LECTURE IV

PLANNING AND SCHEDULING

Construction planning is a fundamental and challenging activity in the management and

execution of construction projects. It involves the choice of technology, the definition of work
tasks, the estimation of the required resources and durations for individual tasks, and the
identification of any interactions among the different work tasks. A good construction plan is the
basis for developing the budget and the schedule for work

Work breakdown structure (WBS)

• A method of breaking down a project into individual elements (components,
subcomponents, activities and tasks) in a hierarchical structure which can be scheduled
and cost
• It defines tasks that can be completed independently of other tasks, facilitating resource
allocation, assignment of responsibilities and measurement and control of the project
• It is foundation of project planning
• It is developed before identification of dependencies and estimation of activity durations
• It can be used to identity the tasks in the CPM and PERT

18
Project Planning

• Resource Availability and/or Limits

o Due date, late penalties, early completion incentives
o Budget
• Activity Information
o Identify all required activities
o Estimate the resources required (time) to complete each activity
o Immediate predecessor(s) to each activity needed to create interrelationships

Project Scheduling and Control Techniques

• Gantt Chart
• Critical Path Method (CPM)
• Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)

Gantt Chart Graph or bar chart with a bar for each project activity that shows passage of time.
It provides visual display of project schedule.

PERT / CPM

• It is a control tool for defining the parts of construction job and then putting them together
in a network form.
• Its serves as an aid to the project manager but it does not make decision for him nor
does it guarantee good management. It only serves the project manager to see the
whole picture of the entire job.

3 Phases of PERT/CPM

1. Planning
2. Scheduling
3. Control - Monitor

19
History of PERT/CPM
• Critical Path Method (CPM)
o E I Du Pont de Nemours & Co. (1957) for construction of new chemical plant and
maintenance shut-down
o Deterministic task times
o Activity-on-node network construction
o Repetitive nature of jobs
• Project Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)
o U S Navy (1958) for the POLARIS missile program
o Multiple task time estimates (probabilistic nature)
o Activity-on-arrow network construction
o Non-repetitive jobs (R & D work)

Project Network

Network analysis is the general name given to certain specific techniques which can be used for
the planning, management and control of projects

• Use of nodes and arrows

Arrows An arrow leads from tail to head directionally
• Indicate ACTIVITY, a time consuming effort that is required to perform a part of
the work.
Nodes A node is represented by a circle
• Indicate EVENT, a point in time where one or more activities start and/or finish.
• Activity
– A task or a certain amount of work required in the project
– Requires time to complete
– Represented by an arrow
• Dummy Activity
– Indicates only precedence relationships
– Does not require any time of effort
• Event
– Signals the beginning or ending of an activity
– Designates a point in time
– Represented by a circle (node)
• Network
– Shows the sequential relationships among activities using nodes and arrows

 Activity-on-node (AON) - nodes represent activities, and arrows show precedence

relationships

20
  Activity-on-arrow (AOA) - arrows represent activities and nodes are events for points in
time

Situations in network diagram

A must finish before either B or C can start

both A and B must finish before C can start

both A and B must finish before either of C or D can start

A must finish before B can start both A and C must finish before D can
start

Concurrent Activities

21
Defining Precedence Relationships among Activities

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. Diagramatically, precedence relationships can be illustrated by a network or graph in
which the activities are represented by arrows as in Figure below. The arrows 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.

Illustrative Set of Four Activities with Precedences

Three mistakes should be avoided in specifying predecessor relationships for construction

plans.

• First, a circle of activity precedences 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

• Forgetting a necessary precedence relationship can be more insidious. For example,

suppose that installation of dry wall should be done prior to floor finishing. Ignoring this
precedence relationship may result in both activities being scheduled at the same time.
• It is important to realize that different types of precedence relationships can be defined
and that each has different implications for the schedule of activities.

Example: Precedence Definition for Site Preparation and Foundation Work

Suppose that a site preparation and concrete slab foundation construction project consists of
nine different activities:

A. Site clearing (of brush and minor debris),

B. Removal of trees,
C. General excavation,
D. Grading general area,
E. Excavation for utility trenches,
F. Placing formwork and reinforcement for concrete,
G. Installing sewer lines,
H. Installing other utilities,
I. Pouring concrete.

