Real estate properties and other types of capital assets owners have the continuous requirement to inspect and maintain the different facilities, systems, equipment, and another type of assets that are part of the properties and assets that they either own or control. In addition to the implementation of work order management for both reactive and preventive maintenance including work requests for raising reactive work orders, the facility management team of those entities, is required to carry out periodical inspections of those operational facilities. This inspection is usually done using what is known as a snag list (occasionally referred to as a punch list) to compile a list of minor defects or omissions that need to be rectified.
The use of a snag list for property inspection can be improved when the predefined list of questions can be added for each type of inspection to be performed. For example, probe questions can be added when inspecting emergency lighting, fire extinguishers, electrical, security, and housekeeping among many others. This will not only ensure systematic inspection of those facilities but also ensure compliance with the regulations as well as the organization’s best practices and knowledge in maintaining their facilities and making them always fit to use.
Those inspection checklists will be created in the PMWeb Project Management Information System (PMIS) which is also used to capture the details of all real estate and equipment assets across all locations that the real estate properties and other types of capital assets owners have. In addition, PMWeb will be used to manage the work request and work order management processes covering the two types of work orders, reactive and preventive. PMWeb defines checklists module allows defining all types of checklists to be used with PMWeb modules including those that will be used with snag list or punch list module. Each checklist will include the tasks that need to be performed, task type, resource skills needed to perform the task, notes, and whether this task must be carried out or optional. Those checklists represent the property owner’s knowledge and previous experience in inspecting such real estate and equipment assets.
For each property or capital asset, the facility inspectors will use the PMWeb punch list module to create the periodical inspection checklist. This will enable them to capture, compile and report on all defects or omissions identified by them while inspecting the facilities. The punch list will have a predefined list of each property location such as zones or towers, floor levels, areas, or spaces among others to enable the inspector to drag and drop the location for any reported defect or omission. Those locations are defined once when a project is created for each property to be maintained. Of course, the inspector can add new locations if needed. In addition, the inspector can take and attach a picture or video clip of the reported defect or omission. PMWeb snag list module can be accessed from any browser running on any device including iPad among other mobile devices. Using those mobile devices that usually have the option of “Speech to Text”, the user can state the description of the snag list item which will be typed in automatically in PMWeb.
Depending on what is to be inspected, the inspector will select the checklists tab and then select the “add tasks” command. PMWeb will open a list of all checklists that had been created grouped by the inspection checklists type. Those checklists will be located under the inspection group for the facility inspection. The inspector will drag and drop any number of that predefined inspection checklist for which each will include questions to probe the inspector or what to inspect.
All documents and pictures that are relevant to a reported snag list item need to be attached to the snag list item. When using a mobile device with a camera like an iPad, when the user clicks on the attach button, the user will be given the option to take a picture or video. PMWeb viewer can be also used to add comments and remarks to those documents when needed. The project team can append the attachment list with other documents as well as link other PMWeb records and imported email communications.
To ensure that the snag list is distributed to the right project team members which would usually include the facility maintenance team and other stakeholders that need to be kept informed of the reported defects and omissions, a workflow can be pre-defined that will include all the reviews and approval tasks. PMWeb allows capturing the actual dates for performing those tasks and comments made by each reviewer.
For those stakeholders who are either not part of the predefined workflow steps or do not have access to the PMWeb platform, the project team member can share the snag list report with those stakeholders using the PMWeb notification option. The email notification could include a PDF version of the snag list or any other form or report to be attached to the email notification. PMWeb will automatically record details of those issued notifications on the snag list record.
Similar to all other PMWeb modules, the snag list prepared by each project team member can be formally communicated using the default snag list form which can be also designed in any desired form and format to reflect the project branding and other requirements.
The defects and omissions reported by the different inspection teams will be consolidated on a single report and will become available for the facility management executives to view. The reported defects and omissions can be grouped by their inspection category, location, reported by whom, the responsibility of whom to rectify, number of overdue defects and omissions, and any other attribute used while capturing this information.
Bassam Samman, PMP, PSP, EVP, GPM is a Senior Project Management Consultant with more than 35-year service record providing project management and controls services to over 100 projects with a total value of over US $5 Billion. Those projects included Commercial, Residential, Education, and Healthcare Buildings and Infrastructure, Entertainment and Shopping Malls, Oil and Gas Plants and Refineries, Telecommunication, and Information Technology projects. He is thoroughly experienced in complete project management including project management control systems, computerized project control software, claims analysis/prevention, risk analysis/management (contingency planning), design, supervision, training, and business development.
Bassam is a frequent speaker on topics relating to Project Management, Strategic Project Management, and Project Management Personal Skills. Over the past 35 years, he has lectured at more than 350 events and courses at different locations in the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, and South America. He has written more than 250 articles on project management and information systems featured in international and regional magazines and newspapers. He is a co-founder of the Project Management Institute- Arabian Gulf Chapter (PMI-AGC) and has served on its board of directors for more than 6 years. He is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) from the Project Management Institute (PMI), a certified Planning and Scheduling Professional (PSP), an Earned Value Professional (EVP) from the American Association of Cost Engineers (AACE), and a Green Project Management (GPM).
Bassam holds a Master’s in Engineering Administration (Construction Management) with Faculty Commendation, from George Washington University, Washington, D.C., USA, Bachelor in Civil Engineering – from Kuwait University, Kuwait, and has attended many executive management programs at Harvard Business School, Boston, USA, and London Business School, London, UK.