Agency Certification: 5 Ways to Improve the Process & Increase Opportunities

B2Gnow

From spurring local job growth to building environmentally-friendly supply chains, as a certifying agency, you’re well-versed in the magnitude and impact of inclusive procurement on small, diverse, and women-owned businesses and communities across the US. 

However, your program might be plagued with common challenges often seen across many certifying agencies. These include too many manual processes resulting in piles of paper, never-ending directory updates, and hours spent collecting and verifying information or explaining next steps with vendors. Add a tedious reporting process and concerns about data security to the list, and you’ve got your work cut out! 

This latest article outlines five things today’s leading certifiers do to reclaim their time, optimize resources, and provide a seamless certification experience, increasing opportunities for small and diverse firms to win business.

#1 – Go Digital – Ditch paper processes for good!

Between the collection of applications and all supporting documents, your office is busting at the seams with paper:

  • • Paper takes up excessive space, is costly to store, and locating and keeping track of essential documents sometimes seems impossible.
  • • Paper documents are easily misfiled, leading to a tedious, all-day game of hide-and-seek for your staff while your vendor patiently waits for approval. (The same vendor who may have mailed or even hand-delivered these documents some time ago. This could be a long process!) 
  • • Additionally, paper records are easily compromised. Much of the information you collect from your vendors is confidential. Unauthorized individuals can access these documents if left on tables, filing cabinets, or unlocked storage areas. Issues can also arise during printing. Sensitive information should only be available to those authorized to view it.

The most efficient certifying organizations have realized that shuffling paper is time-consuming and could put them on the wrong side of a security breach. As a result, they are moving their application and approval processes online, reducing staff review time and ensuring only complete applications are received. 

The digital process also reduces the vendor’s time, effort, and expense (and possibly, frustration!) required to apply for certification and maintain active status by allowing easy application completion and online document upload. Completing this streamlined process means more opportunities for these newly certified vendors to win business! Furthermore, a digital approval process could allow authorized staff to create and edit certification records, evaluate approval checklists/audits and documentation, manage certification application dispositions, and publish directory entries, all in a secure environment free from mountains of paperwork! 

#2 – Offer an Online Portal – Delight vendors with one-stop convenience

When it comes to small and diverse businesses, time is money. Your goal as a certifying organization is to help them advance and grow in the community, but you may be asking yourself:

  • • Is our agency’s certification process reflective of this effort? 
  • • Can vendors and prime contractors easily access certification applications, renewal forms, information about upcoming opportunities, and a searchable vendor directory?
  • • Do we have a simple process to ensure that vendor data in our directory is accurate and kept up to date? 

If the answer is no, your vendor experience could be lacking. Additionally, certification processes can be arduous and detailed. An antiquated process could be equally difficult for your staff. There aren’t enough hours in the day for follow-up or repeatedly answering the same questions. Additionally, outdated vendor data (email addresses, phone numbers, LinkedIn pages) can stifle opportunities for certified firms in your directory. For these reasons, you want to ensure your vendors’ experience and interactions with your agency are simple, streamlined, and consistent.

More and more certifying agencies recognize their vendors need a streamlined process and are choosing certification management software that includes vendor portal access. Designed to look like the agency’s website, a vendor portal offers vendors a one-stop shop for all their needs. B2Gnow Supplier Diversity Management software, for example, enables certifying organizations to direct vendors to their portal to not only apply for certification, monitor their application status, and apply for renewals but also to manage current directory information and all communications throughout the process. Imagine the staff hours saved with an online system that streamlines the certification application process and reduces the number of phone calls and emails with vendors, with documentation built in! 

In addition to certification management, the vendor portal enables firms to keep their profiles updated (automated reminder emails can encourage this). It also allows primes, subs, or anyone to access the organization’s certification directory and other approved certified directories to search for vendors by name, zip code, work code, and more. This level of access saves time and frustration for vendors, and offers greater visibility for certified firms. 

#3 Automate, Automate, Automate – Easy approvals and auto-renewals are key

All too often, certification agency staff find themselves struggling with common but severe process pitfalls: 

  • • There are not enough hours in the day to keep up with reviewing applications and approving certifications for new vendors. 
  • • Antiquated processes involving too many steps and using multiple systems have them running in circles. 
  • • Besides the efforts necessary to take good care of these new vendors is the additional ever-looming stress of managing the active firms, including notifying firms of the need to renew, as well as, reviewing expansion and change requests and certification renewals. 

The country’s most successful certifying organizations empower their teams with automation! They’ve found that by implementing a certification management system like B2Gnow, their staff significantly reduced the time spent doing tedious administrative tasks. Besides the conveniences of a public portal and online communication with vendors, dashboards make monitoring the application and certification processes simple. And approval is as easy as the click of a button. In addition, an automated renewal process means less worry about currently certified vendors falling through the cracks. 

