Lecture # 11

ENGINEERING
PROJECT
MANAGEMENT

DEPARTMENT OF ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT

NUST COLLEGE OF E&ME
CRASHING
Cost Consideration in Project

Project managers may have the option or

requirement to crash the project, or accelerate the
completion of the project.
This is accomplished by reducing the length of the
critical path(s).
The length of the critical path is reduced by
reducing the duration of the activities on the
critical path.
Cost Consideration in Project
If each activity requires the expenditure of an
amount of money to reduce its duration by one unit
of time, then the project manager selects the least
cost critical activity, reduces it by one time unit, and
traces that change through the remainder of the
network.
As a result of a reduction in an activity’s time, a new
critical path may be created.
When there is more than one critical path, each of
the critical paths must be reduced.
If the length of the project needs to be reduced
further, the process is repeated.
Project Crashing
• Crashing
▫ reducing project time by expending additional
resources
• Crash time
▫ an amount of time an activity is reduced
• Crash cost
▫ cost of reducing activity time
• Goal
▫ reduce project duration at minimum cost
 Activity Crashing

Crash Crashing activity

cost
Activity cost

Slope = crash cost per unit time

Normal Activity
Normal
cost
Normal
time
Crash time Activity time
Reducing Project Completion Time
• Crashing a project needs to balance
▫ Shorten a project duration
▫ Cost to shorten the project duration
• Crashing a project requires you to know
▫ Crash time of each activity
▫ Crash cost of each activity
Crash cost/duration = (crash cost-normal
cost)/(crash time – normal time)
Project Crashing
Activity Precedence Duration Cost £ Slope
days (normal, (£/day)
(normal, crashed)
crashed)
a - 3, 2 40, 80 40/-1
= -40
b a 2, 1 20, 80 -60
c a 2, 1 20, 50 -30
d c 2, 1 30, 60 -30
e b 3, 1 10, 80 -35
Project Crashing Example
3
b e

1
a
2 4 6
8 days
c
£120
d
5
3
b e
Crash e
a
1 2 4 6
c 7 days
d £155
5

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 days
Project Crashing Example
3
b e Crash e, a
a 6 days
1 2 c 4 6
d £195
5
3
b e
Crash e, a, d, e
a
1 2 c 4 6 5 days
d £260
5

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 days
Project Crashing Example

3
b e Crash e, a, d, e, b, c
a 4 days
1 2 4 6
c £350
d
5

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 days
CLASS ACTIVITY
Activity Precedence Normal Normal Crash Crash Cost
Time Cost Time Cost Slope
(Tn) (Cn) (Tc) (Cc)
(days) ($1K) (days) ($1K)
A - 4 $210 3 $280
B - 9 $400 6 $640
C A 6 $500 4 $600
D A 9 $540 7 $600
E B,C 4 $500 1 $1100
F B,C 5 $150 4 $240
G E 3 $150 3 $150
H F,D 7 $600 6 $750
Questions to Answer
1. Verify that the normal completion time is 22 days
and that the direct cost is $3,050.
2. What is the least costly way to reduce the project
completion time to 21 days? What is the project
cost?
3. What is the least costly way to reduce the
completion time to 20 days? What is the project
cost?
4. Now, What is the earliest the project can be
completed and what is the least costly way of doing
this? What is the project cost?
Discussion