Scheduling

Scheduling, or more specifically planning and scheduling, is an art derived greatly from personal experience. To schedule, one must have a plan. To schedule well, one must start with a technically competent plan. The drawings and specifications define the final configuration of the project. The drawings indicate what is to be built, not how to build it. This is the province of the planner/scheduler. The challenge is to plan the work so that it can be constructed in the most efficient manner consistent with the required completion date(s).

Whether the schedule is a simple ten activity Gantt chart or 21,000 activity critical-path-method [CPM] schedule, the approach is the same. First, the planner/scheduler must determine:

  1. what is to be constructed in quantitative terms [cubic yards of excavation, square yards of pavement, cubic yards of concrete, tons of steel, etc.],
  2. what resources are available and in what quantities [manpower numbers and the skill level of laborers, carpenters, ironworkers, etc.] and construction equipment availability [asphalt plants, backhoes, cranes, haul units, etc.],
  3. the availability of purchased materials [concrete, steel, fabricated products. etc.],
  4. the availability of qualified subcontractors,
  5. the environment in which the work will be undertaken [weather, project location, time of the year, etc.], and finally
  6. crew productivity rates [calculated by reviewing the above items]

Second, based on this knowledge, the planner/scheduler develops a plan for the work which then can be reduced to a logic diagram [very simple for a Gantt chart; far more complex for a detailed CPM]. This approach allows for the planner/scheduler to investigate alternative approaches to the work by preparing different logic diagrams, if appropriate. In addition to the logical progression of work activities, the CPM schedule requires the planner/scheduler to assign duration to each activity. This is where the crew productivity rates are applied. [Even when preparing a simple Gantt chart, productivity must be considered when assigning composite activity durations.]

The next step in preparing a CPM schedule is to input the logic, resources and durations. Then the schedule is run, balanced and plotted. But the effort does not end here. Perhaps the most critical step is the review of the reasonableness of the schedule. Does it make sense? Are there any activities that fall in illogical places? Are the finish date(s) as expected? This is where the planner/scheduler's personal technical experience comes into play.

In addition to scheduling construction, environmental, technology and other complex projects, MAR Management's consultants can undertake schedule delay analysis in support of (or in defense of) delay claims.

Should you have scheduling requirements or become involved in a delay claim, MAR Management's staff can assist you.