Remember the Flintstones?  By all accounts, our technologies have come a long way from dino-powered computers, dinosaur rock crushers and wooly mammoth vacuum cleaners.  In fact, with all the advances in the 21st century, organizations across the country need to be aware of the myriad technologies available to them to improve their strategies and processes. Why place your organization at a costly disadvantage by unnecessarily continuing with the Stone Age technology?

One such advancement is the application of technology in the transportation industry.  Many state and federal agencies are looking for technology to help them continue to “do more with less” in these trying economic times.  While many budgets and staff have shrunk, the requirements of these functions and responsibilities of these organizations certainly have not. For both the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the progressive state agencies, the application of software has begun to be applied to facilitate the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process.  In fact, DTS is currently supporting a pilot testing program with several Departments of Transportation on behalf of the FHWA for an eNEPA tool. Moreover, we are actively working with the Tennessee Department of Transportation to support their Smart Environmental Management System (SEMS).

SEMS was designed to coordinate, develop, and implement a streamlined, enhanced transportation management system resource. The program is transparent, seamless, accessible, timely, and supportive of the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) and its partners’ transportation project delivery for the citizens of Tennessee. SEMS is envisioned to be a comprehensive group of processes that will streamline TDOT’s project delivery process by connecting the stakeholders in each phase of project development from Long Range Planning to Maintenance. SEMS will deploy a shared Geographic Information System (GIS) with analysis tools, a workflow/tracking application for the transportation decision‐making processes, and the organizational change management initiatives to facilitate the implementation of the new processes throughout TDOT and in partnership with the appropriate local, state and federal agencies.

Check out the benefits:
With this successful implementation, SEMS is anticipated to provide the State a cumulative return on investment of $103 million through 2018 and an anticipated annual savings of $19 million! In addition to these cost-saving benefits, SEMS helps TDOT achieve: (1) Streamlined Project Delivery, (2) Environmental Stewardship, (3) Improved Communication & Collaboration, (4) Accountability, (5) Management for Organizational & Cultural Changes, and (6) Leverage for Existing Technology Investments.

Fun fact of the day:
Tennessee DOT is only the second DOT in the United States to utilize a software/technology-driven environmental management system (and DTS lead the application development and program support for both)!

Conclusion:
Maybe you’re not quite stuck in the Stone Age, but if you’re ignoring the streamlined benefits of technology/software-driven management systems like SEMS, you are falling behind today’s forward thinkers.

Contact us today if you are interested in learning more about the SEMS implementation or interested in what opportunities your current company could benefit from.