Cost Management

Sperovia can assist its clients in cost management in all phases of major projects. This includes establishing a clear Cost Breakdown Structure (CBS), mapped with both the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) as well as the budget. Sperovia has developed bespoke cost reports and earned value management reports that are simple to use and effective. Sperovia can generate - or review existing - cost reports, operations reports, productivity KPIs and forecasts that flag issues in a timely manner, and track the solutions that are put in place to ensure their effectiveness. 

There are two key components of how we approach cost management.

One is ensuring a two-way collaborative approach between the cost management team and the design and construction management teams. We know full well that money is made or lost at “boots on the ground” level. Each crew needs to know at all times, what their budget is, how they performed yesterday, and what their productivity targets for today and short-term future are. Cost management teams do not manage costs directly. They do so by facilitating a close collaborative relationship with the design and construction management teams to ensure everyone is clear on how the team is doing at all times. If the team is performing well, how can this be improved. If the team is not meeting its productivity and budgetary targets, identifying the problem in a timely manner, implementing corrective measures and tracking the KPIs to ensure efficacy of the solutions are key to success.

The second key component is avoiding “garbage in, garbage out”. Effective cost management is only possible when many things come together in the right way. From setting up the budget and cost codes, ensuring that the right cost codes are used on timesheets, that accruals are done right, SPI and CPI are factored in, and that forecasts are not automatic straight-line forecasts and thought has gone into them.

At Sperovia, we have a deep understanding of how an effective cost management system should be, and we have extensive experience in designing and implementing such systems on major projects with a proven record of success. 

Schedule Management

Cost and schedule are two sides of the same coin. In order for the project team to have their “finger on the pulse” of the project, both cost and schedule need to be connected to each-other, and need to be monitored closely and effectively.

Our team has extensive experience in designing Work Breakdown Structures (WBS), resource-loading schedules, and updating the schedule in close coordination with the construction management team. Similar to a cost management system, an effective schedule management process is only possible if the schedule management team has a close and collaborative two-way relationship with the construction management team.

At Sperovia we recognize that schedule management on a major project (or any size project) cannot be limited to a group of schedulers updating a P6 schedule and emailing it to the team. Daily schedules, weekly schedules, three-week look-ahead schedules, micro-schedules and other tools need to come together in a cohesive manner. Every crew should know if they are ahead of or behind schedule, have a plan to mitigate delays or gain back the lost time, and a clear vision of the work that is ahead of them.