Most owners receive a schedule at the start of a project and a surprise near the end. Here is what the reporting in between should look like.
Weekly, not monthly
A monthly update hides a three-week slip until it is four. Weekly updates catch it at one.
The critical path, marked
The owner should know which activities drive the completion date this week. If the critical path moved, the update should say where and why.
Float, shown honestly
Float is schedule margin. A contractor who hides it is keeping it for themselves; a contractor who shows it is telling the owner how much room there is for decisions. Ask for it.
Slips explained with recovery
A slip is a fact. The question is what recovers it: resequencing, overtime, a second crew, or accepting a later date. The update should say which, and what it costs.
Owner decisions, dated
Half of schedule slips are decisions the owner has not made yet. The update should list the open decisions and the date each one becomes critical.
Our owners get this every Friday. It takes the PM an hour and it is the reason our completion dates hold.
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Square-foot history, missing scope and optimism. The three reasons a number fails, and the questions an owner can ask at the first meeting.
Building inside an occupied hospital: what the facility director needs to see from the contractor
ICRA, ILSM, shutdowns and the conversation with nursing. What separates a contractor who has done it from one who says they have.
Tell us about the project.
A project executive replies the same business day. Conceptual estimates within two weeks of the information we need.