The Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting today is expected to perform the second major upgrade to its electronic plans review software called ePlans.

In order to install the new Avolve Software 9.4, DPP, officials say they must temporarily shut down the ePlans system — also known as ProjectDox — starting at 1 p.m., until a still undetermined time Thursday.

During the upgrade there will be no access to ProjectDox, and no new building permit applications will be accepted via the department’s older system POSSE, according to DPP.

An exact time when ePlans will go live again will be announced on the DPP website at honolulu.gov/dpp.

While ePlans is offline, applicants and their agents will not be able to access the system or start or submit a new permit application that requires a plan review. DPP staff also will not be able to work on applications in ePlans.

“The ProjectDox (ePlans) upgrade is essential as we transition from an on- premises infrastructure to a cloud-based platform,” DPP Director Dawn Takeuchi Apuna told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser via email. “This migration to the cloud, which brings efficient system maintenance and updates, will protect applicant data and provide a better user experience, ensuring a timely response to permits.”

The upgrade process involves “a significant platform update composed of several critical steps that have been carefully timed,” she added.

“We recognize the downtime is an inconvenience for DPP and the community, but once this upgrade is completed and we are on the most current version of ProjectDox, future upgrades will be done with minimal downtime,” she said.

She said this upgrade is scheduled during the workweek — rather than on the weekend or in the overnight hours — to ensure any issues that might arise can be addressed promptly.

“This allows for real-time troubleshooting and collaboration between our consultant Avolve, the developer of ProjectDox, and DPP to resolve any potential issues efficiently,” she said. “We anticipate that ePlans will be back online on Thursday.”

This will be DPP’s last upgrade to ePlans requiring “noticeable downtime,” she said.

“Once we are on version 9.4, all future upgrades can be pushed to the cloud platform during off-hours requiring minimal, if any, downtime,” Takeuchi Apuna added.

The first upgrade to the 9.2 version of ePlans was completed in late July, according to DPP.

That upgrade provided significant improvements to ePlans, which was launched in 2012 and was last upgraded in 2019, DPP said.

Those included a project status tab that allows the applicant to check the status of an application, and a self- service “Forgot Password” feature using email verification codes, rather than security questions, DPP said.

The 9.4 version has additional features that will make it easier for plan reviewers to add notations and comments to files to communicate questions and comments to applicants and plan makers, DPP said.

Because the new version is geared toward internal plan reviewers, the public will not notice significant changes to ePlans, DPP said.

The ePlans upgrade is one of several planned by the DPP to further ease the permit application process and allow applicants to track their permits in real time.

In March, Takeuchi Apuna unveiled her department’s plans to use automation to speed the building permit process.

At the time, she noted the new system was part of a $5.6 million project that was expected to be fully completed in 18 months, or by fall 2025.

Money for that system originated with Honolulu’s receipt of $386 million in 2021 from the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund, or FRF, as part of the federal government’s $1.3 trillion American Rescue Plan Act package.

ProjectDox from Avolve Software, which launched in July 2023, allows users to view, zoom, pan, rotate, measure, annotate and redact building plan documents and images, the city says.

That system upgrade, also paid for with FRF money, cost $206,000, she said.