Home Sustainable Land Development Today February 2007

Technology Leads to Change in Project Processes

Written by Gregg Herrin, P.E.

Thursday, 01 February 2007

The New York DOT connects the project team of surveyors, designers, inspectors, and contractors through technology. For the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), the transition to Bentley’s 3D methodology not only represented a milestone in design/engineering automation, but also led to a complete reevaluation of the process NYSDOT had been using to create project data — from 2D drawing production to 3D feature-based modeling. It removed the limitations of CAD functionality to enhance downstream activities, including the broad range of activities in construction engineering and inspection. It even resulted in a full reevaluation of project deliverables. With the statewide implementation of Bentley ProjectWise, NYSDOT had already taken a huge step forward in design workflow processes. Both the state and external engineering organizations operate within a single, managed, secure environment in which data is accessible to all and can be readily shared. Prior to the advent of the MicroStation and InRoads V8 generation of tools, NYSDOT’s design/engineering office had taken the design software capability virtually to its limits. Rethinking design in a 3D model context, NYSDOT was now open to new possibilities – not only for design, but also for downstream lifecycle activities. This revolution came about at a time when NYSDOT was pursuing the goal of connecting surveyors, designers, inspectors, and contractors in an integrated workflow. The NYSDOT construction inspection staff already had Bentley software in the field, but there were many more improvements that technology could bring. There was a real need for specialty process applications in almost every field task. The Bentley Stakeout and Bentley Inspector applications delivered in Bentley OnSite showed promise. In fact, the inspection area is where the real test would take place. “We immediately saw that Bentley OnSite provided a real opportunity to take design information and use it further down in the lifecycle, leveraging the value of the data and dramatically reducing reverse-engineering calculations,” said Phil Klimczak, CADD, survey and field office liaison, NYSDOT. “In the inspection area, there was a tremendous need for more accurate engineering data and better tools to use the data.” Inspection is arguably the least automated of all activities in design, engineering, and construction. Having had its staff reduced by 65 percent over the past 15 years, NYSDOT’s inspectors needed to improve not only on-site calculations, quantities, and measurements, but also the speed and accuracy of inspection. But they had to have the right project on which to test the Inspector functionality in Bentley OnSite. Back in the design office, the move to V8 and 3D feature-based modeling was becoming a reality, and much work was being done to improve the entire design, engineering, and construction process. “With V8, we saw an opportunity with the enhanced level structure,” explained Scott Geiger, project engineer in Region 8 Design, NYSDOT. “We changed our whole approach – all naming conventions, standards, and symbology – so that features created with InRoads were in line with MicroStation levels.” Following the formal restructuring of design data with new level and feature naming, a NYSDOT designer in Geiger’s office was designing a reconstruction project for Route 9W. When the 9W project was being let for construction, Geiger just happened to be evaluating Bentley’s Quantity Manager tool. A light came on – this could be the pilot project they needed to test Bentley OnSite. “I got a hold of the digital terrain model (DTM) the designer had made for the Route 9W project and built a quantities database using the AASHTO Trns*port pay item categories,” said Geiger. “I cleaned that up and applied it to the project model, built a full quantities estimate, and generated a Design Archive in Bentley OnSite.” The next step was to test the data and the product in the field on a live project, for which construction inspectors were supplied with Leica global positioning system (GPS) equipment. The project footprint had been established, project constraints identified, and project work estimated – all using InRoads Suite. The data was ready for use by the construction inspection staff to verify project layout, perform field changes, and inspect the project. The Real Test The first pilot of Bentley Inspector at NYSDOT was the Route 9W reconstruction project, a 3.2-mile, $9.5 million endeavor that would reconfigure road geometry and enhance safety and operations. The project entailed moving two veterans’ memorials, adding new lanes and ramps, redesigning drainage systems, improving pedestrian facilities, and replacing signaling, signage, and landscaping. With project construction almost halfway done, the inspection team was able to test the software in an array of circumstances, from checking stake locations to inspecting constructed elements, including underground drainage structures. Quickly mastering the software interface and the GPS backpack, inspectors were amazed at how fast they could work and how much could be done. Time savings were most significant during inspections of multiple items or crews. “Our inspectors came away incredibly excited — with a lot of ideas