Schedule for Sale
WorkFace Planning for Construction ProjectsBy Geoff RyanAuthorHouse
Copyright © 2009 Geoff Ryan P.M.P.
All right reserved. ISBN: 978-1-4490-4196-0Contents
Introduction:............................................................................xiiiChapter - 1 Field Installation Work Packages.............................................1Chapter - 2 Removal of Constraints.......................................................11Chapter - 3 The WorkFace Planners........................................................45Chapter - 4 Summary of Basic Principles..................................................57Chapter - 5 Resources....................................................................59Chapter - 6 Scaffold.....................................................................61Chapter - 7 Construction Equipment.......................................................75Chapter - 8 Material Management..........................................................89Chapter - 9 Information Streams..........................................................111Chapter - 10 WorkFace Planning by Design.................................................135Chapter - 11 Data -> Information -> Knowledge -> Understanding...........................163Chapter - 12 Beyond WorkFace Planning and WorkFace Planning Software.....................177
Chapter One
FIWPs: (Field Installation Work Packages)
A sample FIWP is available under the sample documents folder of the website.
http://www.scheduleforsale.com
A FIWP is a detailed plan that contains 500 to 1000 hours of work that will be executed during one rotation, by one crew, from a single trade discipline. Based on 10 workers and a Foreman working 10-hour shifts for a rotation of either 5 days (500hours) or 10 days (1000 hours). The expectation is that the crew will start work on their 500-hour plan when their shift starts on Monday and the plan will be complete by the end of the shift on Friday. For the purpose of this book, we will use the 1000-hour packages. The "10 days on / 4 days off" schedule is emerging as the most common shift for our application of industrial construction.
The logic behind this scale is that most of the activities on any work site are based upon the rotation. We start activities with the intent of getting them finished by the end of the rotation or we envision a certain stage of progress before we go home for the weekend.
The Contents of each FIWP:
Each FIWP must have:-
A cover page: that shows a 3D picture of the scope, a one line definition of the scope, the FIWP number, and the Planned Value in work hours.
A table of Contents: This is a basic function of all good technical documents, provided so that the reader does not have to read the whole document to get the answer that they are looking for.
Constraint page: This page will list the constraints in order, showing the status of each one with a final sign off column for QC, Safety and the Superintendent. A note of warning: There is a temptation to get all of the stakeholders to sign off on a FIWP before the work is released. This will effectively choke the process and add weeks to the development cycle. The only signatures required are for Quality Control, Safety and the Superintendent.
A detailed scope of work: the level of detail here will change based upon the experience of your workforce. In Alberta we are privileged to work with a mature workforce that has at least 7 mega projects of experience over the last 10 years and tradesmen that have all graduated from government run apprenticeship programs. We don't need to tell this workforce the details of a simple rigging lift. At the other extreme if we were building a petrochemical plant in a third world country that has had very little economic activity, we should probably include a diagram that shows a clevis, sling and softeners for a steel rigging plan. Ultimately, the level of detail in a FIWP develops based on the feedback that a WorkFace Planner gets from the Foremen.
Safety Planning: The true value from this page comes when the Foreman utilizes it to create and maintain a culture of safety around the scope of work. There are standard safety documents that should be added to every scope of work, however the Safety representative that reviews this FIWP should also use it as a way to focus the Foreman's attention on specific dangers that are present in the work identified. This could be in the form of a toolbox talk that references the type of work being executed or a heads up statement about the latest injury statistics. Ultimately, the Foreman is responsible for the safe execution of work and this section should be used as a means to help them prepare for that. As a two-way communication tool, the FIWP is also alerting the Safety team to the imminent path of construction.
Quality Planning: The Quality Control team should use this interaction with the FIWP as a means to communicate directly with the Foreman on specific activities. The best way to do this is to extract the portion of the Inspection and Test Plan (ITP) that is relevant to the scope and highlights the places where the Foreman will need to get signatures, notify inspectors or implement holds. By adding the documents required for turnover, the QC team can effectively utilize the FIWPs to facilitate turnover from the first day of construction. As the FIWP is returned from the field, the QC team extracts the completed documents and replaces them with copies. The original documents are filed under their system number in the QC office. If there is a problem with the documents, it allows the QC inspectors to address the problem immediately with the Foreman who did the work. By reviewing all of the FIWPs the QC teams are also being kept in the loop for the execution of construction activities.
