Introduction
Traditionally, project managers have relied on site visits and progress reporting from their field teams to stay abreast of construction progress. On large capital projects like data centers, semiconductor wafer fabrication plants, or healthcare infrastructure this can become problematic where even small schedule delays lead to large cost overruns. Doxel’s Production Rate Data provides a solution that empowers project teams with additional data in order to monitor construction progress.
What is Production Rate Data?
Production Rate Data is the information gathered through reality capture inputs (e.g., 360-degree imaging or drone footage), to continuously track and analyze construction site progress in real time. By comparing actual work completed against the planned schedule, this data serves as a single, reliable source of truth for measuring construction progress. It provides project owners with objective, accurate insights that are crucial for managing schedules and ensuring on-time project completion. This innovative approach equips teams with the data needed to identify delays, optimize workflows, and ensure efficient project delivery.
By leveraging this advanced technology, owner’s representatives can monitor projects with a data set they control, guaranteeing transparency and accuracy. Here’s how Doxel tracks completed construction:
- By Trade: Architectural, structural, electrical, fire protection, mechanical, plumbing, and more.
- By Floor: Including different levels such as parking garages, mezzanines, and multiple building floors.
- By Zone: Specific areas within a construction site.
- By Stage: quantities tracked by trade, for each stage of construction.
Example: Mechanical Pipes and Walls
Doxel’s Production Rate tracking capability simplifies the comparison of completed construction against the schedule, offering a powerful tool for project owners to measure progress and manage schedules effectively.
How Doxel Captures Production Rate Data
Understanding how construction software tracks progress can be complex. Doxel simplifies this with a robust methodology:
- Baseline Management: Production Rate Data uses planned activities as a baseline for managing construction progress.
- Integration with Primavera P6: Doxel captures milestone data directly from your schedule.
- Reality Capture: Using 360-degree imaging, Doxel conducts regular scans to capture completed “as-built” construction.
- Automatic Updates: Doxel automatically updates progress for each stage, trade, zone, and floor.
Calculating Productivity
Productivity is calculated using specific units of measure for each stage based on your work breakdown structure (WBS) in Primavera P6. For example, if the plumbing installation requires 100,000 linear feet of pipe, the unit of measure would be linear feet. The planned number would be 100,000, against which completed construction is measured.
As construction progresses, Doxel updates the number of completed activities. For instance, if only 20,000 linear feet of pipe have been installed for the drainage system, the 360-degree imaging would capture the work, and Doxel would update the percentage of completion for both the stage (drainage system) and the trade (plumbing) to 20%.
Allocating Resources to Stay On Schedule
To help manage schedules effectively, Doxel introduced the Production Forecasting Calculator. This tool allows users to simulate different scenarios by adjusting crew sizes and production rates to forecast completion. General contractors can manage subcontractors to ensure they stay on schedule. At the same time, owner’s reps can monitor production rates remotely, gaining confidence that construction progress is on track based on actual data.
Key Benefits of Production Rate Data
- Real-Time Decision Making: Provides immediate insights through real-time data, allowing for informed schedule management.
- Labor Optimization: Ensures efficient allocation of labor by visualizing plan vs. actual progress in a clear chart format, reducing manual tracking time.
- Risk Mitigation: Reduces the risk of delays by verifying the feasibility of schedule commitments against historical data and current progress.
- Enhanced Collaboration: Improves communication between project owners, general contractors, and trade partners by providing clear, data-driven insights and visual comparisons of planned vs. actual progress.
- Effortless Data Collection: Eliminates the manual effort involved in gathering and analyzing production data, saving valuable time for the construction team.
Peace of Mind for GCs and Owners
Production Rate Data compares completed construction against your schedule, providing a single source of truth for measuring construction progress. Doxel’s system allows you to manage productivity for each stage of the construction project by trade, zone, and floor. This capability empowers project owners with a controlled data set that facilitates better communication with general contractors and helps address potential schedule delays proactively.
By giving project owners control of the data, Doxel ensures a higher level of transparency and efficiency in construction management. This innovative approach enhances collaboration and significantly reduces the risk of delays, optimizing time and resources. With Doxel’s Production Rate Data, project owners can confidently steer their projects to successful completion.
