Session Overview:

This session will provide attendees information on all AACE professional qualifications, the AACE exam preparation and EA Chartered status for cost engineers.

Session Objective:

To enable attendees to decide what AACE and EA professional qualifications are applicable to them, the advantages to obtaining a qualification, how to prepare to take the exams and to take the exams.

• Why obtain professional certifications.
• What certifications AACE offer.
• EA Chartered status and how the AACE Certifications assist in EA recognition.
• Methods of preparing for AACE Professional Level Certification exams.
• Panel Q&A, with presenters.

Session Benefit:

Attendees will be able to decide if they should consider taking a professional qualification, what qualifications they may take with their current experience and how to prepare for AACE Professional Certifications.

Formula 1 is a sport often described as being driven by data; teams are obsessed with analysis and minute details that could give them a competitive advantage on the track. It’s commonly accepted that technology already has or will have a significant role to play in project controls. Turning the project controls function more and more into a data driven discipline where decisions can be made using the latest data and technology. So, what can you learn from Formula 1 that accelerates performance in project controls? Formula 1, where races are won or lost on the smallest of margins, where every tenth of a second counts with a high reliance on data and technology. From this session, you’ll be able to discern the value and benefits of data and information in project controls, and start looking at your own project controls practices and make improvements.

Closing the feedback loop by managing project scope, budget, and cost governed by our Commercial Operating Model (COM). The COM identifies the fundamental processes that underpin the business to successfully deliver our projects and guides the cost management journey from pre contract, handover, delivery & close out by use of Candy Estimating and Project Controls. Integration with DT Infrastructure developed and off the shelf systems has maximized the use of Candy's ability to produce data at all levels required.

The evolution of project control supported by a smart platform and ecosystem of connected tools can provide significant quantifiable and tangible improvements for organisations delivering projects. Portfolio-level project control for organisations delivering projects, can help optimise resource utilisation, manage risks more effectively, standardise project management practices, make better-informed decisions, and increase transparency across a portfolio of projects. This can lead to improved project performance, increased efficiency, and better business outcomes. We will be changing the narrative from the old-fashioned “golden triangle” to an integrated and connected inter-related hexagon of time, cost, scope, risk, resources, and sustainability to manage, monitor, control and deliver project success. Ultimately identifying how technology is changing and has already changed project control functionality and success, and articulating the considerable quantifiable and tangible improvements organisations delivering projects can achieve by deploying project control practices supported by a smart platform and ecosystem of connected tools.

The unprecedented infrastructure projects underway in Victoria, Australia are posing major challenges to the entire industry. The traditional approach of monitoring the quality of construction works is rather manual, ineffective and inefficient due to its over reliance on visual QC inspections and reactive management of quality. This has resulted in various quality issues largely due to the following factors : - Lack of timely quality inspection and test results - Late discovery of defects - Inadequate design/construction process validation and verification - Antiquated QC/QA practices that are not keeping pace with the construction works and technology - Poor quality culture (rework is an accepted norm) - Inadequate data analytics - Poor quality of design and constructability issues. With the availability of inexpensive electronic devices, IoT and ICT systems, these quality issues can be addressed through gathering, monitoring and analysing real time quality control data. This paper discusses the approach to use digital technologies and leading quality management practices to overcome the quality issues confronting the construction industry. It will show case examples of how digital applications can be adopted throughout the project life cycle.

ACCIONA is standardising the Ways of Working across it's project portfolio through digitisation. A key focus has been the development of a digital site-based project management tool that replaces many of the day-to-day processes and workflows, automating the administrative burden of collecting and processing information. In turn, this reduces manual non-value-added work, whilst improving transparency, strengthening productivity monitoring and improving benchmarking for tendering. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the journey followed and the agile development process, the change management process, and to reflect on progress and share learnings we have had with our implementation across a number of projects ranging in value from $50M to $2B+.

In today's construction industry, the importance of reliable, connected data cannot be understated, and artificial intelligence (AI) is a vital part of this reliability. We know that AI is paving the way for construction organisations to build data knowledge libraries. We also know that it is a valuable resource that can train other AI models to predict and generate new events, schedules and workflows, improving scope, cost and management. Yet even with all this knowledge, so many organisations continue to fall short of their AI goals. So, how should organisations go about capturing and manage their data today so they are ready to take advantage of technology and gain insights in the future? And how can organisations begin to improve their data literacy? Join Rob Bryant and Professor Eduard Hovy as they share how to not only cut through the noise around AI, but how to meet its challenges head-on, completing more capital projects on time and budget. They will also compare traditional machine learning algorithms to recent generative AIs like DALL-E and ChatGPT, exploring how they can enhance — not replace — human intelligence in the construction industry for a future built on true innovation.

