NC Department of Transportation Engineering Application Services

Transcription

1 QC/QA HiCAMS Enhancement NC Department of Transportation Engineering Application Services North Carolina Digital Government Government to Business Page 1 of 5

2 Executive Summary The 2010 Annual Performance Report of the North Carolina Department of Transportation states that NCDOT maintains more than 80,000 miles of highway statewide, the largest state-maintained system in the United States. North Carolina is proud of its nickname, the Good Roads State, and given the number of miles of highways to be maintained, any effort to improve quality in operation or materials is significant. The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) Quality Assurance Program (QAP) is a web-based Quality Control/Quality Assurance application developed by the Department to provide web-enabled data entry of highway construction material test results. This program is used by personnel from the Department, as well as producers and suppliers of aggregate or asphalt materials. The QC/QA Highway Construction and Materials System (HiCAMS) Enhancement project implemented the Quality Assurance Program (QAP) web application. QAP provides a mechanism for asphalt and aggregate material producers and suppliers to enter quality control (QC) test results into a central monitoring system. DOT s quality assurance (QA) test results are entered by internal inspectors using the same system. QC and QA test results are linked to one another as well as to detailed project data stored in DOT s well-established HiCAMS System. HiCAMS is an in-house application that provides Department staff with data entry, records processing and tracking, reference data retrieval, and reporting functionality in support of managing major construction projects in North Carolina. There are about 8,600 construction contracts currently stored in HiCAMS. QAP provides role-based access to tabular and statistical reports that compare QC (business) and QA (internal reviewed) data. User authentication is accomplished using the State s NC Identity Management System, NCID. The NCID Service is the standard shared identity management and access service provided to state, local, business and citizen users of state applications. This project was the result of cross-functional team collaboration consisting of business experts, application developers, web developers and database experts. The QC/QA HiCAMS Enhancement Project solution resulted in a multi-million dollar savings over commercially available products and services. Additionally, this in-house solution provides full integration with the extensive data stored in HiCAMS. DOT s ability to analyze aggregate and asphalt test data through the use of the QAP application helps ensure compliance with state and federal material standards, will assist in investigations of fraud and fraud recovery, and provides a central data store for material test results for analysis and reporting. Page 2 of 5

3 Description of Business Problem and Solution The 2010 Annual Performance Report of the North Carolina Department of Transportation states that NCDOT maintains more than 80,000 miles of highway statewide, the largest state-maintained system in the United States. North Carolina is proud of its nickname, the Good Roads State, and given the number of miles of highways to be maintained, any effort to improve quality in operation or materials is significant. It is the responsibility of NCDOT to ensure that materials used in highway construction projects are properly tested under the Department s various Quality Assurance programs. To accomplish this task, NCDOT tests samples from producers and/or from the roadway. These DOT QA test results are correlated with results received from the producer s QC lab. Based on test results, NCDOT may take specific actions to enforce the Department s Quality Assurance standards. Historically, NCDOT has not had an automated method of QC and QA test comparison. There has been no standard method of evaluating supplied materials across multiple projects or across the state. In 2006, NCDOT labs processed and tested approximately 44,000 aggregate QC samples and 8,500 aggregate QA samples. During the same year, NCDOT processed approximately 37,500 asphalt QC density tests, 8,000 asphalt QA density tests, and approximately 56,250 asphalt gradation tests. For many years, all of this data was stored on hand written tables or electronic spreadsheets stored in numerous local offices. NCDOT was in need of a method of analysis and reporting on all of these test results. The QC/QA HiCAMS Enhancement Project, through the implementation of QAP, provides the solution. The QAP application was developed to allow both the Department and material Producers/Suppliers to input test data through a web-enabled system. The intent was to centralize data derived from Quality Control/Quality Assurance (QC/QA) sampling and testing in order to monitor compliance with the Department s overall Quality Assurance program. The Department can use QAP data to determine product and material quality, to derive pay incentives and pay reductions for materials exceeding or failing to meet quality standards and to ensure that both the Contractor and the Department maintain minimum testing frequencies as established in the Department s Minimum Sampling Guide and various QC/QA program manuals. The QAP application was developed during 2009 and was implemented on December 18, Between January 1, 2010 and May 19, 2011, over 74,000 aggregate and asphalt samples were entered into QAP. The QAP user community consists of both internal and external users. Asphalt and aggregate producers and suppliers enter quality control (QC) data directly into QAP. Page 3 of 5

