How to Get Earned Value/Progress of Each Activity to Overall Project

Once you’ve developed planned value data, the next step is to calculate earned value from the lowest activities to track overall project progress. To measure project progress, list the activities (including WBS) with budgeted hours or cost.

See the picture below to understand how you can track the overall progress of the various disciplines – piping and structure.

Develop A Progress S Curve That Will Make You An Expert – Part 4

You may think creating progress s curve for a project that involved multiple disciplines sounds overwhelming, but with the steps by steps tutorial, it couldn’t be easier. Learn how you can set up the progress S Curve in a few minutes.

Once all activities have been identified and assigned value ̶ budgeted cost or hours and a milestone system established, getting planned values, earned values and overall progress (percent completion) is a straightforward task. So, follow the five steps process below.

How To Develop A Progress S Curve That Will Make You An Expert – Part 3

In Part 2, I have shared the first three tips of STEP 1, S Curvelogy technique - determining the appropriate time scale interval, evaluating percent complete and the basis of S curve data whether to use hours, cost or weighting to get planned and earned value.

Once you went through this POST, you would learn how to get the Planned/Earned Value and determine Percent Complete which are foundation steps in developing Progress S Curve.

To achieve that, try to answer the last two questions of S Curvelogy technique,

How To Make A Progress S Curve That Will Make You An Expert – Part 2

In Part 1, I have shared the three simple steps for using “S Curvelogy”. Today, I’m going to share the first one.

Step 1: Figure out how you would get progress data that you can plot S Curve

S Curvelogy technique is so easy and simple. It is asking and answering the following five questions;

1. What is the appropriate time scale interval?

2. How can I come out with a percent compete (planned and actual) to set a progress curve?

3. Which data should I load? Budgeted value based on man hours, cost, or weighting?

4. Do we have milestone evaluation method for progress measurement? Or, have we agreed progress measurement method?

How To Build A Progress S Curve That Will Make You An Expert

The benefits of having a progress S curve is you are enabled to track project performance to create a visual way to plot information. Instead of going through numerous reports containing information about your project status, you can track your project performance as a whole in an instant just by figuring it out on the Progress S Curve.

- If DONE right, by using S Curve, you can get an instant picture of exactly what your team have already done and what needs to be done in order to complete your project on time.

- You KNOW exactly what is going on about your project and you can assist project manager/project management team to see exactly what went wrong and where by judging progress on S Curve.

Develop Progress Tracking Sheet for Piping Touch up Painting & Insulation

Piping Touch-up Painting Progress Tracking Sheet                                          

The progress tracking sheet for piping touch-up painting work is quite simple. It includes the isometric drawing list of required painting, paint completion date, clear punch list date, diameter inches of field joints and man-hour for weightage calculation. The percent of each work step is updated upon entering the date.

Download a sample template for painting work.

Piping Insulation Work Progress Tracking Sheet

The piping insulation progress tracking sheet is developed based on the following work steps and weight factors percentages.

1. Fabricate Cladding-20%
2. Install Insulation material & Banding-35%
3. Install Insulation metal covering (aluminium cladding)-35%
4. Clear Punch list-10%

Sample Progress Measurement System for Petrochemical Plant Project Construction

Progress Measurement System plays an important part of project control. It includes the detail progress tracking sheet of its WBS elements, work categories and work steps for each deliverable. It is developed either when the additional requirements are occurred for a particular project or when progress measurement system is not in placed.

Suppose the work scope includes fabricate and installation of pipeline including tie-in work, insulation work, painting work, fabricate and installation of new pipe racks, fabricate and installation of equipment access platforms, installation of process equipments. Progress measurement system would be different depending on organizational and/or project preference. Typical progress measurement systems include, but are not limited to the following;

• Overall progress summary sheet
• The detail progress tracking sheet for each discipline or back-up system to support overall progress summary sheet
• Progress S curve/Histogram chart

How to Make Equipment Erection Progress Tracking System

Mechanical equipment erection/installation work is one of WBS elements of Sample Project measurement System for Petrochemical Plant Project Construction. Simple progress tracking sheet for mechanical equipment erection work is built based on the particular work steps and weight factors for the different equipment group. Progress summary for all type of equipments is calculated from man hour weightage and weight progress of each equipment group. You can find the additional resources at Weight factors for Mechanical Equipment Installation.

It includes equipment tracker sheet and progress tracking sheet. Equipment tag number, project area, installation status, work packages and quantity (weigh) are listed in equipment erection tracker sheet.

Weightage calculation, individual progress, overall progress calculation, progress summary by project area and work packages are included in progress tracking sheet.

