• UTRC II SUBMISSION SYSTEM
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Login / Register

Search form

Home
  • Home
  • About
    • Welcome to the UTRC Site
    • Theme
    • Staff
    • Board of Directors
    • Press
    • Annual Report
    • Program Progress Performance Report
    • Newsletter
  • Research
    • Projects
    • RFPs
    • Submit Your Proposal
    • Funding Categories
      • UTRC Research Initiative
      • UTRC Advanced Technology Initiative
      • UTRC Faculty Development Mini-grants
      • UTRC Best Transportation Paper Competition
      • News
  • Publications
  • Directory
    • Consortium Universities
    • Partners
    • Principal Investigators
    • Staff
    • Board of Directors
  • Education
    • Where to Study
    • Transportation and Planning Doctoral Series
    • AITE Scholarships
    • UTRC Dissertation Grants
    • Summer Institute
    • September 11th Memorial Program
    • Technology Transfer and Training
    • Online Graduate Certificate Program
    • UTRC Travel Grants
    • Student Award Recipients
    • Apply For Scholarships
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
    • Visiting Scholar Seminar Series
  • Resources

Develop Consultant Management Estimating Tools

Project Description

The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) Consultant Management Bureau’s primary responsibilities are to negotiate staffing hours/resources with engineering design consultants, and to monitor the consultant's costs. Currently the Consultant Management Bureau uses knowledge of past and current projects as well as engineering judgment to estimate consultant costs.

The proposed research will focus on several major issues:

1) The establishment of a central database that contains historic total project cost and staffing level data.
2) The development of a computer based estimating tool that employs the data from the historical database to provide more accurate and efficient estimates of consultant resources.
3) We will identify the major variables that affect the consultant's hours and develop predictive models. We will study multiple regression analysis as a method for developing the models. We will only consider techniques that can easily be incorporated in an Excel spreadsheet.
4) The NYSDOT already employs an excel spreadsheet based estimating tool. We will determine how to best integrate the new computer tool with the existing spreadsheet. We will also explore how the developed estimating tool can exchange data with Primavera software. One meeting will be held with other interested parties in the NYSDOT to discuss the possibilities for integration
5) Training will be provided including at least three PowerPoint presentations to NYSDOT engineers. The meeting will occur in the main office, downstate, and in the Buffalo area.

The PowerPoint presentations produced for the meetings will be provided to NYSDOT as a deliverable. A users manual will be developed to assist Consultant Managers using the system.

Potentially this research can result in cost savings to the NYSDOT by providing an improved decision making tool to Consultant Managers negotiating contracts. The objective of the research project is to produce and calibrate a computer based design agreement estimating tool that uses a database of historical project information to produce budget estimates of consultant staffing.

Project Details

Project Dates: 
June 1, 2008 to April 30, 2012
Principal Investigators: 
Dr. Neville A. Parker
Dr. Trefor P. Williams
Institution: 
Rutgers University
City University of New York
Sponsor(s): 
New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT)
Research and Innovative Technology Administration / USDOT (RITA)
Publications: 
Final Report
Project Brief
Project Status: 
Complete
Please subscribe to our Newsletter:

Get our newsletter

Please enter your email address to subscribe to our newsletter:

Contact Us

University Transportation Research Center
Marshak Hall - Science Building, Suite 910 
The City College of New York
138th Street & Convent Avenue ,New York, NY 10031