4 Internal field and lab technicians key-in quality assurance (QA) test results into QAP. Through QAP, management personnel have the ability to verify program compliance and have the knowledge to initiate pay adjustment recommendations when applicable. Producer management personnel can view data from the QAP system to verify QC test data and review QA comparison data when necessary. The QAP application allows users to: Enter individual QC and QA Aggregate Gradation or Asphalt Mix test results for materials produced at facilities for use on NCDOT construction projects. Upload multiple Aggregate Gradation test results from multiple quarries. This feature is useful for Aggregate Producers/Suppliers who wish to upload test results en masse from their in-house software rather than re-key individual results into the QAP application. Track individual materials from specific facilities. Enter daily Asphalt tonnage information, invoice numbers, anti-strip flow meter readings, and truck ticket information for individual Job Mix Formulas (JMF). Correct inaccurately reported QC and QA test results and Asphalt tonnage information (internal personnel only). Review individual test reports, QC/QA comparison reports, moving average reports, daily tonnage reports, and miscellaneous test summary reports by material. Run statistical reports including tests for specific Aggregate and Asphalt material properties. These reports determine the probability of two samples coming from the same population. Significance Continuous statistical analysis of Producer/Supplier test results and comparison with Department data ensures early detection of issues related to material and product quality allowing for in-time resolution implementation. This improves efficiency compared to performing a review of project data after project completion, when it is too late to implement penalties or corrective action. Under this system, the analysis is completed as testing is conducted. QAP provides quick centralized data access through a standard web browser. This increases efficiency by reducing processing time and increases effectiveness by allowing users to view real-time reliable data. When discrepancies are immediately identified, the root cause can be discovered and eliminated, resulting in quality improvement. The results of analyses can be used to determine areas of concern with quality, and better direct scarce resources to concentrate sampling and testing to resolve those issues. Page 4 of 5

5 Vendor partners of DOT know immediately if there is a problem with the tested materials and can take appropriate action to resolve them. This project relates to the NASCIO State CIO Priorities of transparency and budget and cost controls. Benefit of the Project The total project cost for the development and implementation of the QC/QA HiCAMS Enhancement Quality Assurance Program was $110,000. The project was written inhouse with current DOT staff. The QAP application was developed during 2009 and was implemented on December 18, Between January 1, 2010 and May 19, 2011, over 74,000 aggregate and asphalt samples were entered into QAP. The following savings will be targeted as result of QC/QA HiCAMS Enhancement implementation: Compliance Based on previous audits reported to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), it is projected that NCDOT will realize a projected savings of $1,500,000 per year in secured funding for a total of $7,500,000 over the next five years. Compliance with the DOT overall QA program as well as FHWA requirements will avoid amounts paid out due to materials being deemed "not qualified for Federal funding. In 2009, an audit performed on the Aggregate Base Course pay item on five projects identified $2.3 million in payments potentially not eligible for reimbursement with federal funds due to lack of compliance with minimum sampling frequency and improper technician certification. Fraud Recovery The statistical analysis provided by this project will facilitate investigation into potential fraud. A recent fraud investigation resulted in an assessment of $2.25 million against a contractor. These investigations would have been accomplished automatically by QAP. Based on the amount of this settlement and assuming that there is another similar instance of fraud in the next five years, NCDOT projects a recovery of $2,250,000. Investigation/Analysis Currently, NCDOT conducts more in-depth analysis and investigation on approximately 20 projects per year. It is estimated that 150 hours are spent on each of these at $40 per hour. The time required to perform this analysis would be virtually eliminated by QAP. This translates into a savings of $600,000 over the next five years. The system will provide automatic analysis/investigation results for about 180 additional projects that are not currently being investigated. The system provides an equivalent benefit of $5,400,000 over the next five years. Although this amount is not currently spent by NCDOT, it represents additional value. Page 5 of 5