Project management information systems for public transportation projects

Nothing is more frustrating for citizens, stakeholders and funding organizations than getting an innovative, large-scale transportation plan launched only to see it stalled by cost overruns and scheduling setbacks. Studies indicate that an alarming 91.5 per cent of large infrastructure projects encounter just this fate, running over budget and behind schedule.¹

To avoid such pitfalls and seamlessly advance our urban landscapes, robust Project Management Information Systems (PMIS) are essential.

Meeting transportation’s unique challenges

Large transportation projects are notoriously large and unwieldy, whatever the application. Whether you’re building a new road or bridge, revitalizing an existing transportation asset, or extending public transit infrastructure, your project will have an endless number of moving, evolving parts. Transportation projects face unique challenges that increase complexity and complicate delivery:

• Aging infrastructure
• Complex funding sources and budgetary constraints
• Extensive regulatory compliance obligations
• Multi-phase contracting involving multiple stakeholders over extended timeframes
• Large scale of projects, where small complications can have outsized impact
• Over-reliance on manual and outdated processes

To manage these challenges, project leaders need a solution that connects the dots and provides a detailed view over the project as a whole. A powerful PMIS is the central nervous system for such projects, providing real time visibility, enhanced control and improved outcomes throughout the project lifecycle. Seamless integration of a PMIS and a Contract Management System (CMS) helps deliver complex capital infrastructure projects smoothly and efficiently.

Improving delivery with efficient tracking

To stay on budget and on schedule, a project’s scope, schedule, cost, safety, quality and contractors must all be closely tracked and controlled.

Currently, that’s not what’s happening on large capital transportation projects. On average, these projects devote about 30 per cent of their resources to time-consuming manual processes. The workflow imbalance is exacerbated by the number of contractors, subcontractors, suppliers and service providers involved. Many rely on outdated processes, such as Excel and paper, to track timesheets, work reports, materials and expenses.

These inefficiencies not only eat up budgets, but they impact project outcomes. When information generated is of poor quality, inconsistent, late or missing entirely, projects lack transparency and a consolidated source of truth. Project managers and stakeholders are prevented from making evidence-based decisions regarding costs, scheduling and risk.

Streamlining project management with a PMIS

A PMIS streamlines project delivery by serving as a dedicated, end-to-end, integrated system for near real-time reporting and management. It centralizes project data, automates workflows, enhances visibility and improves collaboration. It’s an engine to manage, perform and track critical activities and project-relevant KPIs at every stage of the project lifecycle, including:

• Centralized data management: Mitigates version control issues, eliminates manual work and offers real-time updates.  
• Enhanced financial control: Oversees funding allocations, prevents cost overruns, streamlines evaluations and conducts cash flow forecasting. 
• Schedule optimization: Automatically identifies dependencies and bottlenecks, allocates resources efficiently and tracks progress with earned value metrics.
• Risk management and compliance: Centralizes risk tracking and compliance through automated registers, audit trails and user activity logs.
• Communication and collaboration: Facilitates customized portals for users, ensures mobile access for real-time updates and automates reporting.
• Contract management: Simplifies procurement and contract processes with standardized templates and electronic bidding.

These management features improve the efficiency and execution of capital infrastructure projects by reducing administrative labour, eliminating manual processes, minimizing error and organizing project data. The PMIS system stores, analyses and shares asset-specific information more effectively and efficiently, tightening schedules and improving costing, scoping and risk management. Taken together, those process enhancements integrate project management and create a single source of truth.

A PMIS adds value now and down the road. During construction, it acts as a repository for asset information. Once the project is completed, this historical data can be fed into an asset management system to help manage that asset.

Despite these advantages, 54 per cent of engineering and construction firms haven’t yet adopted a PMIS or are only in the earliest stages of adoption.² Many organizations feel unequipped to configure and implement a PMIS themselves. However, the benefits of PMIS solutions are undeniably beneficial for controlling project costs and scheduling, managing risk and safety and increasing quality and efficiency.   

PMIS benefits across the project lifecycle: A checklist

PMIS and CMS solutions are ideal for projects with major capital budgets in transportation, utilities and infrastructure. They’re also customizable to meet the unique needs of a particular project or organization. Potential benefits include:

PMIS also provide a range of advanced AI and IoT capabilities:

• Smart contracting: Generate and execute blockchain-based smart contracts
• AI analytics: Conduct AI-powered forecasting and analysis to identify issues and opportunities for project optimization
• IoT integration: Enable real-time field data gathering

Building the PMIS solution that’s right for you

PMIS and CMS implementations are not one-size-fits-all. With the right customization strategy, you can transform your organization’s project delivery approach to suit your specific needs, gaining the ability to finish projects on time, within budget, in conformance with quality criteria and in compliance with regulations and requirements.

KPMG has successfully led PMIS and CMS implementations for some of North America’s largest transportation agencies:

1. We guided a US (state-level) Department of Transportation through a PMIS implementation, managing $5.2B in annual capital spending, improving scheduling by 22 per cent and providing $320M in cost savings.
2. We implemented a comprehensive PMIS for a multi-modal transportation agency that unified 14 disparate systems and enabled real-time portfolio analytics across 300+ active projects.
3. We led a CMS implementation for a provincial transportation ministry that converted and automated 100+ financial and procurement processes. The solution led to a 35 per cent reduction in procurement cycle times and improved contractor compliance by 87 per cent.
4. We developed a unified, enterprise-level project and portfolio management platform to track and manage project progression and performance across multiple transport agency divisions. We conducted 40+ workshops to identify concerns and provided standardization exercises, training and change management support.

Meeting transportation’s unique challenges

KPMG has the industry, technology and management expertise to help you undertake an end-to-end, technology-enabled transformation of your transportation capital projects management. We apply the project delivery methodology that fits your requirements, timeline and budget. Our PMIS and CMS implementation services include:

To learn more about how a tailored PMIS solution can transform an ongoing transportation project or to discuss how a PMIS can help streamline, accelerate and manage your next large capital venture, contact one of our advisors.

^{1 How big things get done: The surprising factors that determine the fate of every project, from home renovations to space exploration and everything in between, Bent Flyvbjerg and Dan Gardner, February 7, 2023}

^{2 KPMG 2023 Global Construction Survey}