CVEN481: Project Planning and

Scheduling
Topic 1 (Introduction to Project
Scheduling)
Instructor: Dr. Abid Nadeem
Qatar University
Civil Engineering Department
Fall 2012
Lecture Handouts Acknowledgement: Dr. Saleh Mubarak

Topic I: Introduction to Project

Scheduling

Definition of Planning and scheduling

What is a project? What is project Management?

Why Schedule Projects?

What is the Scheduler?

Successful Scheduling System

Scheduling as part of project management

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Types of Management
Types of Management

General management

Program management

Portfolio management

Project management

Specialty management

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Introduction to Project
Management
Important definitions from the Project
Management Institute, PMI, PMBOK, 4th
edition, 2008:
Project: A temporary endeavor undertaken to
create a unique product, service, or result

There are no two projects that are the same

Every project has

A start a finish points, and
A deliverable.
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Introduction to Project
Management (Contd)
Program: A group of related projects managed in
coordinated way to obtain benefits and control not
available from managing them individually. Programs
may include elements of related work outside of the
scope of the discrete projects in the program
Programs may be:

Temporary/one-time programs

Ongoing (usually periodic/annual)

A program can be a large and complex project

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Introduction to Project
Management (Contd)
Portfolio is a collection of projects or programs
and other work that are grouped together to
facilitate effective management of that work to
meet strategic business objectives. The
projects or programs of the portfolio may not
necessarily be dependent or directly related
Programme in the UK terminology
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The Hierarchy
Portfolio

Program

Project

Project

Subproject

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Program

Project

Subproject

Project

Tasks

Subproject

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Project Management
Project Management
is the application of
knowledge, skills,
tools, and techniques
to project activities
to meet the project
requirements

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Cost /
Budget

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Time /
Schedule

Scope /
Quality

Slide No. 8

Scheduling as Part of Project

Management
Project management in construction includes:

Scheduling / Time Management,

Budget / Cost Management,

Document Management

Project administration,

Risk Management

Quality management,

Procurement management,

Safety management,

Change / Scope management,

Other

Project controls

They are all interrelated

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Slide No. 9

Planning and Scheduling

Planning and scheduling are two terms that
are often thought of as synonymous

They are not!

Scheduling is just one part of the planning effort

Project scheduling is the determination of the

timing and sequence of operations in the
project and their assembly to give the overall
completion time
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Project Planning
Project planning serves as a foundation for several
related functions such as cost estimating, scheduling,
and other functions related to executing the project.
The plan can include elements that has to do with
scope, design and alternate designs, cost, time,
finance, land, procurement, operations, etc.
The plan can take different shapes and have different
contents depending on:

The purpose of the plan

The timing of the plan

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The level of details needed

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Planning and Scheduling

Planning is the process of determining how a
project will be undertaken. It answers the
questions:

What?

Why

How?

Where?

Who?

By whom?

How much?

When? (in general terms)

Scheduling deals with when on a detailed level

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Planning and Scheduling

Schedule
when

The Plan

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Project Control
Project scheduling, like cost estimating, is a prediction
of future occurrence; time or money
Once project execution starts, actual performance may
not, and usually do not, follow the prediction (called
the baseline when it become an official part of the
contract)
Here comes Project Control to track both schedule and
cost, find variances (where, how much, and why), and
take corrective action to bring the project back to the
plan
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Why Do Owners Schedule Projects?

1.

Get an idea on projects expected finish date

2.

Ensure contractors proper planning for timely finish

3.

Use for cash flow prediction (example1) (example2)

4.

Use for project control and verification of progress

payment requests

5.

Use for change orders impact (and what-if

scenarios)

6.

Use to verify contractors delay claims

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Why Do Contractors Schedule

Projects?
1. Ensure ability to meet owners schedule requirements
2. Calculate the start of end of a specific activity
3. Have an efficient work plan / Coordinate with
subcontractors
4. Use for cash flow prediction (example1) (example2)
5. Use for preparation of progress payment requests /
project control
6. Use to assess change orders impact
7. Use to prove a delay claim
8. Plan material procurement (order, deliver)

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The Scheduler.....
Is the scheduler:

an engineer / architect?

a computer whiz?

a mathematician?

a project /construction manager?

an artist? or

a communicator?

