HDR Experts Share Insights on Project Management Systems for Integrated Data Hubs

The latest installment of HDR’s Experts Talk interview series features Brad Robinson, HDR’s director of project controls, and Brandon Joy, HDR’s commercial management director, describing new tools that streamline the development of project dashboards to help leaders better deliver infrastructure.

Citing examples from large and small projects and programs, Robinson and Joy explain the benefits of these new tools and outline the incremental approach that works for developing staff and building the experience to apply these solutions. They describe systems used to manage the CA$10 billion-plus Ontario Line Subway in Toronto that integrated over a dozen data sources, and smaller installations for change and quality management for fast-track design-build projects, large and small. Republication of the article or separate interviews with Robinson and Joy are available on request.

“For a reasonably low cost, we develop a single source of truth — a data hub that includes workflow and notifications — that gets you running quickly,” Joy said. “Some black-box solutions can take a year to get modules going; we can be up and going in a fraction of that time.”

“Simply by eliminating side files — those Excel sheets you create to analyze data from multiple sources — it’s useful for any size project,” Robinson said. “Because these applications sit on top of clients’ existing systems, they’re economical both in simple form for a small $100K project and in more complex form for billion-dollar projects, so the solution scales really well.”

HDR’s Experts Talk interview series shines a light on various aspects of transportation infrastructure design and delivery. Each subject matter expert offers unique expertise and insights about new and ongoing trends, emerging technologies and the human side of infrastructure.