Earned Value Management: Evaluating MEP Building Systems Installation Status at Any Stage of the Project Lifecycle

Becoming a part of a building project team and maneuvering the on boarding challenges of inserting oneself into its current climate, can be an exciting event upon accepting a job, contract or project work assignment. 

The oversight of trade contractors and stakeholder interest plays an integral part of how management of the work is agreed to, progresses and evolves.

MEP project professionals should consider becoming familiar with the usefulness of  Earned Value Management and evaluation of  the MEP Building System Installation Status  at Any Stage of the Project Lifecycle. Become abreast of not only what is being relayed via the information provided in EV, BAC, CPI/SPI and SV/CV calculations, to say the least, but also look closely at what is not being said and develop ways to assist your team, project and stakeholders in circumventing these types of challenges as they begin to present themselves.

As an MEP Professional Services Practitioner, it is by far one of the most valuable tools utilized in grasping and predicting the project climate and can answer far more questions than those captured within the formulas provided. 

Utilizing Earned Value Management tools and techniques and a methodology encompassing its benefits as a resource to establish an objective viewpoint on past, current and future work projections, has the ability to assist you and your team in getting back  or staying on track, task focused and results driven, that can manifest itself in extraordinary ways.

Suggestively, one should  be aware  and attentive to the colloquial phrase of knowing  “ Who’s who in the Zoo”  professionally and what that roles’  value contribution is and accomplishes in reaching the project goal.

Earned Value Management has been described as “ “management with the lights on” and is based on the principle that patterns and trends can indicate future conditions. The EVM methodology addresses project scope, schedule and costs and applies to many of the PMBOK Guides Knowledge Areas and Process Groups”.

Some basic elements of the EVM Methodology:

• Information  - PV/AC/EV

• Budgets - BAC

• Variances  - SV/CV/SPI/CPI and TCPI 

What becomes an issue and encountered with the application of the EVM model is organizations often do not use it entirely or utilize an alternative methodology  that fiscally translates risk related events into an alternative platform and specifically related terminology is less related to the work or work value.

From the MEP Building Systems Installation perspective, utilizing documents such as the AIA/Application or Certificates built and agreed upon by all relevant parties upon the commencement of the project work, a stringently realistic and updated master schedule in conjunction with work in place assessments, adds enormous value and benefit to the EVM methodology and offer a snapshot of reality. 

Getting a firm grasp of the earned value on your project at an early stage and at various milestones throughout your project is an  area of  periodic project status checks that can serve to benefit, as well as proactively address challenges on your progress to successful project completion. NFB

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