Working with Tribal Construction Programs to Pursue Digital Transformation

Tribal nations deal with the same challenges as any other infrastructure industry organization - meeting project timelines, managing funding, ensuring proper record-keeping, etc. However, tribal construction teams have the added burden of needing to closely track federal fund usage on nearly every project.

A USDOT survey of federally funded LPA projects found two key challenges that many tribal communities face: a lack of documentation and unsupported construction costs. More specifically, USDOT found opportunities for improvement in the following areas:

• Bid analysis to ensure fair value from contractors

• Project reporting and tracking of funds

• Managing documentation for change orders or claims

• Lack of or improper material certifications

• Inconsistent inspection frequency

We recently partnered with Cherokee Nation to give a presentation at the 2024 National Transportation in Indian Country Conference on our joint efforts to address these issues by implementing e-construction solutions in the areas of project bidding and construction administration/inspection. With 450,000 citizens and nearly 4,000 roadway miles on the Tribal Transportation Program (TTP) inventory, Cherokee’s efforts can help set a standard approach for tribal communities nationwide.

The Benefits of Electronic Bidding and Cloud-Based Construction Administration

Electronic Bidding

e-Bidding adds many efficiencies to the typical bidding process. The ability to advertise and receive bids online is the key functionality of e-bidding software, but solutions like our own Bid Express come with features that save time in a variety of areas:

• Bid templates enable expedited bid set-up

• Automated error-checking reduces the likelihood of non-responsive bids

• Instant bid tabulation simplifies bid analysis

• An online Q&A/Addenda feature makes it easy to communicate with vendors

Cloud-Based Construction Administration & Inspection

How are you currently documenting field inspection and material testing activities? How about tracking federal funds? Cloud-based construction administration and inspection solutions simplify these processes by introducing comprehensive digital record-keeping to your process. Every aspect of your project is tracked digitally so it can be easily summarized and reported on to meet federal compliance requirements. As an example, Cherokee Nation uses Infotech’s Appia platform to:

• Track daily activities on mobile devices for more accurate field data

• Manage change orders and other project documentation for a complete record

• Estimate and generate payments based on a detailed record of work performed

• Manage and track split funding from a variety of sources

• Simplify project closeout with built-in reporting functionality

An Implementation Checklist

If you are looking to implement a scalable bid and construction management program in your tribal community, an example checklist that includes a variety of scalable options is below. Every implementation should start with the questions “What is important to my agency? What is the value?” and the creation of a dedicated implementation project management team. From there, you can leverage the following:

• Stakeholder Analysis​ - which stakeholders need to be involved?

• Change & Transition Management​ - how will you communicate changes?

• Decision Hierarchy​ - who is responsible for various decisions?

• Hardware Equipment and Network Assessment​ - what hardware do you need to support implementation?

• Project Documentation Structure​ - how will you structure project documents?

• Implementation Personnel​ - who is on your implementation team?

• Kick-Off Plans​ - what do you want to accomplish in a kickoff meeting?

• Process Documentation​ - how do you want to document business process changes?

• Training & Support Plan​ - how will you bring your team up to speed?

• Project Management Tools & Processes​ - how will your team leverage these new tools with agile practices, removing any obstacles?

• Testing Plan​ - how can you test new processes on a small scale?

• Production Roll-Out Plan - what’s the game plan and timeline for full implementation?

Working with Infotech

Infotech works with tribal communities to implement bidding and construction management solutions that simplify federal compliance, eliminate manual processes, and streamline construction project workflows. Implementing solutions like Bid Express and Appia enables tribal nations to leverage electronic advertising, bidding, contract administration, and inspection to streamline construction project workflows. If you are interested in implementing these solutions, don’t hesitate to contact us.