MT281 Unit 10 Project Management Report Example

Behind on Billing, Two Days Behind on the Finish: A Unit 10 Project Management Report on Station 2 at Month Seven

[Student Name]

Purdue University Global

MT281: Fundamentals of Construction Management

Unit 10 Project Management Report

[Instructor Name]

[Date]

Station 2, its contract, schedule, costs, people and decisions are composite and illustrative and draw on the earlier units' samples; the sources cited are real.

Summary for the Board

Station 2 is at working day 150 of a contract now set at 239 days. The forecast finish is day 241, two days late, because of rework the contractor caused and must absorb. Work completed is valued at $3,779,993, which is 5.5 percent below the $4,000,000 the schedule planned to bill by now, but most of the gap is timing in the noncritical bay work, not a threat to the finish. The revised contract sum is $6,461,526 after two approved change orders. There have been no lost-time injuries. The board is asked for three decisions, listed at the end.

Schedule Status

The critical path at day 150 runs through the living wing's interior finishes, which started on day 151 after insulation and drywall; the wing rough-in and its inspection are complete. The original contract time of 232 working days has been extended twice, to 239, by change orders issued under the general conditions (American Institute of Architects [AIA], 2017).

The delay log lists every event that has affected the schedule.

Concealed soil under the bay: 4 days; excusable and compensable under Section 3.7.4 of the general conditions; extension granted

Rain beyond the allowance during the bay undercut: 3 days; excusable, not compensable; extension granted

Drains in the wing set high and reset: 2 days; contractor's responsibility under Section 12.2; no extension

Joist delivery 19 days late: absorbed by float; no effect on the finish

Door lintel answer 6 days late: absorbed by float; no effect on the finish

The forecast of day 241 is the revised contract time of 239 plus the 2 days of drain rework. The contractor has proposed Saturday drywall shifts at its own cost to recover them, which would bring the forecast back to day 239. Trauner et al. (2009) stress that a delay log should classify each event by cause and by effect on completion, so that owners can see which days they owe and which they do not, and this log does both.

Cost Status

Original contract sum: $6,373,900

Change order 1, concealed soil: $26,096

Change order 2, larger generator: $61,530

Revised contract sum: $6,461,526

Work completed to date: $3,779,993

Retainage held at 5 percent: $189,000

Paid to date, net of retainage: $3,590,993

The 5.5 percent gap between planned and actual billing has two causes. The bay's sequence, which carries some of the project's highest-cost items, the sectional doors, exhaust system and gear lockers, has 23 days of float in the baseline and is running about two weeks behind its early dates while staying within that float. And the generator, a $61,530 item, will be billed when it is delivered and set, which falls after this report. Neither cause affects the finish date. Halpin et al. (2017) note that billing progress and schedule progress often diverge when high-cost noncritical work runs later than its early dates, which is why both must be reported.

The money is behind where the plan expected it; the finish date is not.

Change Log

One change is pending. Change request 3, reinforcement at the bay roof joists for the vehicle exhaust rail hangers, $9,450, addresses the coordination gap found in the document review. The joist supplier has confirmed the added hanger loads require bridging reinforcement at six joists. The architect recommends approval.

Safety

There have been no lost-time injuries. The masonry limited access zone at the fire wall was maintained as planned, and the fire wall was completed before wing slab work began, as the safety plan required. One near miss was recorded: a skid steer reversed toward a laborer near the bay undercut; the contractor added a spotter rule for reversing equipment.

Quality

All concrete cylinder tests for the slabs, footings and walls have met the specified strengths. The first set of apron cylinders, specified at 4,500 psi air-entrained, will be tested next week. Compaction tests for the bay undercut fill all passed.

Risks for the Next Quarter

Three risks are being watched. The sectional doors' float, 8 days in the baseline, now stands at 2 after the late lintel answer, so any delivery slip will reach the finish. The interior finishes are the longest critical activity, 40 days, and depend on tile and flooring deliveries that the contractor has confirmed in writing. And the final inspection depends on the fire marshal's schedule, which the township has asked to reserve for the week beginning on day 208.

Fifteen-Day Look-Ahead

Wing interior finishes continue. Bay mechanical and exhaust work starts on day 156. The sectional doors are scheduled for delivery on day 152 and installation from day 153. The generator is scheduled for delivery on day 158.

Decisions Requested

1. Approve change request 3, exhaust hanger reinforcement, $9,450, from the township's construction contingency, by the next meeting, so the joist reinforcement can be installed before the exhaust rails.

2. Confirm the fire chief's gear locker layout by day 160, so the lockers can be ordered within their remaining float.

3. Set the station's dedication date no earlier than four weeks after the forecast finish, to allow for the punch list and move-in.

References

American Institute of Architects. (2017). AIA document A201-2017: General conditions of the contract for construction. American Institute of Architects.

Halpin, D. W., Lucko, G., & Senior, B. A. (2017). Construction management (5th ed.). Wiley.

Trauner, T. J., Manginelli, W. A., Lowe, J. S., Nagata, M. F., & Furniss, B. J. (2009). Construction delays: Understanding them clearly, analyzing them correctly (2nd ed.). Butterworth-Heinemann.