Construction company manages schedules and share them inside the team as well as with clients

“We needed a tool field supervisors and PMs could use. GanttPRO kept it simple and controlled.”

A story about KenWood Construction keeping subcontractors aligned and clients informed with clear, printable project schedules

Company overview

Company: KenWood Construction

Role interviewed: Project Manager and Onsite Supervisor

Project types: commercial and residential construction

External pressures: tight client deadlines, multiple trades and subcontractors, need to share schedules internally and externally with clients in proper accessible way

Tool history: Microsoft Project

Problems hinted at: low adoption of “heavy” PM tools in the field, hard to coordinate subcontractors and keep schedules readable for different audiences

Summary

Schedules became easy for both PMs and onsite supervisors to create and track without overwhelm.

Subcontractor coordination improved by assigning trades as virtual resources and tracking timing across phases.

Progress tracking and initial schedule building became a standard workflow for each project.

PDF export supported two key use cases: internal schedule reviews with managers and clean, distributable client schedules.

Company Background

What does your company focus on?

The Hawaiian KenWood Construction was founded in 1999. The company specializes in tenant improvements and rollout work for corporate brands. Our clients have large projects with tight deadlines.

KenWood Construction can boast of having a number of global retail clients but we also work equally with smaller businesses.

"We use GanttPRO to coordinate with subcontractors to check and track the project duration."

Peter Stone

Project Manager and Onsite Supervisor

Struggle

How did your approach look before GanttPRO?

I initiated it originally on my own. For me, it was really easy to start working in the tool and took no time at all. Later, the company has signed into it and now distributes tasks across our project managers in GanttPRO.

I’ve been using project management software for a very long time. Primarily, MS Project but I am also familiar with several other tools. Those products are good but they are much more sophisticated. Because of this sophistication, very few people can actually use them in a practical sense.

At KenWood Construction, we don’t really need sophistication that we would have with MS Project. So, I was looking for software that supervisors and PMs in the field would be able to use without being overwhelmed. And GanttPRO does a pretty good job of filling that void.

Favorite features

We use resource assignments, especially virtual resources.
We don’t really use the software for tracking our own team members. As a general contractor, we primarily rely on subcontractors whatever subcontracting company it may be: whether it’s an electrician, an excavator, or anyone or anything else. In GanttPRO, I just make them as virtual resources and easily manage on my own.
I mainly export projects to PDF.
There are two cases when I need an exported chart. The first one, and I’m using it extensively, is for the projects that I’m running. When I export to PDF, I use it with other managers to see if there are things that we could do to improve the schedule.
The second case is when we go to clients and need a distributable schedule, we publish what we have. Sometimes, I filter it down. And it’s a very nice presentation: it’s easy to read, especially for people who are quite used to Gantt charts. GanttPRO is very good at it.

Impact

What does your work look like now with GanttPRO?

We have several different trades and subcontractors involved in a project, not all at one time but at various times. We use GanttPRO to coordinate with subcontractors to check and track the project duration. Also, the tool is good at developing initial schedules and progress tracking.

“Overall, I think GanttPRO is a good product. It is a good value for money. Our company is pretty happy with it.”