QUALITY ASSURANCE AND CONTROL
The key to having a successful project from beginning to end is through strong project control. This begins at the start of design and continues through to the completion of the construction. It is a concept used very loosely and advocated by many, but only a few know how to build the tools and then put them to effective use.
Basically, it is not the fancy tools that make good project control but the individuals involved. Terms such as project management or project manager are used, but whatever it is called, it is only as successful as the person or persons implementing the process.
SCHEDULE CONTROL
A strong part of controlling project design costs and construction costs is controlling the schedule. If a design project is allowed to falter, then inefficiencies are created due to the intermittent work being performed on the project. It is imperative that the current staff members are available at the correct time to perform their tasks. If not, a project stutters and deadlines get pushed back. The same philosophy applies to the construction phases of a project, but these same problems are even more exaggerated due to the degree of cost involved in the construction process. Because of this, construction managers became the first true project schedule managers by necessity, since schedule delays can cost the contractors enormous sums of money.
TECHNIQUE
The first step is to break the project into tasks and sub-tasks with regard to the client’s Request for Proposal. The hours
and dollars per classification are estimated for each individual task. After this is completed, a schedule is prepared that integrates the basic time of start and the various tasks. This will be based upon a horizontal scale calibrated from scheduling purposes based upon hours. Normally there is an overlap of start times for each task, that must be determined by the project team. Adjustments will have to be made to meet, at minimum, some milestones that are required. This is accomplished by the re-evaluation of the man-hours estimated and necessary modifications made. This requires a very experienced person who has total control over the project staff to make it work. Jones Warner Consultants, Inc. has the experienced management staff to accomplish this through the team, Project Manager, Project Engineer and the Principal in Charge. JWCI has existed for over 30 years based on its philosophy of hiring professionals of the highest caliber and a selective proposal philosophy to ensure
that the staff is not over-taxed. The staff at JWCI includes engineers, surveyors and technicians with the technical experience, which is tailor-made for each project.
The experienced Project Manager assigned to a project has the knowledge and technical background. JWCI is a smaller organization, which allows it to offer the specialized service necessary to meet the client’s needs on a project of any size. The company philosophy provides the client with quality service and work and this philosophy will not be compromised.
Once a schedule is set up and the budgeted man-hours agreed to with the client, the information can be transferred to our project management report from our management software. Time sheets are submitted weekly and the information is quickly inputted into the database. Weekly time keeping is the best way to manage projects since the hours expensed can be watched and management attention appropriately given in an expeditious manner. Each task is set up in the report and a budgeted amount of hours per task is entered. Then as each weekly entry is made into the system, the hours to date expended are indicated along with the budgeted and current hours. The percentage used is also a part of this report.
After the report is printed, the project manager will transfer this information and visually indicate the expended man hours versus budgeted man hours per task. This will show the actual progress in relation to what was projected. The project manager must make mid-term adjustments if the schedules are not being met. The Principal-in-Charge will review reports with the project manager. If problems arise, the client will be notified immediately with options available to help make any necessary corrections.
Normally the project manager is the person responsible to make the project work. In the case of JWCI, the Principal in Charge will also share this responsibility. One of the advantages in working with a consulting firm the size of JWCI is the personalized service and attention from all management levels. Projects are routinely scrutinized by the Principal-in-Charge as well as the Project Manager and Project Engineer as a normal part of day-to-day operations. All projects are handled similarly with the most attention given to the largest or most time sensitive projects. The Principal in Charge is also JWCI’s President and has the responsibility to monitor all projects within the organization.
COST CONTROL
Cost control is essential to both the consultant the client. Normally, if the project is estimated correctly and honestly and the schedule is properly monitored and maintained, the project cost will fall into place. If a consultant begins to have cost problems, many times they will make adjustments, which can affect service. This is detrimental to both the consultant and client’s interest and therefore the schedule and costs should be watched closely, especially in the early stages of the project.
As mentioned above, the most critical influence on cost control is the schedule control, since all of the man hours needed are budgeted in this part of the process. Therefore, this is the area we fall back upon. Since JWCI monitors its time sheets and project management report weekly, we know exactly where our schedule and associated costs are at any time. JWCI in essence controls the cost. Since both the Project Manager and the Principal in Charge review this information weekly, both are aware of project status at all times.
With the client service philosophy that JWCI maintains, the Project Manager, Project Engineer and the Principal in Charge will be responsible for the cost control of this Project. This not only guarantees total staff support for the project, but allows for a totally informed and “up-to-speed” back up for the Project Manager.
DESIGN COST CONTROL
Being able to truly control cost is a monumental task for all types of business in today's economy. Professional engineering firms are not the exception. In fact, due to the present type of business environment, it has become even more of a problem for consulting firms to maintain a competitive overhead rate while recognizing a modest return. The larger the firm, the more prevalent the incidence of highly compensated non - production officers whose salaries must be covered by company overhead rates. Also, the larger the organization, the more difficult it is to control normal daily expenditures which then must be offset somewhere in the company's overhead factor. Another significant contributor to overhead cost is "administrative time and down time" that are not directly billable but make up a large portion of a company's overhead cost. This management dilemma has been worthy of keeping management consultants quite busy trying to help engineering consultants obtain the "magic formula."
