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DART 'Texas-Size' Expansion On Track with PARAGON Program Management System™ Download The Case Study as PDF The Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) moves more than 200,000 people a day on light rail, buses, and vans across a 700-square-mile service area that includes 13 member cities. To accommodate this demand, now and in the future, more than 50 miles of new light rail lines, rail stations, transit and transfer stations are now being constructed as part of an expansion program that DART says is the largest light rail expansion program in North America.
For DART to better manage this complex expansion program, Trey Seabrook, Cost Control Manager, needed a fully integrated program management software system to keep program budgets and schedules on track. "We were looking for a cost management tool that would provide us a source for cost and contract management, and a more efficient process for analyzing and producing financial reports," he explained. "We found the solution we needed in PARAGON - it proved to be the Cadillac of program management systems." PARAGON Program Management System, from ViaNovus®, integrates all facets of program management into a single unified system that provides construction owners and their representatives immediate access to all the information they need to effectively manage program costs and minimize risk. By integrating PARAGON into the project management process, the DART multi-faceted, interdependent expansion projects are organized, planned and program driven. "In our view, PARAGON proved to be the best of all the other project management tools we tested, especially the reporting capabilities," Seabrook said. "We see much more accurate reporting with PARAGON. We can combine various reports into one with the click of the mouse so we have all the data we need to make more informed decisions. "All of our program data and reports are now integrated into a single, unified system," Seabrook said. "Before we installed PARAGON, we would have to look in several files for cost expenditures, change orders and budgets, pull up each report, and integrate them by hand onto an Excel® spreadsheet. The possibility for error was high." PARAGON provides unique flexibility in reporting because it puts a completely integrated view of cost, schedules, and documents in front of every team member that needs access. Everyone with a seat on the PARAGON system gets a total view that enables him or her to see how each part of the project affects the program at large. Team members can drill down to the record level of any cost or corresponding program document for sensitive information that could prevent missing deadlines or halt potential budget overruns. "With PARAGON, we are able to input the data, reconcile expenditures and contract budgets, and access this information online and in real-time," Seabrook said. "We can input change order information related to contracts and share this information immediately with the entire team. We can also ensure the integrity of the change order information." Seabrook pointed out that DART saves approximately 10 to 20 man-hours a week using PARAGON - or about $22,000 a year. DART has five concurrent users logged onto the system with a capacity for 10 users in all. "The more employees you have working with the system, the more money you are going to save," he said. "PARAGON has exceeded our expectations," Seabrook concluded. "We are able
to show Project Managers information that could only be wished for a couple
of months ago. That is all a reality now with PARAGON." |
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