22
 TABLE 6-1 Precedence Relations for a Nine-Activity Project Example

Activity Description Predecessors

A Site clearing ---

B Removal of trees ---
C General excavation A
D Grading general area A
E Excavation for utility trenches B,C
F Placing formwork and reinforcement for concrete B,C
G Installing sewer lines D,E
H Installing other utilities D,E
I Pouring concrete F,G

With this information, the next problem is to represent the activities in a network diagram and to
determine all the precedence relationships among the activities. One network representation of
these nine activities is shown in Figure, in which the activities appear as branches or links between
nodes. The nodes represent milestones of possible beginning and starting times. This
representation is called an activity-on-branch diagram. Note that an initial event beginning activity
is defined, while node 5 represents the completion of all activities.

Activity-on-Branch Representation of a Nine Activity Project

Alternatively, the nine activities could be represented by nodes and predecessor relationships
by branches or links,. The result is an activity-on-node diagram.

Activity-on-Node Representation of a Nine Activity Project

23
Network example

From the following table of information, (a) Draw the precedence diagram, (b) Find the critical
path, (c) Determine the expected duration of the project.

Activity Precedes Expected time (Days)

A C,B 4
C D 12
D I 2
B I 5
E F 3
F J 8
I J 12
J End 9
G H 1
H K 3
K End 15

24
CPM calculation
• Path
• A connected sequence of activities leading from the starting event to the ending
event
• Critical Path
• The longest path (time); determines the project duration
• Critical Activities
• All of the activities that make up the critical path

Forward Pass
• Earliest Start Time (ES)
• earliest time an activity can start
• ES = maximum EF of immediate predecessors
• Earliest finish time (EF)
• earliest time an activity can finish
• earliest start time plus activity time
EF= ES + t

Backward Pass
 Latest Start Time (LS)
Latest time an activity can start without delaying critical path time
LS= LF - t
 Latest finish time (LF)
latest time an activity can be completed without delaying critical path time
LF = minimum LS of immediate predecessors

Float or Slack time

• The term Slack is used by PERT which is equivalent to Float of CPM network system.
• It is the word used for those activities which do not fall on the critical path. These
activities have scheduling TIME LEEWAY that can be used without adversed effect on
the project time completion.
The Slack or Float Time is computed using either of the following equations:
Float = LS – ES or
Float = LF – EF
The activities with Zero Slack Time indicate the critical path

25
26
PERT/CPM Example 2
From the following data of information, prepare a data sheet development showing (a) Earliest
and Latest Start, (b) Earliest and Latest Finish, (c) Total and Free Float or Slack and (d) Critical
Activities
Activities Time Duration in Days
1-2 Demolition and clearing 8
2-3 Excavation 14
2-5 Underground installation 6
3-4 Foundation and columns 5
4-5 Dummy 0
4-6 Construction of 2nd floor 6
4-7 Roof framing and flooring 6
5-7 Ground floor slab 4
5-8 Mechanical and Electrical Services 12
6-7 Construction of exterior walls 12
7-8 Dummy 0
7-9 Construction of interior partitions 10
8-9 Mech. & Elect. Equipment & fixtures 12
9-10 Painting and finishing work 8

27
28
29
Benefits of CPM/PERT

• Useful at many stages of project management

• Mathematically simple
• Give critical path and slack time
• Provide project documentation
• Useful in monitoring costs

Computer Software for Project Management

• Microsoft Project (Microsoft Corp.)

• MacProject (Claris Corp.)
• PowerProject (ASTA Development Inc.)
• Primavera Project Planner (Primavera)
• Project Scheduler (Scitor Corp.)
• Project Workbench (ABT Corp.)

30
TIME-SCALED EVENT

The Gannt Chart

 It is a popular tool for planning and scheduling simple projects.

 It serves as an aid of the manager to schedule project activities and then, to
monitor progress over time by comparing the planned progress to the actual work
progress.
 It indicate which activities were to occur, their planned duration and when they
will occur.

31
32
MANPOWER LEVELING

33
34
35
36
37
38