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AI is moving fast, but many project controls teams are still stuck with scattered files, manual reports, reactive reviews, and delayed insights. This article shows six practical AI shifts that can help project professionals save time, improve analysis, and build the skills needed to stay ahead.
Learn the difference between delay analysis and forensic schedule analysis, and why schedulers, planners, and project controls professionals must prove causation, critical path impact, and delay entitlement.
Are you frustrated that no one is bridging the gap between project controls and project management teams in your organization? Find out how you can be that person.
Are you frustrated that no one is bridging the gap between project controls and project management teams in your organization? Find out how you can be that person.
Are you frustrated that no one is bridging the gap between project controls and project management teams in your organization? Find out how you can be that person.
Are you considering attending a Project Controls conference in 2025? Whether you’re looking to sharpen your skills, discover the latest industry trends, or connect with like-minded professionals, conferences are one of the best ways to elevate your career. Every time I attend a conference, I’m reminded of how energizing and
Does it baffle you that project resource shortages continue to cause time and cost overruns despite technological advances? Find out why in our blog post.
Does it baffle you that project resource shortages continue to cause time and cost overruns despite technological advances? Find out why in our blog post.
Learn how to lead without a formal title by mastering influence, emotional intelligence, and communication. Discover practical tips to make an impact in your project team and career.
Check this blog post to explore a simple principle that will guide cost estimating best practices, ultimately empowering decision-makers with the insights needed to make informed judgments.
Discover how AI in cost management transforms capital projects by enhancing cost predictability, reducing uncertainties, and optimizing resource allocation in the construction industry.
It is easy to start a successful Drone Project Control program in your organization by following the stages outlined in our practical guide.
Are you frustrated that no one is bridging the gap between project controls and project management teams in your organization? Find out how you can be that person.
It is easy to start a successful Drone Project Control program in your organization by following the stages outlined in our practical guide.
Explore the application of the Project Critical Chain and Critical Path in a real-world project example that was impacted by multiple types of critical constraints.
Learn how to calculate and visualize schedule forecast accuracy – a simple but powerful metric and bring your projects closer to achieving their objectives.
Are you tired of watching your best plans and schedules go astray because of resource shortages? Seeing your project incur time and cost overruns because despite your best efforts? We share with you an innovative method that promises to solve resource shortages in your project, or at least provide a
Does it baffle you that project resource shortages continue to cause time and cost overruns despite technological advances? Find out why in our blog post.
Explore the forensic delay analysis career path and embark on the knowledge and skills you need to acquire to kick-start or grow your career in this field.
Can you win the projects’ competitive bidding battlefield?! Check this post to learn the right strategies during the competitive bidding process that makes you emerge as the winner.
Project Bidding?! What does it take to successfully bid on or embark on a capital project, whether you are a contractor or an owner? Check this post for more details on project bidding considerations.
Explore how Risk Impact Sensitivity Analysis (RISA) can help increase your project success rates. Here is a step-by-step guide specially designed for you.
Schedule Delays in projects are a harsh reality. With so many uncertainties, you are almost always bound to face delays for one reason or another in projects. When delays happen, schedule delay analysts bear the burden of selecting the appropriate schedule delay analysis methodology to analyze and quantify schedule delays,
Explore how you can optimally combine both risk theory and risk data to help amplify and manage relevant risk signals.
Learn how you can create a digital collaboration hub for your construction project. Learn how to do so leveraging everyday tools such as Power BI, and how to integrate people and processes into the big picture.
How effective is Blockchain Project Control at improving project and program delivery? We reveal estimated tangible benefits based on a case study.
Will Advanced Work Packaging (AWP) work for your organization? After all, projects come in different shapes and sizes. Find out here.
Avoid making these top four costly mistakes during your organization’s AWP transition. Learn how to do it right the first time here.
Interested in AWP Implementation but not having the time or resources to fully commit? Then read our expert-led, step-by-step guide here.
