Crashing is a process of expediting project schedule by compressing the total project

duration. It is helpful when managers want to avoid incoming bad weather season. However,
the downside is that more resources are needed to speed-up a part of a project, even if
resources may be withdrawn from one facet of the project and used to speed-up the section
that is lagging behind. Moreover, that may also depend on what slack is available in a noncritical activity, thus resources can be reassigned to critical project activity. Hence, utmost
care should be taken to make sure that appropriate activities are being crashed and that
diverted resources are not causing needless risk and project scope integrity.
PROJECT CRASHING ALGORITHM
The project crashing algorithm described in this section is designed to give the
mathematically correct time-cost trade-off curve for small project networks which are to be
solved by hand. The algorithm proceeds from a network description of the project and the
normal and crash times and durations for the project activities to a set of tables which enable
the time-cost trade-off graph to be plotted. The three tables are the project activity marginal
cost list with available compression, a path list for the project network, and a breakpoint table
for the steps in the project crashing process. These will be developed for an illustrative
numerical example after a general statement of the algorithm is given.
GENERAL ALGORITHM SPECIFICATION
Initialization Steps.
Step 1. Each activity is assumed to have a known Normal cost if completed in a Normal time,
and a (larger) Crash Cost if completed in a (shorter) Crash time. Compute the marginal
crashing costs (i.e. cost per unit time) for each activity according to the following formula:
Marginal Cost = (change in cost)/(change in time) = (Crash cost - Normal cost)/(Normal
time - Crash time)
Place these marginal costs in the first column of the project activity list. Place the number of
time periods of crashing availability in the second column of the table.
Step 2. Enumerate all the paths through the project network, and list them with their normal
time durations in the path list. Identify the critical path(s) as those with longest duration, and
mark the critical activities as such in the third column of the project activity list started in.
Step 3. Identify the normal project duration, the normal project cost and the normal critical
path in the first row of the breakpoint table, labeled as iteration 0.
Iteration Steps.
Step 4. Select that subset of critical activities which, when compressed in parallel, enable all
current critical paths to become shorter, and do so at the least group marginal cost, where the
group marginal cost for a subset of critical activities is the sum of the marginal costs for
activities in the group.
Step 5. Compress the selected critical activities until one or both of the following two
conditions occurs: (i) one (or more) of the compressed activities becomes fully crashed (i.e. is
reduced to crash time); or (ii) a new path becomes critical.
Step 6. Record the selected activities, number of time periods compressed, the new project
duration, the group marginal cost for the selected activities, the added cost resulting from the
compression, the new total direct cost, and the new critical path (if any) as items in the
breakpoint table for this iteration. Update the compression availabilities and the path list to
reflect the reduction in path lengths resulting from the selected compression.
Step 7. Repeat steps 4 through 6 until all activities on some (any) critical path become fully
crashed. At this point the breakpoint table is complete, as no further time reduction is
possible. Plot the time-cost trade-off graph by linear interpolation between the time/cost pairs
which occur in each row of the breakpoint table.
NUMERICAL EXAMPLE
(adapted from Quantitative Analysis for Business, by Render and Stair).

General Foundry, Inc., a metalworks plant in Milwaukee, has long been trying to avoid the
expense of installing air pollution control equipment. The local environmental protection
group has recently given the foundry 12 weeks to install a complex air filter system on its
main smokestack. General Foundry was warned that it will be forced to close unless the
device is installed in the allotted period. Lester Harky, the managing partner, wants to make
sure the installation of the filtering system progresses smoothly and on time.
The activities involved in the project, the precedence relations between them, and the activity
durations (di) in weeks are shown in the following table:
TABLE 1: Activities and Immediate Predecessors
Activity
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H

Description
Build internal components
Modify roof and floor
Construct collection stack
Pour concrete and install frame
Build high-temperature burner
Install control system
Install air pollution device
Inspection and testing

