Case Study: Pennsylvania Department of General Services achieves faster, leaner project delivery and financial transparency with Trimble e-Builder

How to Modernize a Public Agency

The Pennsylvania Department of General Services (PADGS) Public Works bureau oversees design, construction and renovation for a $1.5B capital portfolio with about 100 staff and a $15M operating budget. Confronted with paper-driven, siloed processes, disconnected IT systems, limited authority for frontline subject-matter experts and lengthy approvals (change orders averaged 79 days), the agency struggled with inefficiency, lack of transparency and schedule/budget risk common to public owners.

Beginning in 2014 PADGS launched a modernization program and partnered with e-Builder to redesign processes and deploy a cloud-based project management information system, empower field staff, and pilot electronic bidding (with OpenScape). The results were dramatic: the bidding workflow shrank from 79 steps/44 days to 21 steps/22 days, change-order approval time dropped from 79 days to as little as hours (typical now ~7 days), the agency became virtually paperless and now manages 183 design and 80 construction projects in the new system while maintaining its $1.5B portfolio with $15M of overhead.

Pennsylvania Department of General Services

Liz O' Reilly

Deupty Secretary Of Public Works