Resource/Cost Loading

The subject of resource and/or cost loading the Project Schedule has long been a heavily debated topic. Heretofore, it has probably been one of the greatest deviations from specification requirements in the practice of construction schedule. still today there are major pros and cons debated by some of the best practitioners of CPM scheduling around the world. It is a very complex and multi-faceted subject. Resource/cost loading methods vary with the scheduling software used. Most often the resource loading is accomplished on individual activities, although costs can be applied to WBS elements.

Here are some possible reasons for resource and cost loading:

• Required by the project specification
• Earned-Value will be applied
• Your company wants to plan/track resource flow
• Resources are limited in the area and leveling must be done
• Your schedule updates are being used as the pay application
• This requires the schedule to contain 100% of fully loaded costs
• Subcontractors must be contractually required to provide needed cost breakdowns
• You believe this is good practice

If you make the commitment to resource-load your schedule, be sure your company records fully support this process. HSE is fully versed in all resource and cost loading processes and its needs.

Project Projection Cash-Flow Management Monitoring

Benefits of Cash Flow Projection for Your Projects

Your Business Plan:

Having a proper business plan is indispensable for any category of business and it is particularly important for new business owners. This is primarily because having a proper project forecast allows the business owners to enhance their chances of making a profit on every project undertaken and also allows them to minimize losses to a great extent.

Cash Flow Benefits:

People must make a genuine effort to know about the advantages that are associated with this concept. Cash Flow Projection is a very important aspect of managing a business that enables the owner to understand the income of a company from their project for a financial year versus the working capital that is available at the point of time it is needed. Thus, the cash flow projection is lower for new business owners whereas it is higher for a company that is in business for a long time.

On the other hand, cash flows may differ depending on the amount that is available within a particular financial year. A company earns money or cash, which is also referred to as receivables and this is the amount that is available for the expenses or the cost of operation and this amount should be allocated in an appropriate manner so that it is able to meet its target and also have the profit at its disposal. For cash flow projection, the most important consideration of a company is to analyze the cash that is available or the capital that is required to begin a new venture. For a business to grow or reach a hiatus there is an amount that needs to be expanded initially. Therefore, a business must be started with an amount of capital that will allow it to remain secure even after the initial expenditures.

The business capital is used for variable and fixed expenses. For instance, there is an amount that should be spent as a one-time expense although variable expenses should also be taken into account. Thereafter, a business owner must calculate or assess the income that is expected from the sales of products or services that are available at the beginning and the expenses that can be made from the same. Budgeting software is often used for making these calculations. In other words, cash flow projection depends on the software that is used for this purpose as no manual calculations are used nowadays. Using software for this purpose is better because a business organization needs to feed the data in the software for appropriate results.

Moreover, the usage of budget software also allows the results of cash flow projection to be more accurate than it would have been manually. This is the primary reason for which there has been an intensive focus on the usage of software and people with similar skills are being hired by companies or business entities so that these tasks can be completed with ease. A business entity should have sufficient cash at its disposal for the allocation of funds that are required to make payments for different purposes. A major problem that is faced by businesses during the initial period is a shortage of cash for any purpose. On the other hand, a business that has successfully crossed the initial barriers and wants to step ahead with further goals might also face similar problems in the form of a shortage of funds.

These problems can be sorted out to a large extent through an appropriate cash flow projection that intends to help a business to expand and grow without facing the usual obstacles that are common in this case. However, cash flows are not only meant for the benefit of the business owners, but it is also important from the point of view of the investors. The following benefits are apparent for businesses with respect to cash flow projection:

• The investors are able to assess the exact financial positioning of a business, which is vital before they put money into the same.
• The statement of cash flow features the receivables and the amount of money that is being spent on a business.
• Cash flows are also important for businesses to know whether they are in a position to meet the immediate financial requirements of a business.
• With the help of a cash flow statement, it is possible to know whether there is a severe shortage of cash or funds whether it is a new business set up or a business organization trying to seek expansion.
• The cash flow projections or forecasts are useful for businesses related to their future planning and it is easier for them to know whether they will be in a position to carry on with their business plans. For this, they may have to incorporate the modifications in the previous plan and execute the new plan.

