DasNet’s Continuous Improvement Program prevents and identifies product and process deficiencies, thereby reducing cost and improving quality. Of the two types, prevention and detection, prevention is by far the most cost-effective because defects and deficiencies are avoided earlier in the process and significant cost and time savings result. In addition to helping improve the products of development, the Continuous Improvement Program monitors and improves the processes by which the products are created.  In this way, both the product and the associated processes are being refined continually. The overall result is that DasNet will continually review the standards and procedures developed with and approved by its clients. The application of these standards and procedures will be specified in the overall program Quality Assurance and Quality Control Plans, and carried out on the individual task orders.

DasNet has an established corporate Continuous Improvement Program that will be tailored at contract award to incorporate each client’s contract needs. The current plan will be endorsed by all team members, who will agree to conform to the policies and procedures of the tailored plan when working on each client’s deliverables and services. 

Schedule control is vital to the success of any construction project. Understanding this, DasNet will provide a basis for monitoring the progress of each project and will provide a foundation to manage the inevitable changes that occur on all construction projects. As such, the as-planned or “Baseline” Schedule will be a comprehensive and realistic representation of this planned work. The Baseline Schedule will also include activities for submittal preparation, review, and approval as well as for equipment/material procurement lead times.

For each project, DasNet we will create and publish the project schedule, as well as a contracted delivery schedule, and provide it to the client for approval. Once approved, the project schedule will become the schedule baseline and will be incorporated into the project management plan. If client-approved changes occur, DasNet’s Project Engineer will update the project schedule baseline, but will not delete the original baseline version for the purpose of review.

Construction often involves firm fixed price task orders, and DasNet bears the financial risk for performance.  All requirements on each order must be completed on time and within budget.  The failure to deliver on schedule results in a financial burden for us. Consequently, DasNet is highly motivated to produce deliverables on time and within budget.  The importance of controlling cost as a primary goal in construction management and scheduling.  

The guiding principle project cost risk analysis is gathering and understanding data. The data is gathered from project engineers and team leaders. When polled, the risk analyst asks about three numbers for each cost component: the low, most likely, and high estimate.  The rationale for each of these three numbers is explored and recorded in the notes of the meeting.  The justification for each of these three evaluation questions points to risk mitigation, which is also discussed in the risk interview.  DasNet uses these cost-estimating/risk mitigation exercises to continually improve the accuracy of our system, thus aiding in the control of actual costs. 

DasNet realizes risk management is and ongoing and iterative process in construction, and continues throughout the lifecycle of the project. The DasNet risk manager will review all potential risk on a frequent basis, update the Project Engineer, and document his findings on the risk assessment sheets.

DasNet’s approach to Risk Management follows these five steps:

• Identify: identify all possible areas of risk or threat, making a list of what areas need consideration
• Analyze: evaluate risks in terms of their likelihood of occurrence and their severity if they do occur
• Plan: responses are then prepared to all the risks that would significantly affect the company/project if they were to occur; decisions are then made as to what action is needed to handle that possibility
• Implement: put into action what we have identified as potential risk
• Review: lessons learned are incorporated into our Risk Management database for consideration in subsequent project planning activities

DasNet’s risk management plan is used to reduce susceptibility to losses incurred during a course of action, which can leave an auditable trail of changes. Our process focuses on project resources on reducing vulnerability, providing early visibility of potential problem areas and creating mitigation actions.

From inception of any project, DasNet’s preliminary planning efforts will define and structure our overall approach to ensure its successful completion.  The Project Scope will be determined as a result of thoughtful definition of goals and needs that include; master planning to accommodate anticipated future needs; evaluation of project alternatives; identification of site requirements; funding requirements; budget authorization cycles and/or financial impacts; and project phasing.

A remote location of the construction site will requires that DasNet’s team be stationed as close as possible to the job site for the duration of the project. Team members may be brought in or sent out depending on the phase of the project and their relevant skills.  Generally, DasNet will have a housing plan in place prior to award, as the safety and security of its team will be considered during the research phase for the project.

Once the project is awarded, DasNet will immediately dispatch the on-site Project Engineer (PE) to the construction site, and upon arrival, he will meet with the local Point of Contact (POC) to begin to coordinate the site design and requirements. To maintain control of the project from inception to completion, the PE will use a Design Checklist that identifies the general parameters of the project, as well as the functional and technical requirements, design provisions, and design objectives required for the project.

The checklist will be prepared at prior to the start of a project and approved by both the PE and client POC.  Throughout the lifecycle of the project, the checklist will be used as a basis for the design scope of work to be conveyed to the construction crew.  As much as possible, the checklist will identify existing conditions, requirements, features, and other work items that would affect the project.

The PE will also work with the POC to stage an area for equipment and material delivery, sorting, verification and storage. Once a staging area is established, a storage area must be allocated so material can be safely housed. The PE will select a storage site as close to the job site as possible for ease of access and monitoring. The PE will also arrange for a secure area to lock-up tools (i.e., power tools, welders, cutters, benders, ladders, scaffolding). If available, an area within the main storage area will be sectioned off for this purpose.

Industry standards dictate that debris from any project be handled carefully and have little or no negative impact on the environment. DasNet concurs with this requirement and will work diligently to maintain a clean, environmentally friendly job site by specifying and implementing a debris deposit location, storage, and removal policy. Each member of the DasNet team will receive an awareness briefing on this policy prior to start of a new project.

Power availability and stability is a serious consideration and requires great scrutiny. DasNet will first attempt to establish power using base resources. If base power cannot be supplied and maintained, DasNet will provide power generators.

The PE will verify all field conditions and expectations. This will entail checking that the actual project requirements match the proposed solution. All proposed dimensions will be checked against field dimensions.  It is understood that in some cases it is not unusual to have a small level of discrepancies between the proposed solution and the actual requirements.  If, however, a discrepancy is significant and may potentially affect the task duration, material requirement(s), or require a level of effort not expected, the PE will immediately notify the POC. As a result, modifications may be revised either by supplementary sheets or by changing the contents of the original estimate pages. The method used will be determined by the extent of the revision and the format utilized. In either case, all revisions to the estimate will be clearly indicated, dated, justified, and approved by the PE and the POC and contract modifications will be made to accommodate the unexpected discrepancies.