Effective reporting for construction projects

1 project ADVISORY. Effective reporting for construction projects : increasing the likelihood of project success Thought Leadership Series 13. About the Leadership Series KPMG's project Advisory Leadership Series is targeted towards owners of major capital programmes, but its content is applicable to all entities or stakeholders involved with major projects . The intent of the project Leadership Series is to describe a framework for managing and controlling large capital projects based on the experience of our project professionals. Together with our simplified framework, we offer a sound approach to answer the questions most frequently asked by project owners. Effective reporting for construction projects projects can fail for many reasons Organisations cannot afford to prepare Unfortunately, the vast amount of and one contributing factor can be and produce project reports in a reactive data available to be reported and the ineffective project reporting systems.

2 Manner. Governing boards, shareholders, complexity of software systems used Yet implementing an Effective project and regulators establish high standards for project reporting have left many reporting system is also one of the most for project performance in order to help project management, engineering, difficult project management challenges. ensure that projects are delivered on time, and construction departments with This is because project reporting requires within budget, and to the expectations few options other than to develop coordinated information and integration established by the project 's stakeholders. ad hoc tools that require manual from all project phases and construction To help accomplish these goals, projects reconciliation and duplicate data entry. activities ranging from initiation should implement project reporting systems This is often referred to as project and planning to project closeout tailored to their own industry; while management by spreadsheet.

3 And commissioning. meeting the reporting needs of the project . project Advisory / Leadership Series 13 /02. In this paper, we discuss how job cost reporting systems, and a Usefulness for decision-making implementation of an Effective project misunderstanding as to what scope Good systems facilitate decision-making reporting system can increase the items are included in each cost category. because they provide management with likelihood of project success. We Errors that are identified may take a accurate and meaningful information. If explore the elements of an Effective considerable amount of time and effort management rates the usefulness of project reporting system; identify how to sort out. project reports as not Effective or not to determine the relevance and purpose very Effective , then the project reporting Level of redundant input of information to be reported; provide system requires further evaluation.

4 Many project reporting systems guidance on how to produce useful include redundant information, or Usefulness and ease of understanding reports that are easy to understand; and the same data reported by different An Effective project reporting system outline example formats and guidance on sources. This often creates confusion should be able to synthesise large timing and report distribution. and can lead to duplicate entries or volumes of data in simple and Components of a project misreporting of key data. meaningful dashboards, snapshot reporting system reports, and summary reports. It should Amount of manual adjustments major projects , with significant budgets, Manual adjustments are often necessary also facilitate knowledge sharing by can require years of planning, design, to produce reports that accurately reflect providing information in simple, and construction .

5 projects of this the current project status. However, a easy-to-understand formats. magnitude require not only a team of high volume of manual adjustments Ability to satisfy regulatory requirements experienced professionals, but also a required to produce accurate project The ability to provide quick and set of extensive resources, tools, and reports is often a red flag. It's important comprehensive support for regulatory systems. major projects have a large to uncover the root cause or causes proceedings is an important element volume of data and complex data contributing to this. of any construction project reporting sources and need a project management system. It should be able to produce Relative size of variances infrastructure capable of supporting the required information in a timely project reporting results will often have the extensive regulatory, financial, and efficient manner, without the need variances from what the contract reports management, and other stakeholder for excessive adhoc reports or manual and from the project owner's accounting reporting requirements.

6 Preparation of information. system. Again, large variances of total project costs are often red flags indicating Level of security and data integrity 1. Transparency and accuracy the project reporting system requires Large projects often store project data The first component of any project further evaluation and remediation. in multiple formats and electronic reporting system is transparency and Number of discrepancies systems, and each format has unique accuracy. Stakeholders demand accurate Most major projects produce reports characteristics and levels of sensitivity and transparent project information for that communicate different information and security/privacy requirements. A. making informed decisions and ensuring and provide different levels of detail. good system will have clearly defined compliance with Regulations, Acts, and However this information should not data integrity and security protocols for other project requirements.

7 Contradict itself. Discrepancies among project information. There are several key elements to reports are also red flags. review when assessing or evaluating the transparency and accuracy of a project 2. Clearly defined objectives reporting system. These are: and purpose Ability to deep-dive into detail Another important component of an It is important to be able to drill Effective project reporting system is down to the source data, as there are developing clearly defined objectives and multiple opportunities for irrelevant purpose. With the advent of sophisticated data to creep into project status software programs and the ability to report reports. For example, subcontractors large volumes of data on a real-time basis, and sub-consultants might generate there are almost limitless project reporting the information and pass it along to capabilities at an organisation's disposal.

8 Contractors, architects and engineers, However, this can often be overwhelming and finally to the project manager. if the data is not presented in an organised The information may not be properly and meaningful way. There are several key vetted before it is reported or passed elements to review when assessing the along. Problems can also arise from objectives and purpose of a construction different project account coding, project reporting system. These are: issues exporting data from different project Advisory / Leadership Series 13 /03. 3. reporting layout, timing and distribution The final component of an Effective summaries or snapshots of all major milestone report should provide a project reporting system is the layout, project categories such as safety, quick summary of project status, timing, level of detail, and distribution budget and cost information, work and the three-week look-ahead of project reports.

9 There are several key progress, schedule, risks/issues, should provide a snapshot of the elements to review: quality, contract status, and other upcoming project activities. information deemed important by Types of reports and format the project team. Timing and frequency The report layout impacts the ability The timing and frequency of project to communicate the underlying iii) Summary cost report reports should correspond with information effectively and is often as Preparing summary cost reports is those dates required by management important as the information being one of the most challenging project and stakeholders. Usually, the project reported. There are many specialised reporting activities for most large management team reports to and required reports on major projects projects . Payment information and senior management at established covering safety, environmental, procurement/contract information intervals or milestones.

10 Producing schedule, and other quality and cost often reside in separate systems, a dashboard report and a project information. These reports are often the and budget information (if not status report immediately before the easiest to prepare and target specific approved at a detailed level) may scheduled meeting will avoid having stakeholders. Summary and status require redistribution over many the team prepare ad hoc reports or reports are much more challenging but cost categories. interim updates. can also prove invaluable if designed iv) Risk report Distribution and presented in an Effective manner. Risk reporting may take the form of Determining which stakeholders Below is a list of several summary and a simple Risk Register updated on need to receive which reports is status reports that should be common a routine basis; or a combination of often a matter of debate among to all major projects : risk dashboards, risk analysis, and project team members.