Understanding the Performance Based Labor Progress Entry Program (P510312)

You use the Performance Based Labor Progress Entry program (P510312) to measure the progress of labor hours and costs based on productivity. Unlike the other progress entry programs, the Performance Based Labor Progress Entry program is designed specifically for evaluating the performance of labor (or any other similar account to which you assign methods of computation H and L). Measuring actual and budget labor costs and hours is not enough to evaluate whether the task is at risk for going over budget, because performance has not been factored into the analysis. The Performance Based Labor Progress Entry program calculates earned values so that you can determine how much of the activity should be completed at a particular point in time. Then, the system divides the actual costs and hours by the earned costs and hours to derive a performance factor. By calculating a performance factor, you can measure the labor costs against the productive labor hours, not just the labor hours expended for the task.

Unlike the other job progress programs, the system does not display the Job Status Inquiry form to display and select accounts by job; instead, it provides an inquiry form that displays only the accounts that are assigned computation methods H and L. To further refine the search, enter tolerance exception ranges based on performance factors. The system displays only those labor accounts that are outside of the tolerance range. This enables you to assess the accounts that are at risk based on performance. The inquiry program also provides check boxes to select the columns that you want to display. You can display account balances by inception-to-date, cumulative (year-to-date), or by period.

When you select an account from the Work With Performance Based Labor Activity form, the system displays the Labor Progress Entry Revisions form, which you can use to analyze the current activity for the task such as productivity and unit and hourly rates. The system divides the form into four sections that are defined by group boxes:

• The first and second sections are informational only and display the job and account information. Because this information is static, it provides the basis of comparison for other scenarios that you can enter in the third section.

• The third section provides input fields that you can use to manipulate the performance factors, estimate to complete values, estimate at complete values (projected final values), and actual quantities. When you change the value in one field and leave it, the system recalculates the information based on the change so that you can compare other results to the actual information in the second section. You can continue manipulating the fields until you are satisfied with the results. The system does not update the Account Balances table until you click OK.

  Note: If you change estimate at completion (projected final) quantity, the system automatically generates a journal entry for the header account of the task to the revised budget ledger that is specified in the processing option, as long as the Job Cost Audit Trail processing option is not set to 2.

  If the percent complete is less than the threshold percent (as displayed in the first section of the form), the estimate-to-complete and estimate-at-completion (projected final) values equal the revised budget ledger values. Only revisions to the quantity fields can be entered.

• The fourth section provides a Reason for Variance text field that you can use for any purpose, whether to validate the current results or provide additional information for revisions to the budget that you enter. The system stores the information that you enter as a media object (attachment).