Methodology

Synergy Consultants' approach to project management can be divided into four main areas as follows: 

• Cost Control  
• Schedule Control  
• Quality Control 
• Progress Monitoring 

These four main areas should be synergistically supported by all project stakeholders both at the project site and corporate levels. The interface between the corporate offices and the field should be facilitated by periodic meetings among the stakeholders and by weekly, biweekly, and monthly written reports as appropriate. (See examples) 

Cost Control 

During the execution of a project, procedures for project cost control and record keeping will be indispensable tools to all stakeholders in the construction process. These tools will serve the dual purpose of recording the financial transactions that occur as well as giving an indication of the progress and challenges associated with the project. For control and monitoring purposes, the original detailed cost estimate will be converted to a project budget, and the project budget will be used subsequently as a guide and baseline for management. Specific items in the detailed cost estimate become job cost elements. Expenses incurred during a project will be recorded in specific job cost accounts to be compared with the original baseline budget in each category. (See attached job cost report) 

It is not sufficient to consider only the past record of costs incurred on a project. Traditional financial and cost accounting are not sufficient to reflect the dynamic nature of a project. Since financial accounting is historical in nature, some means of forecasting or projecting the future course of a project is essential for management control. Focusing only on recorded costs and past expenditures represent sunk costs that cannot be altered in the future and may or may not be relevant in the future. For this reason, Synergy Consultants will focus heavily upon future costs, current and anticipated technical challenges. The cost to complete estimate will provide the baseline reference for subsequent project monitoring and control. Each budget line item will be subdivided into firm commitments, cost-to-date and estimated additional cost or exposure. Projected overruns, should they be forecasted, signal the need for the team to develop strategies to manage the cost. (see included cost-to-complete example) 

Project Schedule Implementation & Control 

Synergy Consultants will utilize a comprehensive critical path schedule to manage the project schedule. The process is designed to not only serve as a reporting tool, but also as a mechanism, to gather, track and incorporate updates from the project participates in a timely and effective manner. The control process encompassed 3 major elements: 

1. Overall Project Schedule – Synergy Consultants’ primary schedule control will be the Overall Project Schedule (OPS). The OPS will provide the comprehensive critical path plan for the entire project. The OPS serve as the framework in which project task, durations, resources and dependences are identified and analyzed. The initial OPS, once all participates agree, will become the project baseline schedule by which variations will be compared to. These schedules, complimented by projects progress reports, offer the project team with a dynamic instrument for control and will facilitate the team to create strategies to control the schedule. 
2. Near Term Look Ahead – The near term “look ahead” provides a more detailed look a specific task within a short-term time frame, typically 2-8 weeks. These schedules will serve as a day-to-day management tool, allowing project participants to track the status of a particular task on a daily and weekly basis.  As necessary, the overall schedule will be revised to reflect a plan of acceleration or to confirm that the schedule is tracking with the baseline schedule. Near term schedules are often employed in the field as a snapshot evaluation of overall schedule.  
3. Action Item Agenda – In terms of tracking a specific task and responsibilities associated with the near term schedule, Synergy Consultants will develop and utilize an Action Item Agenda detailing the specific assignments, deadlines and issues related to task defined in the overall and near term schedules. 

Quality Control 

Synergy Consultants’ approach to quality control can be summed up in one simple phrase, “do it right the first time”. The failure to adhere to stringently with the contract documents, code requirements and submittals will result id increased cost and time delays. Quality control begins before subcontractors sigh the contracts by thoroughly reviewing project specifications and scopes of work during the bidding process. It is in this stage that component configurations, material spec, means and methods and function performances are clarified, understood, and confirmed. 

 Quality control during the construction consist largely of insuring conformance to the original design intent formalized by the construction documents and applicable building codes. Synergy Consultants control during this process can be summarized into five main categories as follows:  

Progress Monitoring 

Progress monitoring will be achieved through job coordination meeting of key participants on the project to review actual versus planned progress. The purpose of the meeting is to establish the status of completion, to revise schedules as necessary and to review trends in the work. Prior to each meeting, Synergy staff will make a thorough review of work completed and will conduct the meeting with the following objectives: 

1. Identify and document challenges and opportunities 
2. Identify and document critical path, benchmarks, and deadlines for task 
3. Identify and document weather, time, and third-party variables 
4. Establish and documents Near Term Commitments 

During the meeting, progress will be review and discussed by all parties, including all active subcontractors. The working tool for this meeting is the Near-Term Schedule and the Action Item List. 

Following each meeting, Synergy Consultants will prepare and publish as necessary a Construction Progress Report including summary and detailed analysis of progress versus the OPS; identification of challenges and strategies to address the challenges; a trend analysis projecting the impact of current progress on the overall project completion; updated Near Term Schedule and a  update on the current status of key task.