Watch Tower · Applied Intelligence for your Business · General contractors

Goals and KPIs for general contractors, with the assumptions written down

The goal: Finish jobs on schedule and on budget, with every crew working safely and every piece of equipment where it's needed.

We agree three to five goals with you, each with one KPI. Every KPI is written out: what it measures, the record it comes from, the period, where it stands today and the assumptions behind the number, plus the guardrails that mustn't get worse while you work on the goal.

Open the free demo A fictional company in your industry, opened in the Console. No card needed.

What you see

Home in the Watch Tower Console

An illustration of the Watch Tower Console's Home with sample data: the goal, three KPI cards with their trend and this week's review. — Your goal, the KPIs that show it and this week's review, on the first screen you open. An illustration with sample data. The demo opens a sample in your industry.

For owners, project managers and safety leads at general contracting firms

What it looks like for general contractors

The KPIs, cards and questions below are examples of what we set up with you. The names and units are made up.

KPIs, with the assumption behind each

Jobs on scheduleActive jobs whose current milestone is on or ahead of the baseline date.Assumption: Baseline is the schedule agreed at contract; approved change orders move it.

Cost to complete vs budgetProjected final cost against budget, per job.Assumption: From the latest job-cost report; committed costs included.

Shift inspections doneScaffold and fall-protection checks logged before the shift, as a share of shifts worked.Assumption: Counted from daily logs; a missing log counts as not done.

Cards on the work tracker

Get the competent person's scaffold check logged before Monday's shiftSite superintendent · due Mon · Job: Riverside clinic
Return the idle rented excavator or move it to the next jobEquipment manager · due Wed · Excavator R-12
Update the cost to complete after the steel change orderProject manager · due Fri · Job: Elm Street retail

Records you already keep

Job-cost reports
Daily logs and inspection checklists
Equipment lists and rental agreements
Subcontractor schedules

Assets in the register

Job sites
Owned and rented equipment
Crews and foremen
Subcontractors

Questions your team can ask Bifrost

Which jobs are behind their baseline, and by how many days?
Which rented equipment sat idle for more than five days last month?
How many shifts started without a logged scaffold check this quarter?

Bifrost answers from the records in your own workspace and shows how each number was worked out.

How it runs

Goals and KPIs, step by step

Start from one goal or decision that matters this quarter.
Pick one KPI for it, from records you already keep.
Write down the definition, the period and every assumption behind the number, so anyone can check it.
Set the guardrails, then review the numbers with us every week.

The barriers this crosses

Intent: Why do I need AI at all? We start from the person's own goal, decision or task and show what changes for that goal, in their words.
Use: What exactly would I use it for? We name the specific uses by role and by industry: the decision, the calculation, the plan, the brief.

Rules and facts for general contractors

What the records have to show

Each employee on a walking or working surface with an unprotected side or edge six feet or more above a lower level must be protected from falling by a guardrail, safety net or personal fall arrest system.Source: 29 CFR 1926.501(b)(1), Duty to have fall protection
Scaffolds and their components must be inspected for visible defects by a competent person before each work shift.Source: 29 CFR 1926.451(f)(3), Scaffolds
OSHA's "Focus Four" construction hazards are falls, caught-in or -between, struck-by and electrocution.Source: OSHA, Construction Focus Four training

A summary for planning work, not legal advice. Check the source for the full rule and any state requirements.

Start

See it on a sample company first

Founding 10

$2,000 for setup and the first 3 months of Watch Tower, then $250/month. Ten places. We set up your team, goals and KPIs, asset register, map and work tracker with you, then review it with you every week.

Hardware implementation is quoted separately. Start with the demo; you can order from inside it.Open the free demo

Questions

Common questions

Does this replace our construction management software?

No. It reads your job-cost reports, logs and equipment lists and puts the goals, the actions and the weekly review in one place. Keep the tools your field team already uses.

Why write the assumptions next to each number?

Because a KPI people can't check is a KPI people stop trusting. Each number in your Console shows the record it came from and the assumptions behind it, so a manager and a dispatcher or foreman read it the same way.

We don't have clean data. Can we still set KPIs?

Yes. We start from the records you have and write down what's missing as an assumption. As the records get better, the KPI gets better, and the review tracks that too.

What does Watch Tower cost for general contractors?

Founding 10 covers setup and the first 3 months in one payment, then a monthly price; the numbers are on this page and on the pricing page inside the demo. Hardware implementation is quoted separately.

Goals and KPIs in other industries