NYC-WTC_000195490

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

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Management Initiatives I Management initiatives continue to be developed and implemented to enhance the administration and advancement of the capital program. These include:

• continued Improvements to capital program management;

• updating the charter-mandated capital asset condition assessment;

• application of value engineering to reduce capital arid operatirig costs;

Capital Program Management

The Department of Design and'Construction was cheated in October 1995 by Local Law 77, which authorized it to assume responsibility for construction projects performed by the Departments of Transportation, Environmental Protection and General Services. The Department delivers the City’s construction projects in an expeditious, cost-effective manner, while maintaining the highest degree of architectural, engineering and construction quality, the Department' performs design arid construction functions related to streets and highways; sewers; water mains; correctional and court facilities; cultural i buildings; libraries; and other public buildings, facilities and structures. '

i The consolidation of design and construction into a single agency allows for the elimination of duplicative program units within agencies; the standardization of construction procedures and practices; the implementation of reforms of current practices relating to procurement for construction projects; and the expansion of the use of construction-related technology, such as Computer-Aided Drafting and Design (CADD); and a project management information system. The Department also enables the city to coordinate a wide variety of construction projects with utilities, community representatives, and private industry, thus minimizing the disruption to individual neighborhoods caused by water-rnain projects, sewer construction, arid road work, as well as reducing the costs associated with such projects. The Department of Design and Constructiori serves 15 client agencies.

Capital Asset Inventory and Maintenance f’rogram •

The charter requires an annual assessment of the city’s major assets including buildings, piers, bulkheads, I bridges, streets and highways, and the preparation of maintenance schedules for these assets. This message, l< used by agencies for capital planning purposes, includes, as a separate volume, a reconciliation of the amounts S recommended in the condition assessment with amounts funded in the budget. fc I Value Engineering

i Value Engineering (VE) is a systematic analytical methodology directed toward analyzing the functions of projects for the purpose of achieving the best value and most effective operation at the lowest life-cycle project cost. During the past three years, the VE program has utilized innovations in value management methodologies to evaluate a more diverse group of projects, widening the scope and depth of project reviews to include agencies’ operations and processes, and independent cost estimating.

Value Engineering is a collaborative effort between all concerned city agencies with budgetary and operatiorial jurisdiction over a project, and outside consultants with expertise on critical project components. The City has utilized VE effectively in the last dozen years on; mainly large-scale capital projects with a view to controlling costs. However, the VE process does not only result in cost reductions, but also frequently

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