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SPREADSHEET APPLICATION for SMALL ENTERPRISES in MANAGING

CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

Article · January 2007

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SPREADSHEET APPLICATION for SMALL ENTERPRISES in MANAGING

CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

Muhamad Abduh, Andri Y. Rosyad, Susman Hadi, and Rangga Yudha

School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Institut Teknologi
Bandung, Bandung, INDONESIA
E-mail : abduh@si.itb.ac.id

ABSTRACT: The Indonesian small construction enterprises are considered giant in numbers, i.e.,
about 100,000 contractors, but dwarf in performance of managing their construction projects.
Besides they lack of skilful and professional human resources, small contractors have also limited
knowledge and tools for managing project, e.g., project management software. The research was
aimed to develop a simple, affordable and powerful computer application for planning and
controlling construction projects by small construction enterprises. To attain the objective of the
research, a workshop was conducted to gain useful information on current practices and problems
in managing construction projects based on opinions from 20 small size contractors. The workshop
revealed that small size contractors usually use spreadsheet application in managing the
construction project instead of utilizing commercial special-purpose project management software
since they cannot afford to purchase, operate and maintain the commercial software. Moreover,
small contractors are practicing very simple and rather inadequate management tools for planning
and controlling the projects, i.e., S-curve, bar chart, progress curve, and cost and time deviations,
that are merely used for reporting purposes only. Based on the workshop findings, a spreadsheet
application called Gnome PM was developed to automate the current practices of managing
projects by small size contractors and to introduce as well as to educate them on how to manage
the construction projects adequately. Therefore, the performance of small construction enterprises
in managing construction projects could be improved and the performance of the Indonesian
construction industry could be improved as well.

KEYWORDS: bar chart, computer application, S-curve, spreadsheet.

BACKGROUND
As complexity of a construction project increases nowadays, attentions to how a project manager
manages the resources of the project increases as well. Meanwhile, the construction industry has to
answer the challenges in supporting development of new infrastructures and also maintenance of
existing infrastructures. Therefore, the ability of contractors to perform the construction more efficient
and effective by deploying a good practice of project management is an obvious necessity
(Hendrickson 2000, Oberlender 2000).
It is a well-known phenomenon that construction industry still faces problem of inefficiency in their
business processes. On the other hand, the construction industry is still considered as an industry that
contributes significantly to the growth of the economics of a country, e.g., in 2004, Indonesian
construction industry’s growth has reached 8.17% and it was higher than the growth of Indonesian
GDP, i.e., 6.17%. It means that construction industry could contribute more to the growth of the
country’s economic and prosperity if its problem of inefficiency, which is also considered as waste,
could be reduced.
There have been a number of studies performed to assess the Indonesian contractors’ conditions in
order to solve problems faced by the Indonesian contractors. One of which that was intended to mea-
sure the readiness of the Indonesian contractors towards lean construction revealed that contractors’
weak areas in managing projects are planning and scheduling, evaluating, and controlling the project
activities (Abduh and Roza 2006a). The weaknesses are due to lack of skillful human resources and
the availability of effective tools to ease the management of construction in the field. Abduh and Roza
(2006b) then proposed an agenda for Indonesian contractors to overcome the weaknesses. Another
study by Soemardi et al. (2007) supported the findings from previous studies and proposed some

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necessary developments of project management tools, especially tools for supporting transactions
occurred in the project and integrated management of cost and time using earned-value system.
There are about 120,000 construction companies registered in the Construction Services Development
Board (LPJK) and most of them (about 90%) are considered as small enterprises. For the Indonesian
construction industry, this number means an opportunity as well as a challenge for developing the
industry since capacity of small enterprises in managing construction project is considered relatively
lower than medium and big construction companies. Therefore, it is relevant to state that an effort to
improve small size contractors’ performance in managing their projects is significant and useful.
However, further investigations to find the root problems faced by small size contractors in managing
the projects should be performed to make any improvement efforts effective for small enterprises with
their unique business processes and inherent characteristics.
A study was performed in the Laboratory of Construction Engineering and Management, ITB, with
objectives to provide a picture of project management practices of small size contractors and then to
develop a prototype of project management software based on the practices. A one-day workshop was
conducted to collect information on the practices, while the software was developed using Visual
Basic Application in Microsoft Excel environment.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT PRACTICES OF SMALL-SIZE CONTRACTORS

As mentioned in the previous section, a study to get information on practices of small size contractors
in managing projects has been conducted (Abduh, et.al. 2006). This study focused on how the small
size contractors perform planning and controlling time and cost of their projects, and also tried to
identify obstacles faced by contractors in managing projects. A one-day workshop was conducted to
gain information on project management practices of 21 small size contractors located in Bandung.
During the workshop the contractors as respondents were guided by surveyors to answer a
questionnaire step-by step.
Findings from the workshop showed that the respondents have done planning, monitoring, and
controlling the project as their business processes in order to achieve better project performance and to
satisfy owners’ requirements. The small contractors didn’t implement a sophisticated tool of project
management since the complexity of project activities is low, e.g. number of work items is usually less
than 70 and the project duration is rarely more than 7 months (Figure 1).
60.0% 56.5%

