University of Cincinnati receives $2.1M Public Transportation…

APPLICATION PURPOSE: THE PRIMARY PURPOSE OF THIS RESEARCH PROJECT IS TO EMPOWER TRANSIT AGENCIES TO HARNESS THE CAPABILITIES OF ADCMS AND DIGITAL CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGIES FOR IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION PROJECT MANAGEMENT. BY DEMONSTRATING THE PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS AND BENEFITS OF THESE TECHNOLOGIES WE SEEK TO REDUCE THE NEED FOR PAPERWORK STREAMLINE PROCESSES AND FACILITATE SHARING OF REAL-TIME INFORMATION WITH FEDERAL STATE AGENCIES AS WELL AS CONTRACTORS AND OTHERS MINIMIZING DELAYS AND COST OVERRUNS.; ACTIVITIES PERFORMED: THE PROJECT WILL EMPLOY A MULTIFACETED METHODOLOGY COMPRISING SEVERAL KEY COMPONENTS INCLUDING: REVIEW OF EXISTING LITERATURE AND CASE STUDIES RELATED TO ADCMS ADOPTION AND ITS IMPACT ON CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT PRACTICES; COLLABORATION WITH TRANSIT AGENCIES TECHNOLOGY PROVIDERS INDUSTRY EXPERTS AND REGULATORY BODIES TO IDENTIFY CHALLENGES REQUIREMENTS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR ADCMS IMPLEMENTATION; CONDUCTING ADCMS DEMONSTRATIONS ON TRANSIT PROJECTS TO SHOWCASE THE FUNCTIONALITIES AND BENEFITS OF ADCMS SOLUTIONS TAILORED TO THE NEEDS OF TRANSIT CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS; PERFORMING SYSTEMATIC EVALUATION OF THE DEMONSTRATION OUTCOMES AND ANALYSIS OF IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGES AND SUCCESS FACTORS; AND DISSEMINATION OF RESEARCH FINDINGS BEST PRACTICES AND RECOMMENDATIONS THROUGH REPORTS PRESENTATIONS WEBINARS AND INDUSTRY CONFERENCES. THE PROJECT WILL GENERATE SEVERAL OUTPUTS AIMED AT FACILITATING ADCMS ADOPTION WITHIN TRANSIT AGENCIES INCLUDING 1- A PILOT DEPLOYMENT REPORT DOCUMENTING THE INITIAL IMPLEMENTATIONS OF ADCMS IN SELECTED TRANSIT AGENCY SITES CAPTURING IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGES AND DISTILLING VALUABLE LESSONS LEARNED; 2- AN EVALUATION REPORT ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF ADCMS DEPLOYMENT ON OPERATIONS SHOWCASING KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS SUCCESS STORIES AND AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT TO INFORM DECISION-MAKING; 3- PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS INCLUDING BROCHURES VIDEOS AND CASE STUDIES TO EFFECTIVELY COMMUNICATE THE BENEFITS OF ADCMS ADOPTION; AND 4-TRAINING PROGRAMS TO EQUIP TRANSIT AGENCY STAFF WITH THE NECESSARY SKILLS FOR ADCMS UTILIZATION. A FINAL RESEARCH REPORT WILL SUMMARIZE THE ENTIRE PROJECT DETAILING METHODOLOGY FINDINGS CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES.; EXPECTED OUTCOMES: THE PROJECT AIMS TO INCREASE AWARENESS AND UNDERSTANDING OF ADCMS AND DIGITAL CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGIES AMONG TRANSIT AGENCY STAKEHOLDERS LEADING TO IMPROVED PROJECT EFFICIENCY ENHANCED COLLABORATION COST SAVINGS SAFETY AND CULTIVATION OF AN INNOVATION CULTURE WITHIN TRANSIT AGENCIES.; INTENDED BENEFICIARIES: THE PRIMARY BENEFICIARIES OF THIS PROJECT ARE U.S. TRANSIT AGENCIES SEEKING TO IMPROVE PROJECT DELIVERY THROUGH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ADVANCED DIGITAL CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS (ADCMS). DIRECT BENEFICIARIES INCLUDE THE SOUTHWEST OHIO REGIONAL TRANSIT AUTHORITY (SORTA) THE CENTRAL OHIO TRANSIT AUTHORITY (COTA) THE MASSACHUSETTS BAY TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY (MBTA) AND THE PORT AUTHORITY OF NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY (PANYNJ) WHICH WILL PARTICIPATE IN DEMONSTRATIONS AND EVALUATION ACTIVITIES. ADDITIONAL BENEFICIARIES INCLUDE TRANSIT AGENCY PROJECT MANAGERS CONSTRUCTION MANAGERS ENGINEERS CONTRACTORS AND OPERATIONS PERSONNEL WHO WILL BENEFIT FROM IMPROVED COLLABORATION INFORMATION MANAGEMENT ANALYTICS WORKFLOW AUTOMATION AND DIGITAL PROJECT DELIVERY CAPABILITIES. THE FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION (FTA) AND THE BROADER TRANSIT INDUSTRY WILL BENEFIT FROM THE DEVELOPMENT OF IMPLEMENTATION GUIDELINES BEST PRACTICES WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT RESOURCES AND LESSONS LEARNED THAT SUPPORT BROADER ADOPTION OF ADCMS TECHNOLOGIES NATIONWIDE.THE UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI IS THE LEAD INSTITUTION AND IS PARTNERING WITH SORTA COTA MBTA AND PANYNJ. THE UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE WILL PARTICIPATE AS A SUBRECIPIENT SUPPORTING BIM AND DIGITAL TWIN RESEARCH AND DEMONSTRATION ACTIVITIES.; SUBRECIPIENT ACTIVITIES: AN INDEPENDENT THIRD-PARTY SUBRECIPIENT TO BE SELECTED LATER IN CONSULTATION WITH THE FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION (FTA) WILL WORK UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR DR. HAZEM ELZARKA TO SUPPORT THE IMPLEMENTATION DEMONSTRATION AND EVALUATION OF ADVANCED DIGITAL CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (ADCMS) CAPABILITIES WITHIN PARTICIPATING TRANSIT AGENCIES. ACTIVITIES MAY INCLUDE DEPLOYMENT AND ASSESSMENT OF DIGITAL CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGIES PROJECT MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS (PMIS) AI-ENABLED ANALYTICS DOCUMENT INTELLIGENCE WORKFLOW AUTOMATION SYSTEM INTEGRATIONS REPORTING TOOLS BIM AND DIGITAL TWIN APPLICATIONS DATA INTEROPERABILITY AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES. THE SELECTED SUBRECIPIENT WILL COLLABORATE WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI RESEARCH TEAM AND PARTICIPATING TRANSIT AGENCIES TO DOCUMENT IMPLEMENTATION APPROACHES EVALUATE TECHNOLOGY PERFORMANCE IDENTIFY BARRIERS AND BEST PRACTICES ASSESS ORGANIZATIONAL ADOPTION AND OPERATIONAL IMPACTS AND CONTRIBUTE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF IMPLEMENTATION GUIDELINES KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER MATERIALS AND SCALABLE DEPLOYMENT STRATEGIES THAT SUPPORT BROADER ADOPTION OF ADCMS TECHNOLOGIES ACROSS THE TRANSIT INDUSTRY.