CONSTRUCTION PLANNING

CHAPTER-1

CONSTRUCTION PLANNING

Construc on planning is a fundamental and challenging ac vity in the management and execu on of
construc on projects. It involves the choice of technology, the defini on of work tasks, the es ma on of the
required resources and dura ons for individual tasks, and the iden fica on of any interac ons among the
different work tasks.
A good construc on plan is the basis for developing the budget and the schedule for work. Developing the
construc on plan is a cri cal task in the management of construc on, even if the plan is not wri en or
otherwise formally recorded.
Basic concepts in the development of construc on plans-choice of Technology and Construc on
Method-Defining Work Tasks- Defini on- Precedence rela onships among ac vi es-Es ma ng Ac vity
Dura ons-Es ma ng Resource Requirements for work ac vi es-coding systems.
In developing a construc on plan, it is common to adopt a primary emphasis on either cost control
or on schedule control as illustrated in Fig shown below.

Fig. Alterna ve Emphases in Construc on Planning.

In case of a construc on planning is cost or expense oriented. Within the categories of expenditure,
a dis nc on is made between costs incurred directly in the performance of an ac vity and indirectly for the
accomplishment of the project. For example, borrowing expenses for project financing and overhead items
are commonly treated as indirect costs.
For other projects, scheduling of work ac vi es over me is cri cal and is emphasized in the planning
process. In this case, the planner ensures that the proper precedence among ac vi es is maintained and that
efficient scheduling of the available resources prevails. Tradi onal scheduling procedures emphasize the
maintenance of task precedence (resul ng in cri cal path scheduling procedures) or efficient use of
resources over me (resul ng in job shop scheduling procedures).

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Choice of Technology & Construc on Method:

As in the development of appropriate alterna ves for facility design, choices of appropriate
technology and methods for construc on are o en ill-structured yet cri cal ingredients in the success of the
project. For example, a decision whether to pump or to transport concrete in buckets will directly affect the
cost and dura on of tasks involved in building construc on. A decision between these two alterna ves
should consider the rela ve costs, reliabili es, and availability of equipment for the two transport methods.
In selec ng among alterna ve methods and technologies, it may be necessary to formulate a number
of construc on plans based on alterna ve methods or assump ons. Once the full plan is available, then the
cost, me and reliability impact of the alterna ve approaches can be reviewed. This examina on of several
alterna ves is o en made explicit in bidding compe ons in which several alterna ve designs may be
proposed or value engineering for alterna ve construc on methods may be permi ed.

Coding System:
One objec ve in many construc on planning efforts is to define the plan within the constraints of a
universal coding system for iden fying ac vi es. Each ac vity defined for a project would be iden fied by a
pre-defined code specific to that ac vity. The use of a common nomenclature or iden fica on system is
basically mo vated by the desire for be er integra on of organiza onal efforts and improved informa on
flow. In par cular, coding systems are adopted to provide a numbering system to replace verbal descrip ons
of items. These codes reduce the length or complexity of the informa on to be recorded. A common coding
system within an organiza on also aids consistency in defini ons and categories between projects and
among the various par es involved in a project.

In devising organizational codes for project activities, there is a continual tension between adopting systems
that are convenient or expedient for one project or for one project manager and systems appropriate for an
entire organization. As a general rule, the record keeping and communication advantages of standard
systems are excellent arguments for their adoption. Even in small projects, however, ad hoc or haphazard
coding systems can lead to problems as the system is revised and extended over time.

Defining Work Tasks:

At the same me that the choice of technology and general method are considered, a parallel step in
the planning process is to define the various work tasks that must be accomplished. These work tasks
represent the necessary framework to permit scheduling of construc on ac vi es, along with es ma ng
the resources required by the individual work tasks, and any necessary precedence or required sequence
among the tasks. The terms work "tasks" or "ac vi es" are o en used interchangeably in construc on plans
to refer to specific, defined items of work.
The scheduling problem is to determine an appropriate set of ac vity start me, resource alloca ons and
comple on mes that will result in comple on of the project in a mely and efficient fashion. Construc on
planning is the necessary fore-runner to scheduling. In this planning, defining work tasks, technology and
construc on method is typically done either simultaneously or in a series of itera ons.

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In prac ce, the proper level of detail will depend upon the size, importance and difficulty of the
project as well as the specific scheduling and accoun ng procedures which are adopted. However, it is
generally the case that most schedules are prepared with too li le detail than too much.
It is important to keep in mind that task defini on will serve as the basis for scheduling, for communica ng
the construc on plan and for construc on monitoring. Comple on of tasks will also o en serve as a basis for
progress payments from the owner. Thus, more detailed task defini ons can be quite useful. But more
detailed task breakdowns are only valuable to the extent that the resources required, dura ons and ac vity
rela onships are realis cally es mated for each ac vity. Providing detailed work task breakdowns is not
helpful without a commensurate effort to provide realis c resource requirement es mates. As more
powerful, computer-based scheduling and monitoring procedures are introduced, the ease of defining and
manipula ng tasks will increase, and the number of work tasks can reasonably be expected to expand.
The extent of work involved in any one ac vity can vary tremendously in construc on project plans.
Indeed, it is common to begin with fairly coarse defini ons of ac vi es and then to further sub-divide tasks
as the plan becomes be er defined. As a result, the defini on of ac vi es evolves during the prepara on of
the plan. A result of this process is a natural hierarchy of ac vi es with large, abstract func onal ac vi es
repeatedly sub-divided into more and more specific sub-tasks.

