The Basics of Earned Value Management

 

Managing projects, whether it's related to construction, energy, retail, manufacturing and information technology, can be a quite tedious process, especially when delays and cost overruns  are a common complaint among project managers and stakeholder. For example, constructing the International Space Station was initially pegged at $36.75 billion, although final project costs ballooned to a whopping $105 billion once it was completed! This explains why monitoring performance and timelines is crucial, because no project manager or stakeholder wants to disastrously stray off course. Here's a look at why a process called earned value management is a must for small, medium and large projects.

 

What EVM is All About

And, since no project manager, engineer, scheduler or even laborer wants to be at the helm of projects that disastrously stray off course and balloon to a budget that is way off the mark, this is when they turn to the project management discipline to find an intelligent way out. Here's where the concept earned value management (EVM) can be of great help.

 

For starters, EVM is defined as a project management methodology which helps integrate schedule, cost and scope to effectively measure project performance. It predicts the future and enables project managers to adjust accordingly, based on planned and actual values.

 

EVM systems also refer to software, processes, tools and templates that are utilized for earned value management. Oh by the way, let's look at the colorful history of EVM first. In the 1960s, a set of guidelines or criteria were drafted for the US government's contractor management systems to follow.

 

In the 1990s, an agency called the American National Standard Institute and the Electronics Industries Association developed the original 35 criteria for earned value management systems, which resulted in the ANSI/EIA 748 standard.

 

For systems and technologies used in government agencies like the Department of Defense and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration or NASA, the ANSI/EIA 748 standard is now considered the gold standard in project or contractor management systems.

 

What's nice is that (according to the ones who use the system) the ANSI/EIA 748 standard metrics  are actually so straightforward, and the EVM processes can be implemented or rolled out with as much or as little rigor and stress as your particular projects require.   

 

What Are the Perks of EVM?

Now, let's discuss the major benefits of earned value management. First, EVM is a very powerful tool that helps you map work with costs, and reduce the unknowns into more quantifiable factors. Second, you can also compare and benchmark the current status against the project baseline, and identify critical paths along the way.

 

Next, earned value management helps create a data-based framework for taking actions and making decisions for the future. It enables project managers and planners to intervene quickly and ahead of time.  

 

For instance, you can easily tweak the project scope and budget, or rollbacks a couple of functionalities, procure additional resources, set customer expectations and invest in new technologies.

 

Finally, earned value management helps provide insight into the big picture at both project and portfolio levels.

Cupix - The Latest Game Changer in Chatbots

 Cupix is a new chatbot that provides an all-in-one solution for businesses. Chatbots are now getting into the game because they offer a convenient one-stop shop for customer service, lead gen, and sales. Cupix combines the best of what these three services have to offer in one simple platform.

What is a chatbot?

Chatbots are computer programs that can simulate intelligent conversations with human beings. For example, a chatbot could be a customer service bot that answers basic questions about its company or a lead-gen bot that asks for a person's email and then uses it to send them marketing messages.

Web chat systems like Facebook Messenger and Telegram allow businesses to create bots like these. They often have pre-determined responses to specific questions, but they can also be programmed with artificial intelligence to know when the user is tired and respond appropriately.

What are the benefits of using a chatbot?

- Customers can get live assistance 24/7.

- Chatbots help you avoid expensive customer service staff.

- Improve your company's reputation with customers.

- Get more leads and sales without having to hire new employees.

The future of chatbots in business

The increased popularity of chatbots has many looking into the future for what chatbots will do. There are many possibilities out there, such as chatbots that can answer specific questions related to the company being advertised or more general conversation between customer and salesperson. The downside to chatbot technology is that it is difficult to assess how this technology will affect the current workforce. Some experts predict that bots will replace many customer service/call center jobs because they say these positions are becoming increasingly irrelevant. This could also lead to increased unemployment rates in the coming years as these jobs become harder to find.

Other experts argue that new job opportunities will emerge due to chatbot advancements because they claim it is much easier to train a chatbot than it is to train employees. This will leave room for new jobs in the customer service/call center field, but there might also be an increase in sales and marketing positions because of these bot's ability to generate leads.

As with most technological advancements, only time will tell what impact they have on society. The above is an excerpt from the full blog post on Cupix, a platform that allows businesses to create and manage all their chatbots in one place.

How to use a chatbot for your company's needs?

