This presentation will illustrate three case studies to examine the overall project control strategy and lessons learned to mitigate various challenges involved in successfully implementing an integrated cost schedule control system which enabled our client in forecasting a realistic schedule driven fiscal capital budgets. It will also discuss development of an overall Enterprise and Program WBS hierarchy to facilitate summarization of bottom up built up of budget and schedule data across three programs. It will also address development of integration schema to capture actual cost data without overhauling the underlying structure of the client’s existing accounting sysyem to enable performance reporting and KPIs (key performance indices) at the program level as well as at various profit centers.

This workshop discusses the 11 basic types of construction claims included in most standard contracts used throughout the U.S. – AIA, ConsensusDOCS, EJCDC, etc. The workshop outlines the entitlement and causation elements of each type of claim that the claimant must demonstrate to justify their right to prevail and recover damages. The workshop highlights the following types of construction claims – claims for directed changes; constructive changes; differing site conditions; directed suspensions of work; constructive suspensions; force majeure events; delays; accelerations; constructive accelerations; terminations for convenience; and terminations for default. The workshop also identifies several types of potential owner claims against contractors. The elements of the burden of proof required of all claimants are presented. The basic requirements concerning damages are covered. A discussion of claims under various project delivery methods and a summary of an accepted claims preparation and analysis methodology are also included in this workshop. The workshop will conclude with an outline of various dispute resolution methodologies. The workshop will also provide an overview of 25 forms of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) that may be employed to resolve claims and avoid disputes.

Technology is disrupting Project Management. Roles next year will be different than roles today. Understand what change is happening, what it means for you and how you can benefit. Be able to pre-empt change by learning how technology is being applied. See the latest Project Management technology being deployed on the world’s projects. Get ahead of the curve.

Have you wondered about how earned value management (EVM) should be applied in support of your project, regardless of whether it's a contractual requirement? This presentation provides an analysis of the applicability of EVM in support of different types of projects, to include lessons learned and recommended practices. In addition to clarifying inherent nuances related to the terminology, this presentation will also examine lessons learned from the author's own experience, and more importantly will offer several recommended practices that can be leveraged by project stakeholders on both sides of the aisle.

Project schedules often have factors imposed on them which degrade them as tools for quantitative schedule risk analysis using Monte Carlo simulation (MCS). The contractor’s detailed proposal schedules frequently employ mechanisms encompassing commercial goals, rendering them unsuitable for use in quantitative risk modeling. A good bit of effort is typically required to convert these schedules into reliable tools for risk modeling. This paper describes these problems and develops processes for identifying them and repairing them to withstand the rigors of simulation. It discusses why such findings often lead to creating summary schedules that strictly adhere to best practices while representing the overall project plan rather than de-bugging the contractor’s detailed schedule. Using standards for critical path method (CPM) scheduling implies that what is needed to support MCS is to follow best practice CPM guidelines. Some of those guidelines have pronounced impacts on the conduct of MCS-based schedule risk analysis. This paper highlights and explains these practices and argues that the best way to proceed with a schedule risk analysis is to create a simpler, smaller, but entirely compliant summary schedule rather than simulate the project’s detailed schedule with its flaws.

Competitively tendered fixed price contracts often lead to contractors / non-owner participants making heroic assumptions on risks they cannot control and are often asked to accept, even on the most complex mega-projects. This invariably results in parties subsequently trying to mitigate some of these initial losses through scope changes and variation claims, in an effort to remain financially viable. An increasing number of such experiences have led to the exploration and adoption of alternative and collaborative contracting models. After spending 13+ years in the US, Nikhil had the opportunity to get involved with a few Alliances (a collaborative contracting model where the parties share pain/gain on ultimate project performance to achieve best for project outcomes) in New Zealand. In his presentation, Nikhil will aim to share some of the challenges / learnings from his experiences in navigating delay and disruption issues on such collaborative contracting models and overall learnings around what worked well, what didn't when working through some of these complex issues.

Construction projects are under increasing pressure from local communities to deliver Societal Value (SV), defined as integrated social and environmental value. Societal Value delivery requires the co-creation of value outcomes with environmental and community stakeholders, in addition to the functional benefits of the project. The aim of this research is to advance understanding of the conceptualisation and practise of Societal Value in capital projects. This paper will summarise existing research and key concepts in the delivery of Societal Value, applying examples from both existing and planned radio astronomy projects such as the Very Large Array (VLA, USA) and Next-Generation Very Large Array (ngVLA, USA), Square Kilometre Array (SKA, South Africa and Australia), Arecibo (NAIC, Puerto Rico), Ghana Radio Telescope Observatory, and Atacama Large Millimeter / submillimeter Array (ALMA, Chile). Such projects are built in rural areas, bringing services, infrastructure, jobs, education, and astrotourism to surrounding communities. Answering these research questions can lead to the development of a societal value framework for construction projects, including metrics and an audit methodology, for use by organisations and governments in practising project assurance.

