Project Controls

Successful projects begin when proper planning and procedures are implemented systematically.

Project complexity, organizational maturity, team experience, budget, and other factors determine the level of project controls needed. Excessive control can cause project costs to spiral upward and divert resources from more important tasks. Lax control can lead to delays, errors, political repercussions, and diminished project quality. As your agent, we provide the project controls tools and techniques to proactively control costs, schedules, and scope of work to reach the desired outcome.

IPS project controls services include the following:

• Cost estimating
• Cost management and control
• Schedule management and control
• Change order management
• Earned value management
• Risk monitor and control
• Value engineering
• Training 

Cost Estimating

We provide support to our client base for all stage gates of the project lifecycle and our accurate estimating solutions are tailor-made for our clients’ specialized needs. Using a centralized database, we are able to maintain quality and integrity throughout all our sought-after services. 

We follow the AACEI recommended practices, professional use guidelines in all our meticulous estimates. Most importantly, we have developed a distinct Cost Benchmarking Tool, which allows us to compare, and crosscheck your project estimate with other similar estimates in the industry. 

Cost Management and Control

Real productivity often is ensured by the right person out in the field. For this reason, we keep an elite team of selected construction managers in our proximity, who can add value to your outside construction site immediately. 

Supported by the integrated services of Axiom having costs, schedules and risks managed within one team, the construction manager is enabled to achieve the highest productivity rates

Schedule Management and Control

Axiom provides support to our client base for all phases of the project lifecycle with tailor-made scheduling practices, completely aligned and integrated into the systems and tools of our clients. 

All different codings and structures to support the internal referencing and linkages within the clients project system are configured for permanent use for all parties involved. Also for planning/schedules, we developed an industry-wide unique benchmarking tool to estimate the needed time for individual phases and sub-phases of the project already early on in its development.

Change Order Management

Change management is an essential part of the management of the construction phase. Changes can come from factors such as differing site conditions, errors and omissions, construction phase value proposals, delays, or owner revisions. Regardless of the genesis, all additional costs must be analyzed for merit and impact on the construction schedule.

IPS has a formalized change management process for identifying, evaluating, and documenting changes that occur during project execution. The process includes tools that assist in selecting which changes should be implemented. The tracking tools monitor the cumulative impact on schedule and budget.

Earned Value Management

Earned Value Management (EVM) is an effective tool for planning, measuring, analyzing, and reporting on project performance. Our EVM experience has taught us the importance of establishing a consistent work breakdown structure, determining the appropriate level of detail for the cost/resource-loaded schedule, and identifying and loading all indirect project costs. IPS performs earned value analysis in Excel, Microsoft Access, and custom-built web applications that bridge cost and schedule data.

Risk Monitor and Control

Projects are often impacted by unforeseen events that could have been mitigated through a continuous risk management process. Risk assessments identify, evaluate, and quantify such uncertainty so that their likelihood of impact is anticipated and controlled. In many instances, the outcome of risk assessments can be used to reliably establish project contingency amounts.

IPS risk management specialists identify and evaluate project risks, develop and manage risk registers, conduct quantitative risk analyses, and develop risk mitigation strategies. We are well-versed in industry risk assessment software such as Oracle Primavera Risk Analysis and @Risk.

Training

Few consultants have our breadth of experience in providing customized training in a multiuser, multi-project environment. We work with our clients to develop a thorough understanding of their processes and functional needs. This knowledge allows us to customize any training program for project staff when requested by the owner.

Unlike many trainers who generally teach the “how-to” of project management, IPS understands and teaches the larger project controls process. Using past project experiences, we teach why a procedure is important rather than just how to do it.