It is clear, therefore, that a cash flow projection occupies an important place in the success of a business or helps to take it forward. It is necessary for every business entity to understand that proper disposal of cash is the lifeline for them and they must act accordingly for proper utilization of funds. The cash that is received from different sources and the expenditure of a company must be put under a thorough check before success is attained in the business. Negative cash flow brings disaster to a business and such circumstances must be avoided by a business entity. However, accurate forecasting of the cash flow will help a business entity to walk in the right direction for the proper fulfillment of goals.

Manager’s Reports Generation

Manager report contains data that has been collected over a period of time for a list of monitors on a group of systems. You can create or save a Capacity Manager report as a CMR, TXT, XML, CMS, or HTML file. HTML files cannot be viewed in the Report Viewer but can be viewed in a Web browser.

Collected data are kept for at least a month, but the slot file that holds this data is overwritten periodically. To get complete data coverage, be sure to regularly generate a report at the same time each month. For example, if you elect to generate a report on the 24th of the current month, and you select a duration of 30 days, the report will include data collected on the 24th of the previous month through to the 23rd of the current month. By scheduling your reports to be generated at the same time each month and by combining or merging reports, you can have complete data that cover longer periods of time.

Recovery Schedule

On troubled or delayed projects, it is common for an owner to request that a contractor adjust performance in order to achieve an earlier-than projected completion date. In such circumstances, owners frequently demand that contractors submit a “recovery schedule” depicting the contractor’s plan to meet the accelerated completion date.

Despite the best efforts of a contractor, owner, or other parties to a construction contract, delays may be experienced and a project owner may make a contractual (or extra-contractual) demand that a contractor produce a “recovery schedule.” A recovery schedule differs from a schedule update in that a recovery schedule projects substantial completion by either the original contract completion date or some other date that is still earlier than the currently projected completion date reflected in the most recent schedule update.

Certain construction contracts contain specific requirements for the preparation of a recovery schedule. Even in the absence of such requirements, however, an owner’s request for a recovery schedule showing completion by a date certain may be part of an owner’s notice to cure. By its nature, a request for a “recovery schedule” implies that the current-projected substantial completion date is beyond that originally identified in the contract. From a contractor’s perspective, at the time a recovery schedule is requested, it is ideal to have already properly noticed any project impacts that resulted in the projected schedule critical delays. In the event that such impacts have not been the subject of contemporaneous notice, contractors are advised to notify the owner of the following at the time of recovery schedule submission: (i) impacts that led to the request for a recovery schedule (and which the contractor views are excusable and/or compensable under the terms of its contract) and (ii) the extent of any acceleration effort that the contractor believes necessary in order to meet the recovery schedule’s substantial completion date.

The request for and submission of a recovery schedule often comes at a time of acute project stress. Most construction contracts require that a contractor continue performance in the face of disputes over entitlement to time extensions or extra compensation. Accordingly, while even lengthy or acrimonious disputes may not permit the contractor to cease operations, the provision of the notice at the time of recovery schedule submission enhances a contractor’s later legal position, and, equally important, allows the owner to effectively measure the temporal and financial ramifications of adherence to the recovery schedule.

Monthly Updates

HSE believes that the process of timely, consistent, and accurate status and updating your project schedule is acute to successful project control and forward planning.

Our Periodical updates carry with them all actual costs (variable and fixed) as well as forecasted completion costs. The process of updating your project schedule, whether CPM or Linear is twofold involves the same basic process;

To begin with, Information must come forward from the field and the field office that clearly recounts what took place during the update period. This is historical and often is found in contemporaneous documentation.

You then status your scheduled activities and correct logic performed other than as planned.

The second part of the updating process involves using historical knowledge and job knowledge to revise short term future forecasts. All information must be assimilated and the schedule is fully updated.

At this time; Reports, Graphic Diagrams and Schedule Narrative are prepared.

If the project suffered identifiable impacts resulting in delayed project milestones, time-impact analysis should be done for your change order request.

Our CPM scheduling experts also have extensive experience in construction claims analysis and issues involving delay, disruption, and project acceleration. They can therefore assist you in crafting a schedule that anticipates potential complications as well as in quantifying any damages related to scheduling adjustments.