When it comes to crisis planning, it’s not a matter of “if” but “when.” Communication is central to any crisis plan and will make or break the crisis team’s ability to move across issues and disciplines with unity of purpose. Communication is the one area where human factors, the most difficult to predict and control, will always take precedence. In “Anatomy of a Crisis,” 30-year corporate communication veteran Merritt Hamilton Allen breaks down all manner of crises, from large to small. Project professionals will learn where the emotional touchpoints are and how to stay ahead of them; this ensures de-escalation of tension, allowing the crisis team to focus on resolving issues and restoring steady state. Allen will also provide basics for dealing with hard questions from possibly biased audiences, crucial to maintaining credibility for any project in crisis. She will provide basic guidance on communication ethics. Finally, the presentation will close with guidelines for when to call in expert help – when the crisis is larger than the project team or even the organization can handle. Attendees can expect to leave the presentation with: • a clear understanding of the crucial moments to proactively engage stakeholders as a crisis unfolds, based on real-world examples; • easy-to-remember tips for addressing difficult and even biased questions; • clear ethical guidance for crisis communication; • guidelines on when to bring in expert consultants.

Many recent studies showed that project delays are mostly attributed to the delay and non-quality of engineering deliverables. Project teams rely heavily on earned value measurements (EVM) when it comes to track project progress against the baseline. This paper/presentation challenges the use of EVM compared to underused project data. Projects always have a lot of data that can be used for project tracking. Data analyses that are right for the situation represent tools that are easier and more effective than EVM. Only one example will be given here about the use of document flow data. Document management tools and software contain a wealth of data that can be used at various phases of a project to support the measurements of engineering progress and performance. Data fields in the tools which specifically store actual dates, revision status, type of deliverables, etc. can be used to validate reporting metrics defined for engineering. Utilizing this information creates the knowledge base to make informative decisions for engineering interface with procurement, construction, and commissioning. It also improves project forecasting and substantiates collection points needed to meet critical milestones. This paper demonstrates the concepts of data collection through document workflow and how to convert that into progress metrics that contribute to non-traditional performance metrics. For example, a progress metric such as the average time needed to move a document from status “A” to status “B” will validate the progress value calculated using rules of credit. The author will present multiple non-traditional metrics and trends to make use of data contained within document management tools to improve the reliability of traditional progress and performance metrics. These trends will support the project forecast related to engineering deliverables.

Timely and reliable project controls data is crucial to diagnose the project's current status, predict the project's future performance, and manage risks that could impact overall business objectives. However, traditional project controls practices, tools, and techniques are not standardized, sophisticated, consistent, objective, synthesized, or connected enough to support project management in its entirety. With increasing complexity and resource constraints, projects need to have comprehensive and reliable project controls. The negative impact of project complexity and risks on schedule, cost, quality, and safety can be effectively and efficiently managed only by implementing multi-dimensional, design-centric, and data-driven project controls approaches such as digital twin (DT). DT is a promising project controls approach where a real-time virtual replica of a physical structure functions as a single-source-of-truth. It helps establish a plan, monitor and control progress, and communicate a plethora project statuses and forecasts with stakeholders. However, incorporating DT into existing project controls practices does not guarantee successful implementation unless the practices meet critical success criteria. This paper reviews opportunities and future trends for project controls with digital twin and advanced technologies.

Los Angeles Metro is currently implementing the largest transportation infrastructure program in the United States and gearing up for the 2028 Olympic games. As a result, there are an unprecedented number of projects being undertaken and increased risk for project cost and schedule overruns. This presentation reviews recent project control process improvements and procedures implemented to improve cost and schedule forecasting with special emphasis on inclusion of risk generated exposures. Each project’s Configuration Management Baseline that integrates the project’s scope, schedule, and costs is of upmost importance. The Project Manager, with assistance from Project Control staff, is assigned the responsibility to manage the baseline. Fundamental to the management of the baseline are regular forecasts developed by Project Control, i.e., disciplined reviews of measured progress, schedule performance, changes to scope, costs incurred, contingencies exercised, and a measure of risk analysis to ensure threats and opportunities at or beyond the horizon are considered. In generating schedule and cost forecasts, Project Control staff must be versed and responsible for including risk management considerations in their forecasts. This presentation offers a case study analysis into how this improved forecasting process works and observed benefits.

A structured Project Development & Execution Process facilitates optimal use of resources such as dollars, people and technology over the life of the project to maximize value. The desired outcomes from this process are to select the right project by making good decision and then execute this decision with excellence. This practical presentation addresses how Decision & Risk Analysis is used in the Energy industry to make informed decision by comparing alternatives, quantifying risks & uncertainties and evaluating financial outcomes. Tools such as decision hierarchy, strategy table, influence diagram, tornado chart, decision tree and S-curve will be presented and how they are used to make complex decision on global mega oil and gas development project.

Nuclear Deactivation and Decommissioning (D&D) is complex and extremely difficult to plan and execute. Nuclear projects in general are under strict regulatory requirements and surveillance by government and private entities. A nuclear D&D project in Canada, valued at over 1 Billion CAD, is actively decommissioning and demolishing a retired nuclear lab to return the land back to the indigenous people of Canada. This entails deployment of a first-of-its-kind robotic manipulator system to process nuclear waste from existing bunkers and standpipe. To ensure an optimal plan and control for numerous project constraints, the project is partnering with ALICE Technologies and Lagrange Consulting to leverage Artificial Intelligence and Generative Construction technology to simulate and analyze millions of schedules to ensure the best chance for successful project delivery. The Project is the first nuclear application of Generative Construction which simulates construction sequences by combining BIM models and project schedules. This paper will discuss: 1) how Generative Construction technology modeled Project constraints, 2) how the Project analyzed simulation outputs, and 3) how the Project actioned Generative Construction’s output.