Fulfilling the different project control system functions requires the formation of the project control team through either utilizing in-house human resources or recruiting outsiders when suitable personnel is not available within the entity managing the project. To start with, the entity needs to have a single repository of all the resources that could have a role in managing their construction projects. Those will also include those resources who will be part of the project control team.
The PMWeb resource module will capture the details of each resource the entity that is either currently employed by the entity or worked with previously. The data that is captured for each resource will include the resource contact details, skills, categories, hiring, and termination date, among many others using the custom fields option. The resource module will also capture the rates for regular, overtime, weekend, and holiday pay types. The attachment tab allows attaching passport copies, certificates, professional certifications and memberships, and other important documents related to the resource.
The project’s organization chart should detail all roles needed to manage the delivery of a construction project including those for the project control team. The organization chart helps in creating buy-in for securing resources including those for project controls and building clarity around who does what on the team. For each position created in the organization chart, an individual from the PMWeb human resources repository will be assigned.
For each role identified in the organization chart, there should be a detailed job description that lists specific responsibilities associated with the role, skills, experience, qualifications required, and measurable performance criteria of that role. PMWeb will be used to create a Job Description template for each project control role as well as other roles needed to deliver the project. All the tables included in this Job Description custom form will have a score field to assess, using a 5-point scale, how the selected resources for that role can fulfill these requirements. This will ensure that the right resources will be selected for the project management as well as the project control team.
To ensure that the right project control team members are recruited and assigned to a project, a formal and detailed interview of the proposed project control team individuals needs to be done. It is highly recommended to have these interview questions pre-established for each contract management role to ensure that the interviews are comprehensive, transparent, and unbiased.
The PMWeb form for the candidate interview will include details on when and where the interview took place and who conducted the interview. The form will also include the final comments made by the interviewer for the interviewed candidate. The form will have a table listing all interview questions, with a score achieved out of 5, where five is “Perfect” and one is for “No Knowledge,” and the comments made by the interviewer against each question if any. Similar to other PMWeb forms, the attachment tab will attach all supporting documents shared during the interview. As well, a workflow can be assigned to the form to formalize the interviewer’s submission of the interview assessment.
To ensure that the project control team is committed to the project, there should be a formal template that details the duration that those resources will be appointed to the project and whether they are appointed as full-time or part-time. In case the level of effort for the project control team will vary depending on the project stages, then this varying requirement should be also captured. The PMWeb resources requirement module will be used to capture the project control team requirements as well as the resource requirements for the other project management functions.
For an organization to have visibility on whether the booked project control resources’ level of effort is in line with the actual level of effort expended by these resources in managing the project control system (PCS) functions, the PMWeb timesheet module can be used. This module will help to detail the exact activities performed by each resource and the hours spent performing these tasks. These hours could be regular working hours, overtime hours, weekend hours, or holiday hours.
The capturing of actual resource hours spent by the project control team against what was planned in the resources requirement template will enable the entity the analyze the actual resources utilization and their actual efficiency compared to what was planned. A similar concept can be adapted for other project management functions such as contract management, quality management, HSSE management, and other project management functions.
A formal performance appraisal is a must to ensure continuous improvement of the assigned project control team. Using PMWeb custom form builder, a performance appraisal template will be created to capture the points that each resource’s performance needs to be measured against. This will help the project control manager and the project control team members identify performance areas that need to be addressed and improved to ensure successful project delivery. A final resources appraisal is required before the resources are released from the project.
The PMWeb visual custom form builder will be used to create the template for the project control team members’ appraisal. The ‘Construction Management Staff Appraisal’ template is an example of a customized appraisal template. This template will include all items that need to be considered when appraising the performance skills of the project team members. Each item could be scored as Unsatisfactory, Fair, Satisfactory, Competent, Excellent, and Outstanding. The total sum of the scoring for these items will determine the overall appraisal score for each project team member.
The ‘Construction Management Staff Appraisal’ report will display and summarize the performance scoring for each project team member. The contents of this report will be extracted from the Construction Management Staff Appraisal template. It will include visuals to summarize the score achieved for each category covered in the appraisal.