Predecessor
None
None
A
B
C
C
D,E
F,G

di
2
3
2
4
4
3
5
2

The network representation of the project is given in the following figure:

An analysis of early times shows that the duration of the project given the normal activity
times is 15 weeks, which is 3 weeks longer than has been allotted for the project. Mr. Harky
realizes that the project time must be reduced, but would like to accomplish the time
reduction at least cost. Therefore, a tabulation of the normal and crash times and costs for
each activity is compiled from time and cost estimates from the construction company
involved, with the following result:
TABLE 2:
Normal and Crash Data for General Foundry
Times
(weeks)
Activity

Normal

Cost($)

Crash

Normal

Crash

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H

2
3
2
4
4
3
5
2

1
1
1
3
2
2
2
1

22,000
30,000
26,000
48,000
56,000
30,000
80,000
16,000

22,900
34,000
26,800
49,000
57,400
30,500
86,000
19,000

The first step in the procedure is to compute the marginal crash costs and the available
compression for each each project activity in the project activity table, as shown below.
ACTIVITY

CRASH COST
PER WEEK

AVAILABLE
Critical
COMPRESSION ?

----------------------

----------------------

---------------------- ----------------------

$900

2000

800

1000

700

500

2000

3000

The second step is to enumerate all the possible paths through the project network and list
them in the path list for the project. (Recall that a path must respect the direction indicated on
each directed arc, so that B-D-E-F-H, for example, would not be an admissible path). The
path lengths using normal times are listed in the first column.
PATHLIST
A-C-F-H

A-C-E-G-H

15

B-D-G-H

14

Examination of the marginal costs for the activities on the critical path A-C-E-G-H reveals
that the minimum marginal cost occurs for activity E at $700 per week. We see that there are

two weeks of compression available for activity E, however we must also check the path list
to see if any new paths become critical as we compress activity E. Since activity E only
occurs on the second path, the first and third path stay at constant duration as E is
compressed. This means that the third path, B-D-G-H, becomes critical after E is crashed
only one week. Thus the first breakpoint recorded in the breakpoint table occurs after activity
E is compressed just one week.
Iter

Activities
Crashed

Crashed
by

Project
Duration

Group
M/C

Added
Cost

Total
Costs

New
Critical
Path

15

308,000

A-C-E-G-H

14

700

700

308,700

B-D-G-H

Update the compression available for E to 1. Updating the path list accordingly yields
PATH LIST
A-C-F-H

A-C-E-G-H

15

14

B-D-G-H

14

14

Returning now to step 4, we seek the least cost combination of activities which, when
compressed in parallel, will enable both critical paths to become shorter. Now we have a
choice, since the two critical paths overlap on the G-H part of the paths. We can either crash
one activity, G or H, which is common to both CPs, or we can crash two activities in parallel,
one from the A-C-E branch and one from the B-D branch. Comparing the marginal costs for
G and H, we find that of these two, G would have the lesser marginal cost at $2,000 per
week. Along the A-C-E branch, E has the least marginal cost at $700 per week. Along the BD branch, D has the least marginal cost at $1,000 per week. Thus the D&E combination has a
group marginal cost of only $1,700 in comparison with $2,000 per week for G. Thus our next
step is to compress D&E together. Since there is only one week of compression available on
D and on E, the next step is to crash D&E together by one week.
Iter

Activities
Crashed

Crashed
by

Project
Duration

Group
M/C

Added
Cost

Total
Costs

New
Critical
Path

15

308,000

A-C-E-G-H

14

700

700

308,700

B-D-G-H

D&E

13

1700

1700

310,400

Reduce the availability of D and E to zero. Updating the path list accordingly results in
PATH LIST
A-C-F-H

