ROB O'DELL: The turnaround on problems has greatly improved.
Everybody knows, if there is a problem, everybody knows it,
and everybody starts working on it right away and we can get an answer right back to them without having to drive out there,
show them a drawing, or whatever they need to do. It's just all done right on the device.
SHANTI CEANE: Hey, Bob.
BOB HEFFER: How you doing? I'm up here at Pier 6... cap... let me spin this around and show you where we're at.
We're a ways out from permit to place, we're just getting our cant strip installed and we've got some sensor monitors.
If you could verify some construction joints, I'd appreciate it.
SHANTI CEANE: Of course. Let me open up the plans.
BOB HEFFER: The first one's 19 5/8 from east to west. And the second one is 45 5.
SHANTI CEANE: Perfect - those are both good.
BOB HEFFER: Excellent - thank you so much.
NICK NOWAK: I have a job file set up with all of our plans, the proposals.
ROB O'DELL: I've got all the plans, proposals, all the forms, all of our manuals - everything right here.
NICK NOWAK: I have all the manuals that we use, such as the density guide for doing density or the concrete material source guide all here.
These usually come in a big book, you know what I'm saying?
So, all of these would take up the back of my truck.
JASON GUIKEMA: Hit the bookmarks, pull up pretty much anything you want, it's takes you straight there.
We were looking at sidewalk ramps. And you can get whatever measurements, where to put your warning strips. Very slick.
ROB O'DELL: It's really simple to bring up the plans, zoom in on a certain part that you're working on,
you know, without having to drag out a set of prints, throw them on the hood of your truck or the tailgate.
For me, that's been the best part of it.
NICK NOWAK: You can snap a picture, turn it into a PDF,
attach it to that MDOT form that we used to measure out all those items.
It just gives you a visual reference of the numbers that you put into the form.
JASON GUIKEMA: One of the advantages of having electronic forms is that they're immediately available to everybody in the project.
We're able to share files between multiple staff members.
DEWAYNE ROGERS: The field inspectors are able to, right from their vehicles,
they can take pictures, they can scan documents, they can create their inspector daily reports and that all gets transmitted right
to Project Wise, which I have access to in the office,
so within seconds I can see daily documents come in and I can review them and have them filed away in the appropriate filing system.
JASON GUIKEMA: I probably spent a fair amount of time filling out manual forms,
probably about two to three hours a day, depending on the volume of work.
It can be anything from concrete forms and pile records to wage rate reviews and sample ID tags.
Filling the forms is very easy. It took a little getting used to typing on the iPad and adjusting to it,
but submitting forms was actually something that became a lot easier,
it really cut down the amount of paper that I to carry with me in my truck. I had to carry a lot of the forms with me and
now I'm able to basically have them all on a smart device which basically has all the forms on it,
as well as a spec book with all our specifications, which makes it a lot easier to have that information with you out in the field.
PAT MCMURPHY: It's overwhelming at first because you're going from papers to no papers.
You just gotta make sure that you have all your documents. I think, once you get a few weeks into it,
things just roll, you know. The contractors, they have iPads,
we'll be e-mailing documents back and forth, and they're signing some of our forms right on the iPad.
NICK NOWAK: We need the contractor's signature ... I'd have a paper copy, I'd have to fill it all out,
get him to sign it ... I will just have him sign it ... I'd sign it and then I'd have to take it back to the office,
I'd have to make a copy, bring it out to him the next day, give him a copy
and then also keep a copy for my personal files, and one for MDOT's files ...
Digitally sign it and stick it into Project Wise all from here.
ERIC SHAW: So it's all done? NICK NOWAK: Absolutely.
DEWAYNE ROGERS: I think it's just going to keep getting better and better as
people get a better grasp of it throughout the state and technology keeps improving and it's just really exciting.