With highly anticipated infrastructure projects underway in the U.S. and around the globe, the focus going forward must be on keeping inefficiencies in check and delivering those projects on time and within budget. And it’s going to come down to project controls.
Project controls are the set of processes and systems used to measure and monitor performance throughout the life of the project. Its main goal is to ensure that projects are completed on time, within budget and according to specifications.
Identify risks and their causes early on
A well-managed infrastructure project will typically have a strong focus on risk management. That’s why project controls start at the planning stage so you can take an anticipatory approach to risk. Identifying and managing risks from the outset assists with preventing them from negatively impacting budgets and timelines.
On the data side, it can help you look at past project performance metrics to analyse the type, frequency, and severity of risk factors throughout the build and, ultimately, on project outcomes. Identifying risks early isn’t limited to the planning stages. It is also about detecting them before they emerge once construction is underway.
Forecast potential cost and schedule impact of these risks
Leveraging a combination of early risk identification, past project data and real-time performance metrics, accurate forecasts can be created. They will help you understand what effect potential risks or changes may have on future deliverables and resources needed to complete a project successfully.
For risk-based scenarios, these forecasts become the basis for data-driven, risk-adjusted contingency plans. These plans can be developed before the project begins or ready to launch when necessary or created as unexpected risks surface during construction. For change-based instances, it informs decisions on how and whether to accommodate them in terms of budget, time, and resource allocation.
Provides transparency into project performance and progress
The first step to transparency is understanding what’s happening with a project at any given time. Project controls provide transparency into key metrics such as schedule, cost and risk. Knowing those means you know where things stand at any given time.
Overall, this enables you to make informed, collaborative decisions about allocating resources. You can detect early signs of potential issues before they become significant problems. In this way, project controls help ensure compliance with project requirements and better project outcomes, now and in the future.
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