When running or coordinating a workshop or a presentation, make sure you have a printout of all the presentation so you can easily track where the presenter is up to.

Also make sure to have a printout of the schedule.

A printout is important as you may not be able to view it on the computer if that is connected to the projector and it is displaying the material to the audience.

Tagged with: coordinate • presentation • printout • schedule • workshops

Filed under: Communication • Planning

Microsoft Outlook or similar programs allow you to send meeting requests to people. This is a quick and effective way for meetings to be set without wasting time calling around for available times.

If all members of your team use the calendar function properly, they would have all their meetings and busy times entered into their calendar. When you request a meeting of them, you will be able to see available times in a simple bar chart and book accordingly.

Tagged with: calendar • meeting request • meetings • outlook • schedule

Filed under: Communication • Human Resources • Time • Training

If you (or others) are to travel for meetings, confirm that they have been scheduled.

Projects with committees or bureaucracy may overlook setting the times or places and informing everyone of a meeting properly.

Confirm the meeting before leaving for it.

Tagged with: meetings • schedule • travel

Filed under: Communication • Time

Get to know the usual time schedules for producing plans, drawings, and designs in your organisation.
Estimates may be 2 weeks but people with experience in the organisation may know to double this when told 2 weeks by the design department.

Project managers should keep up with the designers for their project regularly to see what they are working on and what their priorities are.
Resources often get pulled onto other tasks/projects, so it important you stay informed.

Possibly escalate to the projects director if necessary.

Tagged with: design schedule • drawings • schedule

Filed under: Communication • Design • Planning

You must learn to say no to some requests from clients

If change requests from the client will make the design unsafe or unusable, you should refuse to change it. Otherwise you could still be sued as the designer for giving misleading information when your company is the expert (accepting a change could be deemed as approving it, even if you gave a warning that it would be unsafe or unusable).

Another instance to say no is if the client asks for changes that will increase the schedule but won’t approve the increased schedule. Get approval from the client for the extended schedule or cost before saying yes to the proposed change.

Tagged with: change • schedule

Filed under: Client • Contract • Cost • Design • Risk • Safety • Scope

Using the Word Float

It is a good idea to avoid using the word “float” in a schedule or cost report to a client.

Instead you could use phrases such as “Critical Evaluation of final commissioning items”, or something similar.

Using the word “float” usually leads to management or the client wanting it reduced.

Of course only use the alternative wording if it is a necessary float and the words reasonably describe the use.

Tagged with: cost report • float • schedule

Filed under: Client • Communication • Documentation • Planning

Don’t schedule backwards from the end date.

Program the project logically. Do it forwards then adjust to fit for time.

If you do it backwards, you aren’t planning the project, you are just fitting schedule to match the end date, that won’t help achieve the tasks, and will probably mean you go past the scheduled date anyway.

Tagged with: end date • schedule

Filed under: Planning • Time

To increase stakeholder acceptance of a project give them ownership.

Do this by letting them choose delivery dates so that they will then support those dates.

For example, ask the production manager to give you the date they will complete the fabrication of a piece of equipment. Then put that specific date in the schedule and note that it was specified by that person. By seeing the date that they chose in the schedule they are more likely to accept the delivery dates of the project.

Tagged with: delivery • ownership • schedule • stakeholder

Filed under: Planning

Know the resource schedule of your project and of your organisation.

• What if another large project will start part way through yours?
• Will this reduce the number of resources available suddenly (drafting, design, fabrication, installation)?

Tagged with: resources • schedule

Filed under: Human Resources • Planning

If you don’t have your resources fully utilised (booked and working) they may be taken from you by your senior management to be put on projects which look like they need them (i.e. demanding more resources).

Plan your schedules so that your people are fully occupied. This includes trades crews, you don’t want them running out of work because of late deliveries of equipment etc and then being put on different projects.

If you lose staff resources to other projects it is very difficult to get them back.

Tagged with: schedule • staff resources

Filed under: Human Resources • Planning

Bid teams / tender teams often bid for projects that the company can’t do.

They will make a schedule that is too tight, or have milestones that are impossible to achieve.

You should make sure that the bid teams know what resources are available, how busy everyone is, and what problems have arisen in projects.

Ideally the leaders of the bid teams should be included in regular project summary meetings (the meetings where project managers meet together to report on the different projects to the program manager). Including them in meetings (perhaps once a week) will give the bid managers the opportunity to understand the current issues in the projects.

Remember, they are trying to sell, usually as much as possible, you have to make them aware of just what is possible.

Tagged with: bid • milestone • project meetings • schedule

Filed under: Human Resources • Planning • Tender • Time

If you believe a schedule required by the client is unreasonable, you should document your reasons for believing so, and inform the client of those concerns in writing.

If the client still chooses to go ahead with a schedule that you are not a party to (for example for their construction contractor) but using your company’s designs, you should inform them (with details) of your concern in writing.

This may reduce the possibility of claims and your liability in the event of contractor over runs.

If you believe a contractor’s schedule is unreasonable, you should also inform the client in writing.

Tagged with: claims • concerns • liability • overruns • schedule

Filed under: Client • Contractors • Planning • Risk