Project Management Audit (March 2022)
Over the years, I have written about the changes to how the City of Edmonton manages projects. Many of the changes originated from a 2015 audit of three significant transportation projects that were significantly delayed. If you haven’t read about all the changes over the years, please take a few minutes to read about those changes using this link.
During the March 18th, 2022 Audit Committee meeting, we received a new audit on project management of transportation infrastructure. This was a great opportunity to understand if the changes that have been implemented have made an impact.
In 2017, the Infrastructure Services (IIS) department implemented the Project Development and Delivery Mode (PDDM) to improve the project delivery of infrastructure projects. The City’s approved 2019-2022 total capital investment in transportation infrastructure assets is $761 million on assets such as roads, interchanges, bridges and bike lanes.
The objectives of the audit were to determine if IIS is:
Evaluating transportation infrastructure delivery programs.
Managing transportation infrastructure projects within budget, schedule, and desired quality.
The scope of this is limited to transportation infrastructure projects such as roads, interchanges,
bridges and bike lanes. Infrastructure such as LRT, facilities, and neighborhoods are not in scope of this project.
Fortunately, the results of the audit were incredibly positive and show that all the work completed over the years has made a huge difference in our city.
Budgeting and Scheduling Performance Measures:
Between 2017 and 2020, IIS delivered 42 stand alone transportation infrastructure projects, budgeted at $246 million. IIS delivered these projects at a combined total of $24.2 million under budget. Twelve of these projects were delivered $5.3 million over budget, but these budget variances were offset by thirty projects that were delivered $29.5 million under budget.
Similarly, the performance of project scheduling has improved from 2017 to 2020 as shown in the chart. From 2018 to 2020, no project delivered was greater than 20% over schedule. In 2020, 86% of projects were completed on schedule.
The status of all capital projects are available on the Building Edmonton website. As of December 31st, 2021 we have 255 capital projects underway. Of those 255 projects, 75% are on ahead of schedule and 95% are on or under budget. This level of performance has been consistent for years now and shows that the way the City of Edmonton manages projects has been making a big difference.
The last piece of information I want to share is specifically with regards to our significant capital projects. Significant capital projects are those above $20 million as well as a select number of projects below that mark but have added importance to the community (ex: neighbourhood renewal). While all of these projects are captured in the status updates found on the Building Edmonton website, we specifically report on significant capital projects so that we can monitor if there are any issues with our larger capital projects.
As of December 31st, 2021 35 are significant infrastructure standalone capital profiles; 27 of these profiles are being delivered from their inception under PDDM. For these 27 significant infrastructure projects, the performance of projects based on project counts is reflected below:
I realize that good news stories don’t get a lot of attention which is why I wanted to provide this information to you. I know there is a perception that the majority of City projects are behind schedule and over budget. That hasn’t been the case for years but it’s nice to be able to show that after a recent audit, the reality is that the City of Edmonton does an excellent job with project management.
It’s been a long journey to this point but it’s encouraging to see the progress. I want to provide my thanks to all the City of Edmonton staff who have helped transform our project management and look forward to seeing their excellent work continue well into the future.
Supplemental Information:
The following is the December 31, 2020 estimate of the quantity and replacement value of transportation infrastructure assets.
The Infrastructure Planning and Design Branch manages projects from the conceptual design through to the conclusion of preliminary design. This branch is responsible for assessing and reporting on city infrastructure conditions and assigning preliminary capital budgets for transportation infrastructure projects. This branch also develops and updates business cases with defined outcomes for all major capital projects.
The Infrastructure Delivery Branch manages transportation infrastructure projects through detailed design and build phases. The Infrastructure Delivery Branch business plan is aligned to the city’s vision and goals identified in Connect Edmonton (Edmonton’s Strategic Plan 2019-2028). The Branch primarily advances Connect Edmonton’s goal of Regional Prosperity by accommodating goods and people movements. The business plan is updated annually based on Council’s strategic objectives and corporate priorities.
