What types of Project Related “Issues” do you or should you be tracking? Delaying Issues? Customer Selection Issues? Etc.
I’m working on building a database record set that tracks “Project Issues” and I’m working on thinking ahead to all the possible issues that other contractors track or should be tracking so that I can build in that functionality now rather than having to go back at a later date and work it in.
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Just thought of another one myself:
Defects/Rework Required
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Jerrald,
One of my favorite magazines is Remodeler or ing what ever it is now. They write alot on this topic.
All it would take is for a company to track a breif daily log of every job for six months to a year in order to figure out what is working and what is not.
I think one of the biggest issues to the longevity and success of a company is tracking customer complaints. If they call you with anything less than a compliment then it is probably something that is of deep concern to them.
Discovering a method to diminish or eliminate these types of calls will go a long way for any business owner.
Eric[email protected]
It's Never Too Late To Become What You Might Have Been
EricPaulson - "All it would take is for a company to track a breif daily log of every job for six months to a year in order to figure out what is working and what is not."
Well that's what I already have got going (The Daily Log) and I'm working on making it better and even more robust.
The Daily Log List View:
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A list of the days the Daily Job Reports are generated for.
The Daily Planner:
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In this window you set up and prioritize and assign personnel to general Weekly Look Ahead Tasks for the workweek (a Lean Construction Planning Technique) and those tasks are common to all the Daily Job Reports for that particular week. On the lower half of the screen are the Scheduled Events planned for that specific workday.
General Notes
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This is where I have the "Project Issues Tracking". Up until now I had it as just "Delay Issues" but I come to realize that not all issues that need to be tracked cause delays so I'm working on some changes to that right now.
You'll notice I also have a create Change Order Requests portal there based on either those Delaying Issues or any requests for changes coming from the owner or any other party for that matter. Those Change Order Requests are then on file so that they can be estimated and then actual Change Orders created for them.
Work Performed Detailed
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In this window you can track the actual times for the work being performed by both Internal and External (subcontracted) personnel and enter descriptions of what they did.
To Do List
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the To Do List window new specific To Do List Items for that particular reporting day are created, prioritized, and then assigned to personnel. The lower part of the screen displays all the outstanding To Do List Items for that particular Job and as they are completed they are checked off there.
Material Requests :
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Here you create the list for miscellaneous materials that are often requested during a project and are not part of normally scheduled material deliveries and Purchase Orders.
Project Assets:
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The Assets window a file is built of all the jobs particular "digital" assets such as Video, Photos or Files such as Text, Excel, Word or PDFs or any other computer based file for that matter.
Contact List :
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As you add people (contacts) to the project you add them here.
"I think one of the biggest issues to the longevity and success of a company is tracking customer complaints. If they call you with anything less than a compliment then it is probably something that is of deep concern to them.
Discovering a method to diminish or eliminate these types of calls will go a long way for any business owner."
An idea I just stole from another online friend (Jud Aley) was to design a report that was based on all this data but also asked the questions:
Site cleaned, tools and storage area organized ? Yes No
Materials covered and/or stacked ? Yes No
Dumpster jacked & packed ? Yes No
that the client/customer then signs and acknowledges that the work has been done as described.
I'll make "complaints" one of the things that the client/customer can write in but I'm going to use a different word or phrase. maybe even just plain old "issues".
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Jerrald, those reports would take my breath away.
blue
Is that a good or bad thing?
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They would suffocate me. I think that's a bad thing.
I do need to figure out how to use a simple spreadsheet though.
blue
blue_eyed_devil -
"They would suffocate me. I think that's a bad thing."
Thats what I thought you meant but I just wanted to clarrify it.
To be completely honest I've always been under the impression that you don't really track much of anything and more or less go off on a wing and a prayer and by virtue of your own efforts are able to push enough volume of product through the pileline you've done okay.
"I do need to figure out how to use a simple spreadsheet though."
Just what kind of information and data do you track? And why do you think a spreadsheet is better than a database for collecting data or were you thinking of using the spreadsheet for something else?
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And why do you think a spreadsheet is better than a database for collecting data or were you thinking of using the spreadsheet for something else
You were right about the wing and a prayer thing.
I couldn't possible answer the question because I don't have the foggiest notion of what a spreadsheet or a database for collecting data is.
I do know a little about framing a house though.
blue
Hell-o all-
New guy on the block here. This thread is quite on point with the [liability] insurance article in the latest FHB e-mail. Talk about issues.
I recently worked for a small remodeling company that was very "organized". All kinds of forms and documents to fill-out before, during and after the job. Along with meetings and supervision of the job, I agonized about trying to actually do something constructive, pun intended.
I realize that the bigger the company, the more complex the business. And now, the greater the risk, the more we need to document. Create a paper trail.
Right now, my own business [contract] stipulates that at least two days a month, or every other Friday, I will not be in attendance at the job site so that I can make sure that the paper trial does not get to far out of control. I explain this up front. I try to sell my responsibility to the job.
If my insurance requirements are going to run my obligations, [what I can and can not do], then the cost of doing business [filling out documents to track just about everything], will be reflected in costs and schedules that are greater than those of my competition who are perhaps the reason that insurance is becoming harder to acquire.
gsgaloot
You might want to got to the Primavera web site and look at what Expedition does, and then decide what you really need out of that.
I used to use it at a previous employer, and it would track and record everything, but I thought it was overkill, and a huge time sink, but the Honchos and the Lawyers loved it.
The things it did that I liked were:
Submittal tracking
Request For Information / Request For Clarification tracking
Phone conversation records , and logs.
Not every thing it tracked was necessarily an "Issue", it only becomes an issue if it impacts the nature or scope of the work. Submittals aren't and issue, until you don't get one back in a timely manner and it slows down the work. Same with RFI/RFCs. If you are getting answers in a timely manner, (good contracts give time frames for response), they aren't an issue, unless the answer changes the work.