11/12/2026

"Managing Work in Progress" - November 12, 2026

The program was held at Maggiano's Banquets in Oak Brook, IL.

"Managing Work in Progress"
Thursday, November 12, 2026.
8:00 am - 12:00 pm  - Barbarossa Room
Maggiano's Banquets
240 Oakbrook Center, Oak Brook, IL

The Electrical Contractors’ Association of City of Chicago (ECA) Research and Education Committee was proud to have sponsored the "Managing Work in Progress" seminar that was held on Thursday, November 12, 2026 at Maggiano's Banquets in Oak Brook, IL.  The session was facilitated by Doug Reitz, Maxim Consulting Group.

Managing Work in Progress
Many project managers lack a clear handle on how their projects are performing financially. Most commonly it is because they have not been trained on how to forecast properly. We find many contractors struggle with how to build a robust cost projection process that provides for consistency and predictability. Profit fade at 90% complete is no longer an option in today’s market. This session teaches project manager how to properly set up job budgets, track progress and forecast accurately. Moreover, learn critical financial indicators that point to problems on projects early so they can be rectified.

Following this course, participants will be able to:

• Identify how to manage work-in-process for better profitability
• Explain the relationship between project profitability and processes (budgeting, forecasting, change control, job status reporting and WIP)
• Describe how to apply earned value reporting to projects
• Learn key performance indicators that point to critical project performance problems 

We thank Mr. Reitz for his assistance with this session. 

We thank all that were able to participate.

Pictured above is Doug Reitz, Maxim Consulting Group,
as he opened up the program.

Pictured are the attendees giving self-introductions.

Pictured are the attendees for the session.