Construction project control glossary

A record of who changed what and when, kept so that every figure can be traced back to its source. A useful audit trail cannot be edited by the people it records.

In Reperline: Audit trailSee also: Void

The total planned cost of the work: the sum of all planned amounts in the budget. It is the reference that a forecast of the final cost is compared with.

In Reperline: BudgetSee also: EAC (estimate at completion), Plan amount

The approved plan that progress and cost are measured against: planned dates for the schedule, planned amounts for the budget. A baseline changes only by a deliberate decision, never quietly.

In Reperline: ScheduleSee also: Planned date, Variance

A supplier's or subcontractor's offer in a tender: a price, a duration and the conditions attached to them.

In Reperline: TendersSee also: Tender, Bid comparison

Setting the bids of one tender side by side on the same basis, usually price in one currency, duration and scope, so the choice can be explained later. Reperline ranks bids by price and shows each bid's gap to the lowest next to the planned amount of the budget line.

In Reperline: TendersSee also: Bid, Tender

A list of the work items of a project with their quantities and units, used to price the work and to compare bids on the same scope.

See also: Cost estimate

One line of the budget, such as facade or elevators, with a planned amount. Invoices, payments and commitments are booked against it.

In Reperline: BudgetSee also: Plan amount, Commitment

An agreed change to the scope, price or time of a contract after it was signed. Change orders are a common reason why a final cost differs from the estimate.

See also: Overrun, Contingency

Money that is agreed but not yet invoiced, such as a signed order with a subcontractor. Counting commitments shows an overrun when it is agreed, not when the invoice arrives. In Reperline the spend forecast of an item is what is invoiced plus what is committed.

In Reperline: BudgetSee also: Forecast spend, Invoice

A reserve in the budget for costs that are expected to appear but cannot be named yet. Spending it is a decision, and it should be visible like any other item.

In Reperline: BudgetSee also: Overrun

A forecast of what the work will cost, made before it is contracted. It becomes the starting point of the budget.

See also: BoQ (bill of quantities), BAC (budget at completion)

An earned value measure: the value of the work done divided by its actual cost. Below 1 means the work costs more than planned. Reperline does not calculate CPI; it forecasts spend per item from invoices and commitments.

See also: Earned value, SPI (schedule performance index)

A document that reduces an amount already invoiced, for example after a dispute or a returned delivery.

In Reperline: BudgetSee also: Invoice

The longest chain of dependent tasks in a schedule; a delay on it delays the end date. Reperline does not calculate a critical path: it forecasts the end of each milestone from its actual pace.

See also: Linear forecast, Slippage

The first part of a price paid when a contract is signed, before the instalments. Developers often set a minimum down payment for buyers.

In Reperline: ContractsSee also: Instalment

The expected total cost when the work is finished. There are several ways to calculate it; Reperline uses, per budget item, what is invoiced plus what is committed.

In Reperline: BudgetSee also: BAC (budget at completion), ETC (estimate to complete), Forecast spend

Telling the person responsible about a deviation while it can still be fixed, rather than reporting it after the date or the money is gone.

In Reperline: SignalsSee also: Signal, Threshold

The planned cost of the work actually done. Comparing it with the planned value and the actual cost gives the schedule and cost indices of earned value management. Reperline does not use earned value.

See also: CPI (cost performance index), SPI (schedule performance index)

The cost still expected from now until the work is finished. EAC equals what has been spent so far plus ETC.

See also: EAC (estimate at completion)

The date a milestone is expected to finish. In Reperline it is calculated from the actual pace, or set by hand by someone who knows better.

In Reperline: ScheduleSee also: Linear forecast, Planned date

What a budget item is expected to cost in the end. In Reperline it is invoiced plus committed, and it raises a signal when it goes more than 5% over the plan by default.

In Reperline: BudgetSee also: Commitment, Overrun

One scheduled payment of a buyer under a sales contract, with a due date and an amount. Each receipt is matched to an instalment.

In Reperline: ContractsSee also: Down payment, Receivable

A supplier's bill for work done or goods delivered. Invoiced is not the same as paid: the payment is a separate entry.