Format of erection tracker sheet and progress tracking sheet are slightly different from others, for example, The Detail Tracking Sheet for Steel Fabrication which is only made from one type of work steps and percentages. There are two or more type of work steps and weight percentage depending of equipment type for this kind of progress tracking system.

Making Tie-in Installation,Pipeline Erection and Hydro Testing Progress Tracking System

The Progress Tracking System for Tie-in Installation Work

The procedure of developing progress tracking system for Tie-in work is quite similar to steel fabrication work which is one of wbs elements of Sample Progress Measurement System for Petrochemical Plant Project Construction.

Normally, piping tie-in installation scope is involved in revamp project only. The progress tracking system for tie-in work includes Tie-in Tracker Sheet and Progress tracking sheet.

Tie-in numbers against the Isometric drawings and work packages are listed in the tracker sheet. The tie-in type (Bolt-up, cut and weld, hot tap, cold tap and threaded are typical tie-in types in the process industry), project area or system name and installed dates are also included in the tracker sheet.

To develop Progress Tracking Sheet for overall Isometric drawings, the following work steps and weight factor percentages are utilized.

1. Preparation ( Scaffold erection if required/remove insulation if required)-20%
2. Tie-in work (Bolt up/cut & weld/hot tap/cold tap/threaded) -70%
3. Inspection (Sign QC document, example: flange make-up checklist)-10%

Creating Progress Tracking System for Steel Fabrication and Erection Work

The Detailed Progress Tracking System for Steel Fabrication

WBS element “Steel Fabrication” is the higher level of pipe rack fabrication and equipment access platform fabrication.
The general arrangement drawing list, project area name, work pack number, fabrication start and finish date shall be included in the progress tracking sheet. You should have an additional spread sheet/system known as steel tracker sheet/system which includes the fabrication status of each assembly member for each GA drawing.

The progress tracking sheet is linked with the steel tracker sheet to update the fabrication status of each GA drawing. 

The following hierarchical structure represents how steel fabrication progress is tracked and monitored. It shows the level of progress reporting.

Develop Progress Tracking Sheet for Piping Fabrication Work

Developing Progress Tracking Sheet/System for piping fabrication is one of the tracking system of Progress Measurement System for Petrochemical Plant Project Consruction.

The tracking sheet includes the list of drawings, the project area name, quantities (diameter-inches and man hour) and the production work steps to calculate fabrication progress. You may assign fabrication started date, finished date, and work packages for each Isometric drawing which will be useful to track and report the progress status grouped by work pack number, started date and finished date. The following are piping fabrication work steps and weight factor percentage;

1. Weld map drawing preparation-4%
2. Withdrew material-3%
3. Welding preparation (marking/cutting/end preparation)-20%
4. Spool Assemble and tack weld-25%
5. Full welding execution-20%
6. Non Destructive Examination-6%
7. Surface preparation and coating (sand blasting and painting/hot dipped galvanizing)-15%
8. Final Inspection-4%
9. Deliver at site-3%

How to Develop Procurement Progress Calculation Sheet Using Excel

In EPC project, procurement progress calculation sheet is required to monitor the procurement status. Once the procurement phase commences, the status is tracked and monitored closely. Followings are a guide to develop and update procurement progress data.

Steps to develop Procurement Progress Data
1) Understand the terms and confirm procurement work steps and weight factors for equipment work category

• Not Yet Start -0%
• Inquiry Issued to Bidders -10%
• Tender Evaluation and Client Approval -5%
• Purchase Order Placement to Vendor -10%
• Received Key Vendor Drawings -5%
• Approved Key Vendor Drawings -5%
• Fabrication (50%)
• Final Inspection Finished -5%
• Ex-Work -5%
• Delivery at Site -5%

Progress Calculation Sample for Pump Installation Work

If you are preparing a progress calculation sheet for a work, a weighting factor for each work step and each WBS component is used to calculate to give the weighted progress. For example, to calculate percent completion for a pump installation, the following typical work steps and weight factors are required.

Work step	Weight factor
Chipping & Padding	10%
Installation	40%
Levelling & Grouting	20%
First Alignment	20%
Final Alignment	10%

The percent complete for a pump installation can be obtained by the sum of the product of each weight factor and each work step progress.

Pump Installation Progress = Chipping & Padding (10%)* work progress + Installation (40%)*work progress+ Levelling & Grouting (20%)*work progress + First Alignment (20%)*work progress +Final Alignment (10%)* work progress

Pump installation progress would be 10% when chipping & padding activity is done 100%. Percent completion would be 50%, 70%, 90% and 100% respectively when each work step is done 100%. Generally, progress calculation method for other work is the same although weight factors are different. Read more about weight factor for mechanical equipment installation work.