AWP is one of the most discussed topics today – specifically on how Advanced Work Packaging benefits projects and industries. Well, consider the current gloomy state of projects where most do not meet their objectives. It is no wonder that owners and contractors will desperately jump on any advice the
Reading this article on project schedule review could be the second most important thing you do today. “Well, what’s the first?” Well, the first depends on you. I just wanted to get your attention to an important “live” document that the Project Manager reviews regularly, which is the “Project
As a project professional, are you prepared to thrive in this new decade that has already introduced numerous challenges in how we work and live? Do you have a game plan that can take you to higher levels of success in your projects and career sooner than later? Believe it
Project Controls Conferences in 2022! Would you consider attending one? Either your goal is learning new strategies, getting motivation, discovering new cutting-edge tools and technologies, or meeting like-minded professionals, attending conferences is a surefire way to achieve your professional goals. I always come away from conferences feeling energized and empowered
When was the last time you gave some serious thought to the current trajectory of your Project Professional Career? Or was there a time that you thought to yourself, “what am I even doing here?” I have been in that boat too. In a floating work barge, to be exact.
Some time ago, a friend of mine in a project team from the construction industry reached out to me with concern! Let me give you some perspective. For the last seven years, he has been working as a Project Manager, steering the execution of several high-profile projects for a leading
Information Technology has brought immense efficiencies to factories and supply chains, making them faster and more responsive. IT has transformed nearly every industry one can think of and conferred real competitive advantages to its early adopters. However, those transformations and competitive advantages have largely bypassed construction. It’s not for lack
The future for visual data analysts in Project Controls is obviously so bright. Visual data analytics is no doubt a gateway to the future of project controls and has already become a norm in many companies. Over the last 10 years or so, the amount of data generated on projects
Have you ever used Business Intelligence tools to enhance and automate your project reporting? You may ask… But what are Business Intelligence tools (or BI tools)? Business Intelligence toolsare a type of application software designed to retrieve, analyze, transform, and report data. Business Intelligence tools help a company collect, consolidate,
A few years back, one of my colleagues from Finance showed me a Power BI dashboard he created. It was a highly comprehensive interactive dashboard with all the bells and whistles. No doubt, I was blown away! I never knew back then that something like this is even remotely possible
You might have heard about real-time project performance reporting or “real-time” data analysis. Is that possible? Are we there yet? The answer is, Yes!! Power BI allows you to analyze data, report your insights in real-time, and automate the whole reporting cycle. Sounds too good to be true, right? I
You might have heard about Power BI and its capabilities to connect with various project data sources and the live data. Power BI, this open-source powerful visual data analytics service offered by Microsoft, provides interactive visualizations and business intelligence capabilities with an interface simple enough to create your project reports
Visual Data Analytics?! Power BI?! What on earth is that? I recently had a conversation with a close friend of mine – a project controls professional like myself. We got around to talking about the methods we use to analyze our data. He complained that the weekly data he is
T-Shaped Project Controls Professional vs. an I-shaped Project Controls Professional! Which one are you T or I ?! You might say… “ what on earth are you talking about”? What is a T-Shaped Project Professional or I-Shape? Have you made up these terms? Well, if you’ve never heard of a
A project lives and dies by its budget, but how do you put together a budget that will bring the project to fruition? Well, developing the project budget originates from the Cost Estimating process. What is a “Cost Estimate” in project management and how do you develop a cost estimate?
Watch this interview with Ursula Kuehn, author of Integrated Cost and Schedule Control in Project Management. She is a recognized trainer and consultant in integrated cost and schedule control and earned value management procedures.
You might have heard the terms “4D Schedule Models”, “4D Scheduling”, “4D BIM”, “4D BIM Modelling”, “4D Simulation”, and “4D BIM Planning.” For simplicity, let’s refer to these terms as “4D Scheduling”. But, what do we mean by “4D Scheduling”? What is 4D Scheduling? 4D Scheduling is simulating the planning
Project Controls Conferences in 2021! Would you consider attending one? Either your goal is learning new strategies, getting motivation, discovering new cutting-edge tools and technologies, or meeting like-minded professionals, attending conferences is a surefire way to achieve your professional goals. I always come away from conferences feeling energized and empowered
Watch this interview with Ursula Kuehn, author of Integrated Cost and Schedule Control in Project Management. She is a recognized trainer and consultant in integrated cost and schedule control and earned value management procedures.