Cupix has a pre-determined response to certain questions but can also learn from individual conversations with customers and adjust accordingly. As a result, this artificial intelligence helps businesses rank higher on search engines like Google, where AI is prioritized when returning search results.

Built-in chatbots for business will keep your company visible on social media sites like Twitter and LinkedIn. In addition, updates can be scheduled in advance so the appropriate story about your company will be released at the right time for maximum effect. When writing this blog post, Cupix is offering an exclusive free trial to businesses interested in learning more about this new technology.

Cupix lets your customers message you through Facebook, Slack, or SMS. You answer them on the platform they are messaging Cupix from. Everything is archived for future reference if a customer has already messaged their question to Cupix before it automatically shows up in response. So, there's no confusion about which channel they should use be using.

Cupix is a revolutionary chatbot that can do everything your company needs and more! With Cupix you'll be able to provide outstanding customer service, nurture leads into customers from whatever message platform they first engage on, and sell products with ease. You can provide customer service, nurture leads, and sell products with Cupix. Get the latest in messaging technology today by signing up for Cupix.

Responsibilities And Skills of a Bim Expert

 The topic of Building Information Modeling is gaining momentum in the construction industry. Compared to the conventional construction and planning processes, BIM does indeed change the way people think and act. This led to significant changes among a wide variety of project participants. It also shows that the BIM method implies a coordinating and cross-phase project role which is the bim expert. In order to be able to carry out the tasks of the BIM specialist, however, specific specialist knowledge, social and methodological skills as well as additional qualifications are required.

Profile And Duties of a Bim Expert

Current developments show that the BIM-oriented construction and planning processes do indeed imply a new, central role. On the one hand, this represents an important interface through the management, control and coordination of the flow of information in the project. On the other hand, it can also make a valuable contribution to the implementation of a central BIM strategy within a company. Successfully implementing BIM, ideally company-wide, can be a key to future competitive advantages.

The main responsibilities of a bim expert include structuring, maintaining and managing the building data model. He takes on the entire coordination of the BIM planning as well as the controls of the individual sub-models in order to merge them into a joint, consistent overall model. As the central point of contact for everyone involved in the project, the BIM specialist coordinates the schedule and cost plan. He is responsible for compliance with the guidelines and workflows that must be agreed beforehand.

The basic competence profile of a bim expert combines several heterogeneous areas of responsibility, so that there are many similarities with other professional fields, such as civil engineering, architecture or classic management. For example, technical plan reviews, organizational and administrative activities with regard to the BIM model, as well as coordination management are among his areas of responsibility. Here, the BIM specialist should have a particularly strong ability to communicate and work in a team. Since his area of ​​responsibility is strongly based on the virtual building model, special technical qualifications are also essential.

As part of the modeling, special skills are required for the construction of a BIM model and the maintenance and management of the model. Knowledge of the BIM methodology in general and specific IT skills in particular are essential here. This includes the ability to deal with the corresponding BIM software as well as programming knowledge. Furthermore, the bim expert develops a wide variety of document templates for all functional areas involved in the project or company-wide. Thus, this supports the integration of the BIM method into daily work processes.

In addition to these job characteristics, the bim expert is responsible for setting up and maintaining a network of experts.  He can exchange ideas about technical innovations as well as changes in standards and norms. This should include both national and international developments. Depending on how the company positions itself when introducing the BIM method, there are additional tasks that can go far beyond the project level. 

BIM Consulting: What You Need to Know

 

BIM consulting firm is an excellent start for bim projects. If you're looking to get started in bim, a bim consulting firm can help you find the best bim software and hardware for your needs. This article will discuss what bim consulting firms do, how they work with clients and some of the benefits of working with them.

What is bim consulting firm?

A BIM consulting is an excellent opportunity to get bim projects off the ground. If you're looking to buy bim software, bim consulting firm is a great place to start. BIM consultants will work with you to assess what you need and recommend the best bim products for your needs.

How does bim consulting firm work with clients?

A BIM consulting firm is constantly engaged in bim projects and has extensive knowledge about bim techniques to teach their clients. Some bim consultants can provide one-off advice, while others might take a more hands-on approach.

A bim consultant will typically spend their first meeting with clients to know them and understand what they need in bim software. They'll then assess the project's requirements, provide recommendations for bim products, help create bim blueprints where necessary, and offer training on using bim tools.

A BIM consulting firm is an excellent bim resource for those looking to get into bim. They're constantly involved in bim projects and can provide a range of services from advice, recommendations, and training up to full-scale bims project management.

