumatic-tired equipment, mowers or tractors.; Equipment Manual

off-system: Off system is off the TxDOT-designated highway system.; Transportation Planning and Programming Collection

off-system link: An off-system link is created when a highway designation stops at a point on a given local road or street and starts again from another point on the same or different local road with a driveable connection between the two points.; Texas Reference Marker (TRM) System User's Manual

official sign: An official sign is a sign erected by a governmental agency within its territorial jurisdiction for the purpose of carrying out an official duty or responsibility as provided by law.; Right of Way Manual

ohm: R; Ohm is the unit of electrical resistance.; Highway Illumination Manual

on-call, chauffeured unit: An on-call, chauffeured unit is a vehicle operated by Riverside Building Services to provide local shuttle services.; Equipment Manual

180-day residential occupant: See long term residential occupant.; Right of Way Manual

one point control: One point control is a method of deriving an adjusted maximum dry density and optimum water content by molding one compaction specimen and using the one-point moisture-density data to construct a compaction curve which is an approximation of the family of curves.; Manual of Testing Procedures

one-step selection: One-step selection is a selection process that requires the department to evaluate the entity’s qualifications and fees simultaneously (one step).; Contract Management Manual

online transaction processing: OLTP; Online transaction processing is the processing of transactions as they are received. Also called online or realtime systems, master files are updated as soon as transactions are entered at terminals or arrive over communication lines.

online users: Online users are those who are directly interacting with a computer system in real time.

on-premise sign: An on-premise sign is a free-standing sign identifying or advertising a business, person or activity, and installed and maintained on the same premises as the business, person or activity.; Right of Way Manual

on-road equipment: On-road equipment is equipment used on the roadway. This includes snow removal equipment, aerial devices, paint-stripe equipment, skid-test equipment, sweeping equipment, spraying equipment or high-speed profilometers.; Equipment Manual

on-system: On-system is on the TxDOT-designated highway system.; Transportation Planning and Programming Collection

on-system link: An on-system link is created when the highway designation of one route stops at the intersection of another route and starts again from a second intersection with the same route.; Texas Reference Marker (TRM) System User's Manual

open-graded friction course: An open-graded friction course is a pavement surface course designed to prevent tire hydroplaning and provide a skid-resistant pavement surface. It consists of a large percentage of one-sized coarse aggregate. The mixture has a high amount of air voids to allow water to rapidly drain through the course and out onto the shoulder.

open market purchase: Purchasing Manual; Purchasing Manual

open system interconnection: OSI; An open system interconnection is a set of network architecture standards created by the International Standards Organization.

open wireless access: Open wireless access is access to the Internet via radio waves rather than wires, usually from a smartphone or similar mobile device. This type of access does not need a user account or password.; Information Security Manual

operating system: OS; The operating system of a computer is a controlling/supervising module which calls user programs into the system from storage devices, activates them, and in general monitors usage of the computer system. The OS also provides scheduling, debugging, input/output control, accounting, data management in the form of file control, and communication with operators including status inquiries.

Operation Buckle Down: OBDA; Operation Buckle Down is a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration sponsored program promoting compliance with safety belt and child passenger safety laws.

operational plan: An operational plan is a detailed plan indicating where and when project activities will occur. An operational plan is a required part of law enforcement grants, indicating the location, day of the week, and time of day or night when overtime enforcement will take place.

opportunity for public hearing: OPH; An opportunity for public hearing is afforded on projects where public interest in a public hearing is unknown. If no one requests a public hearing, the public involvement process ends with the OPH. If a public hearing is requested, one is held and the public hearing completes the public involvement process.; Environmental Manual

optimum asphalt content: Manual of Testing Procedures

optimum water content: Optimum water content is the water content at which the soil can be compacted to the maximum dry density.; Manual of Testing Procedures

optimization: Optimization is a Pavement Management Information System (PMIS) report which takes a user-specified budget and lists the pavement sections and treatments which would provide the most benefit for that specified budget. This report is used to simulate the reality of limited funding when making pavement-related decisions.; Pavement Management Information System (PMIS) Users Manual

optimum moisture content: The optimum moisture content is the percentage of moisture content at which desired compaction (maximum density) is obtained.

