Site analysis using controller-function charts

This paper presents the controller-function (CF) chart, a tool that maps essential site-management functions to the corresponding areas of responsibility in the site organization. In developing a CF chart for a specific project, the user collects data through a set of structured questions to define the actual situation onsite. Once site data are collected, the goal, or ideal model, is defined using three simple rules. The paper describes the construction of two high-rise commercial buildings and a high-rise hotel on which the CF chart was used to analyze the sites individually. The functions on the two similar commercial buildings were then compared, and their relative success rates were correctly predicted. The hotel project underwent a major reorganization during construction, resulting in a significantly more successful project. The CF chart after the reorganization showed that functions were being performed closer to the ideal level prescribed by the chart. The CF chart can be used to organize projects, to determine the “health” of the project organization, and to prescribe corrective action.