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HNTB Using New Software To Help Speed Recovery Program

Contracts have finally been awarded for repair/rebuild work on key infrastructure projects in Texas—two years after hurricanes Dolly and Ike came ashore and socked the state with a combined estimated $29 billion in damages.

“Disaster recovery needs to move quicker,” says Charlie Stone, executive director of the Texas Dept. of Rural Affairs. ”But with the requirements attached to federal funds, we just can’t move any faster.”

Texas was better equipped than some states for administering the Congress-approved, $1.5-billion U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant-funded program to rebuild water/wastewater facilities, roads, bridges and some public buildings in the 63-county affected area, Stone says.

“In 2008, we had 13 states across the nation hit with disasters, and every state has a different way of administering recovery funds,” Stone says. “Some created a new agency, but we already had an agency that was operational.”

Thanks to TDRA, Texas didn’t have to “start from scratch” in developing a network for managing its recovery program, Stone says. TDRA, the only Texas agency familiar with block grant federal rules, regulations and “hoops to jump through,” was assigned the task of administering the funds, Stone says.

Federal block grant funds represent about 90% of TDRA’s budget. Additionally, TDRA administered federal funds in the aftermath of Hurricane Rita. And it has handled state-funded disaster recovery programs.

“We had to expand our size and number of employees, but we had a core group that was knowledgeable in handling CDBG funds,” Stone says. “If you’re not familiar with the rules to implement the CDBG program, the chances are great of the state having to return funds because of bad audits on the hind end.”

TDRA hired HNTB Corp. of Kansas City, Mo., to perform program management. “We needed to hire a firm to augment the skills we didn’t have in the agency, primarily the engineering piece,” Stone says.

Most contracts will have a 24-month completion, and TDRA wants to make sure everything stays on track, Stone says. “We need to get the job done,” he adds. “We have the governor and the public pushing to get this program implemented.”

HNTB’s $69.5-million contract includes tracking progress of 3,000 projects (an average of $500,000 each), 30 grant administrators, eight environmental service providers, and 52 engineers, says Tom Wendorf, HNTB’s project manager.

To manage the program, HNTB is using DashPort, a proprietary software program tailored specifically to provide a central information hub for all the TDRA program participants.

“With all the design consultants, grant administrators and service providers required for the 3,000 projects in 300 communities, there’s a lot of stuff going on in terms of project submittals, reviews and schedules,” Wendorf says.

DashPort allows engineers and other program participants to submit certain items electronically. The software manages those documents and provides a contact database for service providers and participants.

“We’ve also made extensive use of webinars,” Wendorf says. “Since the program covers a 63,000-mi area, it’s hard to get everyone in one physical location at one time.”

HNTB received a federal trademark registration in 2008 for DashPort, but it has been “significantly developed for TDRA use,” Wendorf says. “A program of this size and variety requires development of more robust capability so we can help to facilitate the providers getting their job done.”

DashPort is based on a Microsoft collaboration tool called SharePoint, says Mark Curtin, DashPort product manager and developer. “We’ve added specific functionality and branded that product for use on our projects,” he says. Although each project is different, DashPort provides an overall portal where the project team can access all relevant information on a project-specific, secure site. “It’s easy to use.” Curtin says, adding that the HNTB-added elements built on top of the SharePoint platform are “very friendly.”

Where each project uses DashPort, HNTB hosts training sessions. The firm is planning to use it more frequently to increase familiarity among employees and in the market. “It’s not a public involvement site,” Curtin adds. “It’s for the team members and is a working site to manage A/E/C processes, help collaborate and share information.”—A.B.

 

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