If you are like us, and both enjoy but dread the process of obtaining site progress information then this article may be of some relief to you.

Site progress information gathering is all about taking a copy of the plan, putting on a hard hat and boots and walking around the site to assess Physical Percent Complete. If you are in the middle of construction and are not performing this weekly ritual then we would recommend getting in the habit and fast. Not only does it allow for weekly monitoring of work (which you can physically see) but it also helps planners understand the construction process  and enable them to develop better and more logical plans.

The biggest problem in performing this task is the amount of time the process consumes. A planner on larger scale construction projects has many programs, sub-programs, mini-schedules and overarching reporting plans to keep track of, monitor and issue. After all, who has time to take 3-4 hours to traverse the site looking for the number of walls erected?

On a recent project in regional NSW, we determined that a greater efficiency could be generated using a simple map and activity coding structure.

The following tasks were performed:

1. Initially, the Work Breakdown Structure was setup by splitting the Conceptual Drawings for each of the floors of the rather large building.
2. The map was then colour coded and each ‘functional’ area of the building was named and ordered (to mimick the direction each work front would take).
3. The maps were printed, laminated and bound
4. The activity schedule was then structured by the Work Breakdown Structure and then coded by the numbers used in step (2). This allowed the schedule to be grouped and sorted by work-front and also by order of works.

Taking this additional printout around site reduced the amount of time spent trying “to work out where we were” with respect to the drawing. We followed the map based on the order of each work-package presented in the schedule thus reducing what was a 4 hour walk around to a 2-3 hour walk around.

Now, for a project that might span a long period of time, an hour a week saved is better than having to do extra work. It just goes to show that proper planning “up-front” goes a long way towards creating efficiency in project delivery.