Are you ready for the Fourth Industrial Revolution? What are the top ten new technologies that will transform the global economy by 2025? How these new technologies will impact the future of Project Management? Watch the video below to get answers to the above questions. Download the free audio mp3
Watch this interview with Ursula Kuehn, author of Integrated Cost and Schedule Control in Project Management. She is a recognized trainer and consultant in integrated cost and schedule control and earned value management procedures.
Watch my interview with Dr. David Hulett for some key lessons on Schedule & Cost Risk Analysis
Do you run a Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) in your projects? Does your company have an effective Quantitative Risk Analysis capability? An effective Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) capability will not exist in a vacuum. QRA capability will be a function of an organization’s overall risk management capability.
Are you ready for the 4th Industrial Revolution? The 4th Industrial Revolution is going to bring exponential changes to the way we live, work and relate to one another due to the adoption of new smart technologies. Imagine the connected machines that interact, visualize the entire production chain and construction
Ramani Sundaram talks about how rules of thumb can assist estimators in bringing value to their cost estimating approach.
We have all probably heard the term “big data,” another term that can be many things to many different people. But what is BIG DATA and what’s its impact on the future of cost estimating? Larry Dysert, the Cost Estimating thought leader has opened up the concept of Big Data
Watch my interview with Dr. David Hulett for some key lessons on Schedule & Cost Risk Analysis
How do you get started in Power BI? Before diving into the content and providing you the Power BI starter guide, let’s have the same understanding of what Power BI is all about. What is the Power BI? Power BI is a business analytics service by Microsoft that puts visual
Project planning vs. scheduling- are they the same? You might have heard the role of Planner/Scheduler in a project. Does it mean that Planners & Schedulers do the same work? Are “Planning” and “Scheduling” the same terms? If not, what are the key differences between Project Planning vs. Scheduling? Check
What is 5D BIM? What are the impacts of 5D BIM on the future of cost estimating? Larry Dysert, the Cost Estimating thought leader has opened up the concept of 5D BIM, its evolution from the past to the future, and its impact on the future of cost estimating. Watch
What is the most common way of looking at a construction schedule? Do you use a schedule dashboard or special schedule report? For many, it usually involves going into Primavera P6 and adjusting groupings and applying filters (sometimes very lengthy and complex filters that become hard to follow). Once the
Project Controls Conferences in 2020! Which one(s) would you attend? What Project Controls conferences have you attended in the past? Which one was the best? Was it the best because it created a positive impact on you? I still clearly remember the first couple of conferences, which had a tremendous
Watch my interview with Dr. David Hulett for some key lessons on Schedule & Cost Risk Analysis
Watch my interview with John Hollmann for some insights on how you too can become an influencer in your field.
Have you ever been involved in Project Controls software implementation? What steps do you need to follow to ensure having an effective Project Controls software implementation before you roll out the software to all the projects you are managing? Check this video to discover the 5-step process that you need
Watch my interview with John Hollmann for some insights on how you too can become an influencer in your field.