#4 – Proactively Grow Your Directory – Find more vendors and encourage program participation

Managing a certification program is no small undertaking, and after all the effort and time spent maintaining your directory, you still seem to fall short on potential suppliers to meet your goals. Questions that keep you up at night include:

  • • Do you have enough certified vendors for every necessary work code? 
  • • How can we reach more potential vendors to grow our directory? 

The answer is, with the most extensive vendor database, such as B2Gnow’s database of over 1.5 million vendors (approximately 600,000 of them certified), offers an easy way to extend your reach and inform businesses in your community about your program! Search multiple parameters, including zip code, work codes, and more, and easily craft a message using the Outreach and Events module. It allows users to create “campaigns” to send email messages to a customized list of vendors and monitor the interaction. With nearly 200 certifying organizations already using B2Gnow, it’s a simple process to target firms operating in your market that are certified by others but not certified within your program. Besides certification program outreach, many organizations use the system to notify vendors about upcoming opportunities. The module also facilitates event management for online attendee registration, RSVP, and attendance tracking.

#5 – Produce More Accurate Reports With Less Effort – Generate detailed, automated reports in seconds

Your agency’s certification program is only as good as the reports you can provide. Unfortunately, for busy program directors, finding time to assemble these reports for stakeholders can mean long hours of cutting and pasting data from multiple spreadsheets, plenty of calculating and recalculating, and perhaps a bit of nail-biting over lost hours and accuracy concerns. 

Top certification agency professionals rely on certification management systems for greater accuracy, efficiency, and overall program visibility for aggregate reporting. An all-in-one-certification management system, like B2Gnow, offers a robust reporting library and enables certifying agencies to easily report on everything from applications received and certification status to certification officer assignments and processing time statistics. Additionally, a best-in-class certification management system allows for the analysis and reporting of certified vendor data with a click of a button to track firms by ethnicity, gender, location, work code, and more. Furthermore, it easily creates visually appealing reports and dashboards to better demonstrate their program’s success. 

No matter the size of your team, the availability of resources, or other challenges with automating, streamlining, or reporting on our program,  today’s leading certifiers are finding a better, more efficient way to manage their certification process and provide a seamless certification experience that increases opportunities for small and diverse firms to win business. More than 150 certifying organizations rely on B2Gnow Supplier Diversity and Certification Management Software to manage their programs’ complex needs. From certification management and diverse vendor search access to the largest certified supplier database in the world, to data enhancement tools that qualify and quantify current supplier data, to spend analysis capabilities that go deeper to understand diverse supplier data, to construction contract compliance that easily track and report supplier diversity on capital construction contracts, B2Gnow allows supplier diversity professionals to focus on meeting diversity goals, not chasing paper. Learn more and take a tour of B2Gnow Supplier Diversity Software.

7 Signs Your DBE Program Is “Leaking” Efficiency

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Perhaps you’ve noticed that some of your DBE Program’s current processes just aren’t as efficient as you’d like. You’ve periodically considered that improvements could be made to positively impact your DBE program (and likely make your typical workday a lot easier).  After all, you have important community and diversity goals to meet and are simply tired of chasing paper.  Moreover, you’re becoming keenly aware of the projects you could accomplish if you weren’t spending hours manually tracking information which, depending on your organization and responsibilities, could range from subcontractor payments to certification applications and renewals. Working until the eleventh hour to create and submit critical reports, doing multiple follow up with suppliers, and spending far too much time running in circles with multi-system chaos, questioning the accuracy of your data has become the norm.

 Common Inefficiencies Holding Back Your DBE Program’s Performance

You’re struggling with multitier tracking and reporting.

Without the proper tools in place, your visibility could be shallow. For example, your program might be successfully tracking and reporting on Tier 1 or prime DBE suppliers; however, you know you’re missing out on the opportunity to accurately report on your entire DBE utilization, as your subs may also be subcontracting with DBE businesses. The problem is effectively tracking and reporting on those deeper tiers, whether manually or through a multitude of different systems, seems impossible.

You have critical, timely reports you need to produce.

The ever-looming Uniform Report is your bi-annual nemesis! There doesn’t seem to be any simple way to get through it, and with NPRM proposed rule changes on the horizon, an accurate, timely submission will not get any easier. Besides the Uniform Report, depending on your industry and program goals, there are likely specific compliance goals, internal requirements, or mandated reports that you need to produce.  To generate these reports, you need a consistent and efficient way to collect and accurately report on this data.  As your program grows, and if your processes are manual, the “old way”  won’t cut it in the long term – especially considering those inevitable NPRM changes.