Poor productivity is one of the most important issues facing the construction industry. If we do not fix it, we will be unable to deliver the infrastructure needed to support Australia’s population growth and future prosperity. Technology is not a magic bullet, but a digital revolution is underway in construction which promises to improve productivity, shorten project durations, improve safety, and reduce waste. Digital workflows and digital twin best practices improve efficiency, reliability, and cooperation to deliver meaningful and sustainable improvements in how projects are designed, constructed, and operated. Hear about current trends and learn how technology is enabling better projects. We are at a turning point where we can choose to embrace the digital revolution that is underway in construction. Learn why we cannot afford to miss the opportunity.

Join us as we delve into the confluence of human intuition and machine intelligence, painting a picture of the future of project management. In this speech, we will explore the transformative role of Artificial Intelligence in project controls and management. We'll briefly touch upon: 1. AI's potential in predictive analytics: foreseeing delays, budget overruns, and potential risks before they happen. 2. Improvements in resource allocation and task management powered by AI. 3. How businesses can prepare for the increasing integration of AI in project controls and management. 4. The role of ongoing learning and adaptation for project-intensive businesses to fully harness AI's capabilities. 5. A call to embrace the AI revolution in project controls and management, emphasizing the balance of human intuition with machine intelligence. 6. The excitement for the future of project controls and management as AI continues to evolve and integrate deeper into our processes.

• 30 mins in Olympic Room B as discussed. • Intro • Ben Geroff from Sitechs and Xu Shou from JHG using Spot and some large screens / headsets / iPhone, explaining how the model was taken and applications for the technology. This bit would be the bulk of it: demo the capabilities of Spot the dog and explain that last year we took a LIDAR scan of the inside of the space we were in (hence wanting to be in it again for the demo). We will explain how we use that scan to create a 3D model. Xu and Ben can then demo the use of the 3d model: we will have the 3D VR headsets for some people in the crowd to try; what one of them can see will be on a large flatscreen TV so the audience can see it. We also have an additional bit of tech – an AR app on an iPhone. We will pass some phones loaded with the app have to pass around. People can move the phone around and see inside the model. Like the headset, but without needing a headset. • We will finish by talking about the applications of the technology in delivery, with respect to project controls. • Questions. Presenters will be: Paul Bradley (JHG) - Group Manager, Planning Ben Geroff (SITECHS) - Regional Manager VIC / TAS Xu Shao (JHG) - Group Manager Technology and Innovation

In complex projects, the volume of data continues to grow exponentially, but most organisations are not keeping pace. Deep inside this data, there is treasure to be found, and most organisations don’t know that it’s there, much less how to access it or leverage it. Project-intensive organisations continue to struggle with this for three main reasons: Projects are Unique - With every new project, a new team comes together to solve a new challenge. Even if the scope is the same, there is something different this time – different participants, team members, stakeholders, locations, etc. Across these various participants (Owner, EPC Contractors, Suppliers, Partners, etc.) there are a variety of systems and spreadsheets requiring an enormous amount of effort to maintain. Information is slow to travel, reports aren't accurate, and decisions are being made too late to affect the project. Projects are Temporary - The project team works hard through planning and execution phases, discovering what works and what doesn't. Learning countless new lessons about cost / schedule performance, supplier capabilities, engineering designs, product quality, construction productivity, and other best practices. But when the project ends, where does this knowledge go? The team often takes it with them to their next project, which is good for them and their career development, but unbelievably wasteful for your organization to re-learn what it already knows.

Louise Gardner has been supporting large organisations and government agencies with PMO and Project Controls for more than 20 years. Passionate about ensuring the Project Management Office is a value adding function, Louise established Pledge Consulting in 2012. In the last couple of years Pledge have supported some of the most exciting projects in Australia including Western Sydney Airport, the Intelligent Congestion Management Program and CBD-South East Light Rail. They also run PMO as a Service for the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) and Toyota.

This entry combines two pivotal elements: the development of a groundbreaking project management approach using Project Flow Diagrams (PFD) and a successful restoration plan for the Deepwater Titan through the utilization of OVERGantt. Early in 2018, Alan joined forces with Sem Kudriavtsev, a software engineer unacquainted with project software. Despite this, Sem successfully implemented Alan's design, introducing numerous innovations. Consequently, EndFirst Plans Inc. was established in June 2018, with Wayne joining the team in early 2019. The vast geographic distances spanning 12 time zones, along with the impact of COVID-19, prompted the development of one of OVERGantt's most significant features: virtual planning that surpasses the efficacy of in-person sessions. Transocean, a long-standing client since 2002, readily embraced the electronic version of the Project Flow Diagram to create a restoration plan for the Deepwater Titan. In summary, this journey encompasses mentorship, collaboration, and expertise, culminating in the development of OVERGantt.

