Advanced Digital Construction Management Systems

Title: Expanding the XBRL Taxonomy for Compliance with DOGE Section Four

Summary:  Funding request is for expanding the XBRL taxonomy to include four specific data sets which enable a digital ecosystem that promotes and supports the development of innovations for next generation infrastructure, based on probabilistic risk analysis and metrics within an integrated framework of open standards; and of basic, applied, & actionable data, information, & knowledge.

One key outcome will enable DOT’s to provide capital markets (finance, insurance and surety) with access to monthly applications for payment that will improve access to financial products and services plus enable enhanced risk management for all project stakeholders.

Technical Lead: Dr. Jorge A. Vanegas 

Dean Emeritus & Professor, College of Architecture

Texas A&M University

College Station, Texas 77843-3167

Business Lead: K. Dixon Wright

President, SRC Digital Insurance Services

Novato, California 94949

Overview

Funding is sought for expanding the federally recognized XBRL taxonomy to support a public/private digital ecosystem that enables next generation infrastructure by incorporating the following four data elements into the XBRL taxonomy: (1) “Applicant Qualification Profile”; (2) “Surety Bond”; (3) “Agreement”; & (4) “Application for Payment”.

Those four key data sets in XBRL will accelerate implementation of the emerging digital ecosystem that aligns two federal initiatives and complies with DOGE section four that mandates data interoperability between agencies: (1) the DOE Orange Button; and (2) the Advanced Digital Construction Management Systems (ADCMS).

1. “Applicant Qualification Profile” data set will improve access to financial products and services for all stakeholders, particularly small business.
2. “Surety Bond” data set will enable more efficient administration of surety bonds.
3. “Agreement” data set will identify key data elements for more efficient administration of contracts in different systems.
4. “Application for Payment” data set will enable more efficient process for contractors to apply for payment from their respective systems, and enable capital markets to monitor projects for improved underwriting and risk management

Make Infrastructure Great Again

The individual data elements in the XBRL taxonomy by themselves are just data crumbs. This funding request is for more data crumbs that when taken together create a powerful foundation for next generation infrastructure enabled by applied and actionable data.

The nation’s infrastructure is undergoing a seismic shift, and a collaborative approach is required from us all.

The nation’s infrastructure is decades old with processes that are also decades old that need to be modernized.

The built environment in its early years represented the greatest infrastructure the world has ever seen.

Next generation-built environment will rely on data, data interoperability and require data standards.

Next generation platforms will innovate new risk analytical tools and enable new products and services for predictive analytics that better manage risk.

There is a transformational shift from a disaggregated paper based analog history for the built environment - to a future digital ecosystem that enables data interoperability, empowers AI that will result in significant operational gains from multiple innovations.

The executive order that establishes The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) section #4 calls for “inter-operability between agency networks and systems, ensure data integrity, and facilitate responsible data collection and synchronization”.

Expanding the XBRL taxonomy to enable next generation infrastructure will help Make

Infrastructure Great Again. 

Background

The concept of “actionable information” has been a recurring theme in numerous studies, engagements, and discussions across various market sectors, as well as among trade associations focused on building next-generation infrastructure, including the nation’s energy grid.

A cohesive strategy for achieving actionable information cannot emerge from isolated research alone. Instead, it must build upon the extensive work already undertaken across diverse initiatives. 

These efforts aim to create clarity and a universally accepted roadmap for a wide range of stakeholders.

Central to implementing such a strategy is the establishment of a robust digital ecosystem that ensures reliable and high-quality data interoperability. This foundation is essential to fostering innovation, encouraging competition, and generating actionable insights for all stakeholders.

Capital markets play a pivotal role in aggregating vast amounts of information for

underwriting projects of all scales and complexities, both public and private. Through

partnerships with trade associations and academia, these collaborations can lay the

groundwork for outreach, education, and the development of best practices. This

roadmap will necessitate a reliable digital ecosystem built on standardized data elements that can be leveraged by AI to enhance underwriting processes, situational awareness, and risk management.

Our proposed concept is to build upon and expand existing collaborative efforts by

developing a digital ecosystem grounded in federally recognized, machine-readable data standards such as XBRL. This approach ensures accessibility for all stakeholders, free from the constraints of proprietary systems, exclusivity, or endorsements.

Meeting Program Goals 

The goals of the ADCMS Program, as defined in 23 U.S.C. 503(c)(5)(B), include: 

Accelerated State adoption of ADCMS applied throughout the construction lifecycle (including through the design and engineering, construction, and operations phases) that maximize interoperability with other systems, products, tools or applications; boost productivity; manage complexity; reduce project delays and cost overruns; and enhance safety and quality; 

• XBRL enables and maximizes data interoperability between all systems, public and private, domestic and international.

More timely and productive information sharing among stakeholders through reduced reliance on paper to manage construction processes and deliverables such as blueprints, design drawings, procurement and supply-chain orders, equipment logs, daily progress reports, and punch lists;

• XBRL enables key digital documents to be exchanged.

Deployment of digital management systems that enable and leverage the use of digital technologies on construction sites by contractors, such as state-of-the-art automated and connected machinery and optimized routing software that allows construction workers to perform tasks faster, safer, more accurately, and with minimal supervision;

• XBRL enables innovations on multiple areas where data can be leveraged for next generation infrastructure.

The development and deployment of the best practices for the use in digital construction management; 

Increased technology adoption and deployment by States and units of local government that enables project sponsors to integrate the adoption of digital management systems and technologies in contracts and to weigh the cost of digitization and technology in setting project budgets;

• XBRL enables integration of legacy multiple systems by mapping the key data sets. 

Technology training and workforce development to build the capabilities of project managers and sponsors that enables States and units of local government to better manage projects using advanced construction management technologies and to properly measure and reward technology adoption across projects of the State or unit of local government;

• XBRL enables consistent data administration across platforms, local, state and national, enabling and expanding workforce development. 

Development of guidance to assist States in updating regulations of the State to allow project sponsors and contractors to report data relating to the project in digital format and to fully capture the efficiencies and benefits of ADCMS and related technologies.

• XBRL provides extensive guidance for implementation.

Reduction in the environmental footprint of construction projects using ADCMS resulting from elimination of congestion through more efficient projects; and 

• XBRL as part of a broader approach to project administration can impact more efficient planning and resource management.

Enhance worker and pedestrian safety resulting from increased transparency. 

• XBRL provides transparency to insurance companies that can then develop safety programs for stakeholders that impact policies and procedures that improve safety.

Applicant qualifications, experience, and capabilities of the proposed project

team

As a Tier 1 research institution, which also has the triple designations of

Land/Sea/Space Grant Institution, Texas A&M University has an extensive capacity and

experience in place for the conception, execution, and delivery of technical research

projects, which generate basic, applied, and actionable data, information, and

knowledge, to address and solve complex challenges, such as the need to develop

innovations for next generation infrastructure within an integrated framework based on making open standards, and basic/applied/actionable data/information/knowledge accessible to individuals/organizations involved in Infrastructure Planning, Design, Procurement, Construction, and Operations/Maintenance. 

In addition, SRC has extensive experience in expanding the XBRL taxonomy for risk management.

Enabling Framework

Three cornerstones that create the modern research ecosystem for the proposed project integrate seamlessly and cohesively: (1) a collaboratory framework; (2) cyberinfrastructure capabilities; and (3) an observatory of basic/applied/actionable data/information/knowledge. This research ecosystem creates a comprehensive platform where participants leverage distributed computing and communication technologies to interact with colleagues, access shared instruments and data regardless of physical location, while continuously tracking existing and emerging knowledge, research advances, and technological developments to support the proposed project.