 If your organization is a certifying agency, you spend countless hours collecting and verifying vendor information while also needing more time to encourage others to apply.

Managing a certification process is a big undertaking because of the detailed information and verification required and because it involves collecting confidential documents. Many certification agencies struggle with antiquated processes involving too many steps and a questionable document collection process, often leaving vendors confused and frustrated as they initially apply for certification and, again, at the time of renewal. Additionally, after all that effort and time spent managing your directory, you still fall short on potential suppliers to fit your needs. As a result, you often think to yourself how nice it would be to have a “one-stop-shop” where vendors could easily apply for certification and renewal online and where your team could manage the entire certification process seamlessly, including outreach efforts to grow your directory!

 You want your weekends back.

If you’re sacrificing your weekends to manually sift through the data, sending late-night emails, living in Excel sheets, and bouncing through a myriad of different tools to keep your DBE program flourishing, chances are you might benefit from process automation.

 You’re not confident in your data.

Suppose you’re leveraging manual processes toggling between several different systems or spreadsheets, or you’re relying on a directory that isn’t exactly reliable. In that case, there is a high probability of more data errors than you’d like to admit. The problem is you know you will have difficulty meeting your DBE goals if you’re questioning data integrity. Furthermore, you fundamentally understand that accurate data on diverse suppliers and spend can be the cornerstone of your program’s success, achieving compliance, improving the economy, and supporting the community.

 You’re tired of the multi-system chaos.

You have the process of toggling between software systems and spending time fixing the data field nuances down pat.  But, generating a simple report, cross-referencing data, or importing or formatting specific figures from one system to the next takes a lot of work. So, you’ve often thought about how nice it would be and how much time and effort you would save to have all the features, functionality, and data you need in one system.

You want a better way to track payments.

Accurately tracking payments and reporting on diverse spend is crucial for meeting DBE program objectives. However, manually tracking and painstakingly managing the reporting framework and guidelines breeds errors and inconsistencies and must be more scalable. Leading agencies, organizations, and businesses understand that efficiently tracking payments in a streamlined and automated manner is pivotal to achieving diversity goals and growing supplier diversity programs.

If these 7 signs that your DBE program is “leaking” efficiency sound familiar, know that you’re not alone. 

Budget constraints, small teams, challenging change management situations, and more are just a few of the reasons DBE program managers find themselves stuck with a potentially inefficient program. On the contrary, a growing number of DBE program managers and organizations are facing these obstacles square in the eye and actively seeking better, more effective ways to manage and grow their DBE programs. Whether the desire to seek a better way is driven by mandated compliance requirements by federal, state, municipalities, school districts and more, or supplier diversity program initiatives with goals focused on supporting the community, committing to high ethical standard, or encouraging innovation, these organizations are turning to automation and the powerful capabilities of supplier diversity and DBE compliance software programs like B2Gnow. For more information on how your organization can take advantage of automated data gathering, tracking reporting, vendor management, and administrative processes, we encourage you to reach out and schedule a time to speak with a B2Gnow expert. 

How to Ensure Your Organization is Prepared for the DBE/ACDBE Changes Outlined in the USDOT’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

B2Gnow

While the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) will help modernize and improve the Airport Concession Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (ACDBE) and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) programs, the steps involved for affected organizations will be complex. Many wonder how their programs will internally support these proposed requirements. Do they have resources and tools in place? Can their staff manage the proposed required process changes? 

As your organization begins to strategize about future compliance, we’ve identified six of what could be the most challenging requirements facing your organization, along with some ideas about how to solve them.

Prompt payment and Retainage – Do you have the staff or software to monitor the proposed prompt payment and retainage compliance revisions? You’ll need it.

 As stated in the NPRM, your DBE program must take affirmative steps to monitor and enforce prompt payment and retainage requirements. To stress the importance, they propose including an additional paragraph stating that the requirements within this rule are intended to flow down to all lower-tier subcontractors. Reliance on complaints or notifications from subcontractors about a prime’s failure to comply with prompt payment and retainage requirements will no longer cut it. Does your organization have a plan to take affirmative steps to monitor prompt payment, as stated in § 26.29? Organizations using B2Gnow’s Contract Compliance Module have no worries! The system is already tracking compliance with goals, based not only on payment amounts to primes and subs but also payment dates. Payments are reported and electronically confirmed for amount, date received, and promptness. It also enables contractors to easily report retainage as outstanding or paid. B2gnow’s tracking and reporting power puts all this information at your fingertips to ensure your subcontractor community is paid in full and on time.

Uniform Report – Already known as time-consuming and complex, will your organization be prepared to collect and track this new required data?