Why use a bim consultant?

Working on bims projects can be challenging, especially if it's your first project.

Some BIM consultants are simply able to provide one-off advice, while others might be able to take a more hands-on approach. For example, a BIM consultant will typically spend their first meeting with clients to know them and understand what they need in bim software. They'll then assess the requirements of the BIM project, provide recommendations for products, help create blueprints where necessary, and offer training on how to use tools.

A bim consulting firm gives you bim professionals at your fingertips to help you start working with projects.

Bim's consultants are an invaluable asset when you want help with starting bim projects.

How to choose the right bim consultant for you?

A bim consultant is the bim professional you need when you want to start bims projects. Every bim project is different, so it's essential to choose BIM consultants with a breadth of experience and offering services that fit your needs.

Maintaining a BIM consulting firm can be difficult, so it's crucial for bim consultants to market their service and network with other bim experts regularly.

The first step in choosing a bim consultant is looking at their experience and services offered. Do they specialize in the type of BIM project you're interested in? Or do they offer every service under the sun? If they specialize, are the experts within their field?

It can be challenging to tell which bim consultant is the exemplary BIM consulting firm for you in some cases. If this sounds like your situation, then make sure to ask BIM consultants about their previous experience and what they would do differently on a project if there were more time or fewer resources available.

When choosing BIM consulting firm, the most important thing is finding bims consultants with the bim experience or knowledge you're looking for.

The benefits of using a bim consultancy firm

·         You'll have bims professionals at your fingertips that can help you get started in bim projects. 

·         Maintaining a bims consultancy service is difficult, so bim consultants must regularly market their service and network with other BIM experts.

Why Your Company Should Hire A BIM Specialist

 When companies choose to invest in building information modeling, they usually have to decide whether to invest in a BIM consultant. You may be thinking about why companies would not solve their own problems themselves, whether it be a new BIM process or for companywide digital transformation. But, there are many reasons why companies need a bim consulting Australia service for their projects: 

Use a fresh set of eyes

When making tough decisions, you may turn to an independent BIM consultant to look at a problem in a new, unbiased way and give their advice. Since BIM consultancy works in a specific area of the architecture, engineering, construction and operation industry, they are experts in the ins and outs of these sectors 

Have plenty of experience

BIM consultants become experts in their fields by taking several projects and years to acquire the level of knowledge they have today. Also, they work with many other companies and most likely have worked through your problem before. This allows bim consulting Australia to give a perspective in line with the best practices and lessons learned over the years, bringing positive results to the table. 

Provide specialized skills

Organizations also hire BIM consultancy to gain access to a specialized skill set that does not exist in-house. BIM consultants are on-demand; these are highly technical professionals who would be expensive to hire on a full-time basis. The good thing is you can use that skill set on-demand only when you need it. 

Create a safe zone

Sometimes, it can be challenging for you to take the necessary actions without getting wrapped up in politics or emotions within your company. A bim consulting Australia agency does not work within your company; thus, is not influenced by it. If you present a problem to them, they will provide a solution based on the information you give them minus a personal bias. In case of an internal debate, the consultants can provide impartial advice. 

Supplement your staff

The problem you have in your hands is critical, but you do not have the resources available. Also, new projects require you to reprioritize the responsibilities of your employees. Deciding to hire a new staff member to fill this gap is not always the right solution. A bim consulting agency can support you as a proficient team member even when not a full-time employee. For this, it is often more affordable to use their services than hiring and training someone new. 

Be a long-lasting partner

Hiring a BIM consultancy does not have to be a short-term commitment. You may find that you need continued help after handover, depending on your project. If you work with them, you work with dedicated consultants who always build a trusting relationship with your organization. When you have questions, they already know your concerns and how to fix them. 

All things considered, bim consulting supports companies in many ways. Hiring them can increase the likelihood of success for your entire company. They can help you avoid common project delays, overcome information exchange issues, and navigate through complex BIM requirements. 

Essential in Detecting Collisions during Design

 

Proper positioning of elements and entities are the most difficult part of project designing lies in and if designs of two or more entities show elements that are colliding in space, clashes will likely emerge. If the clashes aren't resolved at the planning phase, they cause rework, wastage, inevitable delays and budget overruns during the development stage. A navisworks which is Autodesk software offers an answer by accurately spotting clashes between models at the project design stage. By just reading the time data and geometric of the models submitted, it will generates clash detection reports for designers and contractors as well as it allows them to visualize the project data with a granular level of a 3D coordinated BIM models. And to ensure an informed project control and error-free construction, navisworks will detect and resolve sequence, space and other functional clashes at pre-construction phase. This software also helps designers and contractors to reduce possibilities of multi-level design changes and with the help of 3D clash free BIM models. Therefore, they can avoid a budget overshoots as well as construction delays. 

