Total Project Control

Ed:

There is a real good software by Primavera Systems: Expedition. It is a contract control software. You can store, organize and track all kinds of project information, like: submittals, contracts, costs, payment requisitions, changes, transmittals, daily job reports, drawings, to do lists, meetings, you name it.

Tomas Rivera

Hallo Tomas,

Thanks for your reply. I know of Primavera Expedition and have even worked with version 7 for a short while (Ive been working for Primavera in the Netherlands as a consultant), but one way or the other Expedition isnt used in the Netherlands. Apparently "contracting" is an english invention (as good claim management is too).

Have you got any experience with expedition, and which release? And do you consider yourself a project control specialist or a experienced planning engineer (or is this the same)?

We (ARAM) have a native Mexican Planning Engineer on our team. He will join us on Planning Planet shortly.

Awaiting your reply,

Ed van der Tak
ARAM Planning Consultants
The Netherlands

Ed:

If P3 is not used by many people, Expedition has even less usage, from what I have learned. I used Expedition extensively in one project about 6 years ago. And after that I trained a construction company personnel on the use of Expedition. I am devoted to offer the services of my Altek Sytem for the detailed scheduling and control of high performance projects. And as a secondary activity, I am a Construction Management consultant. Therefore, you could say that I am a planner and not a project control specialist in the general sense of the word.

Tomas Rivera

Tomas,

P3 is used in most of the cases/projects we encounter, but they dont look any further. They still struggle with excel/word sheet and lists. Were doing the best we can to bring them up to date!

Can you tell me more about your Altek System? Is it used for Planning and Control or general project management? What kind of of construction projects are you working on?

Bye,

Ed van der Tak

Ed:

I work mainly with industrial buildings, but also with commercial buildings. And more rarely with residential buildings and city infrastructure projects. A fair number of the projects have been with foreign owners, especially american. I live at the border with the State of California, USA.
My Altek System is offered mainly for increasing, to the highest level, the probability of meeting the required completion date. This is the name of the game I am usually playing. Altek System is focused to to what I call high performance projects; projects that need to perform at a high level of efectiveness. Therefore, I am usually involved in projects with a very tight completion date, with a high cost if delayed, sometimes complex or with high uncertainty. or simply projects that for some reason require a high level of daily control.
P3 is the main information processor engine for this system.

Tomas Rivera

Tomas,

Do you have a link for more info about Altek Systems?

Thanks,

Ed

I have come across a technique called "Critical Chain" to help achieve early completion of Projects. Reading the literature it appears to all make sense - but to apply it also needs a culture change to ensure that it generates the results promised.

Have you come across it? Has anybody experience of the real application of Critical Chain and its benefits and also more more importantly pitfalls to avaid when implementing it for the first time.

Thanks in anticipation. Guy

Ed:

I am close to finish my web site about Altek system, but it is in spanish. The english version will take a couple of months. I do have info that I can mail to you in english. If you want me to, send me your e-mail. Please bear in mind that this is a service I offer, not a package I sell.

Tomas Rivera

Do we have two threads going here ?

Guy,

CCM does sound convincing, however, we still have problems getting people to use CPM. For info. go to Goldratts site. I have not come across it in action yet

Mark,

You are probably correct there are 2 threads here.

I very much agree with you ref CPM not being widely believed in/ used. I find alot of lip service to the idea. Drawing bars is so much more fun! they can be placed anywhere on a page and logic is a complete irrelevance. What we as Planners have to do is to convince people that there are real benefits in using CPM. I very much like the quote that "Planning is all about logic and integration. Planning is not about dates". That is what makes Planning so interesting and challenging for me, being able to understand all the integration issues and seeing the light on peoples faces when they see Planning adding value.

Critical Chain certainly has some very interesting concepts embedded in it, but if we cannot get a CPM embedded in an organisation then CCM has littl;e chance.

I think you might find Volt Europes product, e-PSO, able to help in this area. It is unique in that it automates the flow of project and programme processes (workflow engine), stores all project activity centrally (knowledge repository) and takes the labour-intensity out of reporting by providing dynamic progress, risk and issues status information (information centre), at the click of a mouse (browser based). It is based on PRINCE2 best working practise with flexibility built in. e-PSO could act as a powerful catalyst for introducing new processes, being electronically embedded into the project working culture. It makes it easy for staff to use by presenting the right
templates to the right project staff at the right time in the cycle. That is reducing any uncertainty, the admin, the
paper handling and the need to plough thru manuals whilst ensuring best working practise is adopted by all concerned.

See www.e-pso.co.uk or e-mail steve.madkins@volteurope.com

Hi friends,

I feel that to have a total control of constuction project
CCS (construction computer software www.ccssa.com) is good
as it has modules of estimating, valuation, planning, cashflow and site costing integrated to each other.

Best Regards
Muneer

I feel also that to have a total control of constuction project

CCS is very good
the estimate is based on realestic resource based estimate...and controling project cost is only control the resources u have budgeted to that project....
CCS having very nice tools to control the project effectively ..as a am planner ...(plannig engineer as well as project control engineer.......
ccs is very best tool for use......