SF Delay Database gets neglected

San Francisco Chronicle on MSN:

San Francisco spent $250,000 on a database to track construction delays. Years later, it has never been used

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/san-francisco-spent-250000-on-a-database-to-track-construction-delays-years-later-it-has-never-been-used/ar-AAWaUBj

”Three years after developing a database meant to track the performance of contractors on city construction projects, the system of checks and balances remains unused, according to a report from the San Francisco Civil Grand Jury.

The report details the history of a “performance evaluation database” that was recommended in a 2014 city controller’s audit and developed over the next few years. The city spent $250,000 on a contract to develop the database, which was completed in 2018 and tested in 2019.

Yet, the departments that oversee public construction projects…have neglected to “populate” the database with information that could help select good contractors and avoid problematic ones, according to the Civil Grand Jury.

The result is that billions of dollars in taxpayer money — the city is slated to spend $39 billion on capital projects in the current decade — could continue to be spent on firms with a history of shoddy work.

…

“By not using the database, the city fails to benefit from lessons learned within and across departments, despite department heads’ expressed opinions that the database would have a meaningful and positive impact on project quality, budgets and timelines“