Change Tracking Log & Management

Great change management starts with a good tracking system.

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This graphic simply shows an example of a log and status codes and is not intended to be prescriptive. 

Change Management: Change Log, Software and Management.

The far more important part of change management is the rigorous review process at least 2X monthly with your PMs that will limit your risk, increase your opportunities, and build your team through training.

Don’t underestimate how much value a great manager can add to the company through this review process.  

  • Be systematic in your review. Don’t skip or assume anything.
  • Could this change have been identified sooner? How? 
  • If it was a T&M, could it have been negotiated as Lump Sum? 
  • Verify good document control for changes, initiating documents, and correspondence.
  • Verify deep understanding of the project, scope, contract, and current status.
  • Verify relationships at all levels with the customer are great.
  • Watch aging days for processing. How could we improve?
  • Watch margins and verify budgets, looking for improvements.
  • Watch costs at risk for unexecuted changes. 

Change Tracking Log & Management
Change orders are a fact of life in construction. Improve profitability, cash flow and customer satisfaction by effectively managing changes. Build a foundation for success with 12 steps to improve pricing and 11 negotiating strategies for the whole project team....

Related Training
Change Tracking Log & Management
Change orders are a fact of life in construction. Improve profitability, cash flow and customer satisfaction by effectively managing changes. Build a foundation for success with 12 steps to improve pricing and 11 negotiating strategies for the whole project team....

Changes and Cash Flow Improvement
Construction is a cash-intensive business and change orders are often one of the root causes of poor cash flow. A 30-day improvement to change management workflow can generate over $400K in additional cash flow for a $50M contractor.
Impacted Productivity - Disrupted Workflow (No Schedule "Flow")
One of the biggest impacts to productivity in construction is when tasks cannot be completed as planned. When this happens frequently, it starts to impact every aspect of the contractor’s scoreboard in a negative way starting with customer satisfaction.
A Broader Definition of a Change on a Construction Project
The first step for contractors improving their management of changes on a project is simply earlier identification. This starts with a better definition of what a change really is, and then setting standards within your company around that definition.