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10 Ways TaskMapper Helps Solar Project Managers During Construction
To maximize the ROI on solar PV projects, project managers need to ensure that every aspect of asset construction is completed on time, within budget, and without compromising on build quality.
Utility-scale solar PV construction is a complex process that requires detailed planning, coordination, and execution. From site selection to procurement and installation, every step requires access to data and collaboration between several teams and stakeholders to ensure a successful outcome.
As with other complex, multi-stakeholder projects, project managers can increase the chances of success and achieve optimal results for their solar installations with better access to teams and data, and improved collaboration and oversight.
Understanding Solar Project Construction Management
Solar project construction management involves coordinating and overseeing the various tasks and activities to ensure minimal/ no delays, and to coordinate and oversee timelines and budgets. According to industry reports, about 20% of planned solar photovoltaic capacity was delayed between January and June 2022. Incentives are driving the growth of solar installation, and the installed capacity is expected to grow to 50GW by 2027.
From ground break to finish, project managers need to ensure that every aspect of the project is being completed on time and within budget.
Here is an indicative (not exhaustive) list of 10 tasks a solar project manager needs to oversee/ complete onsite
Create a project plan and construct and refine project templates
Craft a comprehensive project plan, encompassing timelines, budget, and essential resources. Use and refine templates to ensure procedural efficiency and consistent quality. Regularly revisit and revise templates based on learning and performance metrics.
TaskMapper provides a simple import and share function that makes project schedules to all team members without adding to the licensing costs. Progress updates and reports can be manual or automatically captured from field updates and drone and manual reports. Tasks and Form templates can be created and attached for each project line item to ensure consistency and capture of required project data.
View and track centralized project schedules, share work breakdowns with teams, align schedules to inventory, and simplify reporting
Ensure required permits and approvals are in place
Ensure the necessary permits and approvals from site owners and regulatory authorities are available and accessible to the project team. Oversee and complete any necessary paperwork for approvals..
TaskMapper supports the creation of workflows with rules, conditions and approvals. With escalations and alerts, the system can help ensure delays are flagged in time to keep processes on track.
Onboard and manage subcontractors
Hire teams and oversee onboarding and management of subcontractors, engineers, and other specialists who play a part in the installation process on a solar site.
With the robust permissions module in TaskMapper, all trades personnel and field teams can be provided secure and authorised access to project information and any required project data with the integrated TaskMapper Native mobile application (accessible on desktop and mobile with Apple and Android). The application provides all teams with a view of all assigned tasks and can be used to help them navigate to each task on a site. The map-based app also allows project managers to prioritize and geofence tasks when required.
Monitor installation processes
Oversee the installation fulfilment process, from scheduling the installation date to connecting the system to the grid. Communicate significant milestones to key stakeholders, including owners/ developers.
TaskMapper makes construction monitoring simple.
Import your GIS data and CAD and view them as layers on a map of your site,
Capture your as-built to compare against the plan,
Track progress in real-time with automatic updates, and
Create custom reports and dashboards for all stakeholders.
With the cloud-based TaskMapper platform, information and records including progress updates, field data and observations are accessible from wherever you are. Alerts and escalations can be configured to ensure you can oversee and control critical processes.
Coordination and planning
Manage schedules to coordinate inspections and installations onsite. Planand optimize routes for installers.
TaskMapper helps teams manage schedules by sharing access to the relevant project schedule including any added details like dependencies and tasks. With all your project data and teams on one platform, it becomes easy to coordinate and collaborate with the required information to take tasks to closure.
Incident management
Manage incidents including equipment failure, rescheduling of the installations, or safety incidents. Document any safety incidents, and devise solutions to prevent their recurrence.
The integrated TaskMapper Native apps are designed to capture data from field teams even when offline. This simplifies sharing of observations from the field and helps teams reach resolutions through active and contextual collaboration.
Streamline permitting and licensing management with centralized documentation and custom dashboards to access or share information at any stage of the asset lifecycle
Documentation and reporting
Document and create site inspection and final installation records. Generate various reports for financial partners, installers, customers, and internal updates. Document steering meetings and weekly reports to all stakeholders.
TaskMapper supports an intuitive file structure for storing your data centrally. These could include plans, product datasheets, purchase records, warranty infromation, maintenance records, data from submitted forms and checklists, and more. Once a digital twin of your site is created, records and files can be attached to specific onsite components, making them accessible to authorized team members.
Quality Assurance and Quality control
Ensure the quality of solar installations. Review essential information, verify documentation, and ensure that all processes are followed correctly. Manage handovers and schedule new tasks after each milestone is achieved.
TaskMapper supports customization– for defining your activity and workflows, for creating templates, and for attaching or capturing relevant information from the centralized store or as observations from the field. Quality standards can be defined with templates that use forms or checklists. Multiple teams can be assigned different stages of data capture to ensure completeness of information capture with total transparency and accountability.
Coordinate with utility companies
Coordinate with utility companies to manage grid connection. Confirm that the system adheres to all utility regulations. Manage submittals and processes to obtain regulatory approvals.
Managing submittals and approvals requires access to documents and records from multiple stages of the project. With a centralized data store and access to all inspection data and reports, TaskMapper helps accelerate the data gathering for your Submittals.
Centralize site activity tracking and monitor by priority; share files with field teams to provide in-time information to close the loop on jobs
Optimize maintenance with monitoring
Track performance data and other reports to identify and manage defects. Verify installation and performance as per SLA/ expectations. Coordinate and manage handover and maintenance.
Integrate reports from drone scans and see all issues/ defects on a map with TaskMapper. Optimize maintenance costs and schedules with prioritized defects. Accelerate time sensitive warranty claims using data from barcode scans (using SenseHawk Scan app).
Create a digital twin of your site with TaskMapper
Capture barcode data using SenseHawk Scan during installation or after
Accelerate defect identification and prioritization with SenseHawk Therm
Use TaskMapper’s system model to identify and address impacted onsite systems
Optimize maintenance spend with faster defect management
Centralize site activity tracking and monitor by priority; share files with field teams to provide in-time information to close the loop on jobs
Clear, comprehensive planning, employing the right teams, setting realistic timelines, and closely monitoring progress are crucial to minimizing delays in asset construction. Enhanced collaboration and transparency between the different teams and stakeholders, including contractors and vendors, throughout the construction process also positively impacts the process. Using technology and software helps solar project managers harness these advantages, enhance project management, and get early insights into potential challenges that may arise during construction.