The Certification: AACE, PMI

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The Scheduler
The three types of knowledge:
1.

Knowledge in the principles of scheduling and

project control

2.

Knowledge in the specific technical field

3.

Knowledge in computer software

Knowledge acquired by education or experience?

Importance / priority of these types

Full-time, part-time, consultant? pros and

cons

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The Tripod of Good Scheduling

System
Project Scheduling
System

The Human
Factor

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The
Technology

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The
Management

Slide No. 19

Question
Do all projects (of all types and sizes) have a
need for CPM scheduling?
Does the need vary?

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Quiz Exercise 1
Are the following statements true or false:
1. There are no two projects in construction that are identical
2. Every construction project needs a CPM schedule
3. Planning and scheduling are two names for the same function
4. Projects in a portfolio are necessarily related
5. Projects in a program are necessarily related
6. All programs have specific limited lifespan
7. The maintenance of a large office building is considered a project
8. The renovation of a large office building is considered a project
9. The maintenance of city bridges can be a program

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Can the Following be Considered

Projects?
1. I like to improve my education
I plan to obtain my MBA from an accredited school by
end of 2014

2. I want to save a good amount of my salary

I will save (at least) $400/month so I can have $5,000
in 2 years

3. We like to reduce the overhead of our company

We like to reduce the OH from 22% to 18% by end of
2012
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Topic 2: Steps for Scheduling a

Construction Project
The basic four steps
The additional steps
Optional Steps
Myths about scheduling

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Steps to Schedule a Project

1. Break down the project into activities:

Reasonable activity size

Contract restrictions?

Simple versus complex activities

WBS, coding, activity description / title

Activity types: Task, milestone (start or finish),

Hammock (level of effort)

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Factors to Be Considered in
Defining Activities
1.

Nature of the work / Homogeneity

2.

Location / Floor / Segment

3.

Size / Duration

4.

Timing / Chronology

5.

Level of confidence in the duration

6.

Responsibility

7.

Phase

8.

Contractual restrictions

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Definition
Activity: A basic unit of work as part of the
total project that is easily measured and
controlled

It is also called Task

It is time and resource consuming

Unit of measure: simple or complex:

Formwork + rebar + concrete + finish (4 activities), or
FRP Concrete (one activity)

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Slide No. 26

Events and Milestones

An event: a point in time that is usually the start or
finish of a certain activity(s)

Duration = 0

Important events are called milestones

start milestones such as NTP and

finish milestones such as Substantial Completion

An activity has a start date and a finish date. An event

(or milestone) has a start date or a finish date

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Slide No. 27

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100000

Tampa
Office
Bldg

Level 0

Site Work

Mechanical
/ Electrical

Interior
finishes
Beams/
Girders

One-way
Slab and
beam

Waffle
Slabs
123140

Concrete

123130
Post-tension
cable

Flat Slabs

123400

123113

123114

Work Breakdown
Structure, WBS,
Example

Reshores

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123112

160000

125000

123300

Shores

Level 5

Soffit and
edges

123111

Rebar

123120

Scaffold
(tables)

Level 4

123110

Falsework

Level 3

123200

Posttensioned
Slabs

123100

124000

123000

Elevated
Slabs

122000

Shear
Walls

Level 2

Columns

121000

150000

140000

Exterior
closure

Building
shell

Foundation/
Substructure

Level 1

130000

CIP Stairs

120000

110000

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The CSI Masterformat in WBS

Format
Title

Level

03 00 00 Concrete
03 10 00 Concrete Forming and Accessories
03 11 00 Concrete Forming
03 11 13 Structural Cast-in-Place Concrete Forming
03 11 13.13 Concrete Slip Forming
03 11 13.16 Concrete Shoring
03 11 13.19 Falsework

03 11 16 Architectural Cast-in Place Concrete Forming

03 11 16.13 Concrete Form Liners

03 11 19 Insulating Concrete Forming

03 11 23 Permanent Stair Forming

1
2
3
4
5
5
5

4
5

4
4

Dont forget level 0!

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Steps to Schedule a Project

2. Estimate activity durations:

Time unit: hour, day, week, month?

Duration = Total Quantity/Productivity

= 10,000 M3 / 800 M3/day

= 12.5 days 13 days

Multiple crews multiple shifts

Productivity adjustment factors: weather, height,
learning curve, local factors, etc.

