DIGITAL ENGINEERING AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORKS FOR IMPROVING SAFETY AND EFFICIENCY IN US CIVIL AND RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE

Abstract

This study addresses a persistent problem in US civil and rail delivery: preventable safety incidents and schedule and cost drift rooted in fragmented information and inconsistent governance. Purpose was to quantify how digital engineering adoption and project management framework maturity relate to safety and efficiency. Design was quantitative, cross sectional, and case based, combining a survey with audited archival records. Sample comprised 168 US civil and rail projects from owners and prime contractors. Key variables were two Likert composites for digital engineering adoption and framework maturity, outcomes of total recordable and lost time incident rates plus schedule and cost performance indices, a rail versus non rail sector moderator, and controls for value, duration, delivery method, organization size, complexity, and region. Analysis plan included reliability checks, correlation matrices, ordinary least squares for efficiency with robust errors, and Poisson or Negative Binomial models for safety counts with log exposure offsets, followed by moderation tests and robustness checks. Headline findings show that higher adoption and higher maturity were independently associated with lower incident rates and schedule and cost performance after adjustment, with a stronger adoption to schedule link in rail settings; results were stable across alternative codings and inferences. The literature review informing constructs and hypotheses synthesized 44 peer reviewed sources. Implications for agencies include mandating ISO aligned information requirements and common data environment compliance, requiring 4D sequencing for possession constrained works, strengthening stage gates, risk and change control, and institutionalizing benefits management and lessons learned to sustain gains and transparency across programs.