Planning and Monitoring Work in Construction Course

Standard: CITB Short Duration Standard GET3263

Duration: 1 day

Guided Learning Hours: 8 hours

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Course Aims

Our Planning and Monitoring Work in Construction course is a one-day, live instructor-led training programme for practising and aspiring site supervisors who are responsible for organising work and supporting the achievement of team objectives. The course explores how organisational policies influence planning decisions, how team objectives can be converted into clear workplace activities and how tasks should be allocated fairly and effectively.

Participants will develop practical techniques for planning work, identifying resource requirements, communicating responsibilities and monitoring progress against an agreed plan. Through guided discussion, construction-based examples and a practical planning exercise, delegates will learn how to identify underperformance, take appropriate corrective action and reduce the risk of similar problems occurring again.

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Course Prerequisites

There are no formal prerequisites for attending this course.

The course is suitable for practising and potential site supervisors, team leaders and employees who are preparing to take responsibility for planning, allocating and monitoring the work of others within construction or the built environment.

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Course Objectives

Upon completing this course, participants will be able to:

• Describe an organisational policy that can affect the planning and allocation of construction work.
• Explain how work should be allocated in compliance with an applicable organisational policy.
• Give an example of a SMART target or objective that a construction team could work towards.
• List and explain the key stages involved in planning and allocating work.
• Describe how work should be allocated to achieve agreed team objectives.
• Describe, in stage-by-stage detail, how to check that team members understand their allocated work.
• Describe a detailed method for monitoring team performance against an agreed plan.
• Explain an appropriate short-term action for rectifying underachievement and a longer-term action for preventing the problem from recurring.

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Course Content

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Module 1: Introduction to Planning and Monitoring Work

• The purpose and scope of the course.
• The responsibilities of a practising or potential site supervisor when planning, allocating and monitoring work.
• The relationship between effective planning and:
  • Health and safety.
  • Quality.
  • Productivity.
  • Project timescales.
  • Effective use of people and resources.
• The consequences of inadequate planning.
• The planning and monitoring cycle:
  • Establishing the required outcome.
  • Planning activities and resources.
  • Allocating work.
  • Communicating requirements.
  • Checking understanding.
  • Monitoring performance.
  • Responding to variations.
  • Reviewing outcomes.
• Course learning outcomes and assessment requirements.

Module 2: Organisational Guidelines and Team Goals

• The meaning and purpose of organisational policies, procedures and guidelines.
• How organisational requirements influence decisions made by a site supervisor.
• Examples of policies that may affect the planning and allocation of work, such as:
  • Health and safety.
  • Competence and training.
  • Quality management.
  • Equality, diversity and inclusion.
  • Working hours and fatigue.
  • Environmental management.
• Selecting an organisational policy relevant to a proposed activity.
• Identifying the requirements within the selected policy.
• Explaining how the policy affects:
  • Who may undertake the work.
  • The way the work is organised.
  • The information and supervision required.
  • The resources or controls that must be provided.
• Allocating work consistently with the selected policy.
• Acting within the limits of the supervisor’s authority.
• Recognising when approval or specialist advice is required.

Team targets and objectives

• The relationship between organisational, project and team objectives.
• Translating a general project requirement into a clear team objective.
• The purpose of setting measurable targets.
• The SMART approach:
  • Specific.
  • Measurable.
  • Achievable.
  • Relevant.
  • Time-bound.
• Giving an example of a SMART construction-team target.
• Identifying how achievement of the target will be measured.

Module 3: Planning and Allocating Work

• The key stages involved in planning and allocating work.
• Establishing the required team objective or workplace outcome.
• Reviewing relevant information, such as:
  • Work programmes.
  • Drawings and specifications.
  • Risk assessments and method statements.
  • Quality requirements.
  • Site instructions.
• Breaking the required work into manageable activities.
• Establishing the sequence of activities.
• Identifying dependencies and coordination requirements.
• Determining realistic timescales, milestones and completion dates.
• Identifying the people, materials, equipment and information required.
• Checking that the necessary resources are available.
• Identifying constraints that could affect delivery.
• Considering suitable contingency arrangements.
• Establishing how progress will be monitored.

Allocating work to achieve team objectives

• Matching activities to the competence and experience of team members.
• Considering qualifications, training and authorisation requirements.
• Considering availability, workload and existing responsibilities.
• Identifying where additional instruction, support or supervision is required.
• Balancing work fairly while meeting operational requirements.
• Allocating clear responsibility for each activity.
• Ensuring that team members have the information, authority and resources needed.
• Linking each allocation to the agreed team objective.
• Confirming how individual activities contribute to completion of the overall plan.

