cPM Scheduler
CDCI
800.285.2324
$600 for up to 10 concurrent projects; other pricing plans available
Unlike the generic schedulers in this article (Project, Sure Trak, FastTrack, Quick Gantt), cPM, by Construction Data Control Inc. (CDCI), is built to sched ule one thing only: construction. it crosses the line between pure scheduler and complete project man agement system by tracking account ing cost codes and allowing project managers to control the schedule from the field. cPM’s only shortcoming is that, like VirtualBoss, it can only schedule in full-day increments, which may not be ideal for remodelers.
Only three fields of information — Activity, Duration, and Sequence — are required to set up complete project schedules in cPM. Each activity can be tied to a budget item, either imported from CDCI’s accounting software or entered manually when the schedule is set up. All major functions of the scheduler are mirrored in the PDA versions, which will run on either PalmOS or PocketPC devices. Project managers can manipulate the schedule, approve budget items, and check off to-do items right from their handheld computers.
CDCI has also realized that not all builders are ready for PDAs. A number of useful “clipboard-friendly” reports, such as Job Inspection Worksheets, Activity Details, and Vendor To-Do Lists, build a bridge between the electronic world of the construction office and the paper-based world of the typical project manager. All reports can also be written to over a dozen standard computer formats, including text, Excel, and HTML, for distribution via e-mail or the Internet.
cPM is available as a stand-alone scheduler or can be combined with CDCI’s accounting software to form the field component of a robust purchase-order and pay-from-PO system.
BuildLinks Online Scheduler
BuildLinks
800.803.3002
$75 per home scheduled, $1,000 one-time setup fee
Web services continue to peck away at the conventional software market for good reason: There is no easier way to share project data than to put it up on a Web site where anyone with a browser can access it. The full BuildLinks system is an “online collaboration” service with a twist: one view for the client and another for the contractor. Buyers logging on to the system are greeted by a friendly project overview, while builders log on to track all the gory details. This two-sided approach works well: You can show customers what they need to know and do at all times without worrying them with unnecessary detail. The BuildLinks Scheduler is the latest module in the BuildLinks online system. It’s available stand-alone or integrated into the other BuildLinks project management tools.
Despite running in a Web browser, the BuildLinks Scheduler is conventional in approach. Tasks, resources, and dependencies are scheduled in a list view, which automatically generates an interactive bar graph similar to a Gantt chart and a calendar view. Lead and lag times are created by altering date ranges in the list view, and the user can select whether a particular activity will appear on the homeowner calendar, the builder calendar, or both.
It’s obvious that a lot of “builder-thought” went into the BuildLinks Scheduler. For example, you can make a task dependent on completion of a task in a different project, a necessary scenario for townhouse or condo builders who are running a separate “shell” schedule. You can also do basic resource allocation to see where a particular sub is scheduled across all projects. All reports can be “printed” to .PDF files, and the system will automatically notify participants of schedule changes by e-mail.
VirtualBoss 3.6
VirtualBoss Software
888.827.5397
$395
Created by a builder, VirtualBoss combines a simplified critical path scheduler with a basic contact manager, a good combination for hands-on contractors who don’t have the time or patience to learn more complex scheduling systems.
VirtualBoss has three basic modules: Job Manager, Task Manager, and Contact Manager. The scheduler itself is very basic. Everything is lumped together in a master “task list,” which you can filter by project, by contact, or by date. You can also create project “groups” — for instance, to filter a list of all material deliveries. Scheduling is in full-day increments only. The start date of a task can be linked to the completion date of a previous task to create a basic critical path schedule, but there are no advanced constraints, no resource leveling, and you can assign only one contact (resource) to a task. The built-in contact manager is adequate for looking up phone numbers on the fly and keeping track of essential address information, but it is not very customizable and does not log client activity, except for e-mail.
It’s not the fanciest scheduler or most versatile contact manager, but Boss has a better trick up its sleeve — automatic work orders. It lets you distribute task lists and individual work orders painlessly with just a few mouse clicks — by computer fax (Windows fax drivers or WinFax Pro required) or e-mail — to whomever needs to see them.
VirtualBoss is all about ease of use, and I can envision even computer greenhorns having no trouble riding around with VirtualBoss on a laptop computer, scheduling and tracking their projects, and using the program to send work orders right from the jobsite. A PocketPC companion version is also available ($60), and PalmOS PDA users can get information in and out of VirtualBoss by using a third-party utility like Documents To Go ( www.dataviz.com).
QuickGantt Plus 4.0
Ballantine & Company Inc.
800.536.6677
$249 for single-user license; other versions start at $99
If all you want is very basic listbased scheduling with at-a-glance visuals, QuickGantt Plus might be just what the doctor ordered. The interface features three tabbed views: Worksheet, which is similar to an Excel worksheet, Gantt Chart, and Notes. You won’t find PERT charts, resource leveling, or Internet-based collaboration, but you will get speed. Working in the Worksheet view, you can set up the bones of a typical residential schedule in just a few minutes. One nice feature is a budget column where you can plug in costs for various line items. You can also create a “master schedule” by grouping individual worksheets together. The result can then be filtered by individual jobs or merged into one combined worksheet. QuickGantt also has the ability to compare a baseline schedule with a revised version.
QuickGantt Plus integrates with Ballantine’s QuickAssist contact manager to link to resources directly, and you can import and export to a number of standard formats, including Access, Excel, and comma-delimited text. Finally, in the PDA department, a $25 add-on makes QuickGantt the least expensive PDA-enabled scheduler in this roundup.
Joe Stoddard is a technology consultant to the building industry and a contributor to REMODELING and THE JOURNAL OF LIGHT CONSTRUCTION . A version of this article originally appeared in JLC.
