Projects and contractors

A construction project carries its code, name, planned start and end dates, contract value, delivery method and current status. The project manager links the relevant client or contractor organization and describes the scope so that later packages and tasks have a shared context. The organization record holds the contact and relationship details the team needs when a site issue crosses a company boundary.

The project is the parent for work packages, site tasks, milestones, risks, timesheets and site issues. Its summary figures bring package counts, task counts, estimated and actual hours, logged labour, issue counts, risk counts and milestone counts into one place. Those figures make the project record a useful starting point for the morning delivery review. They do not replace the individual records where a manager decides what to do next.

• One project identity. Use a stable project code and the same project reference on packages, timesheets, milestones and issues so the operating picture stays connected.
• One accountable manager. Link the project manager from the crew directory, then give package and milestone owners their own assignments.
• Current delivery position. Move a project through Planned, Active, on hold, at risk, Completed or Cancelled as the actual delivery state changes. Keep the scope and dates beside that decision.

Agree how a site and a contract map to a project record. A large contract may contain several sites; the team should decide which level gets its own project code before importing open work. Confirm who can change programme dates, contract value and project status. Decide whether the organization record represents the paying client, the general contractor or another delivery counterpart for each project. The record supports one linked client or contractor, so naming practice matters when several organizations work on one site.

Bring a current project list with stable codes, delivery methods, manager names, planned dates and scope summaries. Compare each manager with the crew directory before loading child records. If a status says at risk, the manager should be able to point to the risk, milestone, issue or task that prompted that call.

A project manager opens a new site for a fixed-price building extension. They link the contractor organization, choose the manager, set programme dates and record the scope. The first package owner can now create a site package against the same project. As tasks are assigned and hours are recorded, the project summary changes with the underlying work. An overdue milestone appears in the site exception queue; the manager opens its record, checks the owner and due date, then reviews the related package rather than guessing from the contract value.

Later, the client asks for an updated delivery position. The project manager checks the active project list and the project’s milestones, tasks, issues and risks. They can explain what is progressing and what needs a decision without presenting a rolled-up percentage as a certified handover.

• Active Construction Projects — Current sites with their manager, programme dates and delivery position.
• Work Package Schedule — Package dates and owners for the selected project.

Project setup to site plan shows how the parent project reaches its first package. Milestone and exception review follows the same project when dates start to slip.