“The 4D Scheduling/4D BIM is a useless technique. It doesn’t add any benefits to Project Controls. Its main purpose is to visualize the construction schedule, resulting in extra fancy requirements which we can survive without”. From my point of view, I always get confused when I hear these phrases and I really don’t understand how/why professionals judge the 4D scheduling in this way. I wonder what their source of
As the technology evolves, more and more integrated Project Controls software has come to the market to support the increasing demand of Project Controls. Considering a variety of options we have, the question is, which Project Controls software to choose from? Whenever I talk about the Project Controls software, I
Have you ever been involved in the Project Controls software reviews and selection process? If you do, you know that you have the privilege of selecting from an array of Project Controls Software. In order to choose the best Project Controls software for your organization, one of the things you
Dr. Saleh Mubarak, a well-known author and an international authority in project planning, scheduling, cost estimating, and project controls, revealed secrets to success in his personal and professional life using Project Controls principles. Check this interview with Dr. Saleh Mubarak to learn more about his journey and the key to
What are the best ways to minimize cost overruns? Large and mid-sized CAPEX & Infrastructure construction projects are many times, intricate and demanding. The majority of these projects significantly do not meet their pre-established cost & schedule goals. What are the reasons for cost overruns on many construction projects? How
Demystifying Project Controls? Project Controls has been around for a while, but still, it has not been properly defined in the industry. You are about to discover more about Project Controls from someone who took up the challenge of demystifying Project Controls in details in his book, Demystifying Project Controls;
Considering a large amount of data that needs to be processed in projects, Project Controls software is essential. It allows the processing of extensive information that can be retained for analysis, reporting, and benchmarking. But the question is which Project Controls software is the right fit for your projects? Watch
Changes are inevitable in construction and in any project. There might be costs that were not budgeted or authorized initially. A change due to differing site conditions, design errors or omissions, or a scope change due to owner’s added requirements may lead to change orders. Besides change orders, which are
How can you increase core-estimating maturity for Owner companies and improve project performance and increased capital efficiency in today’s construction industry? Introduction Owners rely on cost estimates to perform an economic analysis of the return on their capital investments or capital expenditures (CAPEX). Estimates are critical to early planning and de-risking of project budgets developed during project authorization.
What is the difference between cost control and cost management? Cost management and cost control are two terms that often get mixed up. If you think about the words, what sounds better? Would you rather be in control or managing your costs? It turns out that cost management and cost control really are two different
Why do so many construction projects have cost overrun by as much as 10% to more than 100%? How can cost overrun be rectified? This continuing cost overrun situations costs industry million dollars each year and wastes valuable engineering /construction labor resources. Construction cost overruns are an everyday happening on mid-sized & large multi-million dollar EPC projects around the
Starting the New Year energized and motivated you yet not entirely meeting your resolutions? This may seem to be a yearly reoccurrence. With all that goes into managing a project, making sure things are done right, within budget, and on time is a challenge; especially when we fall victim to the same mistakes. Knowing
Transforming Project Controls For Organizations, If Not Now, When? Today’s Owner and EPC companies are frequently dealing with significant budget overruns and schedule delays, placing increased pressure to adopt project controls strategies, which better fit their company and the projects they execute. In this post, Fred Wellman discusses strategies for rapidly transforming project controls for organizations in today’s construction industry.
Since he was a little child he was curious to know how things were built. His dad being in construction sparked his interest in the construction career from an early age. When he was 5 years old, he was building cabinets with his dad, drilling the holes, and putting on
Do you have a clear career vision? Do you know where you want to be in your career 10 years from now? Check this video to learn how you can build your career by design, not by chance and why you should seriously think about redefining, redesigning, and rebuilding a
