Data Analytics Tools for Ecology Program Management

Data analytics tools, such as Power BI, have become industry standards for creating intuitive, user friendly data visualization to assist users with data-driven decisions. Digital solutions, such as dashboards, take data traditionally stored in a spreadsheet format and create a tailored, interactive user experience.
Arcadis provides Ecology Support Services to the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) that include staff augmentation and program management. Given the scale of GDOT’s program which can exceed 1,000 projects across the state at any given time, efficient staff utilization is critical. While assisting the GDOT Ecology Section with program delivery it became apparent that team leaders and managers lacked accessible data to make balanced work assignments given project schedule, complexity, and staff experience levels.
With the goal of improving GDOT Office of Environmental Services (OES) program delivery, Arcadis developed the OES Workload Portal in collaboration with the Ecology Section. The main data source for this dashboard is the OES All Projects Spreadsheet which is based on a query of GDOT’s TPRO program management software and Primavera P6 schedule database. This spreadsheet is pushed weekly to OES staff and consultants by OES Environmental Delivery Support staff.
The OES Workload Portal is a multi-tab dashboard that provides customizable data visualizations and filtering options at the program, team, and staff level. Utilizing data from the OES All Projects Spreadsheet, the OES Workload Portal ranks projects by complexity (i.e., project type). For example, a widening project is ranked higher in complexity than a single bridge replacement, as the level of effort to complete ecology studies for the former is greater. Projects are also organized by schedule (i.e., activity/work type) corresponding to the ecology study phases studies including field investigations, technical reporting, and permitting. The dashboard also allows the user to “drill down” instantly on specific data to access more detailed from TPRO and P6.
An additional feature of the OES Workload Portal is an interactive “heat map” that provides a month by month view of “activities” assigned to ecology staff. This allows team leaders to monitor staff work assignments for the current month, quarter, or fiscal year; and perhaps more importantly to adjust assignments as letting schedules shift over the course of project development. The portal also provides a GIS interface showing project locations across the state with a corresponding calendar based on ecology “activities”. This allows the Ecology Section to identify fieldwork efficiencies by identifying projects with similar geographies and delivery schedules, and scheduling fieldwork for multiple projects in a single trip thereby reducing labor and vehicle miles traveled.