CONSTRUCTION PROJECT MANAGEMENT

CONSTRUCTION
PROJECT
SCHEDULING
Gülben ÇALIŞ, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
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OUTLINE
 CONSTRUCTION SCHEDULES
 TIME MANAGEMENT

 BAR CHARTS

 CRITICAL PATH METHOD

 PRECEDENCE DIAGRAMMING

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INTRODUCTION
 A schedule is the tool most commonly used to
plan the project step by step.
 Project manager can build the project on paper
before committing resources to it by analyzing
each activity and its relationship to the ones that
come before and after it.
 A schedule could be a simple timetable or a
complex network diagram.
 Schedules are not unique to construction but are
found in many industries whenever people,
equipment, materials, and organizations are
brought together and directed toward a common
goal.
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CONSTRUCTION
SCHEDULES
 Used in construction since 1950s
 Once formalized schedules were used
on only the largest of projects with
early computer technology
 Today with the help of personal
computers more people use network
schedules at many levels.
 Both used in planning and control
stages,
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TIME MANAGEMENT

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INTRODUCTION
 Major processes in developing project time
schedule
– Activity Definition—identifying the specific activities
that must be performed to produce the various
project deliverables.
– Activity Sequencing—identifying and documenting
interactivity dependencies.
– Activity Duration Estimating — estimating the
number of work periods that will be needed to
complete individual activities.
– Schedule Development—analyzing activity
sequences, activity durations, and resource
requirements to create the project schedule.
– Schedule Control—controlling changes to the project
schedule.
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Introduction (Cont.)
► Project tasks represent the necessary framework
to permit scheduling of activities, along with
estimating the resources required by the
individual work tasks, and any necessary
precedences or required sequence among the
tasks.
► An activity is any subdivision of project tasks.
► The time required to perform an activity is called
the duration of the activity.
► The beginning and the end of activities are
signposts or milestones, indicating the progress
of the project.
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ACTIVITY DEFINITION
 Identifying and documenting the specific activities that must be
performed to produce the deliverables and subdeliverables
identified in WBS.
 The definition of appropriate work tasks can be a laborious and
tedious process; no computer help

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ACTIVITY SEQUENCING
 Identifying and documenting interactivity logical
relationships. Activities must be sequenced accurately
to support later development of a realistic and
achievable schedule.

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Dependencies (Input)
 Mandatory dependencies often involve physical
limitations. (On a construction project, it is
impossible to erect the superstructure until after
the foundation has been built) AKA hard logic.
 Discretionary dependencies are usually defined
based on knowledge of: “Best practices” within a
particular application area. AKA soft logic.
 External dependencies involve a relationship
between project activities and non-project
activities. E.g. environmental hearings may need to
be held before site preparation can begin on a
construction project.

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Tools and Techniques for Activity

Sequencing

 Precedence Diagramming Method

(PDM)
 Arrow Diagramming Method (ADM)

 Conditional Diagramming Methods

 Network Templates

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Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM)

A method of constructing a project

network diagram that uses boxes or
rectangles (nodes) to represent the
activities and connects them with
arrows that show the dependencies.
 This technique is also called
activity-on-node (AON) and is the
method used by most project
management software packages.
PDM can be done manually or on a
computer.

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Example:

Activity Predecessor Successor

A - B
B A C
C B,D -
D - C,E
E D F
F E -

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Network Logic Diagram Drawn Using the

Precedence Diagramming Method

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Precedence relationships
 There are four types of dependencies
Finish-to-start
Finish-to-finish
Start-to-start
Start-to-finish

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Arrow Diagramming Method

(ADM)
 This method of constructing a project
network diagram uses arrows to represent
the activities and connects them at nodes to
show their dependencies
 This technique is also called activity on-
arrow (AOA) and, although less prevalent
than PDM, is still the technique of choice in
some application areas.
 ADM uses only finish-to-start dependencies
and may require the use of dummy
activities to define all logical relationships
correctly.
 ADM can be done manually or on a
computer.
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Network Logic Diagram Drawn Using

the Arrow Diagramming Method

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Activity Duration Estimating

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Resource requirements and

capabilities (input)
 The duration of most activities will be
significantly influenced by the resources
assigned to them.
– For example, two people working together may
be able to complete a design activity in half
the time it takes either of them individually,
while a person working half time on an activity
will generally take at least twice as much time
as the same person working full time.
– However, as additional resources are added,
projects can experience communication
overload, which reduces productivity and
causes production to improve proportionally
less than the increase in resource.

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Resource requirements and

capabilities (cont)
 The duration of most activities will be
significantly influenced by the
capabilities of the human and
material resources assigned to them.
– For example, if both are assigned full time, a
senior staff member can generally be expected
to complete a given activity in less time than a
junior staff member.

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Estimating Activity Durations

 Duration of an activity Dij such
as concrete formwork assembly
 Aij is the required formwork area
to assemble (in square yards)
 Pij is the average productivity of
a standard crew in this task
(measured in square yards per
hour)
 Nij is the number of crews
assigned to the task.

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