Ever wish you could determine in exactly what part of a job slippage is occurring? Production coordinator Nick Forry, of Creative Contracting, North Wales, Pa., had just that in mind when he designed this Job Cost Summary, used in post-mortem meetings with his team to analyze the success or failure of a job.
By comparing actual to budgeted costs for each line item, the summary allows Forry to pinpoint exactly which areas of production are costing more than anticipated — as well as those that are costing less. And by using this form, along with another that tracks labor hours per line item, Forry is able to determine whether the problem is in the budgeting process or in the execution.
To collect this data, all labor hours are coded to correspond with a particular line item. That information is entered into Sage Master Builder software, which easily exports reports into Microsoft Excel. Forry says that tracking individual tasks helps keep the company’s carpenters accountable. “I think they’re a lot more conscientious and diligent in tracking their work and being conscious of the budget,” he says. “We also involve them in the budgeting process now [to improve our estimating system.]” At the end of a job, the numbers are dissected in a post-mortem meeting with other key staff members.
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