 In today's busy world of transportation upkeep, there isn't a lot of room for mistakes. Whether it's a downtown traffic way or a remote county intersection, many people depend on your decisions. Tight budgets and liability issues create a need for efficient, reliable management of your agency's resources and operations. Many agencies find that personal computers are a good way to keep their operations efficient. Over the last four years, the staff at Douglas County, Kansas has used a PC to speed up their design of box culverts. The process starts with the collection of field data using electronic surveying equipment. The data collector automatically records all the survey shots that they take and they bring that into the office and we dump that into the computer. And then with some utilities that we have, we can bring that into AutoCAD and do our cross sections and contours from that. It's turned over to the design engineer and from that information, he can design the box culvert. Then they use the PC to perform hydraulic and structural calculations. And with that data, it goes and searches through data files or tables that I've put in another part of the spreadsheet and it'll give me back my time of concentration and my rainfall intensities for that particular storm. And then I can do the structural design with this program also and it asks me for the depth of fill over the box and then the estimated slab floor thickness. And with that input, I can see the required depth of my reinforcing steel and it calculates everything right immediately. What used to take days or hours to go through an iterative process to come up with the ultimate depth and thickness of slab, it does immediately in front of the screen. This program helps calculate the steel and concrete quantities. It also produces a cost estimate for the job. And then I have another place on the spreadsheet that does all the engineers estimating of the cost, whether a contractor would do the work or the county would do the work. And then I just have to hit a couple keys and it automatically prints out the 14 page report and this all can be done within five minutes. The longest part of it is just printing out the report. The program also provides the dimensions needed for computer aided drafting of the culvert. All the information that is specified by the design engineer is entered into the data file. The list program takes that data file and essentially draws about half of the drawing for us and draws the basic outline of the box culvert, various views of the box, cut sections of it and does about half of the work for us as far as drawing is concerned. Sounds impressive. Keep in mind that Douglas County has had several years to work up to this point. Thorough research and early planning helped them to get this far. So the point here is before you buy a computer do some research, define your needs, take your time, don't rush into a hasty purchase. Let's examine some of the basic things you should consider before buying any computer equipment. First, stop and consider what it is you want a computer to do. Douglas County bought theirs for development of engineering drawings and designs. Look at the kinds of work you now perform. Ask yourself if a computer can speed your work up or help you serve the public better. Most important, a computer may help you do things you can't do now. Remember Douglas County and their box culverts? Not every job should be computerized. Start first on the areas where you can get the most benefit. The thing to remember here is think ahead. Only after you decide why you need a computer can you be ready to look for the software to meet these needs. The right computer with the wrong software is inefficient and frustrating. To avoid this, again, do your research. There are plenty of helpful magazines and publications available. Also call around. Talk to other agencies like yours that use PCs and contact state and federal agencies. They're good sources of information. Sit down with the vendors and consultants to see what they have to offer. Be sure to see the software in action. You may also want to seek help in determining your needs. The software you choose will require different types of hardware to support it. The monitor and graphics display card determine the number of colors you'll have in the sharpness of your image. Computers give you hard copies of your work and they're an essential piece of hardware for most software applications. For technical drafting and drawing you may want to plotter. A mouse allows a user to quickly move the cursor around the screen for faster data input. A digitizing tablet gives you the capability to draw precise computer images. Just remember not to overdo it. Keep your needs and your budgets in mind. Call computer dealers and see about testing the software you want to use. You'll look for the best warranty, setup and technical support. The computer and the software aren't the only costs you'll have to deal with. Discats, paper, printer supplies and other items should have a spot in your budget. Besides accessories you'll have the costs of training your employees. Plus it'll take a lot of time to collect and enter the initial data you may need to get your system going. Also software is regularly revised and improved so be sure to keep it up to date. We've given you a lot of information. Let's review the four basic steps in selecting a computer system. First, identify your needs. What do you need the computer to do? Second, select the software. Choose the software that best fits your needs. Third, select the hardware. Pick hardware compatible with your software. Finally, plan for ongoing cost. Supplies, training and support can eat up your budget and your time if you're not ready for them. Computers are effective. They already play a large role in most urban areas. They can be equally effective out here. It's the start of another day here at County Public Works. About a year ago the county bought computers for this office and things have changed for the better. Let's see how computers have changed an average morning at County Public Works. Good morning Nancy. Good morning. How you doing? Okay. Say, did you remember I need that bridge report by this afternoon? Oh yeah, no problem. I started it yesterday. I can have it to you by name. Hey, that's great. Thanks. Let's look at the same situation before they had computers. Nancy, do you have that report done yet? Come on, I need it Ponto. With word processing software and a computer, the document is only type once. Not only will you cut down on typos, but you can move whole paragraphs or create standard wordings to use over and over again on contracts, bid specs, or form letters. Nancy, I need to see the estimate for the pavement resurfacing project on the McIntyre Road. McIntyre, right, I've got it here. Yeah, I was wondering what if we would hire another supervisor who could... With a computer, you'll hear what if a lot, especially when dealing with budget spreadsheets, project planning, or job estimates. The computer does the math for you quickly and accurately, enabling you to test alternative cost strategies. Plus, formulas, functions, and commands can be stored in the spreadsheet to automate a wide variety of other operations. You can even create graphs from data in the spreadsheet. Budgeting and estimating will never be the same. Public works? Uh-huh. Okay, just a minute. Mike, it's Bob on line three. He wants to know about the size and the age of the culvert over on county 614 on Miners Creek. I need to finish this report. Could you help him? Sure, I'll pick him up into office. Thanks. Hi, Pete. How are you doing today? Okay. Sure. The culvert you're asking about was built in 1938. The structure is, but... Notice, he didn't have to look up any information in a filing cabinet. And he didn't have to call anyone back. This process is database management. It's nothing new. If you've ever had a phone directory or had equipment on the inventory, you've dealt with database management. Computerized database management gives you flexibility. You can do more than find information about culverts. You can reorganize, sort, and compare information in many ways. And a special purpose database application can make information work for you instead of the other way around. The main thing to remember here is that learning and implementing computerized database management takes time. It won't come overnight, but when it does, it will be a big asset to you around the office. You can also add specialized software to your system to study your town or county's traffic capacity. You can calculate and keep track of bridge ratings or perform a traffic simulation to check trouble spots. Programs like these help you perform detailed analysis quickly, leaving you more time to concentrate on decision making. Another example of the flexibility that a personal computer provides is found in here, the county's design room. These tables don't get much use anymore these days, not since the county started using computer-aided drafting and design, or CAD. With CAD, you can create standard features to be used many times in different drawings. You can tie information to drawing elements, for example, to keep track of material specs and quantity takeoffs. With a programmable CAD system, drawings can even be created automatically by entering a few key dimensions. Finally, CAD lets you make revisions and plot fresh drawings quickly and easily. Another area that's developing rapidly with microcomputers are geographic information systems. By combining computerized mapping and database management, GIS lets you work with information in terms of where as well as what. For example, the location of specific items can be found on the map. And GIS also gives quick access to info about these items. Organizing and protecting the information you store with a computer requires some new techniques. Utility software can help with these housekeeping tasks and can simplify your interaction with a computer. Programs help you make backup copies of your data, organize and manage files on your disk, create your own menus for selecting programs, and even recover lost data. All have an important place in your software library. A typical morning here at County Public Works. The computer increases the staff's capabilities and enhances their work and decisions. It can do the same for your office. Hey, Nancy. Looks like you got that report done for my lunch meeting. It is. Hey, this looks great. This computer's made all the difference around here. Say it's 11.30 once you take an early lunch. Well, thanks. Thanks again.