Research Team 6 is a group of six research topics in the area of Project Controls by CII published in 1985 to 1990. Although technology and experience have improved, the principles and practices are still very relevant and valuable today. This material serves as the primer for all subsequent research on Project Controls. The following is a brief summary of each research topic.
Project Control For Engineering (RS6-1) discusses various organizational methods, contract types, planning and budgeting, breakdown structures, codes of account, progress measurement, procurement activity, and system design/computer selection. Control of engineering activity is generally more difficult than construction activity because engineering tasks are more difficult to quantify and track, tasks are more parallel and overlapping, the responsibility for design is often is shared and sometimes engineering overlaps procurement and construction. Engineering work can be controlled with modern techniques and supporting computer systems, combined with organization and qualified people.
Model Planning & Controlling System for EPC of Industrial Projects (RS6-3) describes a planning and controlling system for the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction of an industrial project. The objective is to meet the challenges of owner deadlines, quality standards, cost and schedule optimization, human resource utilization and productivity, and forecasting of potential cost and schedule deviations. It includes five phases of EPC projects (i.e., conceptual engineering, detailed engineering, procurement, construction, startup), and control structures, which include schedule, budget, and reporting within each phase. The output from this process is collectively called the Project Execution Plan, providing the basis for control.
Project Control for Construction (RS6-5) describes Project Controls applied to fixed-price projects with engineering essentially complete, where control is considered most challenging. Variations for other types of contracts are also provided. Control activities are structured to compare actual with planned performance in a format, which provides timely status while isolating problem areas for attention. Control activities include:
- Project control organization
- Baseline budgets and schedules
- WBS development
- Codes of accounts
- Measuring work progress
- Earned value for fixed and variable budgets
- C/SCSC vs. methods presented analysis
- Trending and forecasting
- Materials management
- Owner changes
- Budget and schedule variance management
- Contingency management
Work Packaging for Project Control (RS6-6) provides solid time-tested definitions for Work Packaging basics. It further describes the concepts applied to Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Startup phases. Definitions are included for work breakdown structures, work packages, activities, tasks, control accounts, code of accounts, and a variety of supporting documents and databases. There are numerous examples and illustrations for hierarchal structures with discussion around levels of control, and the best structural organizations for estimating, integrating cost and schedule, and data collection.
Concepts and Methods of Schedule Compression (RS6-7) include more than 90 different techniques for schedule compression. Some force shorter schedule time and others will simply prevent needless loss of time. In some cases there will be a time-cost trade-off. The methods are listed in alphabetical order under each major heading, not in order of potential usefulness. These are categorized as follows: Ideas Applicable to All Phases of a project; Engineering Phase techniques; Contractual Approach techniques; Scheduling methods; Materials Management techniques; Work Management methods; Field Labor Management; and Startup Phase opportunities.
The Impact of Changes on Construction Cost and Schedule (RS6-10) is based in part on CII-supported research performed by the University of California, Berkeley. It details the results of a literature search and field studies of three projects, to examine changes and identify potential impacts on project costs and schedule. While this generally discusses changes given to a general contractor by an owner, the principles are equally applicable to changes given by a contractor to a subcontractor. Included are types, sources, and timing of changes; methods for costing changes; direct and consequential effects of changes; productivity impact of interruptions; overtime delays, rework, and redirection of work; and evaluation methods and tools.
2 : Model Planning & Controlling System for EPC of Industrial Projects
It’s impossible to engineer and construct an industrial facility without some overlap of phases. Engineering often overlaps with procurement for vendor-engineered equipment, and with construction, for long time-phased projects. To the owner, life cycle costs are more important than design-construction costs, and these costs are balanced against potential revenues. The owner will directly overlap phases, to reduce overhead and time-value of investment costs, but such savings may be eroded by the costs of rework, idle crews, premium pay, team relations, morale, quality, and operational reliability. The approach described in this report is believed to be the one with the optimum overlap. No official claims are made, but users of the process feel comfortable with time savings in the order of 15% compared to the sequential approach, and construction labor savings as high as 30% compared to other fast-track options. Labor savings result from the detailed planning (plans & specs available at start of construction), materials availability when needed (procurement tracking and materials management), and productivity improvement. For the system to work, construction must defer to the needs of start-up, engineering must defer to the needs of procurement and construction, and procurement must defer to the needs of construction. There must be a continuous team approach to planning and execution that involves the owner, operator, engineer, procurement group, and constructor.