More dollars will be available for infrastructure projects and digital construction management in 2023

Cities and counties are preparing for an increase in project funding, mainly through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), says Matt Sprague, industry strategy director – local government at Trimble. His firm is an industrial technology company that offers a variety of integrated infrastructure solutions. The solutions enable better decision-making by connecting the right information with the right administrators and staffers.

Sprague says, however, that local governments are confronting some troublesome trends. “Combined with an aging workforce and impending labor shortage, governments and other organizations are bracing for the impact of this challenging environment. They know they will need to do more with less or the same.”

Sprague notes that local government agencies seek efficiencies in the management of new projects and assets. “They are searching for construction project management solutions. This is called out specifically in the BIL as ‘advanced digital construction management systems,’ and funding has been allocated to address this need.”

BIL, the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, was signed into law November of 2021. It includes several buckets of dollars for organizations interested in digital transformation. In the legislation, the phrase “advanced digital construction management systems” is used to create a funding source for organizations seeking to acquire and install cutting-edge construction technology. The bill’s language refers to speeding up “state adoption of advanced digital construction management systems applied throughout the design, engineering, construction and operations phases of a construction project.”

Yes, the BIL offers funding for futuristic digital construction management systems and related technologies. Sprague notes that BIL offers state departments of transportation (DOTs) access to funding to help them accelerate the adoption of digital design and construction technologies. “This grant program is funded at $20 million per year, for a total of $100 million, over five years and will be administered by the Federal Highway Administration.”

He explains: “According to BIL text, the goals of the program are to ‘maximize interoperability with other systems, products, tools or applications; boost productivity; manage complexity; reduce project delays and cost overruns; and enhance safety and quality.’”

Sprague is convinced that the Every Day Counts program may also spur needed innovation in the nation’s transportation systems. Every Day Counts is a separate, state-based model that empowers DOTs to deploy established, yet underutilized innovations designed to make the U.S. transportation system more adaptable, sustainable, equitable and safer for all. “Since the inception of Federal Highway’s Every Day Counts (EDC) Program in 2011, each state has capitalized on 20 or more of the 52 innovations promoted through the program, with some states having deployed more than 45.”

Sprague believes there also is a need to more efficiently manage infrastructure assets once they are completed. “Therefore, owners also are making sure they have an enterprise asset management system in place.”

The Trimble executive points out that there has been a lot of investment in this area, whether it is through consolidation/acquisitions, investment in new technology or development investment. “We have been working towards this vision for more than five years with the acquisition of three core asset lifecycle management (ALM) solutions (e-Builder in 2018, Cityworks in 2019 and AgileAssets in 2021).”

He notes that other vendors have been making similar advances in the marketplace. “This has all been part of the industry’s digital transformation journey. It’s been a steady move from manual management via emails and spreadsheets, to the adoption of disparate point solutions, to now the adoption of interconnected systems of record. The innovations will allow contractors, governments and others to harness the value of collaboration across all stakeholders.”

Sprague’s firm offers Trimble Construction One, a tool that provides two-way communication between contractors and stakeholders throughout a construction project. “What makes this solution even more powerful for owners is integrating it with our owner-focused asset lifecycle management (ALM) solutions,” he explains.

ALM combines digital project delivery with enterprise asset management to specifically address the needs of the asset owner. It enables government agencies or other asset owners (and their various internal teams) to get the most out of the data to make more informed decisions. Sprague’s conclusion “Armed with connected data from ALM solutions, owners enjoy game-changing visibility throughout the entire lifecycle of their asset—from planning and design to construction and throughout operations and maintenance.”

Sprague explains ALM’s value this way: “The value of asset lifecycle management is in the data that is being generated throughout the life of an asset. The problem is not a data problem. Rather, it’s a data continuity problem. For an agency to truly leverage the value of the data they are generating throughout the lifecycle, they need to commit to a digital transformation. That step will enable the agency to leverage interoperable solutions which allow the mapping of data to a model, or common data environment (CDE).”

Sprague says his firm’s customers have begun a digital transformation. “They are leveraging our vision and experience to help guide them. It’s about partnering with an organization you trust to move into the future together.” He adds that more than 800 government agencies have begun their asset lifecycle management journey by leveraging, at least one, of Trimble’s solutions.

Sprague tells Co-op Solutions that government contracting takes time. He notes that the procurement process is not quick. He adds that creating and processing formal RFPs and completing comprehensive, detail-oriented legal reviews are often finalized at a slow pace. He explains that procurement via cooperative contracts through the federal General Services Administration (GSA) and other organizations can be helpful, “but does not completely fast-forward this process.”

He says that one way his firm’s customers are currently expediting the procurement and adoption of Trimble’s solutions is by leveraging existing contracts to move on to the next step of their digital transformation journey. “Because our solutions are not individual companies with individual terms and conditions, customers are able to leverage existing contracts to add new solutions for their team. This can help shorten or even bypass the RFP process and/or the legal review and/or procurement process.”

Michael Keating is senior editor for American City & County. Contact him at [email protected].