PUBLIC SECTOR SUCCESS STORY

Chicago Public Schools’ Portfolio Approach Drives Efficiency and SavingsCatalyst designs and implements a robust P6 and Contract Manager enterprise platform, allowing architects, project managers, and outside contractors on capital improvement projects to collaborate and improve CPS capital project delivery.

The Chicago Public School (CPS) system maintains 670 schools and invests $600 million annually upgrading their facilities with the help of 60 in-house staffers and hundreds of external contractors and subcontractors. At any given time, 200-300 projects of various sizes are underway.

CPS was looking for a better way to prioritize and manage those projects as cost and time efficiently as possible. The CPS Capital Renovations department chose to standardize on Oracle Primavera P6 and Contract Management software with the help of Catalyst.

A key goal for the project was to create common processes and one single system to collect information from all participants. That robust system would be used to prioritize activities, provide greater visibility and control of project status and outcomes, and provide the added transparency needed to meet new state statutes.

Additionally, the new system needed to integrate project billing with CPS financial

systems and coordinate activities among internal departments. CPS also required the system to be flexible enough to add complex program designs on the fly and to best utilize additional manpower during the short, summer construction season.

In order to accomplish these goals, significant customizations needed to be made to the P6 and Contract Manager systems and codes created for 65,000 unique design and construction activities. Training would be needed for all those internal and external teams not previously versed in Primavera and enterprise project management.

Catalyst’s Project Controls Team Led the Way Creating the new system and migrating all resources to it would not be without its challenges. At the time, 90 external architects worked on CPS capital projects and each kept their own construction administration methods.

Lack of common methods and tools led to multiple “versions of the truth”, limited project visibility, and missed deadlines.

ChallengeCPS needed a better way to manage multiple capital improvement projects for its 670 schools. Lack of common methods and tools led to limited project visibility and inefficiency. Twenty-eight percent of projects were significantly behind sched-ule. Countless hours were also wasted entering duplicate data into various CPS financial and operations systems.

Solution> CPS standardized on Primavera P6

and Contract Manager. They turned to Catalyst to manage the transformation.

> Catalyst coded the system for 65,000 unique design and construction activities and worked with the IT staff at CPS to connect external partners to the system.

> Best-in-class practices were recom-mended by Catalyst. Training and mentoring programs were developed to teach CPS staff and external contractors the basics of the new P6 and Contract Manager systems.

Outcomes> Staff efficiency has increased and costs

decreased by nearly $10 million per year.

> All participants now can “speak the same language”.

> Management can view all aspects of all projects from single customized dashboard in real time.

> Data entry effort has been significantly reduced; a single, accurate “version-of-the-truth” is available to inform and guide all project participants.

About CatalystCatalyst is an Oracle Primavera Platinum Partner offering software sales and support services such as consulting, training and implementation for firms in the construction, manufacturing, public sector, and power industries. Since 1994, Catalyst has been known as the go-to project management consultant for complex jobs. The firm’s deep knowledge of the industry and best-in-class software suites helps clients achieve greater efficiency and reduced risk. Catalyst is headquartered in Indianapolis and has offices in Chicago, Philadelphia, and New York.

Twenty-eight percent of projects were significantly behind schedule. Countless hours were also wasted entering similar data into different financial and work management systems.

“There was a laissez fair attitude with how projects were scheduled and how quickly they were done,” said Cory Davis, Director of Capital Renovation and New Construction at Chicago Public Schools. “The mentality was ‘just get as much as you can get done in the summer as long as you get school open we can take care of everything else as we go.’ Nobody required schedules. That had to change.“

Catalyst was chosen to implement the CPS system and immediately got to work. The system needed to go live, complete with manual mapping of 200+ job codes, input of active contract data and secure access readied for internal and external partners in just 10 weeks. Additionally, the system needed to integrate with the existing enterprise Oracle E-Business suite and exchange financial and scheduling information back and forth between the two systems in real-time.

The Catalyst consultants worked in tandem with CPS technology staff to ensure a smooth roll-out and zero disruptions to the rest of the IT infrastructure. Finally, Catalyst provided Oracle-certified Instructors and consultants to train and coach internal and external end users, holding more than 70 hands-on training sessions.

Efficient Processes and Tools Yield Significant SavingsIn just 10 weeks, Catalyst had implemented the customized P6 and Contract Manager system and began training staff and external resources on how to use it. Over the following year, Catalyst continued training sessions, refined the Oracle Primavera P6 and CM systems using lessons learned from the 2011 construction season, completed intensive knowledge-transfer sessions and system documentation and stayed on as the school department’s interim project management team. The CPS internal and external teams assumed system ownership beginning May 1, 2012.

Cost savings from the capital improvement program systemization are expected to top $10 million per year including $4.25 million per year in direct savings from P6 and Contract Manager implementation. Another $2.75 million in annual savings will be realized each year due to fewer change order request. And, overhead costs as a percentage of construction were down 65% in the first year of the program.

“It could not have happened without Catalyst,” said Davis. “Everything they did on the front end – from implementation and testing it to development to actually rolling out the training has been fantastic. We’ve gone through 70+ training seminars and we’d have never been anywhere close to that. We could not have a better partner than Catalyst.”

Headquarters 2601 Fortune Circle East, Suite 300B, Indianapolis, INPhone (317) 227-3499Web www.catalystusa.com

“All of our 90 architects and 40+ contractors are now able to use P6 to develop schedules on our system so we can see in real time where they are in terms of project health.”

CPS maintains 670 schools with an average age of 73 years. Nearly 69% are slated for repairs or improvements of more than $3 million including new boilers, plumbing, roofing and electrical work.