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Author Archives: Donald Santos, PSP
#21: If You’re Looking at CPM Scheduling/Rigorous CPM Schedule Review as Just Another Project Cost – Your Already in Trouble – Here’s Why:
When scheduling is done properly – it saves and makes you more than it costs. So if you are looking at the money it costs you, without looking at the money it makes you, then you are only looking at half the picture.
I realize that most schedules are poorly designed /under – developed, do not [...]
Posted in Home Tagged 80 20, activity, activity progress, baesline schedule, baseline, brass to brass, build/sustain momentum, building, building progress, building sequences, costs, cpm scedules, cpm schedule, cpm schedule performance, cpm schedules, cpmschedule, cpmschedules, critical path method, design, develop, how to build, keep on building, model, momentum, pareto in construction, pareto principle, pareto', primavera, primavera expert, project, project controls, schedule model, schedule performance, schedule progress, schedule update, schedules, scheduling, trade momentum, update, we can help 18 Comments
#19: Aim Small – Miss Small
Then he asked the kids: What did I tell you about shooting? Aim small – miss small, they replied.
It was years before I made the connection between aim small – miss small and PM/CM and project controls.
I learned this catchy saying watching the movie, The Patriot.
In the movie, Mel Gibson’s character is raising a bunch [...]
Posted in Home Tagged aim small - miss small, ants, baseline schedule, basline, breakdown, CM, complex projects, construction management, consultant, contractors, cpm schedules, critical path method, fee, fees, frequent planning, fully developed, logic, on buget, on time, optimal, owner, owners, planning, pm, pm/cm, primavera, project, project management, quality, schedule update, schedules, subcontractor, update, update schedule 25 Comments
#18: Critical Path Methodologies: A Necessary Evil or The Answer to Your Prayers
Are you part of the masses or part of the classes? Are you leveraging? Do you want to experience career hyper-growth? Are you managing your projects with a to-do list? Do you have momentum issues? Are you looking for better project outcomes? Do you want to be part of the top 5% of CM’s/PM’s that [...]
Posted in Home Tagged architectural, astute, atmosphere, bottleneck, budget, building, career success, CM, cm forces, complex, comprehensive, construction, construction management, cpm software, critical path method, epo, epo's, execution, experience, flow, horizontal, hyper-growth, immediate, leader, leaders, leverage, model, momentum, necessary evil, plan, planned, pm, pm forces, pm's/cm's, pm/cm, primavera, profit, project management, schedule, successful career, successful construction outcome, successful outcome, sustain, sustained momentum, to-do, to-do list, todo, todo list, vertical, workflow, zone 34 Comments
#17: Owners: Reduce Change-orders and Lead Contractors to Achieve Extraordinary Project Outcomes
You know that the cost and time required to complete a project once it is designed, correlates directly with the building approach and execution of the project work.
It is only through optimization of the building approach and execution, that both the owner and builder can realize significant gains of time/money. It is stagnation of the [...]
Posted in Home Tagged accountability, art, baseline, build momentum, building approach, cpm, cpm baseline, cpm baseline schedule, cpm optimization, cpm schedule, cpm schedules, critical path, critical path schedule, delay, design, development, disruption, execution, flow, horizontal, map, model, modeled, momentum, optimization, parameters, project, project work, responsibility, roadmap, schedule, scheduler, schedules, science, sustain momentum, trade, trade work, user friendly, valid, valid schedule, vertical, work flow, workflow 29 Comments
16: Owners Hire Construction Managers for One Reason … To Protect the Owner’s Interest in the Project
The owner’s interest is not protected when a CM reviews the CPM baseline and update schedules instead of hiring a competent CPM scheduling expert. Nor is it protected when the CM approves a front loaded schedule and proceeds to prematurely disperse funds accordingly. It is surely not protected when a CM hides behind the means [...]
Posted in Home Tagged baseline, baseline schedule, construction, construction delay, construction management, cpm, cpm schedule, critical path, in-sync, leadership, momentum, primavera, primavera schedules, program management, project controls, schedule, schedule forecast, schedules, update 2 Comments
15: Game Changer …
Extraordinary project outcomes require skill-sets that your staff does not have. Extraordinary project outcomes include all of the following:
Ahead of schedule finish/
Under budget finish/
Satisfied client that recommends your company to others/
Low employee turnover/
Low subcontractor turnover/
No serious human or environmental casualties/
All of the six project attributes above are rooted in Advanced Project Controls.
Are you looking [...]
Posted in Home Tagged advanced cpm schedules, advanced project controls, ahead of schedule, analyze, baseline, baseline schedule, construction, construction delay, construction management, costs, cpm, cpm methodologies, cpm schedule, cpm schedules, critical path, extraordinary project outcomes, in-sync, momentum, momentum on-site, primavera, primavera schedules, profound, project, project controls, project management, ramifications, schedule, schedule update, schedules, scheduling, subtle, trade momentum, under budget, what does it cost 15 Comments
14: Primavera Blues: Why CPM Schedules Fail and What You Can Do to Stop the Insanity
Is Primavera scheduling software that hard to learn? I don’t know if Primavera is really that hard to learn or not. I used to think it was. Now, I am starting to wonder. And Primavera 6 (P6) is quite different from Primavera 3 (P3). A couple of months ago, I overheard a colleague teaching two [...]
#13: Are You Attempting to Manage Complex Projects with To-do Lists?
Are you sure?
Yeah the schedule is there, but is it being used to manage the project?
When it comes to leading successful project outcomes, it really comes down to understanding project controls; creating and managing project costs and time schedules. Valid project controls requires two competencies to be effective. Yet most project managers / superintendents [...]
Posted in Home Tagged construction, cpm schedule, cpm schedules, primavera, primavera schedules, project management, project manager, recovery, recovery schedule, superintendent, system, systemic, systems, to-do, to-do list 1 Comment
I realized years ago, as a superintendent, that successful construction management boiled down to 3 steps:
#22: What I’m Seeing On-site…