Similar to any technical submittal required on capital construction projects, the review and approval of the Integrated Project Schedule (IPS) is one of the very critical submittals that need to be reviewed and approved without any delay. The Integrated Project Schedule (IPS) is important not only it will become the basis for reporting the project’s schedule performance but also it will be needed to analyze the time impact of delay events and eventually to submit the extension of time request. The Integrated Project Schedule (IPS) is also needed to approve the project’s submittal and procurement register reports.
Specification section 01 32 17.00 20 would usually detail the requirement for the Integrated Project Schedule (IPS) and the Monthly Update Schedules submittals. One of the best practices adopted on capital construction projects is to have a pre-defined checklist of items to be checked for each type of technical submittal including the Integrated Project Schedule (IPS) and the Monthly Update Schedules. Those checklists will not only ensure that all items required for the technical submittal are formally reviewed and approved, but also eliminates arguments that could stem from carrying out such review. For example, the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) has developed detailed checklists to review the integrated baseline schedule as well as monthly schedule updates. For the Integrated Project Schedule (IPS) Review Checklist, there are 90 items to be reviewed and approved. For each listed item, the checklist will have a field for specification reference section that states the function requirement. Those review items can be grouped to better streamline the review and approval process. For example, those groups could include IPS Reporting and Software, General Schedule Information, Requirements and Settings, Activity Codes, Activity Data, Settings and Assignments and Cost Loaded.
Using Project Management Information System (PMIS) like PMWeb the Contractor Monthly Update Schedule Review Checklist process will be managed. This requires creating the checklist input template using PMWeb form builder. The header of the form will include details on the project, contractor, Primavera P6 schedule name, notice to proceed (NTP) date, project completion date (PCD) and project duration in calendar days. The header will also include the checklist status which will be automatically updated from the workflow.
For each section of the template, there will be items that need to be verified by the contractor by selecting the response as “Yes”. For items responded as “No”, there will be considered as non-compliant. The contractor will be required to provide separate written correspondence request for specific item variance consideration, and the project owner review and approval might accept to change those items to non-contractual “NA” status.
For all required Primavera P6 reports saved in PDF file format, screen shots and other supportive documents need to be uploaded and attached to the checklist submission. Section 01 Reporting and Software of the checklist will list all required reports and screen shots to accompany the checklist.
The form will also include a workflow to map the review and approval tasks to be carried out by the project owner team after the contractor’s planning engineer submits the Integrated Project Schedule (IPS) Review Checklist along with all supportive documents. This submission will be the contractor’s certification that the checklist was accurately completed, and that the integrated project schedule accurately represents the Contractor’s plan on how work will be accomplished as of the notice to proceed date.
Finally, and as a good practice, it is always recommended to import the approved contractor’s baseline schedule created in Primavera P6 or MS Project into PMWeb schedule module. This will enable the project owner to use this data in reporting the project’s performance for which schedule status and percent complete will be part of the performance dashboard which will also include performance data on budget, contracts, risk, issues, quality, HSE, submittals among others.
In addition, having all schedules captured and stored in PMWeb will enable the project owner to create reports to compare the different schedule update versions include the baseline schedule. This comparison will enable to report variance on schedule’s activities start and finish dates, duration and total float values. In addition, PMWeb allows creating Gantt charts and other type of reports in any form and format using the imported project schedule data. PMWeb comes ready with many tabular and Gantt Chart reports as part of their ready to use stock of forms, reports and dashboards.
About the Author
Bassam Samman, PMP, PSP, EVP, GPM is a Senior Project Management Consultant with 40-year service record providing project management, project controls services and project management information system to over than 200 projects with a total value in excess of US $100 Billion. Those projects included Commercial, Residential, Education and Healthcare Buildings and Infrastructure, Entertainment, Hospitality 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 in topics relating to Project Management, Strategic Project Management and Project Management Personal Skills. Over the past 40 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 300 articles on project management and project management information systems that were 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) and Earned Value Professional (EVP) from the American Association of Cost Engineers (AACE) and Green Project Management (GPM).
Bassam holds a Masters in Engineering Administration (Construction Management) with Faculty Commendation, George Washington University, Washington, D.C., USA, Bachelor in Civil Engineering – Kuwait University, Kuwait and has attended many executive management programs at Harvard Business School, Boston, USA and London Business School, London, UK.