Benefits of Project Schedule Management Tracking In Construction
During the process of project schedule management, the need to practice effective project schedule tracking seems a no-brainer. Yet performance of this important process sometimes misses the mark for completeness and effectiveness. Of a certainty, many construction Project Managers engage in active tracking of schedule performance and compliance. They collect accurate information, including dates, duration, complications and corrections. Yet when it comes to analyzing the information in a way that effectively reveals variances, modifications and suitability for use in future projects, the process often collapses beneath an incomplete tracking structure.
Think about the benefits of competent and successful project schedule tracking, including:
- Reliable details in current project status
- Rapid discovery of scheduling bottlenecks
- Risk management and risk resolution
- Root cause awareness and problem prevention
- Regularity of documentation that makes certain that lessons learned convert into future as well as present scheduling schemes
- Reliable forecasting derived from extrapolation of current performance
- AND MORE.
Now think about how efficient project schedule management in construction can improve your project performance and overall jobsite operations.
10 Tasks Most Critical To Success in Construction Project Schedule Management
Although simplified in detail, the following 10 tracking tasks define the functions most critical to successful project schedule management in construction. This is the core of project success:
1) Track according to a defined periodic routine
Project schedule management is about routine collection, monitoring and evaluation. Create a workable and worthwhile periodic tracking evaluation schedule.
2) Establish and maintain a realistic baseline
Documentation is a great tool. But without perimeters, collected data merely accumulates dates, times and actions. Baselines identify goals. Tracking confirms achievement.
3) Make Matters A Team Effort
Compliance begins with the person in the field. Team members contribute. Lastly comes the project manager.
4) Communication, Quick, Often and in Real-Time
With the growing increase in mobile construction technology comes the capacity to promote and rely on real-time communication. Use it to establish priorities, reap feedback and make certain your schedule tracking remains up-to-date.
5) Diagrams
Modern cloud-based construction management software enables rapid distribution of documentation, including diagrams used in management of project workforce and asset allocation scheduling.
6) Focus on the Critical Path
Avoid stagnation. As your project moves from A to B, scheduling durations and timeframes change. For effective project schedule management in construction, you must know when to adjust in accordance with the current critical path.
7) Reap Gain From Schedule Dependencies
This is about using tools that help you analyze discretionary dependencies in a way that promotes more efficient project scheduling.
8) Utilization of Resources
Be it your workforce, assets or vendors, modern technology enables precision utilization of resources. Applications such as Assignar workforce and asset allocation and planning software empower PMs with advanced tools in resource leveling.
9) Precision Management of Project Floats
With the current availability of precision construction operations management software, you should have no problem doing routine tracking and analyzing project floats. Precision management of project floats enables optimized scheduling.
10) Utilize Accumulated Efficiency Data
By using the title, "What Happens in the Past, Stays in the Past," in an Avengers Comic, the authors indicate that the past fails to seriously impact the present. However, the story speaks otherwise. So it is in construction. Tracking dates is not the same as utilizing accumulated efficiency data. Forecasting requires accurate analysis of past data and scheduling efficiency performance. Successful project scheduling management in construction demands attention to past performance and compliance.
Bonus Task Definition – Use A Scheduling Tool
As we have already mentioned, modern construction operations management software greatly simplifies the process of workforce and asset management, compliance and scheduling. Sadly, many Project Managers still struggle with pen-to-paper solutions. This need not be a problem.
Many construction contractors use Assignar to dispatch the right workers and assets to the right site at the right time. Click here to learn more about Assignar "Construction Resources Software for Scheduling Your Mobile Workforce."