This presentation seeks to set out the key components that form the basis of schedule document. Further, the purpose and the value in creating and maintaining a basis of schedule. As well as how this document can benefit the wider team. In my recent history, it appears that the basis of schedule has become a forgotten tool, this presentation serves as a reminder as to how a basis of schedule is used and how it can be useful for; • The project controls team during the program’s inception and throughout the life of the project; • The commercial management team to covey the deviation from tender and quantify the level of change; and • How can aid the understanding of personnel outside of the project controls team, such as legal professionals seeking to understand the fundamental of the project program.

Project Controls is an essential part of any project management process. It is a set of disciplines that help to plan, monitor, control, and report on project progress, cost, schedule,and quality. Project controls cover all stages of a project or program’s life cycle, from the initial estimating to the final closeout. Project controls include several sub-functions, such as planning, scheduling, cost and risk management and earned value management. Each sub-function has its own methods, tools and techniques that contribute to the overall success of a project or program. This session aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the fundamental elements of project controls. This will enable beginners and intermediate project controls professionals to gain a better understanding of the different sub-functions of project controls.

Efficient project controls reporting is crucial for informed decision-making and successful project outcomes. However, traditional manual reporting processes often prove time-consuming, error-prone, and lack effective data visualisation capabilities. Organisations are turning to automation and advanced data visualisation tools like Microsoft Power BI to overcome these challenges. This presentation explores the automation opportunities available to project management and project controls professionals through Power BI. By leveraging this tool, project teams can streamline reporting, enhance accuracy, improve visibility and enhance project teams’ engagement. Real-world case studies of Power BI implementation will be discussed, focussing on benefits, challenges and future opportunities.

Oracle Primavera releases new updates most months, and this paper outlines the updates that Oracle has introduced in 2020, 2021 and 2022. This paper will concentrate on the more useful functions that a majority of users would find interesting.

Quantitative Schedule Risk Analysis (QSRA) is becoming more widely adopted across the globe as a standard method for identifying and managing risk on engineering related projects. Traditionally, QSRA has been practiced with Critical Path Method (CPM) based schedules using a method known as activity ranging, that has limitations in both in its application and the outputs produced. Major industry bodies such as Risk Engineering Society (RES) Australia, and AACE International recommend an approach known as the ‘Risk Driver’ Method in preference to traditional ranging. This presentation provides an overview of using the Risk Driver method for QSRA by comparing the similarities and differences over the traditional approach. This presentation will provide guidance on adopting and benefiting from the use of the Risk Driver Method. using this method with practical examples to demonstrate the benefits offered by the Risk Driver method for informed risk-based decision making.

This paper discusses the core philosophy of agile program management and the need to change cost and schedule management functions of program management to accommodate. Program management refers to the management of numerous interrelated projects with connecting goals, requirements, and outcomes. Success in traditional program management is defined as the ability to execute as planned when projects are delivered on time and on budget. Agile program management offers an agenda for program success when traditional program or project management processes no longer work. The focus of agile program management is the delivery of value hence success is the ability to deliver things that matter. Traditional cost and schedule assurance principles need to change for effective agile program management.

Data is transforming several businesses. Use of DDD in US manufacturing nearly tripled (from 11 percent to 30 percent of plants) between 2005 and 2010. This rapid diffusion is consistent with the higher productivity of DDD adopters identified (Brynjolfsson and McElheran 2016). However, the way in which data is used in capital project execution is still under explored. Cobb and Moore (1997) point out that “statistics requires a different kind of thinking, because data are not just numbers, they are numbers with a context”. The context helps identify relevant data sources and their interpretation. I look at strategy, data and outcomes on projects to identify their usage patterns and then suggest an approach that drives effectiveness on projects. The aim of the study is to look at project data strategy, its availability, meaning and accessibility. Thereafter, I would look at the effectiveness of data driven decision making. The methodology would involve looking at availability of data for decision making on projects and then the usage of the data to provide insights which facilitate decision making. This would be done through interviews with key people on projects and also information gathered through my experience on mega projects while anonymizing the data. I will aim to look at usage of Key Performance Indicators (KPI)s which should be correlated with the quality of data gathering on the project.

