Congestion Mitigation Air Quality Grants
Anna Ryazantseva, Process Improvement Intern
March 25, 2013
Update: March 1, 2014
A joint application has been successfully developed and prospective grantees were required to attend training prior to applying for projects; this was very beneficial to clarifying aspects of the program and helping applicants understand program requirements.
Results: The percent of applications which are ready to go directly to contract without rework has increased significantly, to 80%. Another goal of this process improvement project was to have projects contracted within 90 days of receiving a completed scope; this was accomplished for 100% of grantee projects.
Situation Overview
Congestion Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ) Transportation Demand Management (TDM) projects are ones that reduce congestion and improve air quality for the people of Colorado. The current state of the CMAQ Grants process has a disconnect between Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), who select CMAQ projects, and the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), which is responsible for developing contracts and managing the TDM program. CDOT input is not always taken into consideration when projects are being selected or when new programs are introduced.
This results in several problems, including:
Frustration in the time it takes to get from project selection to contract;
Lack of knowledge on the part of the grantee—most applications lack the detail needed by CDOT and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to move to contract and makes scoping time intensive;
The process and its requirements are not always clear resulting in only about 20% of CMAQ Grant applications being scoped to go directly to contracting;
CDOT’s limited resources are stretched beyond capacity; and
Invoicing is arduous—many grantees don’t have a basic understanding of billing or tracking federal projects.
Project Personnel
Project Sponsor: Sandi Kohrs
Steering Committee: Sandi Kohrs, Ben Stein, George Strimbu, Bill Haas, Steve Rudy
Project Team: Steve Cook, DRCOG; Melina Dempsey, DRCOG; Pam Thompson, OFMB; Kent Peterson, DTD Business Office; Phil Caldwell, CDOT Contracts; Jeff Sudmeier, CDOT MPO Manager; Betsy Jacobsen, CDOT Program Manager; Gloria Hice-Idler, Team Leader
Steward: Betsy Jacobsen, CDOT Program Manager
Mentor: Gary Vansuch, CDOT Process Improvement Director
What did the Team do?
During the week of January 28, 2013, the team met to review and analyze the CMAQ TDM Grants process. Using Lean principles and tools, the team outlined the process; people involved in the process voiced their concerns and issues and, from this, were able to work out problem areas. They determined that applications often didn’t provide enough information to quickly move to contract and that the signature process was time-consuming because reviewers weren’t always aware of what they should be reviewing. They found that the process took over 80 separate steps to complete, had many delays, and required rework of many documents. “[CMAQ TDM] projects can languish for many reasons, but when they are late in simply getting started, because of scope or contracting issues, the lost time can never be made up,” commented Steve Rudy of DRCOG.
Targeted Outcomes
The project team set a goal to improve the quality of applications so that 100% of them can go directly to contracting. They also aim to increase efficiency in the program and streamline the process to bring administration down to 50%, allowing staff to focus on other programs and activities.
Improvement Opportunities
By identifying the waste in the process, the project team was able to determine a future state. They identified three important improvement opportunities that would change the CMAQ TDM Grants process for the better, eliminating over 20 wasteful steps. These improvements include:
Including CDOT in the development of the application and selection of projects;
Requesting funds earlier in the process; and
Changing the review/signature process.
To achieve these targeted outcomes, the team outlined an implementation plan and set deadlines for completing the steps. The first steps of implementation have begun as scheduled.
Final Thoughts
“DRCOG and project sponsors have long shared CDOT’s frustration with the time and effort required to get TDM projects underway. I am pleased CDOT initiated this Rapid Improvement Event; DRCOG staff was a willing and enthusiastic collaborator,” stated Steve Rudy. The CMAQ TDM Grants project team members have used their own experiences and their valuable knowledge to better a common process. They are working diligently on implementing the outlined improvements to efficiently and effectively implement and administer CMAQ TDM contracts. The CMAQ TDM Grants Improvement Effort is just another way for everyone, every day, improving every process and every product for every customer.