AM, administrative software ease complex Maryland job

A gas distribution looping project, in three segments that traversed a complete range of installation and alignment issues, recently was completed by Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. (BG and E) in northern Maryland. The major projects unit in the company's gas system engineering and design section was responsible for total oversight of the three projects. This included design, engineering, permitting, right-of-way acquisition, construction, testing and restoration, as well as liaison with other company divisions. A specially selected subcontractor team was organized to provide the latest technology. A project management system, comprised mainly of personal computer applications, was implemented to provide: engineering and design coordination; accurate interface among easement, real estate acquisition data, plats, surveys, permitting and design documents; accurate right-of-way identification; data storage and accessibility of all real estate information for use in design and budgeting; an interface of environmental conditions with topography and design; a computer database that is compatible with existing computer libraries and industry-available software, for producing drawings. Controls for projects costs, budget and schedule were provided by the project management system. This was accomplished by interaction of four data systems: real estate, accounting/budget, geographical information system (GIS), global positioning system (GPS). Construction progress was monitored with a scheduling application that ultimately provided justification for contractor progress payments. The amount of pipe laid in any given time span, as documented by field inspector reports, was entered into the scheduling application. The scheduling software calculated the percent completed and provided information for monitoring progress