Phases of Plan Development – Leading to High Quality Plans ACEC/ODOT Conference April 15, 2008 Steve Cooley, PE, PLS ODOT Region 2 Technical Center Manager Karen Tatman, PE Quincy Engineering Eryca McCartin, PMP ODOT Office of Project Letting Manager

Agenda Introductions ODOT’s Quality Control Philosophy ODOT’s QA program and its implementation Providing quality deliverables for ODOT Final PS&E resources and common pitfalls Questions

ODOT Quality Control Philosophy PUBLIC TECH DESIGN PROJECT DELIVERY AGENCY

Technical and Design Elements Discipline Specific Standards, Policies & Procedures Public Safety, EOR responsibilities Perpetuated in Agency Design Manuals, Standard Drwgs, Specifications, Drafting Standards, etc. TECH DESIGN

Project Delivery Project Team is responsible for Scope, Schedule, and Budget Stakeholder involvement. Balanced Design Approach Constructability and Maintenance Reviews Tech Center Reviews & Support Contract Documents Process Improvements PROJECT DELIVERY

Each Milestone has deliverables and Quality Control elements (PD-02) Each Provider has their own Quality Control Plan –Improve through feedback The DAP is the most critical Milestone/Decision Point Project Delivery Team is responsible for delivering a project within scope, schedule and budget –The solution must meet expectations of stakeholders. Continuous Process improvements Project Delivery Process Project Initiation DAP Plan Review PSE Bid Let Construction

Quality Control Checklists

Agency Program Management Statewide Consistency (AGC & ACEC) Agency Risk (DOJ) Federal Funding and Stewardship Agreement Environmental Stewardship and Regulators AGENCY

Public Public Agency Accountability Legislative Reporting (QBR) New Funding Opportunities Expectations/ Perceptions PUBLIC

Questions

QA Program Purpose Provide for Ongoing Engineering Quality of Plans, Specifications and Estimates Manage the Consistency and Risk of Capital Construction Projects

QA Program Objectives Provide for the Quality Assurance of projects designed and developed by each provider of contract plans –Providers have a quality control program –Provide QA reviews of provider QC Plans –Discipline specific QA review –Audit of Project Design Quality –Continuous improvement

Where is ODOT with QA? All providers have a QC plan Beginning effort to develop and build QA for design program with –ODOT regions –Consultants –Local agencies –Construction Build on past QA Program learnings More to come soon!

Consultant QC Process Consultants provide high quality PS&E by: –Developing comprehensive QC Plan –Following their QC Plan on ALL projects –Not cutting corners when schedules get tight –Asking ODOT’s PM for good examples of products –Looking for Continuous Improvement

Avoid QC Mine Fields Design check by most available staff Reviews after submittal or concurrent with ODOT’s review Repeating the same errors –Learn from ODOT’s Most Common Issues Observed in PS&E’s Not fully checking re-do work Disregarding constructibility comments

More mine fields Significant changes after DAP Don’t worry about following ODOT drafting standards until deliverable time Last minute problem? Fix it with an addendum. OR punt it to construction. i.e. let someone else take care of it Construction reports can wait…. we’re on to the next project

Avoid Process Pitfalls Necessary Project Development processes don’t go away –They may be simplified –They may get done behind the scenes –They never just disappear Following the process almost never ends you down the wrong path

Project Success Factors Ask the PM about Project Success –Defined by Delivering high quality products Meeting a tight schedule Avoiding a sensitive resource Meeting a budgetary constraint –Understand these success factors –Understand the Purpose and Need –Deliver!

ODOT Office of Project Letting Specifications –Standard Spec Book, boiler plate special provisions, DOJ liaison, unique project needs, etc. Estimating –Engineer’s estimates, incentive/disincentive programs, etc. Office of Pre-Letting & Quality Assurance for Design Trans*port Web and administrative staff

Office of Pre-Letting Manage Bid schedule High level “fatal flaw” review for all projects –Is it biddable and buildable? Facilitate FHWA funding approval, ODOT signatures for advertisement, coordination with printing and OPO etc. Maintain relationships with AGC, ACEC, ODOT procurement, technical teams etc. Quality Assurance for Design

Resources for preparing final PS&E for contract PS&E users guide –Office of Pre-Letting website  forms, manuals, etc. Specifications Manual –Specifications website  forms, manuals, etc. Specifications and Estimating Training –Have a need? Contact us to schedule a training!

OPL - Who to contact Office of Project Letting Manager –Eryca McCartin (503) State Specifications Engineer –Dale Deatherage (503) Senior Cost Engineer –John Riedl (503) QA/QC Program Manager –Lisa Ansell (503)

Common Issues Observed Specifications Update boiler plate special provisions –found on the Specifications website Compile the specifications correctly –Use MS Word track changes correctly Measurement and Payment –Every bid item must have a subsection for description, measurement and payment Class of Work determination –Critical to determining which bidder qualification class can bid the project. If in doubt, contact State Specs Engineer

Common Issues Observed Estimating Standard ODOT bid items –Use standard bid items on the ODOT bid item list vs making up new bid item Quantities verified –Verify that the project includes the correct quantities –Incorrect quantities do cause flawed procurement (reject all bids) or major construction issues

Common Issues Observed Plans and General Consistency in contract plans –AGC and others shouldn’t be able to tell who designed a project Drafting Standards & Title Sheet –Latest templates should be used (ODOT Workspace) Design Exceptions & similar approvals –Apply for early (DAP) –Process often takes many months for full approval through ODOT and FHWA

In Summary Design Quality of public infrastructure must meet technical, Agency and Public expectations 1 failure erodes public confidence Success requires a prescribed QC plan QA for quality verification a method for identifying and managing risk a focus on continuous improvement

Questions