Project Controls and Management Systems Interface Management

The Construction Industry Institute (CII) chartered Research Team (RT) 244, Global Project Controls and Management Systems (PCMS), to review and update project controls practices in the industry and make recommendations for improvement. Two significant findings of the research are that the number of PCMS interfaces has grown and that management of these interfaces is essential to effective project execution. These interfaces exist both within and between firms, and within and across PCMS functions. The extent and scope of interfaces on projects suggest that significant attention must be paid to them on several fronts. These areas of focus include the following: improved information technology; standards and contractual clauses that include PCMS data; and strengthened awareness of the scope and importance of interfaces among project team members.

A survey of CII member companies indicated significant perceived shortcomings in project controls interface management between project phases. In this context, the research team observed that one significant shortcoming in project execution is the industry’s lack of effective planning for interface management. In the rush to deliver facilities, interfaces can often be an after-thought. Interfaces should be planned early on in a project, both in terms of management interfaces for each function in each project phase—an increasingly important role, since PCMS functions draw information from several firms—and in terms of planning for specific information flows. In response to this industry need, RT 244 developed two tools to support interface planning: the PCMS Participants Involved Tool and the PCMS Information Flow Tool. These tools are computerized to allow users to adapt them to their own needs and purposes.

While the tools can be used as stand-alone applications on a per-project basis, they can also be part of a broader review of a firm’s PCMS execution. For this application, the tools should be used in conjunction with other resources generated by RT 244:

• Implementation Resource 244-2, Adapting Your PCMS Program for Success
• Implementation Resource 244-4, Best Practice Forecasting
• Implementation Resource 244-5, Project Controls Team Learning and Development Program.

This document, Implementation Resource 244-3, PCMS Interface Management, is part of the set developed by the team to enable an overall assessment of PCMS; it also can be incorporated into a company’s education efforts.