I believe your knowledge and expertise is your most precious gift that deserves to be shared. In this video, I share with you the importance of sharing your knowledge in Project Controls no matter how much experience you have or how young or seasoned professional you are. Check out my journey in sharing my knowledge and how you can
Developing a project schedule with a group of engineers can be a challenging process. There is a parable about eight blind men, who are trying to describe an elephant by touching the part of the elephant that is nearest them. One man touches the trunk and says, “a snake!”. Another
Regardless of which industry you work in, you should always be forward-looking. Trends that are appearing in your industry today will likely have a drastic impact on the future of your career. I had the opportunity to host a webcast with Laurie Bowman, talking about “How to Future-Proof Your Career
The legend John K. Hollmann, a well-recognized industry thought leader and Honorary Life Member of AACE® International, conducted a live webcast in collaboration with Project Control Academy on “How to Conduct Practical and Realistic Cost & Schedule Risk Analysis.” John Hollmann shared his research on cost growth, schedule slip, and accuracy and presented an integrated set of
I had the privilege and honor of interviewing Tom Moroney, the former Vice President of Deepwater & Wells Technology at Shell. Shell is the fifth-largest company in the world measured by 2018 revenues. Tom had a quite successful career in the company for 33 years and handled numerous projects and departments, most notably the BG Group acquisition and
Digital Technology and Artificial Intelligence aligned with 3D modeling and BIM (Building Information Modelling) are leading Project Management and Project Controls into a whole new era of systems and management techniques. For the last 50 years, there has been little change in the approach and techniques that have been applied to projects but
Adding value to your organization or the people you serve should be your number 1 priority. Watch this video to figure out why. Download the free audio mp3 podcast of this episode on iTunes. Want more training? Subscribe to Project Control Academy to receive complimentary training videos and resources delivered to your mailbox. Project Control
I have been involved in different aspects of Project Control for over forty years, and one thing that has not changed is the pressure that Cost and Planning Engineers are put under to issue the weekly and monthly reports. One thing that I have learned however is that when you
Cost estimate reviews are necessary for any owner for design phase estimates to ensure there is no budget overrun later. Owners would like to confirm that their design goals are realistic, and they have adequate money in their estimate that will reflect the intended project scope. AACEI’s (Association for Advancement
Have you ever considered attaining a professional certification in Planning & Scheduling? Do you know of internationally recognized Planning & Scheduling certifications? Are you interested to know how you can become a certified Planner/Scheduler? This article will answer your questions about the project planning & scheduling certifications. I’m going to
How do you evaluate the accuracy of your cost forecasts? Watch this video to learn how you can use the TCPI metric to assess the feasibility of your cost forecasts. Download the free audio mp3 podcast of this episode on iTunes. Want more training? Subscribe to Project Control Academy to receive complimentary training videos
What cost forecasting formula/method do you use at every stage of your project? Check this video tutorial to learn what performance-based cost forecasting formula (EAC/ETC) is recommended at various stages of your project. Download the free audio mp3 podcast of this episode on iTunes. Want more training? Subscribe to Project Control Academy to receive
How do you forecast the cost at completion of your projects? There are various methods to cost forecasting. Check out this video to learn the “performance-based cost forecasting methods” using Earned Value Management. Download the free audio mp3 podcast of this episode on iTunes. Want more training? Subscribe to Project Control Academy to receive
April 27th, 2018 marked the completion of the first round of the Forensic Schedule Delay Analysis training. Chris Carson, a world authority in Forensic Schedule Analysis and one of the primary authors of AACE International 29R-03: Forensic Schedule Analysis recommended practice, conducted this comprehensive training in conjunction with Project Control
Project Controls Plan (PCP) is a well-defined documented Project Controls execution strategy that describes specific processes, procedures, systems, & tools used by the Project Control team throughout the project lifecycle. According to AACE® International RP No.60R-10, “ The use of a project controls plan is considered a leading indicator for assisting in the success of the delivery
In Primavera, there is a function called Top Down Estimation, which helps you calculate an estimated figure for Labor and Non-labor unit based on “estimation weights”. Top Down Estimation can be applied to both the WBS and Activity. I will show you how Top Down Estimation works in Primavera P6.
