11.1 Project Planning and Scheduling

Project planning and scheduling are crucial aspects of construction management. They involve organizing tasks, allocating resources, and setting timelines to ensure projects run smoothly and efficiently. These processes help managers anticipate challenges and keep projects on track.

Effective planning and scheduling techniques, like the Critical Path Method and Gantt charts, provide visual representations of project timelines. These tools help teams identify critical tasks, manage resources, and track progress, ultimately leading to successful project completion within budget and time constraints.

Project scheduling with CPM and Gantt charts

Critical Path Method (CPM) fundamentals

• CPM determines the longest sequence of dependent tasks and calculates minimum project duration
• Involves identifying project activities, determining dependencies, and estimating durations to create a network diagram
• Float or slack time represents the amount an activity can be delayed without affecting project completion date
• Network diagrams visually represent task relationships and critical path (longest path through the network)
• Forward pass calculates early start and early finish dates for each activity
• Backward pass calculates late start and late finish dates for each activity
• Critical activities have zero float and lie on the critical path

Gantt chart creation and integration

• Horizontal bar charts visually represent project tasks, durations, and relationships over time
• List project activities, determine start and end dates, and represent as horizontal bars on a timeline
• Milestones depicted as diamond shapes mark significant project events
• Task dependencies shown with arrows connecting related activities
• Resource allocation can be displayed alongside task bars
• Baseline schedules allow comparison of planned vs actual progress
• Integrating CPM and Gantt charts provides comprehensive project schedule showing critical path and overall timeline

Project scheduling software tools

• Microsoft Project offers robust scheduling features including CPM calculations and Gantt chart generation
• Primavera P6 provides advanced scheduling capabilities for complex, large-scale projects
• Online platforms like Asana combine task management with basic Gantt chart functionality
• Oracle Primavera Cloud enables collaborative scheduling in cloud-based environments
• Smartsheet offers spreadsheet-like interface with Gantt chart visualization
• ProjectLibre provides open-source alternative for CPM and Gantt chart creation
• Comparison of software tools should consider factors like project complexity, team size, and budget constraints

Project plan components

Scope and work breakdown structure

• Project scope defines boundaries including deliverables, objectives, and constraints
• Scope statement outlines project goals, deliverables, and success criteria
• Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) hierarchically decomposes project scope into manageable work packages
• WBS dictionary provides detailed descriptions of each work package
• 100% rule ensures WBS captures all project work without omissions or overlaps
• Scope baseline combines scope statement, WBS, and WBS dictionary
• Change control process manages modifications to project scope throughout lifecycle

Timeline and resource allocation

• Project timeline outlines sequence of activities, milestones, and deadlines for completion
• Milestone list identifies key project events and their target dates
• Resource allocation identifies and assigns human, material, and financial resources for each task
• Resource calendars define availability of resources throughout project duration
• Resource histograms visualize resource utilization over time
• Cost estimates provide budgetary information for each work package and overall project
• Time-phased budget allocates costs across project timeline

Risk management and communication planning

• Risk assessment identifies potential threats and opportunities affecting project objectives
• Risk register documents identified risks, their potential impacts, and planned responses
• Qualitative risk analysis prioritizes risks based on probability and impact
• Quantitative risk analysis numerically estimates effects of risks on project objectives
• Risk response plans outline strategies to address identified risks (avoid, transfer, mitigate, accept)
• Communication plan defines how information will be shared among project stakeholders
• Stakeholder engagement plan outlines strategies for managing stakeholder expectations and involvement

Resource allocation impact on schedules

Resource leveling and smoothing techniques

• Resource leveling adjusts project schedule to account for limited resource availability without changing scope
• Leveling heuristics include minimum moment algorithm and pack method
• Resource smoothing minimizes fluctuations in resource usage while maintaining original project completion date
• Smoothing techniques include shifting non-critical activities within their float
• Time-cost trade-offs analyze relationship between project duration and cost
• Crashing involves adding resources to critical activities to reduce overall duration
• Fast-tracking overlaps activities that would normally be performed in sequence

Multi-project resource allocation

• Balances resources across multiple concurrent projects leading to complex scheduling decisions
• Resource pool management ensures efficient utilization across project portfolio
• Priority-based allocation assigns resources to higher priority projects first
• Resource conflict resolution techniques include negotiation, escalation, and reallocation
• Capacity planning aligns organizational resource capacity with project demands
• Resource optimization algorithms (genetic algorithms, simulated annealing) find near-optimal allocation solutions
• Portfolio management software facilitates multi-project resource scheduling (Microsoft Project Server, Planview)

Critical chain and sensitivity analysis

• Critical chain method focuses on managing resource dependencies and buffers to optimize schedules
• Project buffer protects overall project completion date from variations in critical chain
• Feeding buffers protect critical chain from delays in non-critical paths
• Resource buffers ensure critical resources are available when needed
• Buffer management monitors buffer consumption to trigger corrective actions
• Sensitivity analysis assesses impact of changes in resource availability or allocation on overall schedule
• What-if scenarios evaluate effects of different resource allocation strategies on project timelines

Project scheduling techniques effectiveness

Probabilistic scheduling methods

• Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) uses probabilistic time estimates to analyze expected project duration
• Three-point estimates (optimistic, most likely, pessimistic) capture task duration uncertainty
• PERT formula: (Optimistic + 4 * Most Likely + Pessimistic) / 6
• Monte Carlo simulation analyzes project schedules under uncertainty
• Provides probabilistic estimates of project completion dates
• Tornado diagrams visualize sensitivity of project duration to individual task variations
• Confidence intervals express range of possible project durations with associated probabilities

Specialized scheduling techniques

• Line of Balance (LOB) scheduling effective for repetitive projects (high-rise buildings, highways)
• LOB diagrams show production rates and buffer times between repetitive activities
• Last Planner System (LPS) focuses on collaborative planning and continuous improvement
• LPS components include master schedule, phase schedule, lookahead plan, and weekly work plan
• Agile methodologies (Scrum, Kanban) offer flexible scheduling approaches for evolving requirements
• Scrum uses time-boxed sprints to deliver incremental project value
• Kanban visualizes workflow and limits work in progress to optimize flow

Performance measurement and analysis

• Earned Value Management (EVM) integrates project scope, schedule, and cost
• Key EVM metrics: Planned Value (PV), Earned Value (EV), Actual Cost (AC)
• Schedule Performance Index (SPI) measures schedule efficiency: EV / PV
• Cost Performance Index (CPI) measures cost efficiency: EV / AC
• To-Complete Performance Index (TCPI) forecasts required performance to meet goals
• Schedule forecasting techniques: Earned Schedule (ES) and Critical Path Earned Value
• Trend analysis examines patterns in performance metrics to predict future project behavior