|
Not maintaining any Gantt charts for its project indirectly led to a construction company's failure and untimely demise. It had incurred extensive charges in penalties and eventually had to close down its construction which had run nearly 15 months behind schedule.
In my previous article, I stressed that Gantt charts can be very useful in improving time management. Gantt charts are not a panacea, however. On the other hand, failing to follow the results of Gantt charts can lead to lost money and even bankruptcy. One major firm went under recently because it failed to maintain a Gantt chart to track the progress of a substantial contract.
Penalty Charges
The contract failed to reflect a time schedule plan for a project explaining the various procedures involved in the construction of the apartment block. Some alterations were introduced by the client which were a deviation from the original plan. In the absence of the time schedule plan, a revised plan could not be produced specifying as to how the alteration would affect the timely completion of the project. This culminated in a delay in handing over by good 15 months from the original date agreed upon, leading to avoidable penalty.
The company was required to show the following in order to contest imposition of penalty charges:
1-The hand over date as agreed to in the initial contract as per the original specification could have easily been met.
2-The customer’s proposals for additional tasks to be undertaken midway through the construction process, entailed requirement of additional man hours to be put in, which resulted in the end date getting extended.
They only possessed a couple of spreadsheets assigning duties performed: for each amendment there was another spreadsheet. The spreadsheets did not reflect the contrasts from the initial plan or the effect on the final date due to the amendments demonstrated.
Using Gantt Charts Help Project Management
Had a Gantt Chart been used in the initial project planning, the customer would have know exactly what was needed to accomplish the project, step by step. Then when new tasks were required, they could have been added to the Gantt and their impact identified in terms of time and cost. When a customer changes specifications, there is a consequence that a Gantt would quantify. Had a Gantt Chart been used the customer would have seen the impact and approved of the changes by signing off on a contract amendment.
By not having these tools at their disposal, the company could not illustrate that the delays were not due to their incompetence (although it may be argued that by not having this type of project management software, they were indeed being incompetent).
Anybody who is supposed to oversee a project that has a defined schedule for a certain customer should employ such tools as Gantt Charts. Such tools let the project manager monitor progress against original plans and then identify the impact made by any changes during the progress. They also can be used as a foundation for communicating the impact that the changes might have on timing and cost.
Steve Wilheir is a management and marketing consultant. Consult these resources to learn more about Gantt Charts, Pert Charting, and Project Management Software.
|
|
SIGN
UP FOR FREE
