How do you monitor a construction project in progress? It’s important for project teams to have a clear idea of what’s going on in the project at all times, so that they can make informed decisions when necessary. But what’s the best way to keep them in the loop? Use an executive dashboard.
What Is an Executive Dashboard?
As its name implies, an executive dashboard is a single location from which project teams can view at a glance all of the important information regarding a particular project. It lists a number of key performance indicators and how they are faring on this particular project. An executive dashboard can provide a number of benefits to your construction projects, including…
- Improved decision making
- Improved working efficiency
- Increased employee motivation through reports on productivity
- Reduced reporting costs
- A standard metric by which to judge project successes and failures
Elements of an Executive Dashboard
When developing your executive dashboard, the main components are the key performance indicators. Choose a few important ones in a variety of categories, to provide a better overview of all aspects of the project. For instance, project costs can be a good financial KPI, to make sure the project doesn’t go over budget. Meanwhile, employee productivity is a good KPI to see whether or not the project will get done on schedule.
These KPIs are placed on the dashboard, and the data is plugged in at regular intervals. An application like Lantern can be used to visualize the data as charts and graphs that indicate progress over time. Are costs up from last month? Is employee productivity going down over the course of this week? Project teams and management can then view these charts to see how the project is progressing on a variety of different fronts. When the data is presented in graphical form, users can spot trends more easily and be able to address problems and other issues in a timely manner, before the project is over time or over budget.
Project executives at construction companies may have a number of different projects to oversee, at a number of different sites. They can’t be everywhere at once, but it’s still their job to keep things running smoothly, ensuring that there are enough budget and labor to complete each project, and that all resources are being used to their fullest potential. An executive dashboard allows them to view any particular project at a glance and have visibility into how that project is progressing and performing against the plan. It’s an invaluable tool that no construction company should be without.
Dashboards can be a little daunting at first. There’s a lot of data to deal with, and it can overwhelm you if you’re not careful. That’s where Lantern Data Systems comes in. We specialize in business intelligence solutions for the construction industry. We’re experienced in both BI and construction, and can provide the specifically-tailored solutions that construction companies need.