Kristine earned 85,000 DKK for the project in 5 minutes in the trailer

"What is saved is earned," says an old Danish proverb. In just 5 minutes in the trailer, Kristine Ann Barnes averted an additional bill of 85,000 DKK for the project from a trade contractor by having her Location-based Schedule and site documentation 100% in order. Accurate registrations reduce conflicts on the construction site and instead create space for good collaboration where everyone can keep their agreements.

First mover with Location-based Scheduling

Kristine Ann Barnes is a heavyweight in the Danish construction industry regarding scheduling. She was a "first mover" in the use of location-based planning on a construction project back in 2006 but truly began in 2008 when she, along with a few colleagues, introduced and implemented the method at MT Højgaard. Since then, she has continued working on planning and optimizing processes in construction with several significant players on the contractor side. Currently, she is a process consultant focusing on Location-based Planning at Niras.

The most important tool in her digital toolbox

Kristine has spent her days on hundreds of Danish construction sites over the years. The most important tool in her digital toolbox is location-based planning and the new Tactplan Mobile app from Exigo for progress reporting. On her LinkedIn profile, Kristine describes some of the advantages of Location-based Scheduling: 

"Location-based Scheduling results in better mutual understanding and therefore fewer conflicts in the execution phase. It provides a much better overview of the construction process than any other tool." 

Kristine continues:

"We achieve a better flow, eliminate waste, and find optimization opportunities. There is no project where it cannot be used! It certainly comes naturally in residential construction, but it also works for complex commercial construction with few or no repetitions. And usually beyond expectations!" 

New app for progress and status reporting

Kristine has conducted progress reporting at the construction site Hans Knudsens Plads for Gefion Group in the last few months using the new app Tactplan Mobile. The registrations are sent from the app back to Kristine's Location-based Schedule in Tactplan Schedule software.

”"Site status has been a challenge in the past. I used the follow-up form from Schedule Planner for progress reporting and construction meetings. Red = behind. Green = completed. I printed everything out and carried it with me along with a floor plan where I noted my registrations. In the evening when I entered my new data on my PC in the office, I must admit that I often sat there thinking, 'Oops... Did I actually check the ventilation on the fifth floor?' And then I either have to guess or drive back to the construction site and check again. With the new app, I enter the status while I'm on the site.

Earned 85,000 DKK for the project in 5 minutes in the trailer  

Kristine experienced on another construction project that a trade contractor came rushing with an additional bill of 85,000 DKK. He claimed that he had lost that money because the electrician before him wasn't finished at the agreed time, so he and his people had to go home again.

Kristine laughs: "The construction site can be the wild west sometimes. Individual trade contractors want to invoice as much as possible— as quickly as possible. And that's perfectly okay; that's how the game works. 'If it works, it works.'"

"I pulled out my schedule and my progress reporting. He claimed it was about the 1st floor in building A the week before. But here, I could prove to him that the electrician had finished 5 days earlier, so there had been plenty of time and space for him and his people. But he didn't give up so easily and continued insisting. - Then it was the 2nd floor in building B instead. But here, too, I could document that the previous contractor had finished on time, and there had been time and space for him. I confronted him now with the 'gaps' where he should have been on the construction site, and it turned out that the trade contractor and his people had been on another construction site those days."

Kristine could reject the additional bill and at the same time tease him about his delay.

Accurate reportings and documentation

"The time when I make my reporting is automatically recorded in the app. This means that when the painter, for example, comes and says he is behind because the carpenter wasn't finished on time, I can look at the app and tell him that the carpenter was finished on time last Wednesday when I made my site registration at 11:05. I can show him pictures of the finished floor, and at the same time, I can show him what consequence his delay has for the move-in date. This type of documentation puts me in a very strong position as a process leader." And when the documentation is black on white, there are far fewer discussions about the status, which promotes good collaboration on the site."

The great flow

Kristine tells of an episode with a carpenter on another construction project. He was everywhere at once, and he didn't care about Kristine's Location-based Schedule. He had workers going on in all 30 apartments simultaneously, and it had significant consequences for the bricklayers and painters who came after him.

"The carpenter thought he was wildly efficient; after all, he had people spread out all over the construction site. But in the big picture, he needed to be more efficient. On the contrary, the good rhythm, flow, and collaboration between the trades were destroyed. The bricklayer and the painter tried to adapt their work to the carpenter, but they were extremely frustrated because he was everywhere, and his work was only halfway done."

Transparency and good collaboration

"When working with the Location-based Schedule, everyone has to jump on the same train. - And when everyone does that, it's insanely efficient. There needs to be more discussion with Location-based Scheduling and the Tactplan Mobile app from Exigo. I have my documentation 100% in order - and if anyone needs clarification on something - they can log in and follow along; it provides transparency in progress.

And that's great! Then we can concentrate on doing a good job together that we can all be proud of, in a good working environment on the site where everyone can keep their accord.

I can highly recommend Location-based Scheduling and Tactplan Control + Mobile. The investment in software and the app quickly pays off. - I 'earned' 85,000 for the project in 5 minutes with the trade contractor in the construction trailer, and that's just one of many examples."

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Kristine Ann Barnes uses Schedule Planner for Location-based Scheduling and Tactplan Control + Mobile for on-site progress reporting and follow-up.

Schedule Planner is in the mean time been replaced with Tactplan Schedule, which you can read more about here. Exicute has merged into Tactplan and is now: Tactplan Control + mobile. Read more about it here.