yeah, it also directly invilves the executing contractors in the progressing promoting ownership of the plan (for want of a better phrase). A weekly or monthly updated schedule is too stale for contractors working on the ground.

Tom,

For progressing and access control for several similar packages of work (or Scope Items) like your appartments, you could consider using a "wallpaper" system.

In your case the wallpaper has several columns, one for each stage in the fitting out process, and one line for each appartment. It is hung in view in the main project office, in our case in front of the permits desk. This works especially well when the logic of the activities is strictly linear, but with a bit of creativity can be made to work with more complex processes.

Where columns and lines intersect you get a box. This box is signed off by the relevant party when they have completed the works on that appartment. The next column after a contractor’s activity will normally be an inspection of the work complete before the next contractor activity begins, but not always. You may accept that the hidden works in an appartment, First fit cabling and plumbing, for example can go ahead in parallel but that an inspection is required before drywalling can start (thus covering the works from view). Where this inspection ios required, it forms a "hold point" on the Scope Item, which must be cleared before work proceeds.

The drywall contractor can then, for example, see very quickly which appartments are ready for him to work on and arrange his works accordingly.

The act of snagging can also be included although the detail of it would probably have to be dealt with separately.

This is very effective when the individual Scope Items (in your case each appartment) can be progressed in parallel without affect on one another.

You could do something clever with PDAs, which we have considered, but the tracability of a pen and paper system aswell as the ease with which a PM / client or whatever can get an overview on progress is a great advantage.

Excel is almost made for this sort of presentation, although I’ve seen it done through a database package also.