The Uniform report, consisting of DBE utilization data, is submitted annually to the OA(s) that provide funding to them.  The NPRM seeks to revise the Uniform Report to include additional data that would assist the OAs and the Department with evaluating whether the DBE Program is progressing toward meeting its stated objectives. This expanded data collection could include additional fields for contract numbers, NAICS codes, and DBEs decertified during the reporting period, just to name a few. While there is no standard software to handle the Uniform Report’s requirements, more than 400 organizations, including more than half of all DOTs, and hundreds of transportation and aviation authorities/organizations use B2Gnow to automate, manage and report on all required information. The proposed changes will have little effect on their current data collection and reporting processes. The proposed data is native to the B2Gnow database, which means these fields are already available for reporting, allowing them to easily produce all required information with little to no impact on staff. 

Bidders List – Does your organization have the personnel or software to efficiently obtain and enter bidders list data into a centralized database? 

In the NPRM, The Department proposes revising § 26.11(c) to require recipients to obtain and enter bidders list data into a centralized database the Department would specify. B2Gnow helps organizations to maintain, track and report on procurement information that may be required through this proposed change.  The B2Gnow system offers a variety of tools that help DBE programs to easily build and maintain bidders lists, including modules that manage proposals, utilization plans, outreach, contract compliance, and bid management. The more robust the system, the more data can be collected and reported on to be prepared for any change!  

ACDBE Small Business Program – Will your organization be ready for the additional work required to manage and report on this new program? 

This proposed revision to the rule, as stated in the NPRM, will replicate the DBE program’s small business element requirements for the ACDBE program. Notably, this means it would require airports to take steps to eliminate obstacles for participation by smaller ACDBEs, and submit annual reports on their small business elements. While this may seem burdensome, B2Gnow already supports hundreds of organizations to seamlessly manage and automate diversity certification processes and electronically compile complex reports with the click of a button. Additionally, the B2Gnow staff have years of combined experience with the B2Gnow system and working in the industry. Many have helped implement such programs and deeply understand the complexities involved.

Timely Processing of Certification Applications – If your organization processes certifications, you understand that deadlines are crucial. Is your program ready to manage this complex process with stricter deadlines?

The NPRM proposes limiting a certifier’s ability to extend the 90-day timeframe during which a certifier must issue a final eligibility decision for instate certification applications. Current § 26.83(k) states that a certifier may extend the 90-day period by an additional 60 days. Their proposal would reduce the extension period from 60 days to 30 days. B2Gnow can help eliminate the need for extensions by reducing the time it takes to process an application. The Online Application Module allows vendors to submit certification applications electronically online. It eliminates paper submissions and creates efficiency, reducing the review time and ensuring that only complete applications are received. It also reduces the time, effort, and expense required by firms to apply for certification and allows for the secure submission of sensitive information and documents. In addition, the B2Gnow Certification Management module provides immediate visibility into the status of all pending applications, enables the tracking of processing times, including granular “review-step” levels, and provides a complete detailed audit trail of all actions completed by staff during the review process.

Unified Certification Program – UCP Partners, does your state have the necessary resources to build directory enhancements that will likely be required to display additional information about DBE/ACDBE firms? This could get complicated!
The NPRM’s proposed changes relating to the Unified Certification Program Directories could mean technological challenges for many UCPs.  The proposed rule would require UCPs to expand their DBE/ACDBE directories, allowing for the display of additional essential information about the firms beyond merely contact information and NAICS code(s). This includes amending UCP directories so that firms would have a standard set of options for information they can choose to make public, such as a capability statement, state licenses held, personnel and firm qualifications, bonding coverage, recently completed project(s), equipment capability, a link to the firm’s website, etc. Under the proposed rule, UCPs would be required to incorporate these information fields as additional criteria by which the public can search and filter the UCP directory. UCPs planning to make these necessary enhancements to existing systems will need to consider process changes and secure development resources, as well as funding to meet the 2024 deadline. Alternatively, those UCPs already using the B2Gnow system to manage their directories can rest easy, knowing that B2Gnow has the development expertise and the code and architecture in place to implement these changes within the proposed time frame. 

The good news? B2Gnow Supplier Diversity Software has your organization covered for all current, proposed, and future DBE and ACDBE regulation updates.

Trusted by over 400 state, local and educational organizations, we’re standing by, ready to get you onboarded and in compliance, so you can seamlessly automate, manage, track and report on the requirements of your DBE and ACDBE programs. Contact us to speak with an expert and learn more about B2Gnow Supplier Diversity Software. 

