July 11, 2002

AR 513 / Construction Management

Topic: PLANNING TECHNIQUES

CONSTRUCTION PRE-PLANNING
Planning
Planning is an art, and the art of planning exist only among human beings.

Planning Functions has Four Different Dimensions namely:

1. Planning is a philosophy
2. Planning is migration
3. Planning is a process
4. Planning is a collection of procedures

The central figure in a project is the PROJECT MANAGER. Project construction management differs
much from management of more traditional activities. The main feature in project construction is the
Project Manager who oversee a variety of operations that involves repetitive activities and other various
activities.

The Project Manager needs to know are:

1. The logical construction sequence that must be followed
2. The quantity and the delivery date’s of various materials to be used
3. How much and what kind of manpower will be needed
4. When to start and complete the job on time

Timetable
The project manager should conduct one or more informal sessions with key personnel assigned to
the project such as:
a. The construction superintendent
b. Job buyer
c. Drafting room coordinator
d. Job expediter

The Project Engineer must:

a. Review the timetable thoroughly
b. Raise questions on its overall logic and workability
c. Offer constructive criticism on detailed work functions and interrelated activities

Preliminaries and Site Management

After a contract is awarded, the contractor has to:
1. Determine the key personnel to supervise the work
2. Make provisions for the equipment to be used
3. Determine the location and methods of erecting temporary structures such as:
a. Job offices
b. Storage sheds
c. Workshops
d. Roadway
e. Bank house for workers and facilities

Project undergoes series of stages which includes:

1. Planning
2. Execution of major activities
3. Project phase out

Project construction life cycle requires various requirements such as:

 1. The site must be found and boundaries relocated
2. Plan must be drawn
3. Plan must be approved by the owner
4. Building permit must be secured
5. Succession of personnel follows

The main objectives in the preliminaries of organizing a construction job are:

1. To secure the necessary licenses and building permits
2. Prepare a time and progress chart
3. Have an access to the site or a temporary roadway
4. Construction of boarding, fences, and temporary shed
5. Construction of temporary field offices for the staff
6. Arrangement for canteen facilities
7. Cleaning and leveling the site
8. Demolition of existing structures
9. Disposal of materials obtain from the demolition
10. Shoring to adjoining structures
11. Arrangement for temporary water and electric supply
12. Allotment and preparation of storage space for use of contractor and sub-contractor
13. Allotment of space for borrows pits or other sources of fill to be brought in
14. Provision for drains and soak-ways
15. General site problems including any special features

Planning Program and Progress Chart

The most important part of the works organization are:

a. The preparation of a comprehensive time and progress chart for the execution of the work
b. The periodic revision of the chart as circumstances demand, and the regular comparison of progress
chart made with the program.

The most common and widely used techniques available for planning are:
1. Bar Charts and Linked Bar Charts – the easiest to understand and most widely used form
of planning tool.
Activity T i m e ( w e e k s )
Description 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Excavation to
foundations and
basement
ST
Excavation to
foundations and
basement
CO
Waterproof lining
to Basement
Breakout old sub-
structure
Concrete founds
ST
Concrete founds
CO
Concrete Basement
Walls
Typical bar chart
 Activity T i m e ( w e e k s )
Description 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Excavation to
foundations and (4) (4)
basement
ST
Excavation to
foundations and (4) (4) (4) (4) (4) (4)
basement
CO
Waterproof lining (2) (2) (2) (2) (2) (2)
to Basement
Breakout old sub- (2)
structure
Concrete founds (3) (3) (3)
ST
Concrete founds (3) (3) (3)
CO
Concrete Basement (3) (3)
Walls

L
A
B
O 7
U 6
R 5
E 4
R 3
S 2
1

A linked bar chart and resource aggregation chart

2. Network Analysis
Offers little more than a linked bar chart, but its protagonists claim with some justification,
that the smaller, self contained steps of a network are more applicable to complex operations
than is the bar chart.

Steps in producing a network are:

a. listing the activities
b. producing a network showing the logical relationship between activities
c. assessing the duration of each activity, producing a schedule, and determining the start
and finish times of each activity and the float available
d. assessing the resources required
 8 8

Exc. Founds Waterproof

And basements lining to
CO basement
6 6
0 0 2 2
Exc. Founds 1 14 14 16 16
And basement Breakout
ST old sub- Conc. basement
1 2 structure 2 walls 2
2 2

3 3
Conc. founds Conc. founds
ST CO

9 11

A network showing duration, event numbers and event times.

3. Line of Balance
Is a planning technique for repetitive work, the principles employed are taken from the
planning and control of manufacturing process. The technique has been applied in
construction work mainly to house building and to a lesser extent to jetty work and in
conjunction with networks to road works.

Preparing a line of balance schedule:

1. Prepare a logic diagram

Drive Piles Construct Pile Cap Fix Deck

18 days 12 days 10 days

2. Estimate the manhours required to complete each operations

3. Choose buffer times which will guard against the risk of interference between operations
4. Calculate the required output target in order to meet a given project completion date
5. Complete the table
 Total time 104 days

10

1
Piles Cap Deck
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

TIME (DAYS)

Effect of scheduling operation “Pile Cap” at a completion schedule