Scheduling as Part of the Project Management Effort - Construction Project Scheduling and Control - page 281

fair and objective. The original baseline should not be deleted. Rather, it should be
kept with the project records because it could be used in case of a future dispute.
PAPERLESS PROJECT MANAGEMENT
The construction industry, as well as other industries, is increasingly managing infor-
mation electronically. As a result, the traditional use of paper has been minimized.
Any project usually starts with a preliminary (or concept) and then a detailed
design (architectural, civil, structural, mechanical, electrical, etc.). Many designers
work with drafting or design software, such as AutoCAD (Autodesk, Inc., San
Rafael, California) or MicroStation (Bentley Systems, Inc., Exton, Pennsylvania).
When the design is finalized and approved, it is issued as “construction drawings”
(usually on paper) and officially submitted to the contractor, along with the specifi-
cations. 15 The contractor calculates quantity takeoffs from these drawings and then
prices the job. Contractors do takeoffs by using manual, electronic tools such as
digitizer boards, directly from CAD drawings, or by using BIM 16 modeling. These
quantities are carried over to the estimating spreadsheet or program either manually
or electronically.
Project management software programs, such as Oracle Contract Manager (for-
merly known as Oracle Primavera Contract Management), Meridian's Prolog Man-
ager, and Timberline's Project Management, keep records of all project administration
and communication documents. In an ideal situation, they link to the schedule, the
cost estimate, the accounting software, and other programs. In addition, you can host
all of this information on an exclusive Web site (Internet or intranet) where project
participants can obtain access to the project, review documents, and correspond with
you. The Web site administrator can control who sees what. This capability can expe-
dite communications tremendously, such as design review, submittals, RFIs, payment
requests, and so forth, among project participants. Several leading companies in the
construction software industry are trying to develop a “total project management
suite” in which all project management and administrative components are available
and are communicating with each other flawlessly.
PROCUREMENT MANAGEMENT
Procurement is the process of acquiring materials, equipment, and/or services from
external sources for use in a project. Procurement is a process that usually starts
15 In some nontraditional contracts, the contractor may be involved in the project before the design is
complete. In such cases, he/she may receive incomplete design documents (e.g., DD30, DD60) or complete
design documents only for a portion of the project.
16 Building Information Modeling, known as BIM.