Tampa Airport Streamlines Supplier Diversity Software

B2Gnow

Tampa International Airport is consistently ranked among the world’s most beloved airports, serving more than 21 million annual passengers with routes to 90 nonstop destinations around the world. The Airport has received top awards at the state, national and international levels, including being ranked #1 in North America and fifth in the world in customer satisfaction among airports of its size. 

Tampa International Airport’s (TPA) award-winning Business Diversity Department keeps its focus on connecting businesses serving the airport. The Business Diversity Department maintains a DBE program to ensure nondiscrimination in the award of USDOT-assisted contracts and to create a level playing field on which DBEs can compete for those contracts. In addition, the Authority’s Airport Concessions Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program (ACDBE) ensures that ACDBEs have equal opportunities to receive and participate in concession-related contracts. Lastly, the Woman and Minority-Owned Business Enterprise Program (W/MBE), created by the Aviation Authority, provides for Woman and Minority-Owned Businesses to have full and fair opportunities to compete for and participate in the performance of non-federally funded contracts or in the purchase of goods and services.

Effectively managing these federal DBE and ACDBE programs was no easy task for TPA and the Business Diversity Team. 

Download the case study to learn more about the Authority’s initiative to go paperless, and the TPA and the Business Diversity Team’s journey to an electronic solution that would simplify, standardize, and streamline TPA’s current program management and processes through an automated and secure online system.

 

ACDBE and DBE Compliance Made Simple.

Let us take you on a tour of  B2Gnow Supplier Diversity Management Software – a robust, cost-effective solution that streamlines and automates data-gathering, tracking, reporting, vendor management, and administrative processes, resulting in a significant reduction in staff time and cost – allowing you to focus on meeting diversity goals, not on chasing paper.  We’re proud to be trusted by more airports of all sizes across the country than any other software provider to enable compliance with both 49 CFR Part 23 (ACDBE) and 49 CFR Part 26 (DBE).  Learn more about B2Gnow and request a demo.

Fort Worth Goes Paperless with Supplier Diversity Software

B2Gnow

The City of Fort Worth, ranked the 12th largest and one of the fastest-growing cities in the U.S., is home to more than 800,000 residents and an ever-growing, diverse array of new businesses and industries. 

Within the city of Fort Worth, the Diversity and Inclusion Department promotes the values of diversity, equity, inclusion, and access.  One of the ways the department fulfills its important mission is through the Business Equity Division, whose work supports capacity building efforts for aspiring and existing Business Equity Firms (minority and women business enterprises), or disadvantaged business enterprises.

In a recent case study, we explored the transformation journey within The City of Fort Worth’s Business and Equity Division. Plagued with inefficient paper-based and manual processes, the City struggled to efficiently monitor, track and report on its local supplier diversity programs and data. Knowing there must be a better way to manage and grow their local programs, The City of Fort Worth committed to cleaning-up their processes and going paperless with B2Gnow Supplier Diversity Management Software.

Download a Copy of the Case Study

Here’s more of what you’ll find in The City of Fort Worth Case Study:
  • Insight into the internal clean-up, strategies and processes used, including the road to implementing B2Gnow Supplier Diversity Management Software  
  • Side-by-side comparison and results achieved from outdated processes vs. the new paperless way
  • Brief break-down of the B2Gnow modules utilized by The City of Fort Worth and how they help the City seamlessly monitor, track, and report on a variety of local programs and complex data

Let us take you on a tour of  B2Gnow Supplier Diversity Management Software – a robust, cost-effective solution that streamlines and automates data-gathering, tracking, reporting, vendor management, and administrative processes, resulting in a significant reduction in staff time and cost – allowing you to focus on meeting diversity goals, not on chasing paper. Learn more about B2Gnow and request a demo.

All Aboard: A Crash Course in Automating Your Transit Agency’s Reporting Process – Part 2

B2Gnow

The semi-annual report is a mandate from the DOT and FTA for any organization that receives federal funds to execute transportation projects. If you’re in the business of transportation, you’re quite familiar with the tedious semi-annual DBE report and the inevitable challenges imposed on compliance officers responsible for managing the process. Moreover, even with the advent of technology, many transportation agencies still unfortunately utilize a manual reporting practice which often leads to inaccurate data, wasted time, and a decline in human productivity. There are three additional obstacles that significantly diminish the efforts of the current reporting process which include:

Contract Payment Data

For each semi-annual report, the compliance officer is required to review every contract included within the reporting period of that report. From there, the DBE officer will need to separate the contracts to identify which received federal funds. Next, the compliance officer identifies each prime/subcontractor and determines their DBE certification status. The final step is to review each payment made to the DBE firms, which should equal the total number of awarded dollars for the report. Without a system to automate these components of the reporting process, it will not only be time consuming, but will likely lead to inaccurate data reflected in the final reports. This means there can be no true picture of community impact, which puts the organization at risk and doesn’t move the needle towards the initial intended purpose of DBE programs. 

