Best Of
Re: Where are your side spreadsheets hiding?
Thoughts on side spreadsheets. They will always exist, but hopefully InEight, by understanding the gaps from their customer base, can over time improve the system to eliminate the need for some of these side spreadsheets.
- CHANGE Module - once a change is executed all fields are locked. The inability to have any editable fields after execution results in side spreadsheets to maintain a comprehensive change log. Anyone have success in eliminating an excel change logs on large projects?
- PLAN Module - Quantity Take-off. Coordinators do their construction drawing take-offs in Excel, then import the components into PLAN. One challenge is managing the ongoing updates - do you maintain the source of truth in Excel (and upload the drawing revisions / updated qtys into PLAN), or make all adjustments (after initial upload) directly in PLAN? If doing this directly in PLAN, how to you maintain traceability on attribute changes which are not visible in the audit log (which qty increment/reduction relates to which dwg rev / transmittal, etc.), and also in consideration that there is no direct link between components and drawing revisions in DOCUMENT). Result: side spreadsheets.
- Unit Rate Projects - Our UR projects typically have way more unit rates than CONTROL WBS Phase Codes (many:1). Using the CONTROL Pay Items will not work when there are multiple pay items for a given WBS Phase Code. As such, no real place in InEight to manage the Unit Rate billings (no place to create a unit rate library which can be mapped to components). Result: side spreadsheets to manage Unit Rates, UR billings / invoicing.
- Customer Reporting: Its a real challenge to accommodate the specific contract customer reporting requirements - this often results in side spreadsheets to generate the reports in the formats needed. These side spreadsheets can pull data from InEight, but InEight REPORTS / EXPLORE / PowerBI cannot always meet client requirements, not do field operations staff know how to build custom reports in those tools. Result: Excel
Interested to see what solutions others may have found, or if these are common challenges.
Re: Poll: Where do you think cost and schedule are most at risk of falling out of sync on large projects
Yes! This is where I love features like "create issue" button in the applications that the field uses. Have a quality issue? Create Issue from Completions. RFI? Create Issue from Document. Notice something while planning the days activities, or reviewing them? Create issue from the daily plan. Just a quick button and it gets logged where the PM needs to be able to see it.
Re: ⏳ Final Call: Project Championship Submissions Close on 3/10
Looking forward to seeing all of the great projects!
Re: Join Us This Thursday to Strengthen Collaboration Across Your Project Teams
@Caleen Frisbie of course!! I am beginning to feel like a natural at these things! Feel free to sign me up for more whenever needed! 😁
Re: ⏳ Final Call: Project Championship Submissions Close on 3/10
I agree, this is a great way to highlight what great people on great teams can accomplish!
Re: Poll: Where do you think cost and schedule are most at risk of falling out of sync on large projects
For me it’s B. Coming from the field, I've seen that field progress is where cost and schedule can drift the fastest. Incomplete drawings, weather, staffing, procurement… all of it shifts sequencing and productivity. And while we’re busy chasing pricing and approvals, costs can slide out of line just as quickly. If those realities aren’t captured fast, cost and schedule start telling two different stories.
Re: Upcoming Webinar: The Role of Modern Document Control in Capital Project Performance
This topic is right in my wheelhouse and I'm really looking forward to attending!
Re: What’s one “hidden cost” you’ve learned to watch for on projects, and how do you catch it early?
Hahahahahah 😂, careful with that term “hidden cost” , it sounds like we are running some underground operation. Let’s call it "unknown cost", much safer for everyone reputation 😂
For me, the unknown cost that shows up the most is tied to indirect cost, exactly like you said. Direct cost is usually clean, measured, and well‑captured by the estimator. Indirect cost, on the other hand, is case‑by‑case and reacts to every small shift in how the project actually behaves
Re: Utilizing In8 Plan & Progress and other modules for CII Advanced Work Packaging (AWP)
So far, we’ve been using Document for Advanced Work Packaging and it has worked very well. The main challenge is that it does not share the same structure as Plan, which results in duplicated effort. With a few targeted enhancements, InEight could be a leader in Work Packaging software:
- Foremen time coding via IWPs (iPad)
- Fix IWP ↔ Document Management link
- Unified constraint management screen
- Ability to print the entire IWP from one location
- AWP app on the iPad
- Excel import/export for work packages
These changes would reduce duplication, improve field adoption, and move InEight much closer to a true execution‑driven AWP solution.
Thoughts?
Join Us This Thursday to Strengthen Collaboration Across Your Project Teams
Don’t miss this Thursday’s Community session at 5 PM ET focused on Collaboration Practices for Building More Connected Project Teams.
Join Brittany Dodson and Michael Licarione of Orion as they share practical strategies to improve alignment, reduce rework, and strengthen coordination across field teams, project teams, and leadership.
Tap into actionable collaboration practices you can apply immediately to support stronger, more consistent project delivery.
Save your spot and join us on Zoom, hope to see you there!