50.0%

40.0%
Percentage

30.0%

20.0% 17.4%
13.0%
8.7%
10.0% 4.3%
0.0%
> 6 Months 4-6 Months 2-4 Months 1-2 Months < 1 Month
Project Duration

Figure 1. Number of Work Items and Project Duration

It is very common that the small-size contractors utilize Gant Chart or Bar Chart as a tool to plan
projects schedule and S-curve to present integrated project’s time and cost. Both tools are also used to
show the work progress and to control the project. The workshop also revealed that all small
contractors always perform planning as required by the owner. Meanwhile, there are some of them
that do not usually perform progress monitoring or updating as well as controlling since some owners
didn’t require progress monitoring and controlling to be reported as stated in the work specification.
There were some obstacles found in the implementation of project management by small-size
contractors, especially in controlling the project. They are limited number of skillful human resources,
limited time available, and extra cost to perform the management processes. However, in planning and
progress monitoring processes the obstacles are considered less than in controlling process.

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Even though computer software for managing project is considered as non critical issue for small size
contractors, it is still considered as effective and efficient means for project management. Most of the
respondents of the workshop utilize Microsoft Excel (a spreadsheet application) as a tool for planning,
progress monitoring, and controlling the project (Figure 2). There are no contractor utilizes Primavera
Project Planner, and only few contractors use Microsoft Project for planning and monitoring the
project. Yet the spreadsheet application seems to be less popular as supporting tool for progress
monitoring and controlling processes compared to planning process.

Figure 2. Software Used for Project Management

SPREADSHEET APPLICATION REQUIREMENT

As previously stated, the most popular computer application to support project management,
especially for planning a project, for small enterprises is spreadsheet application, e.g. Microsoft Excel.
Spreadsheet application’s popularity is due to its easy-to-use utility and user-friendliness. The
spreadsheet application is a tabulated electronic worksheet that contains formulas and can be
programmed to do a routine procedure of calculation. This type of application, especially Microsoft
Excel, could also be enhanced to present data using various types of graphics, to analyze specific tasks
using add-ins, such as statistics, and also could be a programmable application by incorporating
programming language, such as Visual Basic Application.
The study was also aimed to develop a prototype of project management software using spreadsheet
application, i.e. Microsoft Excel. The prototype was specially developed for small size contractors.
Therefore, the prototype was designed to accommodate as much as it can the project management
practices of small size contractors. Some findings from the workshop were taken into account in the
design and development processes. Even though, the prototype mainly accommodates the practices,
some features and utilities were added to support all management processes, i.e. planning, monitoring,
and controlling, in order to educate the small size contractors to perform adequate, good and
appropriate project management practices.
Some findings of the workshop that were accommodated as requirements in the design and
development of the prototype were as follows:
• Type of construction is building and maximum number of work items is 70 activities.
• Maximum duration of project is 7 months.
• The prototype should include planning, monitoring, and controlling processes.
• Bar chart and S-curve should be available as planning and monitoring tools.
• Time and cost management of the project should be considered.
• The scheduling process should accommodate relationship between activities (FS and SS).
• Weekly reporting should be considered.
• The application should be simple, easy-to-use, user friendly, and inexpensive.

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GNOME PM: A SPREADSHEET APPLICATION FOR MANAGING PROJECT

The developed prototype was named as Gnome PM (Gnome Project Manager). This name was chosen
since the application is specially designed for small-size contractors which are most of the time
considered as dwarf in their performances and capabilities as well as contributions to the construction
industry, even though they are considered as giant in numbers. Since the Gnome PM was developed
for the Indonesian small size contractors, the program is only available in Indonesian language. The
screenshot of the main worksheet is depicted in Figure 3.

Figure 3. Screenshot of the Gnome PM Main Worksheet

As shown in the Figure 3, Gnome PM has three stages of project management in its Main Menu, i.e.
Planning, Controlling, and Reporting. The application also provides menus to protect and unprotect
worksheet and to view the worksheets in full screen window.
Planning stage is the first menu the user should select to plan the project in the beginning of project
management processes. Initial data related to the project are needed to set up the project information,
such as start date and name of project. There are three sub-menus available in this stage. The first one
is to input data such as work items, volumes, cost, activity relationship; the second one is to edit the
data; and third one is to generate bar-chart and S-curve automatically as all needed data for planning
are available in the system. The interface of each sub-menu is an electronic form that submits the
information to the associated worksheet.
Planning process accommodated in this application starts with selecting activities and sub-activities to
be included in the work items. More information related to the selected activities should be determined
as well, such as duration, relationship between activities, and dependency. Cost and work volume of
an activity could also be determined in this planning stage (Figure 4). This process could be repeated
for determining all activities that should be included as the work items. All information related to
work items were then recorded in a worksheet called ‘Input’.
Before finishing the planning stage, users could generate automatically the project bar-chart and S-
curve that are put together in a worksheet called ‘Planned Bar-chart and S-Curve’ (Figure 5). In this
worksheet, the Bar-chart is drawn using color-filled cell and weight of cost per time unit (daily) that is
evenly distributed.
To accommodate revisions and re-scheduling, all planning data could be edited as needed using sub-
menu ‘Edit Data’. This menu allows users to edit data with the same forms they use in the planning
stage.