JWCI feels they have found a successful way of providing fees that have very well controlled overhead factors included while providing an outstanding level of expertise and service. This process is multi-tiered and has been developed by the company using selective portions of concepts derived from several management philosophies and integrated with years of "hands on" management experience by the senior staff. As can be noted from the resumes the senior staff has considerable in-depth experience in management with nationally recognized organizations. These individuals know the impact uncontrollable overhead has on the attempt to maintain an attractive rate structure and how overall organizational size naturally dilutes the attempts at maintaining cost control.
Therefore, at JWCI, the core design staff size has been kept relatively small and is still very productive through the use of computer technology. The staff cross-section is comprised of senior professionals experienced in all facets of the business, each with a prime specialty, but with enough varied abilities to fill in other areas of the firm when needed. This eliminates considerably the incidence of "down-time" while waiting for particular projects to proceed. The management reports designed by JWCI are specifically for project management purposes instead of trying to adapt a generic system that would cause the management staff to compromise project control. Project costing is always kept current while at the same time internal expenditures are carefully scrutinized to eliminate waste while still permitting the inclusion of the latest in technology and staff continuing education. When the occasion occurs where additional specialized staffing is needed, JWCI employs the assistance of various smaller specialty firms to assist specifically on a particular project. These firms are normally well known for their expertise and have agreed in advance to collaborate for such occasions. They are reputable and required to carry all of the normal insurances. The advantage to this procedure is that when the immediate project has concluded, the expenditures for this additional staff need concludes, eliminating unnecessary overhead while still providing the requested service.
An equally important cost issue is the project money wasted due to changes caused by poor communication, which engineers are historically guilty. JWCI prides itself in this area and feels this is an area where the company excels. This is due to the strong responsibility felt towards the client.
Company policy is that all projects have a start-up meeting with the client to set goals and then through the course of the project, usually weekly, the client is contacted with project updates. This serves several purposes; maintaining client relations, schedule and avoiding unnecessary changes.
By employing the discussed business concepts effectively in conjunction with the staff’s depth of experience and the commitment to the client, JWCI is proud of the control that it has on overhead, which in turn is passed on in cost savings to the client, without sacrificing quality or service.
Basically, it is not the fancy tools that make good project control but the individuals involved. Terms such as project management or project manager are used, but whatever it is called, it is only as successful as the person or persons implementing the process.
SCHEDULE CONTROL
A strong part of controlling project design costs and construction costs is controlling the schedule. If a design project is allowed to falter, then inefficiencies are created due to the intermittent work being performed on the project. It is imperative that the current staff members are available at the correct time to perform their tasks. If not, a project stutters and deadlines get pushed back. The same philosophy applies to the construction phases of a project, but these same problems are even more exaggerated due to the degree of cost involved in the construction process. Because of this, construction managers became the first true project schedule managers by necessity, since schedule delays can cost the contractors enormous sums of money.
TECHNIQUE
The first step is to break the project into tasks and sub-tasks with regard to the client’s Request for Proposal. The hours
and dollars per classification are estimated for each individual task. After this is completed, a schedule is prepared that integrates the basic time of start and the various tasks. This will be based upon a horizontal scale calibrated from scheduling purposes based upon hours. Normally there is an overlap of start times for each task, that must be determined by the project team. Adjustments will have to be made to meet, at minimum, some milestones that are required. This is accomplished by the re-evaluation of the man-hours estimated and necessary modifications made. This requires a very experienced person who has total control over the project staff to make it work. Jones Warner Consultants, Inc. has the experienced management staff to accomplish this through the team, Project Manager, Project Engineer and the Principal in Charge. JWCI has existed for over 30 years based on its philosophy of hiring professionals of the highest caliber and a selective proposal philosophy to ensure
that the staff is not over-taxed. The staff at JWCI includes engineers, surveyors and technicians with the technical experience, which is tailor-made for each project.
The experienced Project Manager assigned to a project has the knowledge and technical background. JWCI is a smaller organization, which allows it to offer the specialized service necessary to meet the client’s needs on a project of any size. The company philosophy provides the client with quality service and work and this philosophy will not be compromised.
Once a schedule is set up and the budgeted man-hours agreed to with the client, the information can be transferred to our project management report from our management software. Time sheets are submitted weekly and the information is quickly inputted into the database. Weekly time keeping is the best way to manage projects since the hours expensed can be watched and management attention appropriately given in an expeditious manner. Each task is set up in the report and a budgeted amount of hours per task is entered. Then as each weekly entry is made into the system, the hours to date expended are indicated along with the budgeted and current hours. The percentage used is also a part of this report.
