Every schedule problem has a moment when it is cheap to fix. A late submittal can be expedited before the fabricator’s slot is lost. A design question can be answered before the crew mobilizes. A resequence can be planned before the area is occupied. After that moment, the same problem costs more, and soon it costs the milestone.
Decision windows close quietly
Nobody announces that a window is closing. The submittal sits in review. The question waits for the next meeting. Float on the path shrinks a few days at a time. By the time the delay is obvious in the field, the cheap options are gone.
Show the window, not just the delay
Good project controls report more than what is late. They report which decisions are due, when each one must be made to protect the milestone, and what it costs to miss it. That turns a schedule report into an agenda.
- The decision. Stated plainly, with who owns it.
- The latest date to decide. Taken from the schedule logic and float, not from habit.
- The cost of waiting. Days at the milestone, and what those days are worth.
The goal is to give clients enough visibility to make the hard decisions while they still have options.
Emmanuel Ugbaja, Principal & CEO
Price one late day with the Cost of Delay tool, or see how our executive reporting puts decision windows in front of leadership every month.
