CONSTRUCTION PROGRESS MEASUREMENTS

Measuring physical progress provides a determination of how much has actually been completed on a project or task. This is typically expressed as Percent Complete. This enables you to not only understand how much you’ve done, but also how much is left – allowing you to forecast remaining hours, budget, materials, etc. In addition, you can also compare the percent complete with how much it has actually cost (AC) to complete that work. This is done using Earned Value (EV) to represent work completed as a dollar amount. Doing this comparison tells you whether you’re overspending or not.

Progress measurements are a key input that leads to many more EVM calculations, including CPI, SPI, ETC, CV, and various others.

Progress measurements are also instrumental for progress billing on lump sum or fixed price projects.

Inaccurate or inconsistent progress tracking can lead to misleading performance metrics, unexpected cost overruns, and scheduling delays. 4castplus provides precise progress tracking with multiple measurement methods, ensuring real-time visibility into project performance.

Yes. In 4castplus you can create and submit incremental progress measurements in iterative cycles. When submitted, each progress measurement saves all project data at that point in time. After submitting, users will create the next sequential progress measurement to represent the next time period of the project. For example, you might have a frequency of monthly or bi-weekly progress measurements. Over time, you will be able to view project metrics as they trend over a timeline. And, you’ll be able to view data, charts, and run reports on any specific historical progress period.

4castplus offers multiple progress measurement methods, including units completed, hours burned, rules of credit, weighted steps, schedule-based tracking, and VOWD, allowing flexible tracking for any task type.

4castplus automatically calculates EVM metrics based on real-time progress data, providing insights into cost performance, schedule performance, and productivity trends to support informed decision-making.

Relying on spreadsheets or manual tracking typically leads to errors, misreporting, and lack of real-time insight. 4castplus automates progress measurements, integrating them with EVM and productivity analytics for accurate forecasting and reporting.

To set up your project for progress, it’s important to design your work breakdown structure (WBS) using tasks or work packages that are somehow ‘measurable’. Start by thinking about how you’ll know when the task is complete. Or halfway complete. Using the scheduled end date isn’t necessarily accurate, as it may not be finished simply because it has passed the end date. Using quantifiable units, such as installed quantities, is preferred because they are physically measurable. Using hours burned or budget spent are ok in certain cases (such as hours budgeted versus hours burned). Using Rules of Credit or Weighted Steps is arguably the best method as you can break down progress into more granular steps.