Construction

Establishes the structural backbone of a construction project in IFS Cloud: the work breakdown structure of sub projects and activities, and the parallel cost breakdown structure of cost and revenue elements against which every commitment, cost and valuation is later reported. It translates a RICS NRM-based estimate or bill of quantities into an IFS project hierarchy that surveyors, planners and finance can all work from. Getting this right at set-up is what makes cost-value reconciliation, earned value and CVR reporting possible later.

Establishes a newly awarded construction project in IFS Cloud and gets the site physically and legally ready to start work. The project, sub projects and mobilisation activities are created in IFS Cloud Project Management as the Work Breakdown Structure that all subsequent cost, time and progress posts against. CDM 2015 duty-holder appointments, F10 notification, the construction phase plan, welfare and site-establishment procurement are completed and evidenced before the construction phase begins.

Turns the construction WBS into a logic-linked, resourced and baselined programme inside IFS Cloud, or keeps IFS aligned with a programme owned in Primavera P6 or Microsoft Project. Activity dependencies form the network that IFS Project Scheduler uses to calculate early and late dates, float and the critical path, and the accepted baseline becomes the reference for progress, delay and extension of time claims. This is the process that decides whether IFS is the planning tool or the system of record for a programme planned elsewhere.

Builds the tender cost estimate and elemental cost plan for a construction opportunity in IFS Cloud, working from measured quantities, resource libraries and subcontract enquiry returns. Direct works, subcontract packages, preliminaries, risk allowance, inflation and overhead and profit are assembled into a priced estimate whose accuracy is declared against a recognised estimate class. The approved estimate becomes the cost basis of the Sales Quotation and, on award, the baseline budget of the Project.

Records what actually happened on site each day and converts it into progress against project activities in IFS Cloud. The diary captures labour and plant on site, weather, deliveries, visitors, instructions and disruption events, while progress capture updates activity actual dates and percentage complete so earned value and scheduled work can be compared with budget. Contemporaneous site records are the evidence base for delay, disruption and extension of time claims, so the discipline of daily capture matters as much as the numbers.

Establishes the periodic commercial truth of a construction project in IFS Cloud by reconciling cost incurred against value earned and producing an earned value view of cost and schedule performance. Actual cost, accruals and committed cost are drawn from the IFS Cloud Project cost ledger and set against the certified and internally assessed value to derive margin, work in progress and provisions. Earned value indices and estimate at completion are then used to forecast the outturn position.

Manages entitlement claims for time and money arising from employer risk events - notification within the contractual time bar, contemporaneous record capture, delay analysis, quantification of prolongation and disruption, submission and tracking through to award. In IFS Cloud the claim is anchored to the Project and the affected Project Activities, with the evidence pack held in IFS Document Management. Distinct from Variation & Change Order Management (P6.C41), which handles instructed change; this process handles disputed or asserted entitlement.

Runs the project risk register alongside the contractual early warning register, quantifies exposure, sets the contingency allowance inside the project budget and controls its drawdown as risks crystallise. In IFS Cloud the contingency sits as identifiable budget on the Project and Project Activity structure so residual exposure and remaining contingency can be reported together each period. Feeds the claims process (P5.C45) when a risk becomes a notified event, and the cost value reconciliation (P4.C43) when contingency is released to cost.

Turns a won tender into a live, governed job in IFS Cloud. The executed contract terms - form, main option, payment mechanism, retention, liquidated damages, bonds and warranties - are recorded, the Project and its financial structure are created from the winning Sales Quotation, and the commercial and delivery team is appointed. Setup completes when the tender cost converts into an approved baseline budget and revenue plan so cost capture can start on day one.

Covers the full commercial cycle for a works subcontractor: prequalification and supplier registration, CIS verification with HMRC, subcontract award under NEC4 or JCT, and the monthly interim payment application, valuation, payment notice and pay less notice regime required by the UK Construction Act. In IFS Cloud the subcontractor is a Supplier, the subcontract is carried as a supplier agreement and purchase order against the project activity, and the certified value posts as project cost. Construction-specific artefacts such as the payment application, payment notice and pay less notice have no standard IFS Cloud object and require a design decision.

Manages the full lifecycle of contract variations and change orders on a construction project in IFS Cloud, from origination of a client instruction or early warning through entitlement assessment, pricing, approval and incorporation into the project baseline. The commercial change record is held against the IFS Cloud Project and Project Activity structure so that an approved variation adjusts budget, revenue and forecast in one controlled step. The process supports both the NEC4 compensation event regime and the JCT variation instruction regime.

Brings the contract to a commercial and financial conclusion - agreeing the final account with the client, settling subcontract final accounts, clearing open commitments, releasing the final retention moiety and closing the project in IFS Cloud. Runs on the Project and Sub Project structure with the settlement evidence held as approved document revisions. Downstream of variations (P6.C41), claims (P5.C45) and cost value reconciliation (P4.C43), all of which must be resolved into the single agreed final figure.

Governs how inspection and test plans are prepared, executed and signed off on a construction project, and how the resulting records are held in IFS Cloud. An ITP sets out every inspection and test required on a scope of work, at which stage, by whom, and what a passing result looks like, with hold points that stop work until sign-off and witness points that only require notification. Failed inspections raise a non-conformance that must be closed before the work is covered up, and the completed ITP records form the handover quality dossier.

