TECHNOLOGY/Web helps city streamline project management

The Overland Park (Kan.) Public Works Department has developed a Web-based manual to guide city engineers and technicians through the administration process for capital improvement projects. By using the manual, the city has streamlined and standardized its project management procedures.

To develop the Web-based manual, the department first had to compile a paper version of its project management procedures, few of which had ever been written down. The manual documented the process for completing capital improvement projects — from conception through construction and inspection — and it outlined project tasks to help engineers set and meet schedules. Then, the city management staff and the Kansas Department of Transportation approved the content of the manual. The department began actively using it in October 1997.

Soon after obtaining approval, the Public Works Department’s computer management group, working with Kansas City, Mo.-based HNTB, incorporated the manual into an electronic project management system — Project Expert System. The software allows users to search the manual and a comprehensive library of project documents by keywords.

The project management software includes a “wizard” that helps users develop project schedules. The wizard asks users a series of questions that coordinate directly with the procedures in the manual. By answering the questions, users generate project schedules with pre-populated task lines, which saves engineers time and ensures projects follow approved procedures.

The computer management group also has added some of its own enhancements to the software. For instance, it expanded the program’s capabilities to create a folder for each capital improvement project and subfolders corresponding to phases in the procedures manual.

“The electronic manual has provided a great time-savings,” says Bob Lowry, director of the Public Works Department. “By better managing a project from design through construction, we have more control over the schedule and cost. We have found that we can execute projects significantly faster than in the past, and time is money.”