What do Small Contractors really want from a Schedule Consultant?
Many smaller general contractors do not need, nor can they afford a full-time planner scheduler on their staff. They seldom choose to use professional planning and schedule consultants. But if they did, what do they really need from scheduling consultants?
We know larger general contractors typically have full-time a planner scheduler on staff and need them to meet the contract specification schedule requirements found in most large project RFP's. Smaller contractors do not typically see such stringent schedule requirements in the RFP's they propose on. (Whether there should be more stringent schedule specification requirements in small project RFP's is another topic...) For the sake of argument, let's assume there is not a stringent requirement for scheduling in the RFP the small general contractor is proposing on.
It is not unusual to see these general contractors adding the project planning and schedule development responsibility to the project PM. The problem with this is that the PM is pulled in many different directions and the addition of more technology has actually complicated their role. There is more information to be managed than ever before. Most PM's do not have specialized training and expertise in schedule theory and the specialized scheduling software operation. They can make do utilizing MS Project but only if a simple Gantt Chart is all that's required. And this is how we have been managing work for many years. But times change, project administration is more complex, there is more data and information to manage. Most PM's are in desperate need of assistance. If there is a requirement for resource loading, actual CPM, special calendars or activity coding, it is not feasible to expect the PM to have the experience or the time to manage the schedule development and management. But even if there is not a requirement for these items, doesn't it make sense to utilize planning and schedule professionals, or scheduling consultants? This frees up the PM to manage other tasks, even though they will still have to work closely with the schedule consultant through the development and during each update. This will produce a professional CPM schedule the contractor can actually use to manage the project efficiently. It's not only the large projects and contractors that need a "real" schedule. The smaller projects and contractors can also benefit from having a professional they can utilize when needed.
If there is a requirement for resource loading, actual CPM, special calendars or activity coding, it is not feasible to expect the PM to have the experience or the time to manage the schedule development and management. But even if there is not a requirement for these items, doesn't it make sense to utilize planning and schedule professionals, or schedule consultants? This frees up the PM to manage other tasks, even though they will still have to work closely with the planner scheduler through the development and during each update. This will produce a professional CPM schedule the contractor can actually use to manage the project efficiently. It's not only the large projects and contractors that need a "real" schedule. The smaller projects and contractors can also benefit from having a planning and schedule professional they can utilize when needed.
That said, what does a smaller contractor really need from a planning and schedule consultant? How about basic best practices such as assistance with breaking the SOW down into a useful WBS? Then further breaking the work down into detailed activities which support he WBS deliverables? Many PM's do not realize how much detail is necessary to build a valid CPM schedule. Because of this, they end up with generalized activities and then have no way of making any logic work correctly. A professional can help with this. They can also model the plan in the scheduling software much more efficiently than someone that does not work with schedules every day. If all you have the professional planner scheduler do is help with the WBS development, activity decomposition and computer modeling of the plan, based on the PM team's input for logic and durations, a general contractor can work with a schedule they can plan and manage with.
Of course, regular periodic updates of progress and revisions to model the plan to execute the remaining work is necessary, but not time-consuming for the PM and planning and schedule professional to manage. This provides a schedule that remains valid for the entire project. This allows the PM to support change order time extension requests with documentation the owner will be comfortable negotiating with. This will have a side benefit of maintaining the positive relationship you need to have with your owner.
Do these smaller projects need to have fully resource and cost loaded schedules like larger projects typically utilize? They could benefit from managing the invoicing if resource and costs were added. They would also be able to measure the progress of their work against the baseline plan and subsequent updates to track trends and foresee potentials problems. That is basically what we use the fully functional CPM schedules for on larger projects. We use EVMS and curves and resource management on larger projects. That would certainly benefit smaller projects and contractors, but trying to do too much too soon may be what is keeping many small contractors from taking the next step in the professional planning and schedule support process.
So maybe we provide a more simple planning and schedule approach to show them just how much better they can manage their projects. They already use schedules. They already understand the need. They just need planning and schedule professionals, or scheduling consultants that will help them develop real CPM schedules they can use to manage work. Then maybe they will want to try managing the resources or invoicing this way as well.
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Paul Epperson CCM, PMP, PSP, PMI-SP
