Step in Construction Project Management

Each footstep contributes to achieve project goal in the construction project management. The goal of every owner and subcontractor is to make or complete their project on schedule and within budget. For a successful subcontractor, he knows very well or understands the method of construction. The process of construction project management contains an effective time management and the management of lots of activities. The subcontractor is not only liable for managing its activities additionally he also liable for acts of other contractors under its administration. 

  

To get a successful project result there is a need of devotion and commitment from every team member. Every footstep in the process plays an important role in the project. If you want to manage a project effectively and with perfection you need to follow a four step process.

• Create a project framework
• Build-up a project plan (Scheduling)
• Observation and Surveillance of the project plan (Monitoring)
• Manage modification of the plan (Control)

Create a project framework –

First footstep in effectively managing a construction project is creating a project framework for implementing the tasks. In a construction project all small or big stages are very important to be identified, as they are all essential to complete the activity. Also, this process includes a schedule and cost management for every stage. All construction jobs must be identified and allocated to subcontractor, it is also important to recognize what is going to happen in the area of operation and what relevant tasks are not scheduled in a particular workspace. In this phase project price should be set by using various methods. Also in this phase, availability of equipment, material, labor and other construction tools must be planned carefully. If all stages of the project have been identified the project plan can be built.

Build-up the project plan (Scheduling)

The second step in effectively managing a construction project is building the project plan. The accurate project plan of the job activity is a very difficult feature of the construction management process. The project plan not only describes the job by activities, in fact it also involves contractors to identify what activities must be executed and when. In a successful construction project, the project plan turns into the project roadmap so that all contractors can evaluate and decide when their own work will be in the pipeline.

Observation and Surveillance of the project plan -

The third step in effectively managing a construction project is an observation and surveillance of the project plan. Project growth depends on scheduling, the subcontractor is liable to make sure the schedule is actively updated. After fixing the frequency of schedule updates, the prime contractor will direct all team members for updating their job activities. By updating information, if any of the tasks or assignments are not included in the schedule, they will be identified and the necessary actions will be taken accordingly. 

 

Manage modification of plan -

The fourth step in effectively managing a construction project is managing modifications of the plan, those certainly arise in the project. Every change in the scheduling must be shared with all team members of the project. It must be recognized that the project finish date should not be changed by modifying schedule. If the project finish date is modified and it cannot be avoided then schedule expansion is necessary. 

 

For a successful construction project, it is very necessary to include above four steps in project management. Without a proper and complete project framework, project plan, surveillance of project schedule and power of managing modification of plan, the project cannot achieve their goal.

Field Report in GamePlan

In web-based project management software field report is a tool, where user can submit project activity status and critical construction field information. Project team members handle daily field issues, tasks, and status of the project. With the help of project management software users can organize their daily field activities or event log.    

 

Users can manage field activities and reporting with the help of GamePlan Field (A Web based Construction Project Management Software). The field management module for construction management has three submenus field report, issue management and quality management. In this topic, we'll show you how to utilize & get benefits of Field report module in your team project.

The GamePlan Field Report module can be categorized in two groups. User can select group names, where he wants to add the field report. Groups can be created using the Groups link on the left menu bar under the project menu. Click on add new field report button, fill out the information you want include in your field report. Then select the team member from the drop-down list whom you want to send this report for approval and click on the Save button. After saving field report it goes for approval. Before approval it shows a pending status.  

Project manager always needs a regular field status report of their construction project. By using the Field Reports module, he can identify the daily work status and issues that occur every project.

Construction Companies Should Consider Moving All Their Organizational Workflows to Cloud

 Success of a construction company depends on several things; use of information technology is one of them. However, I think most of construction companies do not use the actual power of information technology and they are not ready to move on from email and FTP for projectmanagement. Perhaps following facts will help them take better decisions:

•     90% of a construction manager's time goes in communication.
•   15% of time construction project managers are searching for information.
•   50% of problems faced during construction are due to ineffective information exchange.
•    85%-90% of project cost is decided in the design stage.
•   30-50% of changes during construction result from error in design due to poor communication.
•   30% of time field staff asks questions related to inconsistencies in drawings.

   Use of information technology improves coordination and collaboration among companies participating in construction projects. There are several tangible and intangible benefits of using IT in construction. 

Benefits of using IT solutions for construction include –

1. Improved document quality
2. Better document organization and tracking
3. Better financial control
4. Better communication
5. Anytime, anywhere access to information
6. Decrease in documentation errors 
7.  Cost effective SAAS based model for midsized companies

IT Solution characteristics

A good IT solution needs to do these tasks for making construction project managers more efficient in dealing with information -

1) Efficient information generation

2) Storage

3) Retrieval

4) Communication

Enabling Technologies and Resources

1) World Wide Web 2.0

a)      Available from anywhere, anytime on need to know basis.

b)      Its use as a communication medium helps effective and fast information transfer 

2) Internet

                a) Cross organizational team work is enabled

3) Infinite computing power in the cloud

4) Highly secure servers

5) Easy to use and Intuitive application designs

Best Practice

1.  Set up a project website from the design stage of a project
2.  Set up a project wide collaboration and coordination platform for open communication and information exchange 
3.  Run training programs organizational IT skills development
4.  Input all the necessary information in the system of choice
5.  Look for both tangible and intangible benefits when evaluating the system

GamePlan – Construction Management Solution

GamePlan revolutionizes the way construction project teams do business. It is one of its kind products and focused on construction execution phase. Real time information update and information exchange is a must for effective field to office coordination and collaboration in today’s volatile world.

GamePlan presents a SAAS model for AEC companies

Delaware, DH--(News Sources- Mar 26, 2013) – True Intelligence Technologies Inc. , a construction project management solution company is transforming building and infrastructure project delivery.  The Company today announced that it will launch it’s flagship product GamePlan’s updated version in April. The software-as-a-service (SAAS) based platform includes features to manage construction scheduling, look ahead plans, weekly work plans, document control, file sharing, RFIs, potential change orders, daily reports, checklists, issue management, punch lists, progress photo sharing as well as integration with GamePlan Android App for Construction.

New and improved GamePlan Collaboration and Coordination

GamePlan has evolved a lot since its first beta release in the month of October last year. Four modules in GamePlan provide an extensive array of functions to manage contacts,  construction schedule, Last Planner Process, Just-in-Time Delivery, Submittals, Requests for Information (RFI), Contracts, Change orders and more. Because Construction Management is a job of information exchange, communication and coordination, all functions in GamePlan connect to create a seamless workflow, create audit trails and allow easy and time saving coordination and collaboration. For example, a Look Ahead Plan task can be linked to an RFI, equipments, material deliveries, drawings, supplemental instruction, potential roadblocks, which in turn may be linked to GamePlan Resource Management for real time information exchange. Capturing these relationships, as work processes unfold, is crucial to ensure accountability and transparency, to avoid delays, and to remove road blocks in execution.

Features Include:

    Look Ahead Plan, Activity Board, Weekly Work Plan, Constraint Analysis, Root Cause Analysis, Document Control, File Sharing, Issue Management, Checklists, Directory, Submittals, Transmittals, Discussion Board, Social Enterprise, Purchase Order, Work Order, Meeting Minutes, Equipment Status Board, Team Status Board, Time Sheets, Daily Field Reports, Potential Change Orders (PCOs), Change Orders, Comprehensive and Summary Reporting.