This section requires a sign off from the Quality Control Representative, to ensure that every package is reviewed.
Trade Coordination: In the world of fast track construction one of the biggest barriers to productive activity is the problem of trade congestion. It is the responsibility of the WorkFace Planner to be aware of the activities of other trades and to mitigate the risks of delays caused by conflicts of access. This page should be used by the WorkFace Planner to communicate the risks and the mitigation strategies with the Foreman. This could be as simple as the names of the other trade foremen in the area and their radio ID. It could be as complex as a schedule for access to an area to allow another crew some time for an overhead lift.
We can facilitate this interaction between the trades by ensuring that all of the WorkFace Planners are in the same location and have regular coordination meetings. Ultimately, the General Superintendent is responsible to resolve trade access conflicts that cannot be negotiated by the Lead WorkFace Planner.
Material Confirmation: This is a critical component of the FIWP and historically the single element that continually prevents productive activity. The WorkFace Planner must be absolutely confident that material is available and that it will be delivered to the site in the days prior to the first day of execution for this FIWP. This section of the FIWP must show:
A Bill of Materials (BOM) for the FIWP that shows a complete list of every component required to install this FIWP.
A copy of the confirmation from the WorkFace Planning Material Coordinator that the material is available and that bulk materials have been hard allocated against this FIWP.
A copy of the Request for Material with a Required On Site (ROS) date.
Radio or cell phone contact information for the driver that will deliver the material.
All of this information will be supplied to the WorkFace Planner by the WorkFace Planning Material Coordinator.
Scaffold Confirmation: This should be a one page document that shows the request for scaffolds, and the confirmation that they have been erected, complete with contact information for the Scaffold Foreman. Later in this book, we will explore the detail of how a scaffold management database can be utilized to manage all of this data and produce reports.
Construction Equipment Confirmation: Just like the scaffold request, this one page document (from an equipment management database) must show the list of equipment requested and have confirmation that the equipment will be ready for pick up or delivered to site prior to the commencement of work.
Timesheets and Cost codes: This section should contain all of the timesheets that the Foreman will require with predefined cost codes on each timesheet. One of the fringe benefits that we get from having a defined scope of work is that we can also identify exactly which cost codes the work should be charged to. This removes the guesswork that the Foremen typically struggle with and will give us a higher level of confidence in the costs charged against work. The extension of this logic takes us to the naming convention that we use for the FIWP. It should identify the work using the same naming convention as the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) and then link the cost code structure to the FIWP, (more on this later). The net result is that the time sheets have the FIWP number as part of their cost coding. This gives us a Productivity Factor (PF) for each FIWP (Crew by rotation) with very little effort and a great deal of accuracy.
Drawings and Model shots: The drawings on any construction project are the ruling document, so the accuracy of this section is critical. Typically the model snap shots that should accompany each drawing are for reference only and should be labeled so. The WorkFace Planner has the sole responsibility to ensure that the FIWP has the latest revisions immediately prior to release. The QC team should also utilize this section to collect weld data (by weld stamping) or installation data for Electrical, Instrumentation and Steel.
Value to the Customer
We get good quality FIWPs when we think of the plan as a product that is developed by a supplier to address the needs of a customer. The planner is the supplier and the work crew is the customer. To satisfy the customer's expectations the scope needs to be achievable and supported by a current reality.
Achievable Scope:
The rule that we have used successfully when developing WorkFace Planners was to ask them to envision how much work that they could achieve with one crew, in one rotation, given the ideal set of circumstances. Imagine that nothing will go wrong and develop your scope based on that. Then add another 10% to make sure that you don't run out of work.
This is a very important basis for planning.
If we plan for things to go wrong they will,
if we plan for things to go right they will.
So make a conscious decision on which outcome that you want and don't worry too much about reality. (We will create our own reality)
The common model for this type of thought is:
Note: This model does not ask: How far can I get from here? OK that is what I want. This is the same basis that we use for the "zero safety incidents" mentality. It is not about what we expect to happen it is about what we want to happen. We want to have no safety incidents and we want to build plans that get stuff done.
