Project Management Assistance
. Project Schedule Development
Most project managers view project scheduling as a nuisance requirement of their daily job responsibilities. Successful project managers use the project schedules to produce successful, profitable, and on-time projects. Good schedulers have a strong opinion that the schedule becomes the barometer of how successful their project will become. We believe every project regardless of its size should start with a schedule of all important activities, events, and milestones. Yes, it takes time, but if monitored daily provides the manager with the opportunity to make the necessary changes and take action to keep the project on schedule.
A good scheduling plan for a project usually reduces the chance of costly delays resulting in claims and disputes, unhappy end-users, and disruptions to other areas of the firm’s business plan. A good scheduling plan would include several detailed schedules that support and lead into the projects master schedule. A scheduling plan might look like this:
. Project Master Schedule
. Four Week Look-ahead Schedule
. Current Weekly Schedule
. Daily detailed Schedule
. Equipment and Materials Delivery Schedule
. Manload Schedule
. System Start-up Schedule
. Owner Training Schedule
We believe the project schedule plan is a significant requirement for a successful project and can assist the firm or an individual project team in the development of the plan, monitoring the plan, and reporting on the plan.
. Contract Administration and Risk Management
Owners, Design Professionals, General Contractors, Subcontractors, and Suppliers must know the details of the contracts they sign and agree to. The Owner wants to transfer as much risk to the construction team while the Construction Team wants to reduce or avoid as much risk as it can. The different project development models – design build, construction manager at risk, guaranteed maximum price, and open bid all create significantly different risk challenges to each party. Understanding the contract terms of each of the parties also can be important to understand at what level in the contracting chain risk transfers.
The Texas Legislature conformed the indemnity statute in 2011, to the benefit of the construction industry in the state. However, the presence of “paid-when-paid,” “prompt payment statutes,” “notice requirements,” “property and bond lien laws,” clauses challenge every party to a construction contract to understand and know how to respond to specific events during a project. This requires the parties to have systems in place so parties can properly document the event and respond in writing to the appropriate party or parties.
Every party to a construction contract should have advice from an attorney knowledgeable in construction law in the state they are located. We can assist the Owner or Contractor in creating the in-house monitoring and documentation systems to comply with the contract requirements based on the advice of the Owner’s or Contractor’s legal counsel.
. Managing Dysfunctional Project Teams
The most valuable assets of a construction firm are its people. In construction, senior management of the firm seem to focus on how well the firm’s equipment is maintained or the profit of the projects. These are important to developing a successful construction firm. However, managing its human assets becomes the most challenging and important function of senior management. This applies to the smallest of firms to large multi-market firms.
We have observed dysfunctional project teams usually result in schedule conflict and delays, miscommunication of important information, personality conflicts, resulting in less profitable projects. Managing the subcontractor’s project management team must been included in this discussion. Once members of the construction team begin to mistrust or doubt the actions of other members, effective communications by the team diminishes leading to lost profits by the whole team.
Placing the right people in the right positions must be the main goal of an effective team building process. It takes time and understanding by everyone involved. We assist senior management in the development of a team building plan based on the composition of the firm’s personal.
. Productivity Management
Productivity affects the bottom line of every firm from specialty retail operations, transportation, utilities, mining, and particularly construction operations. Smart managers of construction firms know productivity is the basis of having a successful project. Trade contractors like MEP, masons, drywall, and concrete installers must know the productivity of their work forces. The firm’s estimating departments base the pricing of the firm’s proposals using productivity factors from their field operators. Field managers track and monitor the individual activities of their teams to confirm the team’s ability to meet the required schedule dates.
Road contractors need to know how many feet of road base or concrete is placed each day. HVAC contractors should know how many pounds of sheetmetal or pipe is installed each day. Drywall contractors need to know how many wall panels are installed and/or sheetrock is hung each day. Systems to capture productivity data needs to be a part of the manager’s tool box. We can assist the firm or individual project teams in the development of methods to capture specific data they can use to track and monitor the field productivity. In all cases, we strive to keep it simple and easy to manage.
. MEP Functional Performance Testing
Building HVAC, Plumbing and Electrical systems are continuing to evolve with the development digital actuators to help us humans manage energy use and human comfort. Owners, General Contractors, and MEP subcontractors are challenged to assure these system function as designed. The days of a man turning a device on and off are over. Microprocessors are now installed in practically every moving device from light switches to building environment controls. This evolution requires each system to be tested for functional performance prior to the Owner or end users taking occupancy of the building.
This process needs to start at the beginning of the construction phase of the project and proceed until final performance testing is completed and documented. We provide assistance and guidance on how to effectively establish this routine. The goal is to provide the Owner with a complete, trouble free system. A commitment to the process by the construction team has proven to reduce the number of punchlist issues and ultimately warranty issues. Everybody wins when a Functional Performance Testing activity is utilized by the construction team.
Claim Initiation and Management
. Evaluation of Potential Claim
. Forensic Data Gathering
. Claim Development and Presentation
. Support through Final Settlement
