Managing Site Start

Owned by Julie Doyle-Whitelock (Deactivated)
Last updated: Dec 13, 2016

The Construction Site Start date is a pivotal point in any construction project. Not only because of the amount of activity that begins at this point, but also from a regulatory and contractual perspective.

Many Building Contracts and Code Regulations have specific definitions of Actual Site Start, and the impact of the date applied to this field can be reflected many years down the track.

Within Framework, there are multiple calculations made around the date, including forecasting, construction statistics, progress, calculation of liquidated damages and maintenance periods.

Benefits Of Managing Site Start

From a Forecasting perspective, planning the exact requirements for site start means that the date entered will be accurate and predictable.

There are obvious pre-requisites for site start, such as Permit Received and Construction Drawings Received, but there can be further detail built into the process to ensure that Administration Complete is not entered prematurely, and there is nothing outstanding from the Administration process that will delay Site Start or impact the construction duration.

The Site Start Date, once entered becomes an important date in various calculations and forecasts and, more importantly, can represent the fulfilment of a contractual obligation to the client.

Forecasting Site Starts

There are multiple benefits in being able to Forecast Site Starts effectively and consistently, such as planning for personnel allocation, forecasting revenue, negotiating supply and booking trades.

In order to Forecast accurately, all the dates leading up to Administration Complete and Site start must be predictable; that is, be clearly defined and have a realistic expectation of duration.

Framework ECM contains Forecasting tools that can calculate Baseline, Best Possible and Progress Forecast dates for minor stages in Pre-Administration, Administration, Construction and Maintenance.

Calculating Statistics, Forecasts & Periods

The following are important dates that can be calculated from site start:

  • Service Period Forecast Expiry: The duration of this date is dependant on the particular state.
  • Liquidated Damages (reporting): If the duration start method is Site Start date, then Liquidated Damages are calculated from the Site Start date.
  • Construction Overview & Logistics History screen Statistics: Calendar Days to PCI, C of O, Settled are calculated from the Site Start date, affecting progress percentage statistics.

What To Do

Requirements

It is important to know what the obligations are both from the Building Codes or Regulations and from the individual Building Contract. For example; the maximum time allowed between ACC and Site Start may be laid out in the Regulations, but the Building Contract signed for the job specifies a shorter period of time. There may also be a stipulation about what constitutes site start from a legal perspective.

Framework has the ability to record and/or calculate Forecast dates for many key activities.

Due to the impact Site Start can have on other processes and calculations, it is vital that the date not be entered without consideration or a defined process.

Several processes are available with Framework that can assist in controlling how and when a Site Start date is entered:

  • Business Rules can be applied so that entering the date will be stopped if other pre-determined requirements are not met.
  • Security Permissions can be set to limit the users that can enter the Site Start date.
  • Within Construction Logistics it is possible to have Site Start entered when a defined set of Logistics Activities have been completed.

Planning

A decision as to whose responsibility it is to enter the site start date into Framework is required by the business to ensure the site start date is managed effectively. The importance of the impact of the site start date to the business must be considered when making this decision. The options are:

  • Via the Framework Construction Logistics Tablet: Site Start can be set when a nominated series of logistics activities have been completed by the supervisor.
  • Entered directly into Framework ECM by a nominated staff member. Ideally, if the Site Start date is to be entered into Framework by a staff member, the responsibility should be restricted to this particular staff member (i.e., Construction Manager, Construction Administrator, etc.) and also to a select few other staff members as backup.

Regardless of the process selected, an internal procedure must be determined outlining the company’s pre-requisites for setting the site start. In making this determination, consideration must be made to the statutory requirements and the company requirements as stipulated in the standard building contract to ensure that all obligations are being met.

Implementation

The effective management of site start can be implemented using the following tools within Framework:

Business Rules

Business rules such as the following can be applied to the Site Start date to ensure that all pre-requisites are met prior to site start:

  1. The modified Site Start Date must occur after the Permit Received Date.
  2. The modified Site Start Date must occur after the Finance Complete Received Date.
  3. The modified Site Start Date must occur after the Land Settlement Actual Date.
  4. The modified Site Start Date must occur after the Construction Drawings Received Date.
  5. The modified Site Start Actual Date must occur after the Administration Complete Date.
  6. The modified Site Start Date must occur before the Base Complete Date.

For further information on Business Rules, please see the Framework User Guide (Security > Security > Business Rules).

Security

Security can be set on the Site Start date at the Default, Group and User levels. Correct use of security allows strict management of user permissions to restrict/allow viewing, editing and deleting of fields to users with the appropriate level of access.

The following Site Start security permissions can be modified:

  • 2107: Site Start (baseline forecast)
  • 2108: Site Start (best possible forecast)
  • 2109: Site Start (progress forecast)
  • 2110: Site Start (manual forecast)
  • 2111: Site Start
  • 19335: Site Start Complete (manual forecast)
  • 19336: Site Start Complete
  • 16843: Site Start Letter Sent

An example of strict management of the Permission Level settings for the above permissions for the site start date is as follows:

Default Level

  • View Date: Yes
  • Edit (in any way): No
  • Add – Today: No
  • Add - Backdate: No
  • Add – Forward Date: No
  • Edit – Clear: No
  • Edit – Backdate: No
  • Edit – Forward Date: No

Group Level – Construction Administration

If there is a Construction Administration group setup in Framework.

  • View Date: Yes
  • Edit (in any way): Yes
  • Add – Today: Yes
  • Add - Backdate: Yes
  • Add – Forward Date: Yes
  • Edit – Clear: Yes
  • Edit – Backdate: Yes
  • Edit – Forward Date: Yes

Consideration should be given to the permissions for forward-dating of the site start date, depending on the process defined for entering. Where it is important to have a forward date for reporting purposes, it is recommended that the Forecast Site Start date be used.

Work Flow Tools

The Work Flow Tools screen is a valuable forecasting tool for managing jobs in the Administration stage to ensure a steady flow of jobs to site start. Jobs are grouped by month and week. It provides key work flow dates of jobs in Administration on the screen without having to run any reports from the system. At a glance, you can see which jobs in Administration have the required pre-requisites for site start.

Work Flow Tools allows for a staggered release of jobs ready for site start. Jobs can be released to site in a continuous stream rather than all in one hit (i.e., last week of the month). This allows for smarter and more efficient allocation of trades and suppliers.

It is recommended that the Work Flow Tools screen be reviewed on a weekly basis jointly by the Operations Manager and Construction Manager, or whoever the staff responsible for releasing jobs to site is.

Reporting

Another useful tool for managing site starts are reports. Reports can be run to show the progress of jobs in the Administration stage and forecast administration complete and/or site start dates.

In particular, the Forecast Site Approvals report is a detailed work flow report that is used to view all forecast site approvals by month and week. The report can be found in the Administration category of Framework and is effectively a paper based version of the Work Flow Tools screen. As per the Work Flow Tools screen, it is recommended the Forecast Site Approvals report be reviewed on a weekly basis jointly by the Operations Manager and Construction Manager, or whoever the staff responsible for releasing jobs to site is. The report can be run in conjunction with or as an alternative to the Work Flow Tools screen, being solely dependant on the preference of the company.

Ongoing Management

It is highly recommended that the staff responsible for entering the Site Start date into Framework are kept up to date with statutory changes and changes to the company’s standard building contract.