Outreach

Managing communications among internal transportation teams so there’s clarity on and efficiency with external messaging, is both a time and energy consumer, but is also an essential component of the reporting process. Tracking outreach efforts is vital for several reasons:

  • Outreach is a means of communicating with certified businesses regarding upcoming opportunities,
  • Outreach is an opportunity to provide workshops, trainings, and other events to increase vendor participation, and
  • Outreach ensures engagement with the community where transportation projects are being developed

Community Impact

It is imperative for DBELOs and compliance officers to always keep the impact of their various transportation projects top of mind. 

If, for example, there is a new bus line project in development, a DBELO or compliance officer should understand the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to the community where projects are set to launch. An example consideration is whether the new bus line will require small businesses in the area to shut down until the development is complete. It takes a village to ensure this type of mutually beneficial relationship is realized and also requires regular engagement with small businesses, community leaders, city resources, contractors, and this should all take place prior to breaking ground on the project.

Another reporting consideration that influences community impact for DBE officers is project location. Certain communities would benefit from tracking workforce utilization to intentionally place jobs in the hands of those within the community. This level of “zip code hiring” increases the economic impact to the community where projects are being developed. Transit organizations are usually located in metro areas, and the communities most adversely affected by these projects are typically highly populated by minority residents who are often burdened by pockets of poverty. 

“Rider experience” is a final example of why accounting for community impact is essential to the reporting process. For instance, if a new transportation project requires the relocation of a bus stop, planners and DBE officials must consider community members that may be unfavorably disturbed by the move. Perhaps the project takes place in a community where there are high rates of single parent households, these riders have really early or late shifts at work, and the bus stop that is being relocated was their only or most affordable mode of transportation. These types of scenarios should always be considered. 

Having an automated system to monitor, track and report small and diverse business contracting, workforce utilization, rider experience adjustments, community benefit agreements and all of nuances within a transportation project will undoubtedly improve the vitality of the communities where these projects are being developed.

 Learn more about B2Gnow and speak to an expert.

Unpacking the Three P’s of Higher Education Supplier Diversity

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In a recent thought-provoking webcast, B2Gnow, the leading supplier diversity, procurement, and grant management software provider, and speaker Kathey Porter, CEO of Porter Brown Associates, teamed up to reveal best practices and useful tips on the topic of The Three P’s of Higher Education Supplier Diversity – People, Policies and Processes. 

Access the Complimentary Webinar

The informational webcast discusses how higher education institutions can be complex organizations, and developing and managing a supplier diversity program that is impactful and small business centric can be challenging and even confusing. 

Therefore, there are key considerations and strategies to consider when building an effective supplier diversity program, for instance: 

  • • Determining if you have the right people in place, how to communicate objectives, how to gain allies, and how to develop an accountability process
  • • Discovering elements of a good policy, including how to review or write the policy
  • • Understanding the supplier diversity lifecycle, including the who-what-how and the critical elements of tracking and reporting

We invite you to watch the complimentary webinar to gain full access to the content and valuable guidance provided.

Higher education institutions like University of Houston, Eastern Washington University, University of Texas System, University of Chicago and hundreds of others, are turning to the powerful capabilities of supplier diversity management software, like B2Gnow, to support their diversity goals.  From diverse vendor search access to the largest certified supplier database in the world, to data enhancement tools that qualify and quantify current supplier data, to spend analysis capabilities that go deeper to understand diverse supplier data, to construction contract compliance that easily track and report supplier diversity on capital construction contracts, B2Gnow allows supplier diversity professionals to focus on meeting diversity goals, not chasing paper.

Learn more about B2Gnow and request a demo.

All Aboard: A Crash Course in Automating Your Transit Agency’s Reporting Process – Part 1

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Originally enacted in 1982, the United States Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program is designed to remedy ongoing discrimination and the continuing effects of past discrimination in federally-assisted highway, transit, airport, and highway safety financial assistance transportation contracting markets nationwide. The primary objective of the DBE program is to level the playing field by providing small businesses owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals a fair opportunity to compete for federally funded transportation contracts.

USDOT’s Operating Administrations (FHWA, FAA and FTA) distribute substantial funds each year to finance construction projects initiated by state and local governments, public transit and airport agencies. USDOT is responsible for ensuring that firms competing for USDOT-assisted projects are not disadvantaged by unlawful discrimination. The USDOT’s most important tool for meeting this requirement has been its DBE program.

