Project Control

Wayne J. Del Pico is President of W.J. Del Pico, Inc., where he provides construction management and litigation support services for construction-related matters. He has more than 40 years of experience in construction management, scheduling, and estimating. He has taught several construction courses at Northeastern University in Boston, and is senior affiliate faculty at Wentworth Institute of Technology where he currently teaches programs in construction cost analysis, estimating, project control, and construction scheduling.

• About the Author xiiPreface xiii1 The Basics 1The Concept of Project Management 1History of Project Management 2Approaches to Project Management 3The Traditional Approach 4The Initiating Process 5The Planning Process 5The Executing Process 6The Monitoring and Controlling Process 7The Closing Process 7Benefits of Proper Planning 8The Role of the Project Manager 9Lead the Project Team 10Create the Project Plan 10Develop the Project Schedule 11Monitor the Progress of the Project 12Control the Project 12Take Corrective Action 12Achieve the Project Goals 13Goals of the Project 13Contractual Performance Obligations 13Financial Objectives 14Prevent or Minimize Delay 14Avoid Claims or Litigation 14Control the O- P- C Relationship 15Increase Market Share 15Role of the Contract Documents 15Study the Plans and Specifications 16Identify Discrepancies Early 17Visit the Project Site 17Understand the Project Constraints 18Determine Potential Problem Areas 18Understand Contract Procedures 18The Schedule and Budget 19Summary and Key Points 19Questions for Review 202 Introduction to Project Control 23Overview of Project Control 23Project Control Terminology 26Project Control Formulas 35The Project Control Cycle 35Plan to Achieve Goals 36Execute Work According to Plan 37Measure the Progress 37Identify Variations 38Analyze Cause of Variations 38Implement Corrective Actions 38Execute Work and Measure Changes 39Summary and Key Points 39Questions for Review 403 Pre- Construction Planning 41Initiating the Control Process 41Pre- Construction Planning 42Key Personnel and Responsibilities 44The Contractor’s Group 44The Design Professional’s Group 50The Owner’s Group 51The Regulatory Group 52The Plan— the Roadmap 53Establishing a Baseline for Schedule Control 55Establishing a Baseline for Cost Control 57The Communication Plan 58Summary and Key Points 59Questions for Review 604 The Schedule 61Basic Scheduling Concepts 61Types of Schedules 63The Checklist 63The Schedule Board 64The Bar Chart 65The Look- Ahead 66The Linear Schedule 66Advanced Scheduling Methods 67Program Evaluation and Review Technique 67Critical Path Method (CPM) 68The CPM Schedule as a Management Tool 68The Baseline Schedule 69Tasks 71The Work Breakdown Structure 71Task Types 73Task Descriptions 74Task Durations 75Interdependencies 79Complex Relationships— Lags and Leads 81Milestones and Constraints 82Float 84Updating the Schedule 85Summary and Key Points 87Questions for Review 885 The Budget 89Fundamentals of the Estimating Process 89Types of Estimates 91Organization of Estimates 92The Baseline Budget 98Deconstructing the Estimate to Build the Baseline Budget 103Project Cost Report 107The Budget as a Management Tool 108Summary and Key Points 109Questions for Review 1106 Integrating the Schedule and the Budget 111Schedule of Values 111Matching Cost Values to Tasks 114Planned vs. Actual Values 117Summary and Key Points 121Questions for Review 1227 Calculating and Analyzing Progress 125Why an Accurate Schedule of Values? 125Measuring Performance 126Units Completed 126Incremental Milestone 127Start/Finish 128Cost Ratio 128Experience/Opinion 129Weighted or Equivalent Units 129Earned Value 130Fixed Budget Approach 130Variable Budget Approach 131Choosing a Fixed or Variable Approach 132Schedule and Cost Performance 133Summary and Key Points 137Questions for Review 1388 Analyzing and Reporting Variances in Schedule and Cost 139Understanding Project Analyses 139S- Curves 139Tracking Gantt Chart 144Control Charts 144SPI and CPI Charts 146X Contents Causes of Variances 148Cost Variances 148Schedule Variances 148Variance Thresholds 149Root Cause Analysis 151Reporting Project Status 153Summary and Key Points 155Questions for Review 1579 Recognizing Trends and Forecasting Performance 159Recognizing Trends 159Using Trends to Forecast 162Estimate at Completion 162Estimate to Complete 163Variance at Completion 164To- Complete Performance Index 164Project Percentage Analysis 166Why All the Analysis? 167Summary and Key Points 169Questions for Review 16910 Productivity 171Understanding Productivity 171Productivity Index 172Factors Affecting Construction Productivity 174Controllable Factors Affecting Productivity 174Uncontrollable Factors Affecting Productivity 175Recommendations for Improving Productivity 175Summary and Key Points 177Questions for Review 17711 Acceleration and Schedule Compression 179Acceleration 179Actual Acceleration 180Constructive Acceleration 181Forced Acceleration 182Schedule Compression 183Time- Cost Trade- Off Analysis 184Time- Cost Trade- Off Concepts 185Recovery Schedule 190Summary and Key Points 191Questions for Review 19312 Resource Management 195Resources 195Resource Allocation 196Resource Management 197Resource Profile 199Splitting Tasks 201Material Management 201Material Management in Practice 203Tools for Resource Management 204Summary and Key Points 204Questions for Review 20513 Risk Management 207Components of Risk Management 207Risk Identification 208Risk Assessment 209Risk Response Plan 211Risk Response Control 213Risk Contingency Planning 214Contingency Plan Funding 215Probability Analysis in Scheduling 216Contract Type and Risk 222Stipulated Sum 223Cost of Work Plus Fee 223Cost of Work Plus Fee with a GMP 223Design Build 224Construction Management 224Partnering 225Contract Modifications and Impact on Risk 225Summary and Key Points 226Questions for Review 22714 Project Closeout 229Project Documentation 229Initiation of Project Closeout 230Objectives of the Closeout Process 231Contract Closeout 232Administrative Closeout 233Archiving Project Files 233Claims and Disputes 234Lessons Learned Meeting 235Lessons Learned Documentation 236Project Closeout Report 236Summary and Key Points 237Questions for Review 238Case Study 239Appendix A Questions for Review and Answers 251Index 269