If anyone asks, ‘What do you like the most about being a cost estimating professional?”, An owner’s cost estimator might say ‘the cost estimator plays an important role in an owner’s budgeting efforts for different projects.’ A cost estimator working for a consulting firm might say ‘In addition to supporting an owner’s budgeting efforts, the cost estimator is able to provide cost solutions to their clients’. Cost estimators
How to become a world-class authority in project controls and get to the top of your field? This is the question I was eager to know the answer from someone who has already reached to the top in Project Controls and is arguably one of the leading thought leaders in
Have you ever been assigned to a project and were asked to develop a project related procedure, report, or presentation, but didn’t know exactly how? Wouldn’t it be easier if you were given the structure and elements of your project report or procedure? Watch the video below to learn the Project
Have you ever been assigned to a project, where each member of a team had the same perspective of how Project Controls should be conducted in the project? Have you ever experienced working in a project where there was a well-established Project Controls execution strategy in place? Your answer is
When I say that Rick Gillis is an “expert” in career development and employment, it’s not a term that I use lightly. Rick has won awards for the books he’s written on these subjects, demonstrating his knowledge on everything from the job search to the job promotion. Reputable publications like
I had the pleasure of interviewing one of the most supportive Document Management leaders that I have ever worked with and a long-term client of mine, Ken Clevenger. The first time that I saw Ken was when I came across his LinkedIn profile and I was immediately struck by how
Assume that you have a Primavera schedule with actual data & progress. Now you want to remove actuals so you can develop an “As-Planned” schedule. In this post, I will show you how to do this. Consider a simple project with actual data as illustrated below: STEP 1: Change Calculation Settings
The baseline Schedule is something we usually do not change. However, in some cases, schedule rebaselining might be required. In this post, I will show you how to update the baseline schedule in Primavera P6. Consider a simple project, which has a baseline assigned as illustrated below: After several update periods,
“ I have applied for any job posting you can imagine, but no success…” “Things are pretty grim, the oil and gas industry has been further down and more people have lost jobs including myself, it’s tough…” “ I was let go from the company in the latest round of layoffs last
As we are approaching the end of the year and are busy with doing our last-minute Christmas shopping to bring joy to our loved ones, I thought what gift I can give you that could serve you not only during the holidays but also for the year ahead. I thought
Chris Carson, FRICS, FAACE, FGPC, PSP, DRMP, CEP, CCM, PMP, a thought leader on Forensic Schedule Delay Analysis, conducted a live webcast on “Forensic Schedule Analysis Lessons You Need to Learn Today To Proactively Prevent Claims Tomorrow”. Chris Carson shared some important lessons learned from 40 years of performing forensic
I had the honor of interviewing Matt Sellers, the Vice President of Project Development at Kiewit, one of FORTUNE 500 world’s most admired companies. Matt Sellers is truly the epitome of southern hospitality. Born and raised in Texas, he was nothing but charming and gracious in our interview as he
In Primavera P6 Professional, when you use the default “Critical” filter, it will display the critical path for the entire project (up to the last activity on the critical path), Figure 1. What if you want to show the critical path leading to an activity, which is somewhere in the middle
In this training, I am going to show you how you can calculate the “Earned Schedule”. I assume you already know what “Earned Schedule” is. If not, please make sure that you watch another video that I have prepared for you entitled “Earned Schedule- An improvement to EVM Scheduling Metrics.”
Earned Value Management (EVM) is a powerful tool for evaluating the schedule and cost performance of projects and predicting future results. However, existing earned value schedule performance metrics does not do a good job with schedule performance evaluation and prediction. Use of “Earned Schedule” enhances the earned value management ’s
“Your critical path schedule shows behind schedule. How come your EVM schedule performance indicates an ahead of schedule status?” “What is wrong with your SPI report?” “We are going to finish this project 3 months behind the schedule. Tell me why your SPI is showing a good schedule performance?” Have
Summary: Have you ever considered attaining a professional certification in Planning/Scheduling? Do you know of internationally recognized certifications in Planning/Scheduling? Did you know that several international associations provide a variety of certifications in Planning/Scheduling including: Certified Scheduling Technician (CST) PMI Scheduling Professional (PMI-SP)® Planning & Scheduling Professional (PSP) Are you
Recently there was a tremendous opportunity to learn from one of today’s premier project-controls advocate and thought leaders on topics relating to what most current project controls professionals may very well be occupied with on a daily basis. Lessons from experience have taught this author that every opportunity to hear
How many times have you submitted your resume to an online job posting that 100% matched your qualifications, but never heard a word back? How many times have you heard that landing a job is getting hard these days due to a bad economy, bad luck, and outsourcing? Have you
