Projecting completion: an electronic tracking program ensures pool projects don't fall behind schedule

When Jeff Ast saw a bank of arrival/departure screens at the airport, the vice president of construction at Shasta Industries, a Pool & Spa News Top Builder, wondered if similar technology could be implemented to keep pool projects on track.

Responding to Ast's query, the Phoenix firm's information technology team developed a warning system that would notify employees if a pool under construction had fallen behind schedule.

The alarm system uses a ceiling-mounted projector that illuminates a large spreadsheet onto a wall in the construction office. If a project goes into "alarm mode," it shows up on the wall. Initially, three criteria would prompt an alarm:

1. No comments has been entered into the project's electronic file in three days.

2. One construction phase has been completed, but the next phase has not been scheduled.

3. The project superintendent has not made an inspection of the site within 24 hours of the slated inspection date.

Additional alarm triggers recently were added to ensure that each pool is completed promptly.

"In 35 calendar days from the start of construction, a pool should be completed," says Edward Yacknin, internal new pool construction/operations manager. "If it goes over that, it signals to us that something has gone wrong."

To further alert the staff, the text description of the posted projects is color-coded based on the number of days that have passed since the file was last updated. If a project fails to meet a deadline, it appears in basic black. If 10 to 14 days pass and the project is still off schedule, the text is highlighted in blue. At 15 days, everyone sees red.

Staying on schedule

The alarm program works in conjunction with Shasta's Integrated Construction Management System. This data-driven program helps manage the nearly 600 pools that are under construction at any one time.

Using the ICMS program, the builder documents every contact made with a client. Shasta's superintendents and schedulers then can simultaneously track all stages of a project. They can set dates for each construction phase and note when each step is completed.

"We can see a step-by-step journey, so to speak," Yacknin says. "We have all of this history at our fingertips to try and serve the customer."

Employees can view the ICMS data by logging onto the company's internal network. There, information on individual jobs can be easily accessed.

While he doesn't have quantitative proof, Yacknin says his "gut feeling" is that the alarm system, in tandem with the ICMS, is improving the speed with which Shasta is able to build pools.

"There is an added urgency among our people when they see things up on the alarm system," he says. "It tells them, 'I better take a sharper look at this.'"

Tech tips

* Take the time to thoroughly document a project. Company reps can input courtesy notes about a customer, curious details about a job or even a phase-specific note for the entire staff to see.

* Consider instituting an incentive program based on the number of pools that trigger the warning system.

* Regularly evaluate the reasons why jobs wind up on the alarm wall. Communicate with your staff on how to avoid these pitfalls.

COPYRIGHT 2005 Hanley-Wood, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group