Construction Project Management Article Spotlight

Management By Exception – Providing an Edge
by Jonathan Antevy, CEO

Let's face it, we live in an 'always on' world and the proliferation of Internet communication tools has made it possible for users to receive an enormous amount of information through their computers. However, having too much information in too many places is becoming a common problem, making it even harder for project teams to communicate and sort through the 'clutter' to access information that matters the most. If you are an owner managing a portfolio of projects, you are probably aware of the technology platforms that let you capture project information (intranets, spreadsheets, FTP sites). Storing this information is just the first step in the road to strategically managing your projects and/or construction programs. Leveraging this information for project planning, collaboration and delivery is what can truly set you apart from your competition, decrease your costs, and provide an edge into how efficiently you complete your projects.

The next wave of web based project and program management solutions are now available. These can help capital project owners "manage by exception", using either a personal executive dashboard, project view, or configurable reports that provide high-level summaries of key data across all projects EFFICIENTLY. In other words, the amount of time and effort that goes into compiling this information should not create a bottleneck, or be so cumbersome as to render the data obsolete by the time it is delivered.

A configurable dashboard or project view lets you access key project information with one or two mouse clicks (cash flow forecasts, budget variances, schedule variance), alerting you to potential trouble before it's too late.

If you are managing project information on an integrated platform that links cost and project schedules, you can gain even greater insight into the status of your projects without requiring hours to compile and analyze this data. If your role requires the use of reports across a number of metrics, you will appreciate the ease with which you can pull information into matrix or summary reports, and automatically distribute these to others in your organization.

As more projects are being managed on-line it is becoming harder, if not impossible, to quickly access information that can be used to make informed decisions. Through the executive summaries or project views, multiple projects are summarized across one screen. As each user's needs are different, the capability exists for the user to filter out and specify only the critical information they need to manage successfully.

For example, an owner might want to filter only those change orders that exceed $10,000 or filter those Requests for Information that have gone unanswered by more than 10 days. The combinations are endless thanks to tools that allow a user to filter data across all their project sites. The benefit is that project teams can now view consolidated information that is important to them, providing the ability to make informed decisions that will positively impact the cost and schedule across their entire program.

An integrated and configurable project information management platform allows the owner to:

View Cost and Schedule information across multiple projects as it is generated in the field. With this real-time display, informed decisions can be made to ensure the facilities open on–time and on budget.

Oversee all the design and construction activity by summarizing critical action items. Identify small problems before they become large problems and avoid delays by receiving alerts when issues have gone past due.

Increase the accountability of each person by being able to instantly track their response times on all issues such as Requests for Information, Design Review Issues, Submittals, and more.

By providing a single place to filter information across applications that manage an entire program, the ability to manage more effectively and make smarter decisions has become a reality through web based systems that provide executive summaries.

Jonathan Antevy is CEO and Co-founder of e-Builder, Inc, a Ft. Lauderdale, FL-based technology firm specializing in web-based program management systems for the construction industry. A McGraw-Hill Top 25 Newsmaker in 1995, Jonathan was named one of the century's Top 125 Innovators. He holds a bachelors in Design and a Masters in Construction Management. He can be reached at 800-580-9322.