Have you ever wondered how you can quickly detect the activities in the schedule that are behind? Did you know that in Primavera P6, you can quickly identify behind schedule and over budget activities by using graphical indicator in User Defined Fields (UDF)? In this tutorial, I will show you how
After years of working with experienced Project Control teams in various organizations and industries, I believe there are important lessons that most Project Controllers learn too late in their career. Watch this video to learn these top 5 important lessons: Download the free audio mp3 podcast of this episode on iTunes. Like
A Schedule Time Impact Analysis is a method used to determine the extent of impact from potential delay in the construction process. This schedule analysis method involves inserting additional activities indicating delays or changes into an updated schedule representing progress up to the point when a delay event occurred to determine the
Have you ever wondered how you could apply Earned Value Management in the Primavera P6 scheduling tool? Wouldn’t it be nice if you can integrate your project cost with the project schedule right within your scheduling software? Primavera P6 enables you to control project progress and performance using Earned Value Management
I enjoy attending conferences. I like the awesome speakers, the takeaways, and lessons, the great connections, the food, the environment—all of it. Every year, I invest in my personal or professional growth by attending at least one great conference. In fact, I went to two different conferences this summer in
If you have ever wanted to learn Primavera P6 scheduling tool or wanted to get into the planning/scheduling field, one of the barriers that you would face is getting access to the Primavera Software. It might seem a big investment especially if you are a beginner who wants to learn
Summary: Have you ever wondered why most Project Managers are interested in seeing S-curves in project reports? Do you know what the common uses of S-curves are in projects? S-curves are great graphical project management tools for planning, monitoring, controlling, analyzing, and forecasting project’s status, progress, & performance. They show
Summary: Have you ever wondered what an s-curve is in projects? Do you know why Project Managers are interested in seeing s-curves in project reports? Well, an s-curve is a project management graphical tool that displays cumulative data ( e.g. project’s costs, hours, progress, or quantities) against time. The term
Have you ever wondered how “Project Controls” was performed back in the “Dinosaur’s Age,” when the computers didn’t exist? The “Age of Computer” began at some point in the mid-1990’s. Do you remember the big computers back then? I still remember the super large computers that I used to work
How to succeed as a Document Controller? This is a question that is best answered by a senior Document Control Director & Manager. I had the honor of interviewing one of the most inspiring and supportive leaders in the area of Document & Information Management, Ken Clevenger. Ken shared his
I had the honor of interviewing one of the most inspiring, successful, and dedicated Project Control Directors & Managers, Roberto Orlandi. Roberto shared his 20-year global experience in Project Controls and provided guidance on the following topics: The global position of the Project Controls career The current and future market demand of a Project
Summary: Do you know what certifications in project risk management are available? Are you interested to know how you can become a certified risk management professional? There are two internationally recognized certifications in project risk management that I highly recommend you to consider if you are a project risk management
Imagine that you are asked to estimate the total cost of a project. You have measured the quantities, and estimated the cost and price of each resource required for executing the scope of the project. After all the hard work that you have put into developing the cost estimate, you
Summary: Have you ever reviewed a Cost Estimate of a project? Have you ever wondered what “Contingency” is in a Cost Estimate? Do you know why a contingency reserve/ fund is allocated to a cost estimate? Cost contingency is a reserved fund that is added to a base cost estimate
Summary: There are plenty of tools available today for Project Controllers to help them better manage and control projects. As technology evolves, more tools become available for use. This can become overwhelming as to what tool to choose from for controlling projects. Sometimes, finding and selecting the right tool is
Summary: Are you interested to know what internationally recognized certifications are available in Cost Estimating? There are several Cost Estimating associations that provide a variety of Cost Estimating certifications: ICEAA’s Professional Cost Estimator/ Analyst (PCEA®) AACE’s Certified Estimating Professional (CEP) ASPE’s Certified Professional Estimator (CPE) ICEAA’s Certified Cost Estimator/ Analyst
How to succeed in Cost Estimating?! This is a question that can be best answered by a senior cost estimator. I conducted an interview with Ramani Sundaram, a senior cost estimator with 25+ years experience, to share his experience as a cost estimator and provide his insights on Cost Estimating.
According to Wikipedia.org, “Changes in the cost or price of specific goods or services in a given economy over a period of time is defined as “Cost Escalation” [1]. Very often, the common question from an owner to an estimator is “Is your estimate in current dollars or escalated dollars?”