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Activitys Durations

Activities that dont lend themselves to the previous

equation:
Breakdown to increase confidence
Expert subjective estimates: you may have to get a

second opinion

How much time contingency should be added?

Warning: dont accept unrealistic durations!

Calendars choice and impact on duration

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Slide No. 31

Steps to Schedule a Project

3. Set up the schedule logic:

Establish logic relationships

Sometimes there is more than one way to depict logic
Tendency to overuse Finish-to-Start (FS) relationship

Lags & leads

External relationships

Logic (hard) versus resource (soft) logic

Imposed constraints

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Steps to Schedule a Project

4. Draw network & perform CPM Calculations
(or input in the computer and execute):

Imposed finish date for the project?

Non-work days

Check software default rules / settings

Make sure any specific requirement is met

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Additional Step 1:
Review and Analyze
1. Review and analyze the schedule:

Check logic back & forth

A second set of professional eyes is always a good idea

Make sure there are no errors, loops, omissions, or

redundancies
Check with leaders of teams involved with the
project

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Additional Step 2:
The Implementation
2. Implementation of the schedule: Taking the
schedule from paper to action

This is the most serious step in the process: it is

selling the schedule/plan to all parties
Adopt a single pair of dates (start finish) for each
activity

Roles and responsibilities

Management commitment

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Slide No. 35

Additional Step 2:
The Implementation

Print different reports to different parties

The final form is going to be your baseline
schedule
This is more than just a decoration to the walls of
the site trailer

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Slide No. 36

Additional Step 3:
Monitor and Control
3. Monitor and Control:

Choose a uniform time interval for periodic

updating

Define the update procedures

Communicate with all parties

Reporting / Documentation

Implement any changes

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Slide No. 37

Additional Step 4:
Database Feedback
4. Database Revisions and Feedback

Project / activity notes

Documentation and organization

Archiving

Accessibility and confidentiality

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Slide No. 38

Budgeting and Resource Loading

Optional steps when scheduling a project:

Cost loading

Resource loading (allocation)

Resource leveling

Cash flow analysis / forecast

Materials procurement schedule

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Slide No. 39

Cost Versus Resource Loading

Resource leveling:

Stored in the
Resource
Dictionary

Activity
Install8CMUfor4thfloorexteriorwall
Duration
5
days
Workhours
8
perday
Resource
Foreman
Mason
Helper
Crane(1hour/day)
CMU(includingmortar,
grout,andrebar

How
Cost/unit
many?
1
$40.00
3
$32.00
2
$27.50
0.125
$800.00
2300

$4.00

Hour
Hour
Hour
Day

Extended
Cost
$1,600.00
$3,840.00
$2,200.00
$500.00

Each

$9,200.00

Unit

ActivityTotal

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Cost loading:
Cost = $17,340

$17,340.00

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Assigning Resources versus

Assigning Budget
Why assigning resources is better than assigning budget:
1.

Ease of changing/updating the cost of an activity

2.

Ability to integrate with accounting and procurement

3.

Ability to estimate and store (in database) productivities and

man-hours and to do cost analysis

4.

Ability to do resource leveling and to set upper limits on

resource consumption

5.

Ability to use "resource-driven" activities

Except for subcontractors work

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Project Schedule versus

Construction Schedule
The scheduler may want to include all projectrelated activities:

Design

Design review

Construction

Owners activities (review, approval)

Vendors (for owners purchased equipment)

Other agencies activities (e.g. government, test

labs)
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Myths/Misconceptions
About Scheduling
I should get a very accurate schedule I bought the
most expensive software in the market!
I hired a computer specialist to handle Primavera!
CPM schedules are bunch of nonsense. We do it just
because the owner required it.
We dont need an expensive system
it is all up here

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Slide No. 43

Quiz Exercise 2
Are the following statements True or False:
1. There is one standard way to break down the project into
activities for the purpose of creating a schedule

2. A milestone is an important activity

3. With the use of advanced computers and computer software,
the trend in scheduling now is to break the project into large
number of small activities

4. A scheduler should not combine two similar activities if they are

to be performed at considerably different time periods

5. Determining activities durations is primarily the schedulers job

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Slide No. 44