After the report is printed, the project manager will transfer this information and visually indicate the expended man hours versus budgeted man hours per task. This will show the actual progress in relation to what was projected. The project manager must make mid-term adjustments if the schedules are not being met. The Principal-in-Charge will review reports with the project manager. If problems arise, the client will be notified immediately with options available to help make any necessary corrections.
Normally the project manager is the person responsible to make the project work. In the case of JWCI, the Principal in Charge will also share this responsibility. One of the advantages in working with a consulting firm the size of JWCI is the personalized service and attention from all management levels. Projects are routinely scrutinized by the Principal-in-Charge as well as the Project Manager and Project Engineer as a normal part of day-to-day operations. All projects are handled similarly with the most attention given to the largest or most time sensitive projects. The Principal in Charge is also JWCI’s President and has the responsibility to monitor all projects within the organization.
COST CONTROL
Cost control is essential to both the consultant the client. Normally, if the project is estimated correctly and honestly and the schedule is properly monitored and maintained, the project cost will fall into place. If a consultant begins to have cost problems, many times they will make adjustments, which can affect service. This is detrimental to both the consultant and client’s interest and therefore the schedule and costs should be watched closely, especially in the early stages of the project.
As mentioned above, the most critical influence on cost control is the schedule control, since all of the man hours needed are budgeted in this part of the process. Therefore, this is the area we fall back upon. Since JWCI monitors its time sheets and project management report weekly, we know exactly where our schedule and associated costs are at any time. JWCI in essence controls the cost. Since both the Project Manager and the Principal in Charge review this information weekly, both are aware of project status at all times.
With the client service philosophy that JWCI maintains, the Project Manager, Project Engineer and the Principal in Charge will be responsible for the cost control of this Project. This not only guarantees total staff support for the project, but allows for a totally informed and “up-to-speed” back up for the Project Manager.
DESIGN COST CONTROL
Being able to truly control cost is a monumental task for all types of business in today's economy. Professional engineering firms are not the exception. In fact, due to the present type of business environment, it has become even more of a problem for consulting firms to maintain a competitive overhead rate while recognizing a modest return. The larger the firm, the more prevalent the incidence of highly compensated non - production officers whose salaries must be covered by company overhead rates. Also, the larger the organization, the more difficult it is to control normal daily expenditures which then must be offset somewhere in the company's overhead factor. Another significant contributor to overhead cost is "administrative time and down time" that are not directly billable but make up a large portion of a company's overhead cost. This management dilemma has been worthy of keeping management consultants quite busy trying to help engineering consultants obtain the "magic formula."
JWCI feels they have found a successful way of providing fees that have very well controlled overhead factors included while providing an outstanding level of expertise and service. This process is multi-tiered and has been developed by the company using selective portions of concepts derived from several management philosophies and integrated with years of "hands on" management experience by the senior staff. As can be noted from the resumes the senior staff has considerable in-depth experience in management with nationally recognized organizations. These individuals know the impact uncontrollable overhead has on the attempt to maintain an attractive rate structure and how overall organizational size naturally dilutes the attempts at maintaining cost control.
Therefore, at JWCI, the core design staff size has been kept relatively small and is still very productive through the use of computer technology. The staff cross-section is comprised of senior professionals experienced in all facets of the business, each with a prime specialty, but with enough varied abilities to fill in other areas of the firm when needed. This eliminates considerably the incidence of "down-time" while waiting for particular projects to proceed. The management reports designed by JWCI are specifically for project management purposes instead of trying to adapt a generic system that would cause the management staff to compromise project control. Project costing is always kept current while at the same time internal expenditures are carefully scrutinized to eliminate waste while still permitting the inclusion of the latest in technology and staff continuing education. When the occasion occurs where additional specialized staffing is needed, JWCI employs the assistance of various smaller specialty firms to assist specifically on a particular project. These firms are normally well known for their expertise and have agreed in advance to collaborate for such occasions. They are reputable and required to carry all of the normal insurances. The advantage to this procedure is that when the immediate project has concluded, the expenditures for this additional staff need concludes, eliminating unnecessary overhead while still providing the requested service.
An equally important cost issue is the project money wasted due to changes caused by poor communication, which engineers are historically guilty. JWCI prides itself in this area and feels this is an area where the company excels. This is due to the strong responsibility felt towards the client.
Company policy is that all projects have a start-up meeting with the client to set goals and then through the course of the project, usually weekly, the client is contacted with project updates. This serves several purposes; maintaining client relations, schedule and avoiding unnecessary changes.
By employing the discussed business concepts effectively in conjunction with the staff’s depth of experience and the commitment to the client, JWCI is proud of the control that it has on overhead, which in turn is passed on in cost savings to the client, without sacrificing quality or service.
Copyright 1994 - 2012
The information contained on this website is for informational purposes only. While JWCI makes every effort to ensure accuracy, the material presented may not reflect the most current developments nor is it guaranteed to be free from error. Nothing contained herein constitutes an offer, contract, or promise of any kind.
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