Module 4: Communicating Allocated Work and Checking Understanding

• The importance of clear communication when allocating work.
• Explaining:
  • What must be completed.
  • Why the activity is required.
  • How it should be carried out.
  • Who is responsible.
  • When it must be completed.
  • The standards and controls that apply.
• Selecting an appropriate communication method.
• Providing instructions that are clear, accurate and suitable for the audience.
• Allowing team members to ask questions.
• Avoiding assumptions about knowledge or understanding.

Stage-by-stage checking process

• Explain the allocated task and required outcome.
• Confirm the individual’s responsibilities and limits of authority.
• Explain the relevant sequence, timescale and reporting arrangements.
• Confirm the applicable health-and-safety controls.
• Confirm the relevant quality standards.
• Ask the team member to explain or summarise the task in their own words.
• Use questions to check understanding of key requirements.
• Clarify any areas of uncertainty or misunderstanding.
• Confirm that the necessary information and resources are available.
• Observe the start of the work where appropriate.
• Provide additional guidance or supervision where required.
• Record significant instructions or work allocations in accordance with organisational procedures.

Module 5: Monitoring Performance Against the Plan

• The purpose of monitoring team performance.
• Establishing the agreed baseline before work begins.
• Identifying the activities, targets, milestones and standards that will be monitored.
• Selecting a suitable monitoring method, such as:
  • Workplace observation.
  • Progress checks.
  • Team briefings.
  • Work schedules and checklists.
  • Quality inspections.
  • Reports from team members.
  • Review of productivity or resource information.
• Collecting relevant and reliable information.
• Comparing actual performance with:
  • Planned activities.
  • Agreed milestones.
  • Required completion dates.
  • Productivity expectations.
  • Quality requirements.
  • Health-and-safety controls.
• Making an explicit link between the information collected and performance against the agreed plan.
• Identifying positive progress and achievement.
• Recognising early indications of delay or underachievement.
• Distinguishing between a temporary variation and a continuing problem.
• Providing appropriate feedback.
• Recording and reporting significant variations.
• Reviewing whether the monitoring method remains suitable as work progresses.

Module 6: Addressing Underachievement

• Recognising when performance is below the requirements of the plan.
• Gathering sufficient information before deciding what action to take.
• Identifying the reason for the underachievement.
• Distinguishing between:
  • An individual performance issue.
  • Unclear instructions.
  • Inadequate planning.
  • Unrealistic targets.
  • Insufficient competence or support.
  • A shortage or failure of resources.
  • Poor coordination.
  • Changed site conditions.
  • Quality problems or rework.
• Protecting health and safety and quality while responding to lost progress.

Short-term corrective action

• Clarifying instructions or expected standards.
• Providing additional guidance or supervision.
• Reallocating activities or resources.
• Adjusting the sequence of work.
• Obtaining additional materials or equipment.
• Coordinating with other teams or contractors.
• Escalating an issue that is outside the supervisor’s authority.
• Communicating changes to affected people.
• Checking whether the corrective action has restored performance against the plan.

Longer-term prevention

• Reviewing the original planning assumptions.
• Improving future work instructions or communication.
• Providing further training or coaching.
• Improving resource forecasting or coordination.
• Revising procedures or working arrangements.
• Introducing additional checks or earlier monitoring points.
• Recording and sharing lessons learned.
• Updating future plans to reduce the likelihood of recurrence.

Module 7: Integrated Planning and Monitoring Exercise

Participants will work through a construction-based scenario requiring them to:

• Identify an organisational policy affecting the proposed work.
• Explain how the work must be allocated in compliance with that policy.
• Produce a suitable SMART team target.
• List the key stages involved in planning and allocating the work.
• Identify the main activities, sequence and resource requirements.
• Allocate work to suitable team members in support of the team objective.
• Prepare clear instructions for an allocated activity.
• Describe, stage by stage, how understanding will be checked.
• Select and describe a method for monitoring performance against the plan.
• Explain the direct link between the monitoring information and the agreed plan.
• Identify a possible area of underachievement.
• Recommend an appropriate short-term corrective action.
• Recommend an appropriate longer-term action to prevent recurrence.

The exercise is followed by:

• Review of the principal learning points.
• Final questions and clarification.
• Preparation for the formal assessment.
• Completion of the end-of-course assessment.

Course Assessment

Delegates must complete a formal eight-question end-of-course assessment covering all three learning outcomes and the eight associated assessment criteria.

The assessment covers:

• An organisational policy that affects the planning and allocation of work.
• How work should be allocated in compliance with that policy.
• An example of a SMART team target or objective.
• The key stages involved in planning and allocating work.
• How work should be allocated to meet team objectives.
• A stage-by-stage process for checking that team members understand their allocated work.
• A detailed method for monitoring team performance against the agreed plan.
• Short-term action to rectify underachievement and longer-term action to prevent recurrence.

Delegates must achieve a minimum score of 75% to pass.

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