Applying EVM and Es metrics to analyze and forecast schedule performance in the spanish context of the building sector

Abstract

Most building projects finish their execution exceeding the contractually established completion date. Although Earned Value Management (EVM) is a technique widely developed in many countries to control the project schedule, in Spain it is not used in the construction industry. Furthermore, EVM has an extension called Earned Schedule that allow for more reliable control of the deviations occurring over the planned duration. This paper examines an application model of the EVM metrics recently proposed to be used in the Spanish context of the construction industry, but focusing only on time control. In order to verify the metrics obtained with this model, three prediction methods well established in the literature are applied on real data of six building projects, establishing critical thresholds to assess the practical validity of the predictions. Although the data set is relatively small, the developed analysis produces encouraging results that may serve as a starting point for further studies.