How project controls improves infrastructure project outcomes

Material supplied by InEight

With highly anticipated infrastructure projects getting under way in the U.S. and around the globe, the focus going forward must be on how to keep inefficiencies in check and deliver those projects on time and within budget. And it’s going to come down to project controls.

Project controls is the set of processes and systems used to measure and monitor performance throughout the life of the project. Its main goal is to ensure that projects are completed on time, within budget and according to specifications.

Identifies risks and their causes early on

A well-managed infrastructure project will typically have a strong focus on risk management. That’s why project controls starts at the planning stage so you can take an anticipatory approach to risk — identifying and managing risks from the outset and preventing them from negatively impacting budgets and timelines.

On the data side, it can help you look at past project performance metrics to analyse the type, frequency, and severity of risk factors throughout the build and ultimately on project outcomes. Identifying risks early on isn’t limited to the planning stage; it’s also about detecting them early as they emerge once construction is underway.

Forecasts potential cost and schedule impact of these risks

Leveraging a combination of early risk identification, past project data and real-time performance metrics, accurate forecasts can be created that help you understand what effect potential risks or changes may have on future deliverables and resources needed to complete a project successfully.

For risk-based scenarios, these forecasts become the basis for data-driven, risk-adjusted contingency plans, whether they’re developed before the project begins so they’re ready to launch when necessary or created as unexpected risks surface during construction. For change-based instances, it informs decisions on how and whether to accommodate them in terms of budget, time, and resource allocation.

Provides transparency into project performance and progress

The first step to transparency is understanding what’s happening with a project at any given time. Project controls provides transparency into key metrics such as schedule, cost and risk so that you know where things stand at any given time.

Overall, this enables you to make informed, collaborative decisions about how resources should be allocated as well as to detect early signs of potential issues before they become significant problems. In this way, project controls help ensure compliance with project requirements and better project outcomes overall, now and in the future.