1. Public Works

Public Works Modernization Project Case for Change

Background: How did we get here? 

The DIR Public Works team is committed to providing our constituents exceptional customer experience. As previously announced, DIR Public Works recognizes the importance of modernizing our technology. The modernization project underway at DIR to upgrade the Public Works website services (e.g., PWC100, eCPR, PWCR) will modernize the constituent experience, making interactions with DIR Public Works easier.

DIR Public Works Modernization Project Objectives: What will it do? 

  • Broaden online services, enhance accessibility, and optimize digital tools for a more streamlined user experience
  • Integrate website services (e.g., PWC100, eCPR, PWCR) and underlying applications to improve user experience
  • Modernize and integrate the core application set used by Public Works for speedier project processing and response times
  • Enhance system capacity to accommodate larger volumes of submissions and to ensure optimized system performance during peak times

Current state and modernization benefits: What are the opportunities for improvement and benefits of making the change?

Data and Reporting

From:

  • Time-consuming manual data transfer and slow download speeds

To:

  • Reliable, faster downloading of relevant data / reports 

PWC100/PWCR/eCPR Portals

From:

  • Inconsistent and slow system performance 
  • Duplicative registration and project linking processes across systems
  • Inability to edit registration details, self-manage user accounts (e.g., add new users, password reset, etc.), or associate with subcontractors
  • Payment totals not visible with tedious payment processes

To:

  • Single, unified, and reliable system for awarding bodies and contractors to interact with DIR Public Works
  • Streamlined user interface enabling leading edge experience for constituent registration
  • More robust self-service and payment management features

eCPR Submissions

From:

  • Adjustments requiring completely new eCPR submission
  • Worker details needing to be re-entered with every record
  • Separate eCPR needed for each employee on a project
  • Slow eCPR upload times

To:

  • Refined editing features of previous eCPR submissions
  • Ability to save worker profiles and duplicate previous submissions, removing need for redundant data entry
  • Capability to group workers for batch submissions
  • Accelerated eCPR upload speeds

Prevailing Wage

From:

  • Time-consuming process to verify prevailing wage rates housed in numerous PDF documents and tables across multiple webpages (e.g., split up by trade, subtrade, geography, time of work, etc.), with some info only available by calling DIR

To:

  • Simplified search mechanism, determining detailed prevailing wage with a single query for any given worker on a particular project, inclusive of predetermined increase breakdowns and overtime rates
  • Ability to download data in delimited text file format

Next Steps

Upgrades to the DIR Public Works website services will launch later this year, with updates released on a rolling basis. To ensure a smooth transition and effective implementation, further communication and training will be forthcoming in the lead up to system go-live.

For more information and to find exact legal definitions and language please see the Public Works Chapter of the California Labor Code.

February 2024