What are the best ways to track and control construction costs and schedules?

What's critical is to put yourself in the best position to control cost by understanding the scope of work clearly at tender stage. More contracts are awarded to Contractors due to misunderstanding the scope, requirements and/or limitations contained in the tender or RFQ. If the estimate is not in good shape the entire project revolves around making up for the errors instead of maximizing opportunities. Focus typically shifts to your mistake whereas opportunities are mostly found in the Employers mistakes.

A couple of things to consider. Have Engineer of record give a presentation to project team so they can all understand what the expectations are and insight into how it may be carried out. Hire planners to provide work packets with all of the details for a block of work. There needs to be a level of planning early enough so that materials can be ordered and available on site when it will be needed. The plan should list estimated man hours with durations. It should provide a list of equipment required, when and what types of inspections that will be required and most importantly how to be sure safety is first.

Tracking and controlling cost and schedule requires an understanding of the project baseline. This comprises the scope, estimated budget and forecast project duration that was assumed to deliver the project outcomes described in the business case and endorsed by the Project Sponsor. To control the constraints, we must understand the permissible variance, that is, the allowable change to the scope, budget, and schedule triple constraint. We must also have an understanding of the project governance process for seeking further changes beyond that which has been delegated to the Project Manager. Governance approvals must be sought and obtained prior to the agreement of scope changes, additional costs, or late completion of the project.

Project risk assessment and management must be an integral part of the management process. A robust framework must be built at the initiation of the project and monitored regular throughout the project life cycle. Milestones management is also a key tool. When these two elements are rigorously managed, the other elements of project including scope, objectives, construction costs,,budgets, and stakeholders participation and involvement could be systematically addressed throughout the project life cycle.

I think you need to constantly review your schedule daily and walk your homes multiple times a day. All ways look ways to pick up days with suppliers and vendors by multitasking similar work on the same day. Constantly punch each phase of construction to eliminate correcting everything at the end of the home.

The crucial aspect lies in the creation of the Control budget alongside the schedule. This Control budget serves as the pivotal element for overseeing and managing the diverse project-related expenses. Additionally, it's imperative to maintain separate weekly and monthly monitoring for both direct costs (blue sheet costs) and indirect costs (yellow sheet costs). Essentially, the estimated costs and contingencies within the Control budget will serve as the foundation for comparing the actual project expenses incurred.

From my experience, Work breakdown structure (WBS) and organization breakdown structure (OBS) would be the best tools for tracking and monitoring. WBS needs a time and cost estimate. With this information it is possible to plan, schedule, and budget your project. The WBS also serves as a framework for tracking cost and work performance. The WBS can also be used to define communication channels and assist in understanding and coordinating many parts of the project.

Creating a detailed budget and schedule based on the project scope and objectives is pivotal in effectively tracking and controlling construction costs and schedules. The comprehensive budget should encompass all project expenses, including labor, materials, equipment, subcontractors, overhead, and contingencies. Simultaneously, the detailed schedule should outline the sequence and duration of project activities and milestones. Establishing a clear baseline facilitates meticulous monitoring and reporting of project progress and performance, guaranteeing adherence to predefined financial and temporal parameters.

Two things I've found helpful: 1. Break down your Bill of Quantities into a parallel disbursement schedule that mirrors your Schedule of Works. 2. Create centralized data pipelines for all requisitions, so that impact of disbursements are assessed with a birds eye view, prior to expending them.

The estimate becomes the budget, which becomes the basis for cost reporting, which becomes one of the most important tools for future estimating. In the same way, the bid schedule becomes the NTP construction schedule becomes the as-built schedule. Both of those, the cost report and the project schedule, need to be kept current daily in the same manner the plans and specifications are constantly being marked up with RFI information and submittal cross referencing. Things change on construction projects. Schedules, sequences, quantities and what and how time, material, labor and subs are being tracked needs to keep up with those changes. An error on a bid item needs the actuals reported to prevent the same unit$ being used for added work.

Regular progress meetings serve as ‘public’ accountability sessions. Reserve the majority of the agenda for ACTIONS and ensure they are assigned to a stakeholder with a date, giving particular emphasis to anything that is on, or is about to enter, the critical path. Always, always, have respect for the individual, be reasonable and aim for win-win outcomes. But if a stakeholder is not ‘on task’, politely call it out. Have meeting minutes issued post-meeting same day or next day the latest. If you are the chair, then here’s a tip…update the minutes immediately before the next meeting in draft (for you alone) with known progress since the last meeting, closing closed actions. Saves meeting time and shows you are well across key actions.

Regular monitoring and updating of project status through the utilization of various tools, including cost reports, schedule reports, earned value analysis, risk registers, change logs, and dashboards, is integral in construction cost and schedule tracking and control. Evaluating cost variances, schedule variances, earned value, and risk profiles allows for the timely identification and resolution of any deviations or issues encountered during project execution. This proactive approach guarantees that the project remains in line with predefined objectives and constraints, ensuring efficient management of construction costs and schedules.

Implementing corrective and preventive actions, guided by the project's status and performance, is integral to effective construction cost and schedule tracking and control. Swiftly addressing any deviations through corrective measures, such as rework or resource reallocation, enables construction managers to mitigate adverse impacts. Simultaneously, adopting preventive actions, including robust risk management and stringent quality control, aids in proactively averting potential issues. These proactive strategies contribute to realigning the project and optimizing overall performance, ensuring successful project delivery.

In my experience taking the time to assess the impact of issues allows effective corrective strategies to be developed. Regularly reviewing project status also allows trends to be identified and recurring issues, this informs future decision making and applying lessons learned will enable effective corrective strategies to be developed.

Effective communication and collaboration with stakeholders represent the fifth step in tracking and controlling construction costs and schedules. By fostering transparent communication channels and collaborative relationships with various project stakeholders, including clients, contractors, subcontractors, suppliers, consultants, and regulators, construction managers ensure alignment of project objectives and expectations. Facilitating timely and comprehensive exchanges of project updates, issues, and changes through diverse communication channels, such as meetings, reports, emails, and online platforms, enhances overall project coordination and minimizes the likelihood of misunderstandings or delays.

The final step in the process involves reviewing and evaluating project outcomes, encompassing a comparison between actual and planned results to determine project success. This comprehensive evaluation includes identifying valuable lessons, best practices, and areas for improvement, which are then documented and shared to facilitate organizational learning and future enhancements. This critical review not only marks the completion of the project but also serves as an essential mechanism for enhancing overall organizational performance.

If possible, a cost loaded schedule can be extremely helpful especially as a base line to balance cost with time. Additionally, as changes in scope or additional constraints are incurred on the project, refining cost and rebalancing the schedule will keep you up to date, and keep from get lost in the growth of the work. A good project controls analyst can also compare budget to schedule tasks and do a line item analysis when there is a deviation either in budget or schedule. It does take a commitment to the scheduling/cost effort to stay trued up, but this is what we do and is necessary for robust project management and control. Too often we let things stray from the plan and then we are in panic mode to correct and stabilize our projects.

I think we forgot to baseline our schedule after creating it. The baseline can serve as both odometer and speedometer for the project schedule. Without a baseline we can never know our true progress, slippage and lag that we have available. We should baseline our schedule once approved for final completion. There are a lot of schedulers that for go a baseline; especailly on smaller schedules but if you ever get into a dispute, the baseline can save you including your updates too. These are common practices we should us on every schedule we create and hold ourselves to the highest level of detail possible to protect our project, our client, and ourselves.

With a bad estimate, bad subs, or just bad luck you can lose money. With a bad turnover or bad quality, you will lose a client and their references.