When you think about the term control, the first things that might come to mind are power, authority and management. However, in the realm of project management, the term control is much more comparable to steering a ship through stormy weather. It’s not about sticking to the path you plotted before you departed; it is about continuously updating the course to get there, evaluating your location throughout the voyage, and keeping a watchful eye on what lies ahead to make sure you make it on time and budget.

Generally speaking, project controls is a discipline integrated in the project team, where cost controllers, estimators, schedulers, managers and other team members can measure and analyze how a project is progressing and pivot priorities to meet the needs to the project.

For Sancon, using project controls helps reduce risk and costs for its clients by tracking “earned” and “burned” hours, calculating discipline efficiency and forecast for the future based on those efficiencies. 

What are “earned” hours?

Earned hours is the work being completed in the field against the schedule which activities can include: static and dynamic checks, walk downs, operations support, vendor support and other inspections. In short, how long does Sancon think a task will take.

What are “burned” hours?

The manhours it takes to complete a static check sheet, a dynamic test or other planned activities. Basically, how long did it actually take to complete the “earned” hours task.

How does Sancon calculate discipline efficiency?

For each discipline, Sancon will take the “earned” hours number and divide it by the “burned” hours sum to produce the discipline efficiency ratio.

For all projects, Sancon is able to track work activities depending on the client’s preference using tools such as excel spreadsheet, access databases and completion software.  Thanks to digital advances, Sancon has its own software system, the Sancon Completion System (SCS). Read more about it here. 

This continuous monitoring gives the project team and owner valuable knowledge about the project’s performance and highlights areas that require special attention and may need changes. With this proactive approach, Sancon can anticipate to the common issues and provide scheduling confidence, avoiding budget overrun and delays.

To learn more about how Sancon can help use project controls on your next initiative, please contact us: https://sanconltd.com/contact/