Importantly, under the current DBE program language (the “FAST-ACT”), recipients (such as states, counties, cities, transits, etc.) must set overall project participation goals to represent a “level playing field” – the amount of DBE participation they could realistically expect in the absence of discrimination. This goal must be based on demonstrable evidence of the availability of ready, willing and able DBEs to participate on DOT-assisted contracts. The rule gives recipients substantial flexibility in the methods they choose to set overall DBE participation goals.  There remains a nationwide aspirational goal of 10 percent of project funding.

Section C of the Uniform Report is designed to capture information on current actual payments made to DBEs for work performed on ongoing federally-assisted contracts. This payment data provides a “snapshot” of dollars actually paid to DBEs as compared to dollars committed or awarded to DBEs but not yet paid during the reporting period.

As DBE professionals know too well, the required semi-annual DBE report often consumes the personal and professional lives of those overseeing these transportation initiatives. More specifically the critical elements transit agencies need to consider for timely and accurate reporting of the required semi-annual DBE report, include:

  1. A thorough review of every federally funded contract, 
  2. Identification of all firms that are certified as DBE,
  3. An update on all awards and commitments to the DBE firms, and 
  4. The ability to track each payment made to both the prime contractor and all subcontractors.

As one might imagine, this process for a small DBE team within a multi-department organization might mean miscommunication and conflicting perspectives on how all requirements are met and tracked, the oversight of dozens of contracts worth potentially billions of dollars – making effective and accurate [manual] monitoring of every detail a nearly impossible feat.

Community impact is at the heart of all DBE programs and as a result, DBE compliance officials should be equipped with a team and tools to seamlessly manage their efforts to facilitate equity and inclusion in transportation projects.

Effectively complying and supporting federal – and potentially local programs where local funds are used – is a challenging task for any transit authority, large or small. The comprehensive technology offered by B2Gnow and seasoned team make it possible by allowing transit authorities to not only go paperless and grow their programs, but also rapidly generate the required semi-annual DBE report. Moreover, B2Gnow’s powerful software provides transit authorities with the capability to effectively monitor, track, and access key data and reports such as the Compliance Audit Summary, which provides real-time automated DBE certification and compliance tracking including project spend tracking and certified contractor utilization through the entire prime-subcontractor chain.

Learn more about B2Gnow and speak to an expert

4 Signs it’s Time to Invest in a Highway-Rail Crossing Data Management System

B2Gnow

You know the signs. You know them all too well. Many of you are still using spreadsheets to capture all of your crossing data. Pavement, grade, signage, safety equipment, track conditions, road conditions, lighting, line of sight, number of trains, vehicles, passengers, incidents, pictures, contracts, oh my! How do I store it all? How is it all managed? How do I compile, process, and analyze this information effectively? That’s when you know …

It’s TIME for a highway-rail crossing data management system.

When Manual Crossing Data Systems Start Costing You Time and Accuracy
  1. You’re Tired of The Multi-System or No-System Chaos

You may be able to juggle multiple applications or multiple spreadsheets. But the issue is, inputting data manually, generating a simple report, cross-referencing data, receiving and inputting data from crossing inspectors, exporting and sending data to FRA, or even combining data extracts from this system and that one is incredibly time-consuming and burdensome. You just don’t have the time. Haven’t you wondered what it would be like if you had a single online system that stores all your data? One that allows you to catalog your data? Let’s you search, sort or filter down to the information you need? Yes, it’s time to consider investing in a new system.
  1. You Want a Better Way to Track Crossing Inventory

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) requires a vast amount of crossing information and characteristics to be collected, cataloged and maintained. You need a system with easy-to-use data formats that allows users to input or quickly access crossing inventory data. Additionally, data transfers to and from FRA should be managed electronically to ensure that all stakeholders can simultaneously view the most current crossing information. And you should be able to store all your crossing photos in an easy-to-access library which can also archive older photos.
  1. You Want a Better Way to Track Related Projects

So, you have funding for a variety of improvement projects. And you know you have urgent improvements and aging equipment that needs to be replaced. But the data and documentation are stored in different locations. And the data may be maintained in a number of disparate systems or even spreadsheets. Your ability to apply and track project funding can be very challenging and time consuming. This is when you wish you had a simple data management system that could easily bring these elements together. A system that tracks obligated funding amounts, project descriptions, and drawdown data all in one place. A place where all railroad crossing agreements can be stored and quickly accessed with all associated project data. And a system that can be configured to communicate with the state’s electronic document management system.
  1. Producing Critical Reports Has Become a Chore

Producing reports from a spreadsheet just does not work. And pulling data for critical analysis opportunities from a variety of locations or systems can take time and create frustration. All good reporting tools rely on accurate, uniform, and granular data collection and storage. The right system will contain a multitude of pre-formatted ready reports for crossings, projects, funding, inventories, crash and incident data. And when a report is not yet available, additional reports can be identified created so you can spend time analyze funding and crash data, not gathering it.

