After reviewing the existing Project Development and e-bidding
solutions available on the market, the Utah Department of Transportation
determined that NONE of the current solutions met the needs of their
users and conformed to their specific business rules. Over the next
few years, the UDOT PDBS system was created - written by DOT users,
for DOT users.
Functionality, Cost Savings, Ease-of-Use
This coordinated development effort between users and the
developers resulted in a software package that received a number of
prestigious awards for functionality, cost savings, and ease-of-use.
This award-winning, time-tested solution has been rewritten
and enhanced and is now commercially available as iPD
for State Departments of Transportation.
CIO Awards exemplify Best Practices in Technology Project Development Zone, 2004
UDOT received Chief Information Officer Award for Best Practice
in technology for PDBS.
CIO Award Exemplifies Best Practices in Technology
Project Development Zone
Former Utah Governor Olene Walker recognized the state's
2004 Governor's Chief Information Officer Award winners for outstanding
accomplishments in e-government initiatives by state agencies, local
government agencies and private sector partners. These information
technology projects exemplify best practices in the design and implementation
of customer-focused information technology services and business
solution. UDOT received this prestigious award for their Electronic
Bid System (EBS).
The Electronic Bid System provides access to bid details
online, allowing contractors to use free UDOT-developed software
for bid preparation and online submission. Benefits realized for
both contractors and the State exemplify the performance possible
using technology. For example, UDOT realized a 100% time saving in
entering bids and reductions in data entry error and discrepancies,
and a 95% time savings for UDOT staff analysis of bid results. Contractor
benefits include on-line access to bid information, software for
bid submission with internal checks to reduce omissions and errors,
and updating of their submissions.
UDOT's EBS development team consisted of Blaine Bailey,
PDBS Business Lead, Michelle Verucchi, PDBS Technical Lead, Ardie
Brown, Lead Technical Analyst, and Steve Wilkins, Lead Software Analyst/
Developer.
This article recognizes UDOT's field book application.
Here is a small excerpt.
Over the past few years, Utah has also built a reputation
for consistently leading the way in innovative applications of technology.
Helping cement its high-tech credentials, Utah recently placed fourth
in the Center for Digital Government's biennial Digital States Survey.
Programs like the Utah Department of Transportation's (UDOT)
field book application are at the heart of the state's drive toward
exceptional technology services. UDOT has used mobile applications
to support field staff for nearly a decade, eliminating duplicative
processes, cutting costs, and improving employee and contractor experiences.
Ahead of the Curve
In 1997, when many organizations were just becoming aware
of the World Wide Web, Utah already was considering ways to take advantage
of it. That year, the state began building a comprehensive integrated
technology system. One subsystem was UDOT's electronic field book application.
"The electronic field book was set up to replace the manual,
paper-based information that DOT inspectors were having to collect
out in the field to document the work of the contractor," said Blaine
Bailey, former UDOT business lead on the field book project. "This
enabled us to get rid of hardbound books that they were using to document
daily work activities. It also rid the inspectors of having to take
that information in those books and manually enter it into a database
to get the contractor paid."....
