Capital Project Planning, Budgeting and Management – Are Utilities Unique?

When the Columbus Department of Public Utilities (Columbus DPU) organized a capital program to improve wet weather performance of their collection system, they realized an information system was needed to help manage the program. An interim Program Management Information System (iPMIS) was developed, with capabilities for capturing, organizing and reporting program documents and data.Early experience with the iPMIS generated wide interest within DPU. With improved information management, the program management team was able to fast-track multiple design phase projects simultaneously, and critical information became much more accessible. DPU began imagining how the system could benefit capital project planning and execution department-wide, and how DPU could potentially spearhead a city-wide initiative.DPU turned to information technology specialists in Red Oak Consulting to conduct an evaluation of the iPMIS and commercial software solutions offered for project management, and develop a roadmap for successful implementation. This paper presents the results of the capital project information system evaluation conducted for DPU and critical success factors identified for implementation