option bid item: An option bid item is a bid item that has several options that a contractor may provide and still meet the specifications.

organic clay: Organic clay is a soil that would be classified as a clay except that its LL after oven drying (dry sample preparation) is less than 75% of its LL before oven drying (wet sample preparation).; Manual of Testing Procedures

organic silt: Organic silt is a soil that would be classified as a silt except that its LL after oven drying (dry sample preparation) is less than 75% of its LL before oven drying (wet sample preparation).; Manual of Testing Procedures

organizational element: An organizational element is any grouping of employees or resources by unit, section, district, division, or department.

organizational profile: An organizational profile is a division accessor identification (ACID) or a department accessor identification (ACID) and all of its associated users and resources.

other employee organizations: Other employee organizations are organized groups recognized by TxDOT, including unions, whose membership includes department employees as well as other state or non-state employees.For example: Texas Public Employees Association; Human Resources Manual

other engine: An other engine is a gasoline, diesel, propane, compressed natural gas, or other petroleum-fuel based vehicle with an internal combustion engine, that is not a motor vehicle, but which is mobile and is utilized in construction, earth-moving, materials management, transportation, or grounds-keeping type operations.; Equipment Manual

outdoor advertising sign: OAS; An outdoor advertising sign is an outdoor sign, display, light, device, figure, painting, drawing, message, plaque, placard, poster, billboard, logo or symbol, or other thing that is designed, intended, or used to advertise or inform, if any part of the advertising or information contents is visible from the main-traveled way of a regulated highway.; Right of Way Manual

outer separation: An outer separation is the area between main lanes and frontage roads.

outfall: An outfall is the point where water flows from a conduit, stream, drain, site.

outlet: An outlet is the point of water disposal from a stream, river, lake, tidewater, or artificial drain.

out-of-agency training: Out-of-agency training is any training activity that is not sponsored by the department and is generally open to the public. A registration fee is usually required.; Human Resources Manual

outside ties, survey: An outside ties, or survey, is the bearing and distance description from a point on the parcel to a known point outside the taking.; Survey Manual

outsourcing: Contract Management Manual; Right of Way Manual

overburden: The overburden is the soil above the layer or layers being investigated. A clay layer covered with 3.a m (10 ft.) of sand would have 3.1 m (10 ft.) of overburden on it.; Manual of Testing Procedures

overhead: Overhead, also referred to as an indirect cost; is the expenses that the performing entity incurs to operate its business.; Contract Management Manual

overhead guidelines: Overhead guidelines are the instructions prepared by the department’s Audit Office to assist the provider in administrative qualification.; Engineering Architectural and Surveying Services Manual

overhead transmission line: An overhead transmission line is an overhead power and communication lines.

overlay: An overlay is a layer or layers of paving materials placed on an existing surface where repairs to a pavement structure are required to restore a satisfactory riding surface and/or improve the strength of the pavement structure.

oversize/overweight permits: OS/OW permits; Oversize/overweight permits are permits required on every truck traveling in Texas that is in excess of the state’s size limitations.

overtime: Overtime is work in excess of 40 hours per week (Saturday through Friday).

owned transaction facility: otran; An otran is an owned transaction facility.

owner: The owner is the manager or agent responsible for the function, which is supported by the resource, the individual upon whom responsibility rests for carrying out the program that uses the resources. The owner is responsible for establishing the controls that provide the security. The owner of a collection of information is the person responsible for the business results of that system or the business use of the information. Where appropriate, ownership may be shared by managers of different departments.; Information Security Manual

owner of a dwelling: Owner of a dwelling is any person who purchases or holds any of the following interests in real property:; Right of Way Manual

oxygen-deficient atmosphere: An oxygen-deficient atmosphere is an atmosphere containing less that 19.5 percent oxygen by volume.; Occupational Safety Manual

oxygen-enriched atmosphere: An oxygen-enriched atmosphere is an atmosphere containing more than 23.5 percent oxygen by volume.; Occupational Safety Manual