For example, the problem of placing concrete on site would have sub-ac vi es associated with placing forms,
installing reinforcing steel, pouring concrete, finishing the concrete, removing forms and others. Even more
specifically, sub-tasks such as removal and cleaning of forms a er concrete placement can be defined. Even
further, the sub-task "clean concrete forms" could be subdivided into the various opera ons.

Defining Precedence Rela onships Among Ac vi es:

Once work activities have been defined, the relationships among the activities can be
specified. Precedence relations between activities signify that the activities must take place in a particular
sequence. Numerous natural sequences exist for construction activities due to requirements for structural
integrity, regulations, and other technical requirements. For example, design drawings cannot be checked
before they are drawn. Diagrammatically, precedence relationships can be illustrated by
a network or graph in which the activities are represented by arrows as in Fig below. The arrows in Fig are
called branches or links in the activity network, while the circles marking the beginning or end of each arrow
are called nodes or events. In this figure, links represent particular activities, while the nodes represent
milestone events.

Fig: Illustra ve Set of Four Ac vi es with Precedence.

More complicated precedence relationships can also be specified. For example, one activity might
not be able to start for several days after the completion of another activity. As a common example, concrete
might have to cure (or set) for several days before formwork is removed. This restriction on the removal of
forms activity is called a lag between the completion of one activity (i.e., pouring concrete in this case) and
the start of another activity (i.e., removing formwork in this case). Many computer-based scheduling
programs permit the use of a variety of precedence relationships.
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Three mistakes should be avoided in specifying predecessor relationships for construction plans. First, a
circle of activity precedence will result in an impossible plan. For example, if activity A precedes activity B,
activity B precedes activity C, and activity C precedes activity A, then the project can never be started or
completed! Fig shown below, illustrates the resulting activity network. Fortunately, formal scheduling
methods and good computer scheduling programs will find any such errors in the logic of the construction
plan.

Fig: Example of an Impossible Work Plan.

In revising schedules as work proceeds, it is important to realize that different types of precedence
rela onships have quite different implica ons for the flexibility and cost of changing the construc on plan.
Unfortunately, many formal scheduling systems do not possess the capability of indica ng this type of
flexibility. As a result, the burden is placed upon the manager of making such decisions and insuring realis c
and effec ve schedules.

Es ma ng Ac vity Dura ons:

In most scheduling procedures, each work ac vity has an associated me dura on. These dura ons
are used extensively in preparing a schedule.
Ac vity dura on es ma ng is the process of taking informa on on project scope and resources and
then developing dura ons for input to schedules. The inputs for es mates of dura on typically originate from
the person or group on the project team who is most familiar with the nature of a specific ac vity. The
es mate is o en progressively elaborated, and the process considers the quality and availability of the input
data. Thus, the es mate can be assumed to be progressively more accurate and of known quality. The person
or group on the project team who is most familiar with the nature of a specific ac vity should make, or at
least approve, the es mate.
Es ma ng the number of work periods required to complete an ac vity will o en require considera on of
elapsed me as well. For example, if “concrete curing” will require four days of elapsed me, it may require
from two to four work periods based on (a) which day of the week it begins on and (b) whether or not
weekend days are treated as work periods. Most computerized scheduling so ware will handle this problem
by using alterna ve work-period calendars.
All formal scheduling procedures rely upon es mates of the dura ons of the various project ac vi es
as well as the defini ons of the predecessor rela onships among tasks. The variability of an ac vity's dura on
may also be considered. Formally, the probability distribu on of an ac vity's dura on as well as the expected
or most likely dura on may be used in scheduling.
A probability distribu on indicates the chance that a par cular ac vity dura on will occur. In advance of
actually doing a par cular task, we cannot be certain exactly how long the task will require.

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Es ma on of Resource Requirements for Work Ac vi es:

In addition to precedence relationships and time durations, resource requirements are usually
estimated for each activity. Since the work activities defined for a project are comprehensive, the total
resources required for the project are the sum of the resources required for the various activities. By making
resource requirement estimates for each activity, the requirements for particular resources during the
course of the project can be identified. Potential bottlenecks can thus be identified, and schedule, resource
allocation or technology changes made to avoid problems.

Many formal scheduling procedures can incorporate constraints imposed by the availability of particular
resources. For example, the unavailability of a specific piece of equipment or crew may prohibit activities
from being undertaken at a particular time. Another type of resource is space. A planner typically will
schedule only one activity in the same location at the same time. While activities requiring the same space
may have no necessary technical precedence, simultaneous work might not be possible.

The initial problem in estimating resource requirements is to decide the extent and number of
resources that might be defined. At a very aggregate level, resources categories might be limited to the
amount of labour (measured in man-hours or in dollars), the amount of materials required for an activity,
and the total cost of the activity. At this aggregate level, the resource estimates may be useful for purposes
of project monitoring and cash flow planning. For example, actual expenditures on an activity can be
compared with the estimated required resources to reveal any problems that are being encountered during
the course of a project.

However, this aggregate definition of resource use would not reveal bottlenecks associated with particular
types of equipment or workers.

More detailed definitions of required resources would include the number and type of both workers
and equipment required by an activity as well as the amount and types of materials. Standard resource
requirements for particular activities can be recorded and adjusted for the special conditions of particular
projects.

Es ma on:
Es ma on or es ma ng is the process of calcula ng the quan es of various items of works involved
in the project. Es mate is a document which furnishes the quan es of different works involved, their rates
and the expenditure an cipate in a project.
Necessity of Es mates:

To know about the approximate cost of the building construc on.

To calculate the tax of the building.
To fix the rent of building.
The know about the various items of works involved in the building construc on and arrange the available
materials of the construc on.
To arrange the labours of the construc on works.
Take the approval for the government projects.
To having the loan from the bank.

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