Project Controls
Overview
Effective project controls are essential for managing cost, schedule, and risk in today’s complex construction environment. Without systematic planning and oversight, projects face delays, budget overruns, and diminished quality.
Project controls is a core competency of PMA. Our reputation has been built over more than 50 years of cost and schedule management on complex capital programs across the public and private sectors, and includes active participation in PMI and AACE International, as well as staff credentialed as PSPs, CCPs, CEPs, and PMPs.
Excess control can inflate costs and slow progress; too little invites errors, delays, and reputational risk. Our professionals maintain an optimal balance of control by implementing proven tools and techniques that proactively manage scope, cost, and schedule to deliver consistent, reliable results.
Key Benefits
Balanced Oversight: Maintains optimal control to prevent delays, cost overruns, and quality issues.
Proactive Risk Management: Applies innovative tools to identify risks, opportunities, and threats — turning uncertainty into successful project outcomes.
Tailored Processes: Applies disciplined methodologies adapted to project complexity and team maturity.
Project Controls Services
Cost Estimating
Accurate, owner-centric cost estimates developed at every stage of design, from conceptual budgets through detailed construction estimates, give owners the reliable cost insight to make confident program and project decisions. PMA also performs forensic estimate analyses and detailed reconciliations when bids return unexpectedly high or change order pricing is disputed.
Cost Management
Comprehensive budget development, cost tracking, variance analysis, and forecasting, including project accounting, pay application review, and forward-looking trend analysis, help owners maintain control of program spend from the first estimate through final payment. PMA’s approach emphasizes anticipating issues and identifying cost impacts before they affect project execution, rather than relying on retrospective cost reporting.
Schedule Management
Active schedule management through every project phase, tracking progress against baseline, identifying variance early, implementing corrective actions, and maintaining completion date integrity. PMA’s schedulers build Level 1 and Level 2 schedules in interactive planning sessions, then develop machine-learning-assisted Level 3 schedules with integrated risk assessment that confirm or improve the project completion outlook as work advances.
Change Order Management
Rigorous evaluation, negotiation, and documentation of contractor change orders, assessing merit, pricing reasonableness, and schedule impact to protect the owner’s budget and contract position. PMA employs a claims-avoidance approach that structures correspondence and decision pathways to limit owner liability and maintain project progress without unnecessary claims exposure.
Earned Value Management
Integrated cost and schedule performance measurement using earned value methodology that delivers objective, data-driven program status reporting to give owners and stakeholders a reliable picture of program health and status. PMA’s earned value reporting provides a management tool for informed decision-making and not for compliance alone.
Risk Assessment & Management
Qualitative and quantitative risk identification, analysis, and ongoing mitigation, including cost and schedule risk assessment using Monte Carlo simulation. PMA has built a risk practice over decades of domestic and international capital program delivery—from small facility projects to multibillion-dollar infrastructure programs—across industries where owners cannot afford to be surprised. We recognize that every risk analysis surfaces threats to manage and opportunities to capture, helping owners understand their full exposure, develop response strategies, and monitor risk throughout the program life cycle.
Value Engineering
Formal value engineering studies following the SAVE International recommended job plan using cross-disciplinary teams to identify cost-effective design and construction alternatives that meet all required project functions without compromising performance or owner value. PMA’s certified value specialists are qualified to provide SAVE International training for Modules I and II. Studies are applicable at the conceptual scope, any design phase, or during construction.
