Contractor Marketing

Summer, 2003

Management By Exception – Providing an Edge

Let's face it, we live in an 'always on' world and the proliferation of internet communication tools had made it possible for users to receive an enormous amount of information through their computers. Having too much information in too many places is becoming a common problem, making it even harder for project teams to communicate. Next generation web based program management solutions are now available to help your owners "manage by exception" through a personal executive summary across all projects.

Contractors who are proposing to an owner doing more than a couple of projects should consider discussing the Executive Summary during their oral presentations. Owners are busy people and value the ability to get concise information from which they can make informed decisions. While other firms may agree to provide monthly reports to their owners, the opportunity exists to provide your owners with personalized information anytime they want it.

As more projects are being managed on-line it is becoming harder, if not impossible, to visit each individual project site. Through the executive summaries, multiple projects are summarized across one screen. As each user's needs are different, the capability exists for the user to filter out and specify only the critical information they need to manage successfully. For example, an owner might want to filter only those change orders that exceed $10,000 or filter those Requests for Information that have gone unanswered by more than 10 days. The combinations are endless thanks to tools that allow a user to filter data across all their project sites. The benefit is that project teams can now view consolidated information that is important to them, providing the ability to make informed decisions that will positively impact the cost and schedule across their entire program.

There are many capabilities of a personalized executive dashboard. They allow the owner to:

- View Cost and Schedule information across multiple projects as it is generated in the field. With this real-time display, informed decisions can be made to ensure the facilities open on–time and on budget.

- Oversee all the design and construction activity by summarizing critical action items. Identify small problems before they become large problems and avoid delays by receiving alerts when issues have gone past due.

- Increase the accountability of each person by being able to instantly track their response times on all issues such as Requests for Information, Design Review Issues, Submittals, and more.

By providing a single place to get filtered information across applications that manage an entire program, the ability to manage more effectively and make smarter decisions has become a reality through web based system that provide these executive summaries. With a understanding of how these web based systems can add value for your owners, expect to turn the heads of your owner prospects as compete for business.


Jonathan Antevy is CEO and Co-founder of e-Builder, Inc, a Ft. Lauderdale, FL-based technology firm specializing web based program management systems for the construction industry. A McGraw-Hill Top 25 Newsmaker in 1995, Jonathan was named one of the century's Top 125 Innovators. He holds a Bachelors in Design and a Masters in Construction Management.