Planning & Scheduling

CSTM 462
Managing a project through time and resources.
The need for proper planning and scheduling.

Lets look at it as a layperson.

Steps to complete a project.
Brushing your teeth
Cooking dinner

The relationships of each activity

When one activity can start
The sequence of each activity
The duration of each and when it can finish.

What is it?
Defining activities for a project, through their
relationships we can identify the project
duration.

We will learn a new way of managing

projects through the critical path method.

CPM Scheduling

Okay Lets get to the straight scoop

My background
This is my perspective
This is the contractors view
We all have roles
I want you to begin to develop the truth as
you will know it

A very unique game to be played

There are basic rules and guidelines you
must follow.
Then it becomes a game of reality, fact
and fiction.
What you see is not always what you get.

REAL WORLD
Do THEY use it?
Biggest issue is the effectiveness of the
schedule.
Who uses it?
Subcontractor and supplier buy-in.
Time constraints and resource requirements to
update and status the schedule.
Who has ownership of the schedule?
Wall covering or reality? Tool or a puppet?

# of Activities or Steps
Hydroelectric
Dam
Power Plant
Hospital
Regional Airport
School
Office Building
Movie Theater
Warehouse
Apartments
House
Deck
Sidewalk
A Room

The use of schedules on a project:

Shown to reduce construction time
Increases productivity/work flow
Gives workers and subcontractors a goal
to work toward
Gives better control of materials, labor,
equipment and subcontractors (resources)
Improves communication
Forces detailed thinking and planning

There has to be a plan.

Without a plan, there is no way to schedule
the required work, no way to track
progress, and no way of deciding on
corrective action when unexpected events
occur.

Without, what happens

Poor planning and scheduling can result in lost
time and money for the contractor.
Not enough people or equipment when needed.
Materials delivered too late or too early.
Double handling.
Poor coordination between project participants.
Unable to meet milestones and project
completion dates.
Inability to make changes to meet the time line.

Why schedule the construction project?

Owner requirement
Communication of the construction plan
Establish production goals
Monitor and measure progress
Manage change

Owner Requirement
Specifically identified in the contract documents.
Used to manage the contractor by the Owner.
Like it or not the tool used by the Owner to
check the status of the project and the
contractor.
Used for project milestones.
Coordination of Owner supplied material and
contractors.

Communicate the Plan

Communication leads to coordination.
Coordination between the general
contractor, subcontractors, and suppliers
as well as owner and designer.
The primary means to communicate the
plan.
Planned means and methods as well as
planned sequence and timing of the
contract work.

Establish Production Goals

Project team with the plan for completing the
overall project on time and within budget.
Does not contain sufficient detail to schedule the
day-to-day work on a particular activity.
The basis and frame work for planning day-today.
If the planned production rate is not achieved
then the activity will not be completed on time
and the project may fall behind schedule.

Why Schedule a Project

Monitor and Measure
Progress

Current status of the

project can be compared
to determine if the
construction is ahead or
behind schedule.
Without a construction
schedule there is no way
to know what the status
of the project is at any
time.

Manage Change

The construction
schedule can represent
an invaluable tool for
identifying the impact of
the unexpected event or
condition on construction
and revising the plan to
mitigate the impact of the
changed condition.

The Planning and Scheduling Process

Requires the following six steps (is it):
Evaluate Work Breakdown Structure
Identify project activities.
Estimate activity durations.
Develop the project plan.
Schedule the project activities.
Implement the schedule.
Review and analyze the schedule.

Identify project activities.

Breakdown and analyze the project.
Review the plans, specifications, general
conditions and contract requirements.
The result of this first step is the
identification of all activities that must be
performed in order to complete the project.

Estimate activity durations.

Activity durations should be estimated
based on available resources which
include labor, material and equipment.
These durations should reflect the planned
resource productivity on anticipated site
conditions.
Key to production monitoring and
controlling day-to-day construction.

Develop the project plan.

The project plan establishes the order in
which activities are to be completed and
the planned sequence of construction.
Establish logic and relationships

Schedule the project activities.

With the project plan and the planned
duration of each project activity, the
project can be scheduled.
The project schedule assigns a start and
finish date to each activity.
The basis for monitoring and controlling
the work during construction.
Utilize the Critical Path Method of
scheduling.

Critical Path
The critical path is composed of a continuous
chain of activities through the network schedule
with zero total float. All activities on the critical
path must start and finish on the planned early
start and finish times. Failure of a critical path
activity to start or finish at the planned early and
late finish times will result in the overall project
duration being extended.

Implement the schedule

Review and analyze the schedule.
This involves both
short-interval
scheduling and
updating the
construction
schedule.
Planning and
updating the day to
day operations and
overall plan.

Reviewed for
completeness and
reasonability.
To be revised if it
does not work.

Project Management Objectives

1. Eliminate or reduce project RISK.
2. Obtain a thorough understanding of
PROJECT OBJECTIVES/MILESTONES.
3. Formulate strategy for achieving objectives
with available RESOURCES.
4. Develop a framework for MONITORING
AND CONTROLLING THE PROJECT

Level of Detail

Owner requirement
As needed to manage the project
Sequencing & Experience
No more than five day duration as a rule by many
general contractors
Type of work
Hour to day durations-we will use days-not partial
days always round up
Project Requirements- will identify requirements in
project specifications

Work Breakdown Structure

The work breakdown structure (WBS) is a
hierarchical system that represents the
construction project in increasing levels of
detail to define, organize and display the
project work in measurable and
manageable components.

Resource Availability
The key to estimating activity durations is
the availability of resources. These
resources include the following:

Labor
Equipment
Material
Subcontractors

Factors Affecting Activity Durations

You plan it and guess what happens?
Poor Productivity in relation to:

Nature of the work

Labor and Equipment Productivity
Management skill
Material and Equipment Availability
Seasonal Conditions
Work Restrictions
Quality of Work
Concurrent Activities

Nature of the Work

Productivity should increase as experience
is gained for repetitive tasks. Activities
composed of repetitive tasks should
benefit from the increased task
productivity and have decreasing activity
durations.
Depending on the work, difficulty can
increase if uncommon work tasks are
grouped together in an activity.

Labor and Equipment Productivity

Can vary significantly from project to
project and location to location.
Labor productivity is a function of a
number of factors that include training,
experience, motivation and labor
restrictions among others.
Equipment productivity is primarily a
function of operator skill and equipment
maintenance.

Not Organized

Organized