It is a powerful desktop application that can separate and filter specific model information. A great tool that makes certain processes much more efficient as it works in conjunction with REVIT and but not as a replacement. This navisworks can be used in different applications. This is essential in detecting collisions during design, in real time, gives the team a really efficient method to enhance coordination among multiple building systems and ultimately avoid costly remedies after drawing completion and during construction. The software can enhance the ability to run collision tests between isolated building elements and to filter through building elements quickly. The same filters and searches are often saved and used throughout the project. Once you've got your 3D models, it's possible to use all the capabilities of the software. One among the most advantages is that navisworks models are optimized for visualization, instead of engineering and style work. This translates to simpler models which will not consume all of your computer’s resources. In turn, you'll find the user experience to be much quicker than navigating civil 3D. 

For instance, no matter your workstation specs you'll be ready to orbit round the model without running out of machine memory. Directly supports BIM core objectives, coordination and collaboration is another key feature of the software. This navisworks allows everyone to put all their models together into one platform. It is often what percentage companies create their federated models. Once all individual models are brought together, it then provides the right environment to examine and review them. It’s very intuitive to navigate, which is additionally a plus compared to other more complicated software packages like civil 3D or Revit. But it doesn't stop there, with these software, you've got added coordination insights within the sort of a built-in sophisticated tool for clash detection, albeit at another licensing cost. You will little question have seen on-site clashes of some sort, between different assets resulting in delays and claims. Project teams can develop and deliver clash-free BIM models with the clash detection tool. This has numerous advantages down-the-line during construction, because it minimizes errors and abortive work.

Improving the Productivity of the Designer

 

In our olden days, engineers, designers and draughtsman were struggling to supply and submit engineering drawings in their scheduled times. It was mainly thanks to tremendous efforts that they had taken to supply either new drawing, edited or updated drawings. CAD software is getting used on large scale basis by variety of engineering professionals and firms for various applications. Designing and drafting is the most common application of autocad software. To the planning or drafting field lines, shapes, measurements, scaling of the drawings, all of these gives them headache and difficulties and pressures over-ridden by CAD drafting technology. The advantages of CAD include the power to producing very accurate designs; drawings are often created in 2D or 3D and rotated; other computer programmers are often linked to the design software. With manual drafting, you want to determine the size of a view before you begin drawing. This scale compares the dimensions of the particular object to the dimensions of the model drawn on paper. With CAD, you initially decide what units of measurement you'll use. 

Also, CAD software can increase within the productivity of the designer. The software helps designer in visualizing the ultimate product that's to be made, it subassemblies and therefore the constituent parts. The product also can tend animation and see how the particular product will work, thus helping the designer to right away make the modifications if required. The autocad software helps designer in synthesizing, analyzing, and documenting the planning. All these factors help in lowering the design cost; shorter project completion times and drastically improving the productivity of the designer into fast designing. It can also help improve the standard of the design. With the right software, the designing professionals are offered sizable amount of tools that help in completing thorough engineering analysis of the proposed design. The tools also help designers to think about sizable amount of investigations. Since the autocad systems offer greater accuracy, the errors are reduced drastically within the designed product resulting in better design. Eventually, better design helps completing manufacturing faster and reducing the wastages that would have occurred due to the faulty design. 

Better communications is a subsequent important part after designing in making the drawings. With this software, you can sure a better and standardized drawing that often made easily. The autocad software helps in better documentation of the planning, fewer drawing errors, and greater legibility. Creating the documentation of designing is one among the foremost important parts of designing and this will be made very conveniently by the CAD software. The documentation of designing includes geometries and dimensions of the merchandise, its subassemblies and its components, material specifications for the components, bill of materials for the components etc. When the creating the info for the documentation of the autocad designing, most of the data for manufacturing is additionally created like component drawings and products, material required for the components, their dimensions and shape etc. You can separate information onto individual transparent overlays with manual drafting such a building plan might contain separate overlays for electrical, plumbing components, electrical, and plumbing components is structural.