It’s time to invest!

Say goodbye to tedious, manual processes, and go deeper into your data. Invest in an online managed database of railroad crossing data that also tracks rail safety, maintenance, agreements, and construction projects. Benefit from a system that meets Federal Rail Administration and U.S. DOT Crossing Inventory Form submission requirements and has the capability of transferring data electronically to the FRA system. The BlackCat Rail Data Management System® facilitates accurate information sharing by providing the FRA, state departments of transportation, and railroads a common place to collect and share data, ensuring each stakeholder can simultaneously view the most current crossing information. The application is intuitive, easy-to-use, and loaded with search, sorting, filtering and reporting capabilities.

Make the investment.

Learn more about the BlackCat Rail Data Management System® and request a demo today!

4 Reasons Data Drives Effective Rail Safety Programs

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Data is more than just numbers or a simple collection of information. Data tells a story. When it comes to rail safety, it can tell us what happened in the past, what is happening now, and what might happen in the future. Data can tell us where to spend funds to improve safety and it can tell us if the improvements we funded are helping. In fact, accurate data analysis can save lives!

How Data Improves Decision-Making, Compliance, and Safety Outcomes
  1. Saving lives!

That’s right, the most important factor for a Rail Safety Program is leveraging the data collected about crossing conditions, safety features, and past incidents to determine ways to improve the crossing to reduce incidents and potential injuries or deaths. Implementing a robust crossing data management system will give you the proper tools and capacity to capture and manage this critical data.

A desired system is designed to standardize and streamline the railway-highway crossing data management and analysis workflow processes. It must be able to collect and maintain a wide variety of data, information, documentation and even photos.  Additional workflows should be able to facilitate the collection and storage of all required Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) inventory characteristics, and then be able to transmit this data directly FRA.  Furthermore, it’s important that the system has data import and export capabilities to help facilitate the collection and release of rail inspection data to the parties that need it.  In an ideal system, when the tools and methods you have in place are properly utilized, project funding can be properly assigned, key or critical deficiencies get repaired, and negative incidents can be reduced, which may reduce injuries and even save lives.
  1. Capitalizing on limited funding for the safety of railroad and roadway users

Grade crossing incidents are one of the leading causes of rail-related deaths in the United States and having quality data and accurate grade crossing information accessible to all stakeholders is key to a successful rail safety program.  Funding for rail and highway safety can be dispersed in so many ways. Often times money for safety projects can be limited. Precise data analysis is needed to determine which deficiencies and improvements are the most deserving of the funds that may be available. An effective data management system is needed to accurately collect, catalog, store, filter, and analyze a multitude of key data elements… any one of which can be the deciding factor to determining that fate of a project or improvement.  It’s imperative to have a system that can provide the data analysis you require, and any stakeholder should be able to filter and examine the data needed to either propose a critical project, or in some cases, fund it. Find a system that ensures that highest priority projects, or the most urgent deficiencies, can be more efficiently selected to receive critical funding.
  1. Track improvement projects throughout the program Lifecycle

Once important projects or improvements have been funded and are underway, a variety of stakeholders can track projects from planning stages through the encumbrance of funds, contract creation and execution, processing any number of construction milestones, the receipt of invoices, balancing drawdowns and expenditures, and eventually close out. A robust data management system will provide workflows to manage these important processes efficiently. Project development, progress and overall spending should be monitored to ensure that each individual crossing, work within a specific regional, or project success across an entire state can be effectively managed to ensure projects end timely, dollars are spent wisely, and the impacts of each project can be monitored for overall success and the reduction of incidents.
  1. Analyzing how improvements reduce incidents

Consistent data management, monitoring and trend analysis will eventually lead to better overall rail crossing improvements and the reduction of incidents that cause damage, injury and death. The most important factor to data management is the ability to properly access, export and analyze your data. Ensure that your data management methods or system include a robust data selection and reporting component.  This means that it should be able to query and extract data in a granular and specific manner.  While it is important to collect and input accurate data, the ability to export the data, in order to  examine the costs, improvements and trends enacted to reduce incidents, is what leads to success.

Are you ready to get a control of Railway-Highway Crossing Data?

It’s time to say goodbye to tedious, manual processes, and get more out of the data you need to collect and manage. Benefit from a robust, hosted and secure data management system designed to specifically standardize and streamline the highway-rail crossing data, document, storage and analysis workflow processes.  Take advantage of a system developed to track and manage safety, maintenance and construction projects, and a system designed to meet federal crossing data collection standards and provide the option of electronic submission of US DOT Crossing Inventory data to the FRA. . Learn more about BlackCat Rail and request a demo.