Project controls are facing a dilemma, on one hand there is a strong push to make projects agile and adaptive, on the other the need for on time delivery, organizational reporting requirements, and the law of contracts require precision and certainty from project control systems. For a wide range of projects, traditional critical path scheduling (CPM) is no longer fit for purpose, a new controls paradigm is needed. This presentation will describe an approach for managing this type of project based on agile and lean, while recognizing there are likely to be some mandatory sequences that must be followed. And, suggest a rigorous framework for identifying progress and predicting the project completion date based on the quantity of work achieved compared to the quantity planned to be accomplished, employing the new Work Performance Management (WPM) technique and tool-set.

In the realm of project management, establishing clear and well-defined boundaries is essential for achieving success and effectively managing project complexity. Project boundaries define the scope, objectives, deliverables, and constraints of a project, providing a framework within which project teams can operate. Clear and well-defined boundaries ensure that stakeholders have a shared understanding of what is included and excluded from the project, preventing scope creep and establishing realistic goals. By managing project complexity, boundaries help in prioritising tasks, allocating resources effectively, and facilitating communication aided with an effective risk management. Effective decision-making is enabled by project boundaries, as they provide a framework to evaluate choices against established parameters. Overall, project boundaries enhance project outcomes by promoting efficiency, reducing ambiguity, and fostering collaboration among team members and stakeholders. Recognising the importance of project boundaries, implementing effective management, and control mechanisms are crucial for achieving successful project delivery.

In the world of complex projects and programs, forecasting future stages is vital. Earned Value Analysis (EVA) helps project teams assess progress and deviations from project expectations. For program management, it's even more critical. Explore the solution: EVA coupled with interactive dashboards for real-time performance insights. Program managers gain a holistic view, with the ability to zoom in on details, detect trends, anomalies, and make informed decisions. Join us for an exploration of EVA's implementation in program management, including challenges and steps for success. Dive into a case study showcasing the power of interactive dashboards in program performance measurement. Elevate your program's success with data-driven insights and strategic interventions.

Projects are the only mechanism an organisation has to build exponential growth or cost reduction outside of organic processes. This need for growth, and therefore projects, has driven a significant increase in the complexity and breadth of portfolios of projects both across the construction industry and professional services. Organisations face a significant challenge in the tightest labour market in decades, rising cost of capital and where there is an ever increasing need to do more with the resources available. This case study explores how TBH innovatively combined a number of project control elements with traditionally corporate approaches to governance and organisational change management to significantly improve project delivery, increase efficiency and reduce workplace conflict thereby enabling organisations to achieve key strategic priorities.

There are many opportunities to be made from successful implementation of Earned Value Management on large infrastructure projects. These include early warnings on design time slippage, understanding the impact of changes in design, accurate correlation of construction phase progress to the schedule % complete and the ability to examine different team performance across the network of activities. Against these are a variety of cultural and technical challenges faced by the project controls team tasked with implementing EVM.Often project controls are connecting disparate systems containing parts of the puzzle. Actuals are in accounting systems with extracts dumped to csv. The schedule is in a closed application accessed by very few people and therefore difficult to collaborate on. Finally, progress in the schedule dose not correlate to progress in the contractors claim. Using case studies from Inland Rail, Sydney Metro, Melbourne Metro and Western Harbour Tunnel as well as 20 years of personal experience, this presentation will show how to create a project environment from a team perspective, a systems architecture perspective and a corporate culture perspective.

The success of any project portfolio hinges on accurate planning, efficient execution, and the ability to manage unforeseen challenges effectively. In the world of project controls, the significance of allocating appropriate contingency cannot be overstated. TBH Director, Robbie Breschkin has experience reviewing the estimating and contingency allocations across portfolios, with the aim of enhancing the reliability and maximising project’s yearly capital allocation. The adequacy of estimates, as well as the robustness of contingency planning, play pivotal roles in achieving these objectives. This presentation will demonstrate how these factors, combined with governance, can influence the performance of a project portfolio. This session will also explore projects planned and actual performance, and the subsequent response in planning future projects and the correlation with estimate and contingency accuracy.

This session looks at how advancements in digital data and centralized solutions enable a more efficient approach to Program Controls. The AECOM Program Controls Engine, based upon the InEight platform is a system and approach that provides a single source of truth for Program Controls. Deploying the Controls Engine builds an integrated approach to people, processes and tools that builds aligned data to create intelligence that supports and enables decision making. In this case study we will review the theory and implementation process of the deployment of the Program Controls Engine on a major program on the east coast of the USA.