Current Reality:
The WorkFace Planners create a current reality as they remove constraints. Immediately prior to the release of a FIWP, we would expect that the current reality would be that the material is available, the scaffold has been erected, the work is aligned with the schedule etc.
The presence of these two elements, achievable scope and current reality, is expected to lead to a situation where the General Foreman can hand a FIWP to their Foremen, look them in the eye and say "I expect that you will get this done in one rotation".
These two elements: Achievable Scope and Current Reality (the Removal of Constraints) are therefore critical to the successful execution of FIWPs.
WorkFace Planning Software: The market has several very good products that will load a 3D model with installation unit rates and allow a planner or a group of field experts to click on a component and have the model tell us how long it will take to install (amongst other things). So for WorkFace Planners who are trying to visualize work and estimate how much they can get done, this is like the invention of the wheel. My advice to you is to buy one of these products and use it lots, (much more to come).
Constructing your Field Installation Work Packages:
There are many different ways for WorkFace Planners to build FIWPs. The two ends of this scale might look something like this:
1. Lock yourself in a dark room with some rainforest music and invite your Maker to help you develop the perfect FIWPs.
Or at the other end of the scale;
2. Fill a meeting room with Superintendents, General Foremen, Foremen, Schedulers, and WorkFace Planners. Then project the 3D model onto one wall and pull out a single CWP (Single discipline and <40,000 hours). Now ask the room "which piece goes in first". Then use the WorkFace Planning software to build virtual FIWPs based upon the experience in the room and supported by the installation unit rates that are built into the model.
Your own application of WorkFace Planning will probably be somewhere between these points.
An important rule of the universe to inject here is that: Your results are directly related to your effort.
If you take the time to pull very valuable people out of the field, or bring them in on overtime, you will reap the benefits from a common vision and good quality plans, I've seen it.
Chapter Two
Removal of Constraints: (This is the creation of reality that I referred to earlier)
As each FIWP is created, it is assumed to have this list of constraints:
1. Construction Work Package - Must be Issued For Construction
2. Scheduled - The work must be aligned with the Path of Construction.
3. Engineering Data - Engineered drawings must be issued and available.
4. Prerequisite work - The work that has to happen before this FIWP can be executed must be complete.
5. Materials - Every component must be identified and confirmed onsite.
6. Scaffold - Must be identified, ordered and built fit for purpose.
7. Construction Equipment - Must be identified and confirmed fit for purpose.
8. Tools - There must be clear access to a reliable supply of the right tools.
9. Resources - Qualified trades people must be available with all of the appropriate site training requirements.
10. Quality documentation - The reference documents that will govern the scope (ITPs) must be identified and available.
11. Safety Planning - There must be a program that will support the Foreman's safe application of the work.
12. Access to the work face - The Permits required and congestion from other activities/trades must have been identified.
The work cannot be considered achievable until all of these constraints have been removed. Any exception to this is a deviation from WorkFace Planning that will cost you schedule (and money, reputation, sleep etc).
From birth, the FIWP travels through a series of developmental stages on the path to full maturity and successful execution. As each constraint is satisfied, the FIWP progresses to the next one and so on until we have created a current reality for that package, which allows the scope to be executed.
In the following example you can see 18 FIWPs maturing from left to right and from red to green towards the final column "Progress Recorded" This page represents one Construction Work Package (CWP) for Pipe and shows that we have three FIWPs in the danger zone (red) held up by material and prerequisite work (steel). We have eight FIWPs in the preparation phase, (yellow) and three FIWPs in the chute (green) ready for execution.
It is a very important project management function that this information be tracked and displayed. This single document is the pulse of the project.
A coloured sample of the Pack Track spreadsheet can be downloaded from the website.
Constraints in Detail:
In the following passages we will take a closer look at what it takes to satisfy each of the constraints. There is another level of detail behind each constraint that we will explore further, later in the book. For now this is a guide that the WorkFace Planners can use to understand how to shape their day to day activities for the removal of constraints.
These activities are based upon the assumption that you have a 3D model and that you have applied a version of WorkFace Planning software. If you do not have a 3D model or have not applied WorkFace Planning software your WorkFace Planners can still function, you will just need more of them.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Schedule for Saleby Geoff Ryan Copyright © 2009 by Geoff Ryan P.M.P. . Excerpted by permission.
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