Establishing a more robust project scheduler to keep tabs on multiple projects in progress has led to the Berrien County Road Department’s selection for a prestigious IMPRESS Award from the Country Road Association of Michigan.
That association recently honored the Berrien County Road Department (BCRD) with the statewide award at their 2020 Highway Conference for the development of a new project management system. IMPRESS Awards recognize county road agencies across the state that demonstrate innovation with special projects in communications, operations and collaboration.
Berrien received an IMPRESS Award in Operations for “Master Project Schedule 2.0.” The local department was in dire need of a more efficient project management system, which led to “Master Project Schedule 2.0,” a computer spreadsheet tool that provides assistance and guidance with its formulated asset management plan. Integrating project information in the spreadsheet has improved the Berrien County Road Department’s internal and external accuracy regarding the status or future planning of road construction.
Denise Donohue, Director of the Country Road Association of Michigan, says, “The Berrien County Road Department noticed a need at their agency to aggregate data in a new way and expertly used its resources to come up with something better,” and adds, “Their hard work resulted in a solution that helps the agency be more effective.”
An independent panel of communications and operations experts from several of Michigan’s 83 county road agencies judged projects from across the state. Award recipients, including St. Joseph County and Calhoun County were honored for projects that solved time restraints, labor costs, communication barriers and fostered collaboration.
The 83 members of the County Road Association of Michigan represent the unified voice for a safe and efficient county transportation infrastructure system in Michigan, including appropriate stewardship of the public’s right-of-way in rural and urban Michigan. Collectively, Michigan’s county road agencies manage 75-percent of all roads in the state, including 90,000 miles of roads and 5,700 bridges. County road agencies also maintain the state’s highway system in 64 counties. Michigan has the nation’s fourth-largest local road system.
