Streamlining Project Tracking at the City of Dallas Public Works Department Through a TXShare Cooperative Contract improving efficiency by 67%, & saving hundreds of hours of staff time

For years, the Program Manager for the City of Dallas Public Works Department, Chris Lutz tracked projects the old-fashioned way: on paper. 

“I would have a stack on my desk 18 inches, two feet high, every month of just paper I had to go through for data entry, check for math errors, check for spelling errors, check for coffee spilled on documents. That was a lot of my month,” he said.

Manual tracking was slow. Sometimes it led to disputes over undocumented work that required lengthy investigations. Lutz could only give his best guess when asked for timeline and budget updates. On top of that, it took up to a month to pay contractors. 

The department needed a better way to manage and track projects and digitize, and they needed it fast. Typically, finding a contractor to help the department solve its project tracking concerns would be a long and complex process. Fortunately, Dallas was able to award an efficient and effective vendor with help from TXShare, the cooperative purchasing program of the North Central Texas Council of Governments.

Finding the Right Vendor With Ease

Dallas utilized the TXShare contract to hire Power QV, a project-tracking software company that allows the city, prime contractors, and subcontractors to collaborate and track progress and budgets in real-time in one centralized place. It’s the only project tracking system created specifically for the public sector that allows all parties involved to access and collaborate on project tracking, resulting in highly accurate reporting.

This led to:

• 67% efficiency gains: Reducing the average contractor payment processing times from 30 days to just 10 days; 720 hours to 240 hours, thanks to quick access to critical data, 
• Streamlined billing, budgeting, and information access.
• Contractor accountability, ensuring project goals and safety standards are met.
• Reduced finger-pointing thanks to clear, easily retrievable records.

“Now I can pull up my phone, anywhere in the world, and see exactly where I am dollar-wise on every single individual project, not just the contract total, so it’s been great for me,” Lutz said. “My wife will tell you it saved my marriage because I have not had to sleep in the office for five years.”

By shopping pre-vetted TXShare contracts on Civic Marketplace, cities like Dallas can dramatically reduce both the time and the cost of the traditional procurement process and connect with vendors that they need so they can focus on what they do best.

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A TXShare Cooperative Contract Provides a Path to Simplicity

Recognizing an opportunity to create a solution for its member agencies, TXShare, developed a contract to solve this common issue public work departments often face ensuring 100% legal compliance and best practice procurement. In doing so, agencies can move rapidly through the procurement process saving months’ of time. 

Awarding through TXShare contracts:

• Alleviates administrative burdens
• Gives governments like Dallas rapid access to quality contracts and qualified vendors
• Reduces time and cost to receive services and products
• Offers competitive volume pricing rates
• Ensures high quality service delivery 
• 100% legal compliance 

The TXShare contract utilized by the City of Dallas is available on Civic Marketplace, your ally in the purchasing process. To learn more, schedule a consultation.