Saving money and time during project planning and execution is of immense importance. Project management teams have to master the art of management in order to grow and survive. When it comes to managing large construction projects, it’s hard to undermine the significance of project controls.
Project controls are often defined as a set of activities to gather data and use it to understand, plan, predict, and constructively influence cost and time of a project through effective management, tools, and communication. If you need to plan, develop, and deliver a large project, you must implement project controls to stay on schedule both in terms of time and cost. Cloud project management software is an example of project controls tools that help project managers keep things under control from start to end.
Understanding project controls
Project controls cover almost everything from project definition and planning to execution and completion; they assist in the entire lifecycle of a project. Since every project involves different requirements and goals, the use of project controls can vary depending on the demand. Project controls will help you organize, address and control the following components of your project management system:
- Engineering, estimating, and controlling costs and assessing project value
- Developing, updating, and maintaining schedules
- Risk management: developing strategies to avoid or minimize the impact of risks
- Earned value management and schedule
- Project documentation
- Diagnosing project cost and scheduling
- Quality assurance and oversight
- Integration of control elements and other components of the project
Why project controls are important
Absence of control leads to disorganization, chaos, and bedlam. Planning is imperative to successful project execution. Where do project controls fit in? In order to have a considerate plan for executing a project, you need to have a set of controls in place.
The concept of project management has been in practice since the mid 20th century. It has been reported time and time again how the lack of adequate planning resulted in project failure.
Setting project controls
The execution stage of a project starts after you set effective project controls. No matter the stage of a project, monitoring and control go hand in hand. Here is what strengthens controls and monitoring:
- Assigning tasks and team structure
- Determining the scope of the project
- Setting a risk management plan
- Monitoring project status
- Setting contingencies to adapt
- System analysis and evaluation
- Budgeting and deadlines
- Preparing for project presentation
Project controls are key components of effective project management. Without having sufficient project controls, it will be difficult for you to deliver a project on time and within budget without compromising quality and client satisfaction. If you want your project to be a success, make sure to consult a competent project management service provider.
In Edmonton, Quality Millwright provides robust construction and project management services. Apart from preventive maintenance, machining, fabrication, and servicing rigs, we also specialize in construction and project management. Contact us for more information!