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Figure 4. Forms to Input Planning Data and Cost of an Activity

Figure 5. Generated Worksheet Containing the Planned Barchart and S-Curve

The second stage is monitoring stage. In this stage, users could monitor the work progress of each
activity as a result of weekly inspection in the field to be reported to the owner. There is a form to
update the work progress of an activity that requires users to determine the week and date of reporting
at the first time (Figure 6). Furthermore, the users could fill out the form to collect information on start
date and work volume achieved in that week for each activity. After updating work progress of

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relevant activities for that period of reporting, the users could generate automatically a worksheet that
contains actual Bar-chart and S-curve that were drawn next to the planned ones (Figure 7).

Figure 6. Form for Monitoring Data of an Activity

Figure 7. Generated Worksheet Showing Planned and Actual Bar-Chart and S-Curve
The last stage is reporting stage. In this stage, users could produce weekly tabulated reports that are
usually required by the owner or supervision consultants (Figure 8). The report format was adopted
from reporting practices of small size contractors.

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Figure 8. Form to Generate the Weekly Tabulated Report

For the purpose of controlling the project, the application utilizes the weekly report to be analyzed by
users manually. The weekly report contains planned and actual comparison and deviation of volume as
well as weight of cost per time unit of each activity. Therefore, the users could use this available
information to control the project and take actions to solve the problems.

IMPLEMENTATION AND FEEDBACKS

This Gnome PM has been tested and implemented by 11 small size contractors in Bandung. Another
workshop was conducted to gather feedbacks from the contractors which tried and implemented the
application. It was found that the respondents satisfied with the Gnome PM and agreed to state that the
application is very useful for them. Others findings from the workshop are as follows:
• Terminologies and procedures used in the application are easy to understand.
• The application helps generating plans and reports in the forms of bar-chart, S-curve, and
tabulated worksheet.
• The application is easy to master and the rate of error is low.
• Respondents gave 8 of 10 for the total score of the application.

CONCLUSION
Even though small enterprise contractors in Indonesia are often underestimated for their contributions
and performances, they are still huge in number and any efforts to alleviate them are considered
significant for the Indonesian construction industry. A study to gain picture of project management
practices was performed and the findings revealed that the small size contractors have done planning,
monitoring, and controlling the project as their business processes in order to achieve better project
performance and to satisfy owners’ requirements. The small contractors don’t implement sophisticated
tools of project management since the complexity of project activities is low. Even though computer
software for managing project is considered as non critical issue for small size contractors, it is still
considered as an effective and efficient tool for supporting project management and most of them
utilize Microsoft Excel (spreadsheet application) as a tool for planning, progress monitoring, and
controlling the project.

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Gnome PM is a spreadsheet application that was developed to accommodate the need for simple, easy-
to-use, inexpensive, and powerful application for assisting small size contractors in managing their
projects. Their practices in managing the project were adopted into the application and enhanced with
useful features and utilities. The Gnome PM could automate the current practices of managing projects
by small size contractors and introduce as well as educate them on how to manage the construction
projects adequately. Some tests and implementations by small size contractors gave feedbacks for
improvements, such as the need for additional cost estimation module, and potential more widely
adoption by small size contractors. Therefore, the performance of small construction enterprises in
managing construction projects could be improved and the performance of the Indonesian construction
industry could be improved as well.
Some dissemination efforts have been done and further development is ongoing. More information on
Gnome PM is available at http://si.itb.ac.id/~abduh/GnomePM.

REFERENCES
Abduh, M., Rosyad, A.Y., and Hadi, S. (2006). “Project Planning and Control Practices of the
Indonesian Small-Size Contractors (in Indonesian)“, Proceedings of the 2nd National Civil
Engineering Conference on Design, Operation, Maintenance and Risk Management of
Constructions, UNIKA Soegijapranata, December 20-21, Semarang, Indonesia.
Abduh, M., and Roza, H.A. (2006a). “Indonesian Contractor for Readiness Towards Lean
Construction", Proceedings the 14th Annual Conference of the International Group of Lean
Construction, July, Santiago, Chile.
Abduh, M., and Roza, H.A. (2006b). “Toward Lean Construction:an Agenda for Indonesian
Contractors”, Proceedings of the Tenth East Asia-Pacific Conference on Structural Engineering
and Construction (EASEC 10), August 3 – 5, 2006, Bangkok, Thailand.
Hendrickson, C. (2000). “Project Management for Construction,” 2nd Edition, Prentice Hall.
Oberlender, Garold D. (2000). Project Management for Engineering and Construction,” 2nd
Edition, McGraw-Hill.
Soemardi, B., Wirahadikusumah, R., Abduh, M. (2007). “Construction Project Planning and
Control Practices in Indonesia”, Proceedings of the 1st Construction Industry Research
Achievement International Conference (CIRAIC 2007), Universiti Teknologi Mara - CIDB
Malaysia, March 13-14, Kuala Lumpur – Malaysia.

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