Project Control – Integrating Cost and Schedule in Construction, Second Edition

About the Author xii Preface xiii 1 The Basics 1 The Concept of Project Management 1 History of Project Management 2 Approaches to Project Management 3 The Traditional Approach 4 The Initiating Process 5 The Planning Process 5 The Executing Process 6 The Monitoring and Controlling Process 7 The Closing Process 7 Benefits of Proper Planning 8 The Role of the Project Manager 9 Lead the Project Team 10 Create the Project Plan 10 Develop the Project Schedule 11 Monitor the Progress of the Project 12 Control the Project 12 Take Corrective Action 12 Achieve the Project Goals 13 Goals of the Project 13 Contractual Performance Obligations 13 Financial Objectives 14 Prevent or Minimize Delay 14 Avoid Claims or Litigation 14 Control the O- P- C Relationship 15 Increase Market Share 15 Role of the Contract Documents 15 Study the Plans and Specifications 16 Identify Discrepancies Early 17 Visit the Project Site 17 Understand the Project Constraints 18 Determine Potential Problem Areas 18 Understand Contract Procedures 18 The Schedule and Budget 19 Summary and Key Points 19 Questions for Review 20 2 Introduction to Project Control 23 Overview of Project Control 23 Project Control Terminology 26 Project Control Formulas 35 The Project Control Cycle 35 Plan to Achieve Goals 36 Execute Work According to Plan 37 Measure the Progress 37 Identify Variations 38 Analyze Cause of Variations 38 Implement Corrective Actions 38 Execute Work and Measure Changes 39 Summary and Key Points 39 Questions for Review 40 3 Pre- Construction Planning 41 Initiating the Control Process 41 Pre- Construction Planning 42 Key Personnel and Responsibilities 44 The Contractor's Group 44 The Design Professional's Group 50 The Owner's Group 51 The Regulatory Group 52 The Plan-- the Roadmap 53 Establishing a Baseline for Schedule Control 55 Establishing a Baseline for Cost Control 57 The Communication Plan 58 Summary and Key Points 59 Questions for Review 60 4 The Schedule 61 Basic Scheduling Concepts 61 Types of Schedules 63 The Checklist 63 The Schedule Board 64 The Bar Chart 65 The Look- Ahead 66 The Linear Schedule 66 Advanced Scheduling Methods 67 Program Evaluation and Review Technique 67 Critical Path Method (CPM) 68 The CPM Schedule as a Management Tool 68 The Baseline Schedule 69 Tasks 71 The Work Breakdown Structure 71 Task Types 73 Task Descriptions 74 Task Durations 75 Interdependencies 79 Complex Relationships-- Lags and Leads 81 Milestones and Constraints 82 Float 84 Updating the Schedule 85 Summary and Key Points 87 Questions for Review 88 5 The Budget 89 Fundamentals of the Estimating Process 89 Types of Estimates 91 Organization of Estimates 92 The Baseline Budget 98 Deconstructing the Estimate to Build the Baseline Budget 103 Project Cost Report 107 The Budget as a Management Tool 108 Summary and Key Points 109 Questions for Review 110 6 Integrating the Schedule and the Budget 111 Schedule of Values 111 Matching Cost Values to Tasks 114 Planned vs. Actual Values 117 Summary and Key Points 121 Questions for Review 122 7 Calculating and Analyzing Progress 125 Why an Accurate Schedule of Values? 125 Measuring Performance 126 Units Completed 126 Incremental Milestone 127 Start/Finish 128 Cost Ratio 128 Experience/Opinion 129 Weighted or Equivalent Units 129 Earned Value 130 Fixed Budget Approach 130 Variable Budget Approach 131 Choosing a Fixed or Variable Approach 132 Schedule and Cost Performance 133 Summary and Key Points 137 Questions for Review 138 8 Analyzing and Reporting Variances in Schedule and Cost 139 Understanding Project Analyses 139 S- Curves 139 Tracking Gantt Chart 144 Control Charts 144 SPI and CPI Charts 146 X Contents Causes of Variances 148 Cost Variances 148 Schedule Variances 148 Variance Thresholds 149 Root Cause Analysis 151 Reporting Project Status 153 Summary and Key Points 155 Questions for Review 157 9 Recognizing Trends and Forecasting Performance 159 Recognizing Trends 159 Using Trends to Forecast 162 Estimate at Completion 162 Estimate to Complete 163 Variance at Completion 164 To- Complete Performance Index 164 Project Percentage Analysis 166 Why All the Analysis? 167 Summary and Key Points 169 Questions for Review 169 10 Productivity 171 Understanding Productivity 171 Productivity Index 172 Factors Affecting Construction Productivity 174 Controllable Factors Affecting Productivity 174 Uncontrollable Factors Affecting Productivity 175 Recommendations for Improving Productivity 175 Summary and Key Points 177 Questions for Review 177 11 Acceleration and Schedule Compression 179 Acceleration 179 Actual Acceleration 180 Constructive Acceleration 181 Forced Acceleration 182 Schedule Compression 183 Time- Cost Trade- Off Analysis 184 Time- Cost Trade- Off Concepts 185 Recovery Schedule 190 Summary and Key Points 191 Questions for Review 193 12 Resource Management 195 Resources 195 Resource Allocation 196 Resource Management 197 Resource Profile 199 Splitting Tasks 201 Material Management 201 Material Management in Practice 203 Tools for Resource Management 204 Summary and Key Points 204 Questions for Review 205 13 Risk Management 207 Components of Risk Management 207 Risk Identification 208 Risk Assessment 209 Risk Response Plan 211 Risk Response Control 213 Risk Contingency Planning 214 Contingency Plan Funding 215 Probability Analysis in Scheduling 216 Contract Type and Risk 222 Stipulated Sum 223 Cost of Work Plus Fee 223 Cost of Work Plus Fee with a GMP 223 Design Build 224 Construction Management 224 Partnering 225 Contract Modifications and Impact on Risk 225 Summary and Key Points 226 Questions for Review 227 14 Project Closeout 229 Project Documentation 229 Initiation of Project Closeout 230 Objectives of the Closeout Process 231 Contract Closeout 232 Administrative Closeout 233 Archiving Project Files 233 Claims and Disputes 234 Lessons Learned Meeting 235 Lessons Learned Documentation 236 Project Closeout Report 236 Summary and Key Points 237 Questions for Review 238 Case Study 239 Appendix A Questions for Review and Answers 251 Index 269

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.