The load plan

In the construction industry, managing time and resources effectively is fundamental to avoid delays and budget overruns. This article explains how the workload plan can optimize project planning, improve resource allocation, and reduce risks. A well-developed PDC allows for more serene management of construction sites.

What is a charge plan?

The load plan - or load schedule - (PDC) is a site planning tool. It makes it possible to correlate workloads, production capacities and the duration of completion of the various projects, regardless of the type of professionals involved.

The PDC provides a Summary of working hours collaborators who participate in the project.

The usefulness of the PDC

The PDC facilitates a optimized management of time and resources, whether human or material. It highlights periods of high load. Ce type of construction schedule makes it possible in particular to adjust the workforce and to better plan interventions.

How a PDC works

The load plan can be structured per team, per project or per collaborator. It can cover different periods: day, week, month, or year.

The indicator: the load rate

The load rate determines the percentage of time that a resource “spends” for each specific task.

Suppose a journeyman electrician works 35 hours a week with a 30% load rate for the electrical installation of a new building. This means that he has to devote about 10.5 hours per week. The PDC allows him to allocate his remaining hours to other important tasks on the construction site.

Why create a load plan?

When properly used, a PDC allows a construction company to effectively manage and allocate all its human resources. Thanks to him, you can structure the preparation of your sites and the sequence of works.

The charge schedule also makes it possible to quickly detect delays, and to take the necessary measures to rectify the situation. The tool has several other advantages:

• The indicators provided by the PDC and their analysis allow you to know if you can take on new missions. This helps to avoid overburdening yourself and creating tensions with project owners that could damage your company's reputation.
• The charging plan also helps to easily determine the resources needed, and to see if they are available or already used. It allows you to identify your recruitment needs to increase your workforce and ensure customer satisfaction.
• Finally, the PDC facilitates visualization of the workload per employee, and therefore the organization of the distribution of tasks to meet deadlines. It improves team coordination, and reassures your employees by uniting them for the success of projects.

In addition to increasing productivity and profitability, the PDC allows you to monitor construction sites more calmly and to assess the effectiveness of your teams. It helps to make you gain profitability.

How to draw up a load plan?

To make a successful load plan, you need to gather data and go through several steps.

What you need to know to create a load plan

• Objectives: Understand and clearly define the 'What', 'Who', 'Who', 'Where', 'Where', 'How', 'When' and 'Why' of the project to establish the basis for the workload plan.
• Duration: Evaluate the total amount of time required for the completion of the project as well as for each specific task, in days, weeks, or months.
• Resources needed: Identify all required resources, labor, materials, and materials. Write down contact information for your teams, partners, subcontractors and project owners.
• Budget: Plan a detailed budget for each resource, using building price libraries for an accurate estimate and to optimize costs.

The steps to follow to create a load plan

Development of the project framework

Start by defining the goals and needs of the project using the QQOCQP method to clarify each aspect of the workload plan.

Time planning

Determine the duration of work and individual tasks. Realistically plan deadlines based on capabilities and resources.

Allocation of resources

Assign the necessary material and human resources, ensuring their availability and adequacy with the planned tasks.

Budgeting

Detail the budget needed for each phase of the project, using accurate costing tools to maintain cost control.

Assignment and prioritization of tasks

Assign tasks to teams and companions, prioritizing actions according to urgency and importance for the smooth running of the project. Integrate the load rate for each resource to determine the percentage of time allocated to each specific task.

Follow-up and control

Set up a real-time monitoring system to monitor the progress of work and intervene quickly in case of delays or complications.

Mistakes not to make when completing the PDC

• Underestimation of deadlines: Be careful not to minimize the time needed for tasks, which could lead to accumulated delays and stressful project management.
• Neglect of resource limitations: ignoring the limitations of available resources could cause planning conflicts and lead to additional costs.
• Lack of budgetary flexibility: Forgetting to allocate a margin for contingencies in the budget could lead to financial problems if unexpected expenses occur.
• Insufficient communication: not ensuring good communication between the actors of the project can in any case lead to misunderstandings and errors in carrying out the tasks.
• Underuse of tracking technologies: not exploiting the tools available for project monitoring and management limits the accuracy of progress reports and reduces the effectiveness of activity control.

What tool should I use to create a load plan?

Two main tools are available to construction companies to develop a load plan: Excel and specialized software such as Alobees.

Use Excel to create a load plan

Method

• Define project tasks in an Excel spreadsheet, assign columns for durations, resources, and costs.
• Use formulas for calculations and pivot tables for detailed analyses.
• Integrate Gantt charts via extensions to visualize planning.

Advantage

Excel is widely used and does not require no special training. The spreadsheet allows great flexibility to customize the load plan. It is capable of performing complex calculations.

Disadvantage

Excel is not not specially designed for project management. It is particularly limited when it comes to real-time collaboration and updates. Monitoring becomes complex for large projects, and managing versions and backups is risky.

Its use also involves knowing how to personalize it. The development of the schedule may prove to be Very complicated.

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Use Alobees to easily create a load plan:

The load schedule is a complete management tool for your activity. It allows you to:

• See at a glance your projects over the coming weeks
• Understand your needs and simply anticipate the occupancy rate of your workforce
• Optimize site management as best as possible by placing your needs effectively
• Optimize the profitability of your sites by simply forecasting the workload

Alobees is a construction site monitoring application which allows you to quickly set up team schedules, organize tasks and have a clear vision of the progress of projects.

Its main features

• Assignment of workers: Place your companions on construction sites in a few clicks.
• Real-time tracking: monitor the progress of the work continuously.
• Overview: access an integral vision of all your projects and collaborators.
• Remote management: control the schedules of your workers via your smartphone.
• Notifications: your workers are instantly informed of their new tasks.
• Organization of tasks: assign missions to your teams on a daily basis.
• Communication: send private notes to inform your teams live.
• Performance evaluation: Rate the performances of your employees, with instant visibility on their mobile devices.

With its intuitive interface, Alobees simplifies the coordination of activities and teams. It also offers tools such as timesheets, payroll variables, intervention monitoring and the generation of detailed reports. Try it free for 14 days to discover its benefits.