In Reperline: BudgetSee also: Payment, Commitment

A forecast of the end date that assumes the current pace continues: start date plus the time spent so far divided by the share of work done. A milestone at 40% after twenty days is forecast to need fifty. Without progress there is no forecast.

In Reperline: ScheduleSee also: Forecast end date

An open protocol that lets an AI assistant such as Claude connect to an application and use its tools. Reperline's connector lets Claude read project data and file proposals that a person approves.

A piece of work with a planned start and end that progress is reported on, such as a floor, a section or a facade. In Reperline a phase is made of milestones.

In Reperline: ScheduleSee also: Phase, Work package

Spending more than the plan of a budget item, or taking longer than the planned date. The earlier an overrun is seen, the more options there are to absorb it.

In Reperline: BudgetSee also: Forecast spend, Variance

Money that has actually left the account against an invoice or an advance. Payments behind invoices are normal; payments ahead of progress deserve a question.

In Reperline: BudgetSee also: Invoice

A large part of a project with its own status, such as a building or a construction stage. Its progress is the average of its milestones.

In Reperline: ScheduleSee also: Milestone

The amount a budget item is planned to cost. Changing it is a decision that should leave a trace.

In Reperline: BudgetSee also: Budget item, Baseline

The start or end date a milestone is supposed to meet according to the baseline schedule.

In Reperline: ScheduleSee also: Baseline

The share of a milestone that is done, reported from site as a percentage. In Reperline progress only comes from facts, never from editing a field in the office.

In Reperline: Field factsSee also: Site report

A list of defects and unfinished items found near handover that the contractor must correct. Reperline does not manage punch lists.

Money a buyer owes and has not paid yet. Overdue receivables are reported apart from those not yet due.

In Reperline: ContractsSee also: Instalment

A share of each payment to a contractor held back until the work is accepted, as security for defects.

A formal question from the contractor to the designer or client about the drawings or specifications. Reperline does not manage RFIs.

See also: Submittal

A database feature that decides which rows each user may read or change. Reperline uses it to keep companies apart and to enforce roles, so a mistake in a screen cannot leak data.

In Reperline: Audit trailSee also: Audit trail

A chart of cumulative progress or cost over time. It is flat at the start, steep in the middle and flat again near the end, so the planned and actual curves can be compared at a glance.

In Reperline: ScheduleSee also: Baseline

In Reperline, a warning raised by a rule when a fact drifts from the plan: a late milestone, an overrun, a silent site, an overdue payment. It has a priority and reaches the person responsible.

In Reperline: SignalsSee also: Early warning, Threshold

A record of what was done on site: progress, notes and photos. In Reperline site staff send it from Telegram, and six checks review each entry.

In Reperline: Field factsSee also: Progress

The amount of time a milestone has moved, or is forecast to move, past its planned date.

In Reperline: ScheduleSee also: Forecast end date, Variance

An earned value measure: the value of the work done divided by the value planned to be done by now. Below 1 means behind schedule. Reperline does not calculate SPI; it forecasts end dates from the actual pace.

See also: Earned value, CPI (cost performance index)

Documents a contractor sends for approval before installing something, such as shop drawings or product data. Reperline does not manage submittals.

See also: RFI (request for information)

The process of asking several suppliers to bid for the same work and choosing one. In Reperline a tender is tied to the budget item it will spend.

In Reperline: TendersSee also: Bid, Bid comparison

The value at which a rule raises a signal, such as 7 days without a site report or 5% over plan. In Reperline these are defaults the owner can change.

In Reperline: SignalsSee also: Signal

The difference between the plan and the actual or forecast figure, in days or in money. A variance is worth acting on when it is still growing and still small.

In Reperline: BudgetSee also: Overrun, Slippage

Cancelling a wrong entry while keeping it visible with a reason, instead of deleting it. In Reperline a voided transaction stays struck through and stops counting in the totals.

In Reperline: Audit trailSee also: Audit trail

A defined piece of work assigned to one team or contractor, the unit a schedule is often built from. In Reperline each work package of an imported schedule becomes a milestone.

In Reperline: ScheduleSee also: Milestone