Sector: Water
City of Aurora, Colorado Water Department
Background
Plagued by ongoing drought conditions of the US Rocky Mountain region, the city of Aurora, CO decided to take proactive steps to strengthen the reliability of their existing water system, expand water conservation measures, increase the city’s water supply, and provide more water storage.
Challenge
Considerable resources were required to implement the extensive construction and program management business processes for this $754.0M project.
Solution
Working with the CH2M HILL program management team, the program management information solution team (now employed by Critigen) automated the construction and program management business processes—many of which were traditionally accomplished manually. To meet this challenge, the IT team developed a Web-based project management information system, called PrairieNet, to perform all delivery functions.
Through extensive process diagramming and modeling, the IT team helped the staff solidify their roles and expectations, as well as reveal staffing and tool limitations. The IT team used this information to incorporate program specific needs into PrairieNet, and to include opportunities toclarify and enhance processes.
To maximize cost savings, the IT team built the Web-based application using a suite of off-the shelf technology applications to provide document control, collaboration sites, a GIS map interface containing important permitting and land documents, and workflow automation for construction contract documentation.
The PrairieNet system provided the City of Aurora:
- Interactive reporting and real-time access to project workflow, forms, and documents via Web-based business intelligence dashboard components.
- Guided and synchronized metrics, e.g., costs, schedule, and status of collection processes, that produce accurate, consistent, and up-to-date project reporting.
- Document coding (regardless of document type) for fast storage, rapid retrieval, and accurate archival.
- Integration with back-end applications to gather key performance indicator data and give program executives fingertip access to data in a graphic format that is easy to read and understand.
- A map-based graphical interface system that allows users to view documents as they relate to specific parcels of land.
- A central and auditable trail of documentation.
- Customizable collaboration solutions that created a close working relationship between users as well as broad-based ownership and support for the system.
Result
- Off-the-shelf solutions to design automated and Web-enabled program functions required fewer resources.
- PrairieNet's single data source has ensured team consistency and effectiveness.
- An estimated cost savings of $6M-8M realized over the life of the program.
Upon completion in 2010, the project will increase Aurora’s annual water supply by 3.3 billion gallons and provide additional water to Aurora’s citizens for decades.
The success of PrairieNet led the City to award CH2M HILL the development of another program management information system, called CPDNet, for Aurora’s capital projects division. When complete, it is anticipated to provide similar cost savings and efficiencies for Aurora’s $1B annual capital projects program.
“Developing PrairieNet was important to this program’s success,” said Rod Brauer, regional business group manager of CH2M HILL’s Water Business Group. “My experience with the team now employed by Critigen on this project suggests a partnership opportunity to develop standardized IT solutions for program management information systems that could be offered across the spectrum of programs that CH2M HILL’s Water Business Group delivers.”
