Man-hour system management

The PMIS software is generally used. The labor hour tracking requires each designer to enter the data daily; it’s a bit tedious at first, and reward and penalty systems are needed, otherwise progress won’t be made. The work quota should be the basic work prepared by the unit itself.

This type of working hour system isn’t very useful in China; generally, each person just reports the number of hours they worked, and even if they don’t do any work in a day, you still have to record those hours as worked. When assigning work, you also give them tasks based on work orders, so these so-called fancy things are not practical. The working hours system software can be developed by oneself; it’s a very simple thing. timeSheet can also be used.

The ERP system we use covers this. One has to fill in the working hours by oneself, which doesn’t seem practical

I also think this isn’t very practical. The design and procurement phases are manageable, as the quality of the personnel is relatively high and accurate statistics can be obtained. However, during the construction phase, there are many people involved, and the skills of the various professionals vary greatly, making it difficult to gather accurate data; one can only estimate or make predictions.

This post was last edited by The wise are enlightened on 2010-1-21 at 10:47. A coefficient can be calculated based on factors such as the characteristics of the project, its difficulty level, the quotas for work volume, the labor efficiency of different construction companies, and the machinery used; this coefficient can be adjusted on a quarterly basis. When you have accumulated a sufficient number of statistical samples from projects, or a certain amount of statistical samples related to engineering projects, you will find that they tend to converge around a mode; at this point, the estimated hours required become quite accurate. 　　Project investment is determined based on estimated quota rates, while the final settlement for the project is carried out using budget quota rates or unit prices. These quota rates or unit prices are composed of labor, materials, and machinery; excluding the factors of materials and machinery, the determining factor is the number of man-hours invested. If labor efficiency does not improve, the project is bound to incur losses. 　

6# The wise understand that even engineering companies with a long history may not be able to accumulate sufficiently accurate data, as this is determined by the complexity of engineering management. Engineering projects are unique and cannot be replicated; even if you try to carry out the same project in another location with the same team, the outcome may not be identical to the original one. Moreover, as social productivity develops, particularly as the percentage of labor costs in construction expenses changes, historical data must be continuously updated. Therefore, data from a few years ago is completely unusable unless it is estimated and predicted by experienced personnel based on the characteristics of the project. As for quotas, from my understanding of construction quotas, if one studies them in sufficient depth, they can be quite useful as a guide; however, this is possible only on the basis of a thorough understanding of market prices and adequate experience in construction.

7th floor, Woodmoon. I fully agree with your view. 　　The concept of man-hours was introduced on a large scale into domestic project management in the late 1990s with the Daya Bay nuclear power project, and at the beginning of this century with petrochemical projects such as SECCO, Yangba, and Nanhai. Most domestic engineering companies are still in the stage of exploration and accumulation, while those involved in numerous foreign-related projects pay more attention to the accumulation and utilization of working hours.

Internal quota and man-hour systems in enterprises are very necessary, but currently, in domestic enterprises, especially state-owned ones, the management relies on their own experience to manage projects, and given the current construction environment in China, this approach yields a fairly high success rate; as a result, they simply do not see any need to implement such systems. I once discussed the issue of internal quotas within companies with an experienced senior budgeter; he dismissed this idea outright, making it impossible for me to have a discussion with him. They prefer a more extensive management style, and although the construction environment is improving, their management approach has not been abandoned, so delays will continue for quite some time. The biggest problem with this approach is that the continuity of knowledge cannot be effectively passed on within the company. When someone completes a project and understands how it works, once that person leaves, there are no materials available for the next person to use. If a similar project needs to be undertaken, it’s fine if an experienced person is assigned to it; but if it’s a newcomer, they have to start from scratch, without any reference materials, thus falling into a vicious cycle~

It’s indeed very enlightening; determining man-hours requires continuous experience accumulation, and I’ve been researching this area recently. It would be good if there were a quantitative standard.

As far as I know, there are no engineering companies in China that have done well in this area yet. There are also some misconceptions: 1. Quota management applies not only to construction but also to design ； 2. Even if there are set working hour quotas, they are often merely formalities, lacking the necessary experience accumulation. Engineering companies should carry out thorough planning in this area, focusing on the accumulation of raw data and learning from excellent management practices abroad. Faced with external competition, some engineering companies of a state-owned nature suffer from severe talent loss and an outdated system. I wonder if everyone shares the same feelings in this regard?