Takes the completed works from static installation to a proven, documented, operable asset - commissioning plan and witness testing, results capture, compilation and release of the O&M manual and health and safety file, client and FM training, then formal handover at practical completion. In IFS Cloud the commissioning activities sit on the Project and Project Activity structure, the manual is assembled as a document structure or package in IFS Document Management, and the asset is created as Functional Object / Equipment Object with Maintenance Plan ready for operations.

Maintains the record of what was actually built and, on higher-risk buildings, the golden thread of building safety information that must be kept digitally and handed on. In IFS Cloud this runs on IFS Document Management - revision control, approval routing and object connection - with as-built documents linked to the Project and to the physical assets they describe. The output feeds commissioning and handover (E3.C65) and the operational asset record, and must be transferable to the accountable person in a format they confirm they can use.

Captures hours worked by direct site labour and labour-only subcontractors against project activities in IFS Cloud, so that labour cost lands on the right WBS node and feeds payroll, CIS and cost-value reconciliation. Direct employees report time against project activity codes through IFS time reporting, which updates Project Time Reporting and Project Transactions. Labour-only subcontract hours arrive as allocation sheets and must be reconciled to the CIS payment process rather than to payroll.

Governs how a construction contractor discharges its CDM 2015 duties across the project lifecycle inside IFS Cloud, from duty holder appointment and F10 notifiability assessment through construction phase plan approval to health and safety file handover. The CDM control documents are held as revision-controlled records in IFS Cloud Document Management and attached to the Project and Sub Project structures that mirror the pre-construction, construction and handover phases. Competency evidence for site personnel is carried on the Employee and Competency records so that access and task assignment can be gated.

Controls site access and high-risk activity authorisation in IFS Cloud by tying induction records and competency currency to the Employee record, and permit authorisation to the Work Order or Work Task that carries the activity. Permits, risk assessments and method statements are held as controlled Documents linked to the task so the authorisation trail is auditable. The process covers issue, control during validity, and formal close-out returning the area to a safe state.

Governs the periodic valuation of works in progress and the issue and certification of applications for payment (AFP) in IFS Cloud, covering both upstream client applications and downstream subcontractor applications. Progress measured against the IFS Cloud Project and Project Activity structure drives the gross valuation, from which retention, previous payments and contra charges are deducted to produce the net sum applied for. The process is aligned to the UK statutory payment regime of payment notices, notified sums and pay less notices.

Phases forecast receipts and supply chain payments against the IFS Cloud project structure and programme so the contractor can see dated cash rather than accrued value, and controls the cash retained under the main contract and withheld from subcontracts until it falls due for release. Forecast is carried on Project and Project Activity with actuals flowing from customer and supplier invoices in IFS Financials. Complements progress valuation (F3.C42) and cost value reconciliation (P4.C43) by converting certified value and cost into a timed cash position.

Manages the physical arrival of materials onto a construction site in IFS Cloud: call-off against awarded packages, booking the delivery into a constrained site slot, registering the purchase order arrival, checking quantity and condition, and either accepting the goods to project stock or rejecting the load. It closes the loop between the delivery ticket signed at the gate and the goods receipt that authorises supplier payment. Site logistics constraints such as gate slots, crane and hoist availability and waste removal are managed alongside the receipt.

Manages externally hired and internally owned plant on a construction project using IFS Cloud Rental Management. Rent In is embedded in the procurement process and Rent to Project is initiated from project demand, so hire runs on a rental contract with start and end events, chargeable days, rental modes and generated rental transactions that post cost to the project and match to the supplier invoice. It ends with off-hire, return and the closing of the hire period, which is where most uncontrolled hire spend leaks.

Drives the pre-completion quality process in IFS Cloud, from inspection and test plan hold points through snag capture, rectification and re-inspection to a clear snag position at practical completion. Each snag is raised as a Work Task under a snagging Work Order, carrying location, system, responsible subcontractor and evidence Documents. Cost of rectification is attributed to the responsible Supplier so contra-charges and retention decisions are grounded in the record.

Manages the site environmental permit and waste duty of care obligations in IFS Cloud, holding permits, exemptions, waste transfer notes and hazardous waste consignment notes as controlled Documents against the Project. Waste carrier and receiving site registration checks are recorded on the Supplier record and enforced before award of a waste contract. Waste movements and recovery rates are reconciled against project targets for client and regulator reporting.

Screens inbound construction enquiries, framework call-offs and public tender notices in IFS Cloud so only opportunities that match the contractor capability, capacity and risk appetite consume estimating effort. The opportunity is registered against the Customer with indicative value, intended contract form and tender return date, tender documents are held in Document Management, and a scored bid/no-bid decision is approved at the right delegated authority before a Sales Quotation is raised. Declined opportunities are closed with a coded reason so win-rate and pipeline analytics stay usable.

Covers how a construction contractor breaks the works into procurement packages, takes them to market, evaluates returns and awards, using the IFS Cloud procurement chain of purchase requisition, request for quotation, quotation comparison and purchase order or supplier agreement. It links the procurement schedule to the programme so packages are let in time to meet activity start dates. Package award is where the tender allowance is converted into a committed cost against the project cost breakdown structure.