91视频

Carol Bolstad isn’t surprised when a construction project finishes late. But because so many projects follow unrealistic schedules 鈥� about 80 percent, in Bolstad’s estimation 鈥� she is surprised that any more than 20 percent finish on time.

Bolstad, president of Stevenson, Wash.,-based Scheduling and Information Services Inc., or SIS, gets called in to make schedules for huge projects, or to sort things out when huge messes get made of projects. 鈥淲hen everyone’s pointing fingers, that’s when you get involved and get them back on track,鈥� Bolstad said. 鈥淵ou get them finished.鈥�

Contractors often fall behind because their construction schedules are little more than wishful thinking, Bolstad said. Tasks that must be completed in order often aren’t scheduled in order, causing unnecessary delays.

On one project in California, Bolstad could tell that the project would be late just by looking at its inaccurate schedule. 鈥淲hen you go into the field and start walking around, you get the same sense,鈥� she said. Sure enough, the project is now more than six months behind schedule.

If companies wait to call SIS until the project is behind schedule and over budget, there’s only so much the company can do, said Tony Bolstad, project controls manager. SIS can present more options if it has more time.

鈥淲e can suggest rearranging activities to run things concurrently,鈥� Tony Bolstad said. 鈥淵ou can increase the crew size, put out people on weekends, or bring in a whole second crew.
鈥淎 lot of times, they’re not staffed appropriately and they don’t even realize it.鈥�

On very large, or long, projects, companies often recognize the importance of having accurate schedules before construction starts. Jim McDonald, project manager for Impregilo/Healy, hired SIS to schedule Portland’s West Side Big Pipe project. The joint venture also employed SIS to build a baseline schedule for the Las Vegas water intake project under construction at Lake Mead.

鈥淲e usually do that scheduling in-house,鈥� McDonald said, 鈥渂ut the initial development of a (schedule) for a big project is a pretty time-intensive endeavor.鈥�

Figuring out the scheduling system and training employees can sometimes be more trouble than using an outside contractor, McDonald said. 鈥淚t’s very complicated software,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd good people are hard to find.鈥�

鈥淚t’s a very small little niche,鈥� Carol Bolstad said. 鈥淎nd there was a really big need.鈥�

Small companies don’t have the money for the software, she said. And just because a company can afford the software, doesn’t mean the company can run it.

鈥淚f you don’t do it every single day, you don’t do it well,鈥� she said.

SIS does use the software every day, on project sites as spread out as Iraq, Hawaii and Alaska. The 10-person company has seven to eight employees who travel to larger project sites.

As larger projects go, Portland’s Big Pipe is pretty big, but it’s no Panama Canal. Bolstad knows 鈥� she’s building a schedule for that project too.

Last month, the Panama Canal Authority’s administrator announced that a group of contractors including Impregilo would build the new set of locks for the canal. The construction cost estimate is $3.19 billion out of a total project cost of around $5.25 billion. Impregilo again turned to SIS.

That project will probably require two or three full-time schedulers, Bolstad said 鈥� at least one for each side of the locks. They’ll live in Panama for the four-year duration of the project.

Bolstad herself will stay in the Columbia River Gorge, which has proved to be as good a base as any for the far-flung jobs SIS has taken during its five-year existence. 鈥淲e started in Stevenson, and we’re still here,鈥� she said.