Programming sfsmancon admin Steve Smith 2024 September #

Programming

There is no worse spectacle than a building project that has ground to a halt because of poor programming and the consequent loss of control.

It is completely inefficient to run any project using ‘fly by the seat of your pants’ tactics…. For any building project to be a success there has to be pro-active order and control.

The potential for cost/time overruns and financial losses is enormous not to mention the stress placed on whoever is trying to manage the thing….

Allowing contractors to dictate how and when they carry out their works without any control, leads to chaos, poor workmanship and potential disputes.

Work that has to be rebuilt for following trades will always cost more and create avoidable delays.

Yet all of this is preventable! The 5 P’s, Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance! is the guiding principle of any good Construction Manager. Using this principle as a baseline, we can plan out the building process to reduce these issues to a minimum.

The 5 P’s is in reality a shortened version of the British Army’s training aid (The 7 P’s) – Proper Planning and Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance. (Apologies for the mild expletive)

There are many groups of Ps from marketing to physical and military training. However they all have the same basis in reality. If you plan any project well enough and allow for as many contingencies as possible. Then the project will run more smoothly and without too many hiccups.

There will always be, on the other hand, the odd item that slips in to attempt at disrupting the best laid plans. As Mike Tyson once said “Everyone has a plan ’till they get punched in the mouth.”

Virtually every failure of any building project traces back to poor planning. This makes the programming phase one of the most important parts of the Construction Management jigsaw.

Often people who think they are great at “multitasking” are in truth not doing any one thing properly.

They flounder about trying desperately to keep everyone happy, when in fact this very uncoordinated management style causes amotivation.

Once this lack of motivation caused by poor management kicks in it is extremely difficult to reverse.

We at SFS Management Contracting use all the tools we have in the arsenal to plan out the work as best as it can be.

Working from all the information gathered at the cost planning stage, we calculate the Work Package timelines.

Using this information and including the relevant supply chain timelines, we produce a working programme for the project.

We have designed our own Gantt Chart programming system which we can adapt to any size or type of construction project.

It gives us flexibility in an ever changing environment, yet provides accuracy, so that we can prepare for the unexpected… when it occurs.

Below is a PowerPoint slideshow showing how we use our Gantt Chart system to keep the work programme on schedule.

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Our Pledge to You

To manage your project with a professional and non-partisan approach.

Work in partnership to gain the best from the Building Experience.

Assist you to finish up with the most cost effective project.