16
16,
2018
4castplus in Action: Multiple Divisions Under One Roof
By
John Jeffrey
|
August
16,
2018
|
Categories:
Construction Cost Tracking,
business process improvement
|
0 Comments
15
15,
2018
Contractor Profits at the Mercy of Higher Construction Costs
By
Michael Wilson
|
August
15,
2018
|
Categories:
Construction Cost Tracking,
project cost controls software,
project forecasting
|
0 Comments
Construction costs in the US have been escalating for months now, and it’s so far the contractors who are carrying the weight of absorbing these price increases. This, according to a recent study by the Associated General Contractors, who went on to point out that recent tariffs on non-US foreign materials have further intensified the issue.
The Pain of Higher Construction Costs
23
23,
2018
Top 5 Tips: How to Help Lean Teams to do the Work of Many
By
Michael Wilson
|
July
23,
2018
|
Categories:
business process improvement,
project cost management software
|
0 Comments
Everyone wants to run a ‘Lean’ operation. But how do you do that when there’s so much work to do, projects to stay on top of, reports to run, etc.? The behavioral challenge most organizations suffer from when it comes to running lean, is what I call the “More means More” syndrome. Put simply, this means: as you grow and get more work, you just add more people to do that work. More work, therefore more people, right? Well, hang on a second.
31
31,
2018
Should I Re-Baseline or Create a Change Order?
We often get asked about the distinction between re-baselining a project and creating a change order. I can see why there’s a bit of confusion there because in many respects they accomplish a similar outcome. However, they are fundamentally different processes that serve unique purposes.
20
20,
2018
Spreadsheets for Cost Management are a Lot of Work for Little Return
By
Charlie Rose
|
May
20,
2018
|
Categories:
Construction Cost Tracking,
business process improvement,
project controls,
Project Management
|
0 Comments
"Excel just wasn’t designed to do some of the heavy lifting that companies need to do in finance.” So says Paul Hammerman, a business applications analyst at Forrester Research Inc. Despite that generally accepted fact, spreadsheets continue to be widely used as the default tool of choice for managing the finances of construction projects large and small. Most individuals that find themselves in this situation however, would enthusiastically agree that the use of spreadsheets for this level of complexity requires a ridiculous amount of meaningless effort for very little return. Far too much effort is put into getting the data into the spreadsheet – and all the formulas straightened out – that little time is actually spent analyzing that data.
03
3,
2018
Time-Phasing the Remaining Budget: What Does it Mean?
By
John Jeffrey
|
May
3,
2018
|
Categories:
Construction Cost Tracking,
project cost management software,
time phased budgeting
|
0 Comments
Time-phasing the project budget is as core to project controls on construction projects as pasta is to Italian food. Or hockey is to a Canadian winter. Time-phasing is so central to project controls, that in 4castplus there are five different time-phasing plans that can be setup on a single project. Actually, there are 10 – but in this article we’re mostly going to talk about one really important one.
18
18,
2018
7 Things You Need to Know About 4castplus Resource Forecasting
By
Mary Ellerslie
|
April
18,
2018
|
Categories:
project forecasting,
Project Management,
Project Procurement Management,
Jobsite Cost Tracking
|
0 Comments
One of the most important functions of project controls and cost engineering, is the ability to accurately forecast remaining costs-to-complete on a construction project. With the new Resource Forecasting tools in 4castplus, project controls professionals can now achieve ultimate accuracy and take full control of how projects are forecasted.
19
19,
2018
Paper-based Ledgers are a Thing of the Past
By
Charlie Rose
|
March
19,
2018
|
Categories:
Construction Cost Tracking,
business process improvement,
project cost controls software,
Project Procurement Management
|
0 Comments
Several decades ago, organizations used to manage all their finances using big paper-based ledgers, where they’d spend much of their day “doing the books”. These large ledger books worked for hundreds of years, however it would be a challenge to find any modern company today that runs their business on paper-based accounting methods.
07
7,
2018
Notley's $1B Upgrader Plan: Alberta Tech Company Ready to Help
By
Joe Vanderhoot
|
March
7,
2018
|
Categories:
Construction Cost Tracking,
project cost management software
|
0 Comments
The recent announcement by the Alberta government to invest $1B in grants and loan guarantees to partially upgrade its bitumen, is great news for the Alberta energy industry. As a landlocked province with no access to tidewater for access to diverse markets, and no pipeline to transport its bitumen, Alberta is not getting full value for its products. It’s the government’s hope and expectation that this will incentivize a further $5B in private investment to build and improve the local upgrader infrastructure.
16
16,
2018
Top 5 Reasons Why an ERP Won’t Work as a Cost Management Solution
By
Mary Ellerslie
|
February
16,
2018
|
Categories:
Construction Cost Tracking,
project cost controls software,
project cost management software,
Enterprise Software Integrations
|
1 Comment
It’s not uncommon for organizations to consider the idea of using their ERP as a one-stop-solution for all their technology needs – even when it comes to managing the many-layered complexities of cost management on major projects. It’s an appealing idea: everything in one place, under the tight control and scrutiny of the finance department. The challenge with this of course, is that the target users of an ERP are in the finance department, not those who are managing the day-to-day operations of a large construction project.
Construction projects have many moving parts and a colossal amount of data to carefully manage in order to keep the project running to plan. Not only that, but there are numerous different types of users that need to work collaboratively in real-time. Such as: Project managers, project controls, engineers, field staff at the jobsite, subcontractors, project owners and others, that all need to work together, sharing data and workflows, to seamlessly bring a project to a successful conclusion.