about how we could use Inspector in the field to not only replace the existing process, but also increase the amount of accurate data we collect and be able to pass this data on to our shareholders,” said Klimczak. This is a whole new system for inspection that will have a positive impact for all areas of construction. The  field staff is no longer burdened with regenerating information from paper contract documents. Instead, it will use data directly from the Bentley DTMs, geometry files, and storm and sanitary database. The pilot emphasized the general importance of design accuracy — quickly finding where it is most critical in construction. “NYSDOT’s specifications were traditionally written for the actual construction of different elements in the field,” explained Geiger. “But when collecting inspection data in the field, the data should feed back to tolerances that haven’t yet been accounted for in our specifications.” As a result, NYSDOT will evaluate the benefits of redefining specifications and may require the use of total stations for stakeout in the field to handle tolerances that GPS cannot. The pilot also helped NYSDOT set a baseline for the technology and training needed by the field staff. Inspectors are being trained in GPS and total station, as well as Bentley OnSite and ProjectWise. As hoped, the bottom line is the best part: Improved accuracy of data and access to more data means better results in construction. NYSDOT hopes to achieve a 50 percent cost savings in inspection by having the right data and tools. The ability to avoid mistakes early is also seen as a way to substantially reduce change orders on contracts and extra work costs in the field. New World of Deliverables Traditionally, NYSDOT has furnished paper plans and cross sections to provide graphical representations of work to be accomplished. This paper-based process had resulted in a lack of confidence in the accuracy of design information. Over time, these traditional data types evolved from paper, to combined paper and MicroStation format, to information stored in Bentley InRoads formats. The InRoads data created by the project designer for the Route 9W project went beyond the traditional definition and raised confidence levels in engineering data. The first pilot alone showed NYSDOT that it is possible to extend the chain of customers directly using its engineering data to construction, contractors, and project partners. “This means substantially better project definition for contractors – from DOT design and inspection teams,” said Klimczak. “The consistency of data we will be providing means no reworking of data.” Moving from paper to electronic data is no small undertaking. NYSDOT now faces the task of digitally managing its more than 20,000 project design specifications. “The best way to convey design intent is via the design model,” explained Susan Andrews, CADD manager at NYSDOT. “The feature-based DTM should be the access point for plans, estimates, tables (quantities), and cross sections – all of the engineering data pertaining to the designed or constructed project.” This goal is not as futuristic as one might think. Even on Pilot Project 9W, the team was able to deliver an accurate design with complete feature-based DTMs for all proposed work: one each for the proposed design (triangulated), existing nontriangulated features, proposed nontriangulated features, and the subgrade (triangulated) that accurately reflected contract documents. These were of sufficient detail to identify impacts, create plans, create an estimate, and facilitate project layout. The pilot helped define the workflow, clarifying how to use quantities, how to structure the pay item database, and how to work with the manner in which Quantity Manager breaks down pay items by features to produce a project design. “The benefit to designers is that the 3D model captures and conveys design intent,” said Andrews. “Expectations for what constitutes a ‘finished design’ are changing.” Next Steps In 2006, NYSDOT lined up nine new pilot projects and is now well on its way to connecting the surveyor, designer, inspector, and contractor in an integrated workflow and providing a continuous project data flow, from planning and design to as-built. To enable this, NYSDOT has already begun bringing consistent electronic infrastructure to its field personnel. Every inspector will have a tablet PC capable of running Bentley OnSite on a wide area network linked to the field office through broadband DSL satellite or cellular service. The inspectors will receive tools and training for GPS and Total Station equipment. Total Stations are currently being used on 40 projects for stakeout and, within the next year, they’ll also be used for inspection. Work is underway to define the accuracy requirements for inspection. Inspectors are receiving training in MicroStation, InRoads Suite, and Inspector. Inspectors will also take specialized training in ProjectWise, the repository for all electronic project documents at NYSDOT. With high-speed access, construction inspection staff will employ document sharing and management. NYSDOT has a geographically dispersed engineering staff, which makes data integration and interoperability among applications critical. “It’s exciting to think what it will be like from the contractor’s perspective,” adds Geiger, “to use Stakeout and Inspector — and have all of the data needed to construct a project.” LDT