Summary: Have you ever been in a project that finished over budget, and nobody could explain exactly why? Have you ever seen a cost report in a project that only showed the budget versus the expenditures? Have you ever published, or seen a cost report, and had no clue what
Summary: I get this question a lot, “What is the Difference Between Project Controls and Project Management?”. I believe there are 3 key differences between Project Management and Project Controls: 1- Project Control is a subset of Project Management with the primary focus of managing the project’s cost and schedule.
Summary: Are you interested to know how you can become a Certified Cost Controller? Do you know what internationally recognized certifications are available in Cost Management? AACE International provides a variety of certifications in Cost Management including: Certified Cost Technician (CCT) Certified Cost Professional (CCP) Earned Value Professional (EVP) Watch
Summary: Have you ever wondered how a Project Controller controls a project? Do you know what the role of a Project Controller is in a project; from its initiation to completion? An effective Project Controls starts early in the project when the project is initiated and continues throughout the project
We all have learned a lot about calculating Total Float and Critical Path in a network diagram and have seen zero total floats for critical activities or positive floats for non-critical ones. In real projects, we will encounter with negative floats in a schedule network diagram. Have you ever wondered
Throughout my 30+ years in the construction industry, many of those in the cost estimating field, I met great estimators as well as estimators who lack the confidence to say: Yes, I calculated this cost, this is how I did it, and this is the benchmark data to prove it.
Every objective, intention, idea, project, task or whatever is expected in a future time (minutes, hours, days, months or years later) to be realized, starts with proper project planning, implementation, referencing-the-plan and taking corrective actions to realize the intended objective. Project Planning and Execution Project planning involves clarifying an objective
What is Project Controls? To define the subject, Project Control, I would like to start by defining the two words “project” and “control” in isolation and then try to make sense of them combined. Now, according to PMI’s PMBOK Guide 5th Edition, “project” is defined as a temporary endeavor undertaken
As usual, in the cool of the evening after a hard day job, if I was able to make it home early from work, I would take a stroll or go cycling around my estate to burn some calories and sometimes, fraternize with neighbors and security guards. I do this
Over the past few months I’ve been working with our building team as it takes it’s 1st steps into the world of 4D scheduling. If you’re reading this, you probably agree with me that this is the way of the future. For those who aren’t familiar with the concept, 4D
Years back, my boss used to say “You will know whether your estimate is accurate or not, only after the project is finished”. This is so true. Estimating is not an exact science and by definition, the estimated number is only a predicted outcome. Conceptual estimates start with the feasibility
Have you ever wondered how you can have more exposure & credibility in the area of your expertise? How to be recognized as a subject matter expert (SME)? Wouldn’t it be nice to actually add value to the world? Tough questions, I know. But I firmly believe that you can
Wouldn’t it be nice to have a fortuneteller in projects? A fortuneteller of project who could predict what is going to happen in the project at any moment in the future? Someone who could tell you how much more money and time you require to finish the journey of a
What comes to your mind when you hear the term “Project Control”? Does taking control or authority over projects come to your mind? Actually, in the world of project management, the term “control” has very little to do with dictating people what to do. The term “control” is similar to
Do you know the status of your project in terms of cost and schedule? Do you think with all of your hard work and your team members efforts, you would be able to finish your project on time? How about finishing on budget? If your answer to any of these
We have prepared a new short video that teaches you about the execution stage in project controls. In this video, you will discover: – The three key components in project controls that are examined in executing a project – Project controls flowchart for the execution of project controls stage –
When you start your journey as either a Project Controller or a Project Manager, one of the most important things you need to know is how to plan your projects. In order to develop an effective plan, however, you need to be aware of the triple constraints! Do you know
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, MAY 31, 2014 –Project Control Academy, a leader in providing world class training solutions and consulting services in the field of Project Controls, is pleased to announce that Kentz has selected Project Control Academy as their global provider of Project Control training solutions. As the first step,
You can be the best data analyzer, an expert in Earned Value Management, or a very good planner/scheduler. However, if you don’t have good “communication” skills, you won’t be able to go far in Project Controls. If you are not comfortable picking up the phone or meeting people face-to-face, Project