SmartPM scans through all the schedule data, analyzes it, then automatically produces the results in text format by automatically filling in the fields of an internal template with standardized text, customized with the project’s unique numbers.
SmartPM Technologies, a construction project analytics provider, has added an automated narrative report feature to its platform. The program automatically generates a narrative based on the schedule data set.
The report is a text-based summary of multiple aspects of a construction job. It is designed for stakeholders involved in a project, as well as construction executives who want information about a project’s status but don’t have the time or expertise to decipher charts and graphs.
Construction companies and contractors traditionally provide their clients – generally the building developer or owner – with a text-based, monthly (or other frequency) update on how the project is progressing, any issues or concerns, potential bottlenecks, etc. While the report will incorporate information about safety issues, outstanding RFI’s and other subjective material, it is the schedule data that provides the majority of insights for various audiences.
SmartPM scans through all the schedule data, analyzes it, then automatically produces the results in text format by automatically filling in the fields of an internal template with standardized text, customized with the project’s unique numbers. The report pulls from a wide spectrum of schedule data, including schedule quality, performance (plan vs. actual), critical path analysis, milestones, compression and more.
As project updates are added into SmartPM, the program pulls in those new parameters and incorporates them into the narrative. Regardless of the frequency with which these reports are produced, as long as the program is being updated with the most current information, the report will present an up-to-date snapshot of the project.
“This more or less goes back to the original goal for the SmartPM platform: to take the most complicated data set in the construction field – the schedule –and present it at a level that anyone can understand,” said Michael Pink, CEO of SmartPM. “The platform can still provide the ‘deep dive’ statistics, charts, and graphs, that some people require. But the report is an incredibly useful tool for the executive who wants that same information in an easier-to-digest, narrative format.”
“In the future, as we pull in new data sets and overlay them with the schedule data, we’ll be able to push that information back out to the narrative to make it even more comprehensive – and far more insightful,” said Pink.