A-C-E-G-H

15

14

13

B-D-G-H

14

14

13

Since both D and E are fully crashed, the least cost activity from the A-C-E branch is C at
$800 per week, and the least cost activity from the B-D branch is B at $2,000, so the C&B
combination at $2,800 is the best that can be done using two activities in parallel. Since this
is more than the $2,000 per week cost of activity G, our next step is to crash G. And since G
is on both critical paths, we can crash it the full three weeks that are available for this activity.
The breakpoint table then becomes as follows.
Iter

Activities
Crashed

Crashed
by

Project
Duration

Group
M/C

Added
Cost

Total
Costs

New
Critical
Path

15

308,000

A-C-E-G-H

14

700

700

308,700

B-D-G-H

D&E

13

1700

1700

310,400

10

2000

6000

316,400

Reduce the availability of G to zero. Updating the path list yields

PATH LIST
A-C-F-H

A-C-E-G-H

15

14

13

10

B-D-G-H

14

14

13

10

Since G is now fully crashed, activity H is the only one activity which will cause both
critical paths to become shorter, and it costs $3,000 per week. Thus the C&B combination is
the least cost available at this point, so the next step is to crash B and C in parallel. In this
case all three paths get shorter together, so no new critical paths occur. However, C has only
one week of compression available, so the C&B combination can be compressed only one
week. Thus the next breakpoint table is as follows.

Iter

Activities
Crashed

Crashed
by

Project
Duration

Group
M/C

Added
Cost

Total
Costs

New
Critical
Path

15

308,000

A-C-E-G-H

14

700

700

308,700

B-D-G-H

D&E

13

1700

1700

310,400

10

2000

6000

316,400

B&C

2800

2800

319,200

Reduce the availability of B to 1 and C to zero. The updated path list becomes
PATH LIST
A-C-F-H

A-C-E-G-H

15

14

13

10

B-D-G-H

14

14

13

10

At this point A and B are the only two activities on the upper and lower branches with
remaining compression availability, and their combined cost is $2,900 which is still less than
the $3,000 for activity H. And since they each have only one week of compression remaining,
the next step is to compress A&B together by one week.
Iter

Activities
Crashed

Crashed
By

Project
Duration

Group
M/C

Added
Cost

Total
Cost

New
Path

15

308,000

A-C-E-G-H

14

700

700

308,700

B-D-G-H

D&E

13

1700

1700

310,400

10

2000

6000

316,400

B&C

2800

2800

319,200

A&B

2900

2900

322,100

The availability of A and B are reduced to zero. The updated path list becomes
PATH LIST

Critical

A-C-F-H

A-C-E-G-H

15

14

13

10

B-D-G-H

14

14

13

10

At this point H is the only activity left to shorten the last two paths, and only one week of
compression is available, so the final step in the breakpoint table is to compress H by one
week.
Iter

Activities
Crashed

Crashed
by

Project
Duration

Group
M/C

Added
Cost

Total
Costs

New
Critical
Path

15

308,000

A-C-E-G-H

14

700

700

308,700

B-D-G-H

D&E

13

1700

1700

310,400

10

2000

6000

316,400

B&C

2800

2800

319,200

A&B

2900

2900

322,100

3000

3000

325,100

The final path list is therefore

PATH LIST
A-C-F-H

A-C-E-G-H

15

14

13

10

B-D-G-H

14

14

13

10

Since both critical paths are now fully crashed, the project crashing process is complete.
The optimal time-cost trade-off values are contained in the project duration and project cost
columns of the final breakpoint table. The final step of the process is to graph these points
and connect them with straight line segments, as shown below.

The only remaining task is to interpolate for the project cost corresponding to the 12 week
project duration of interest to Mr. Harky. Since this is just one week less than the 13 week
solution in the breakpoint table, activity G will be crashed only one week rather than three, so
the project cost for the 12 week schedule will be $310,400 plus $2,000 or $312,400. This
result can be computed directly from the final breakpoint table, but the shape of the complete
trade-off curve (convex, piece-wise linear)is of interest as well, and is more easily seen from
the chart.

The table given below shows all the cost-time information for the project i.e. Crash Cost,
Normal Cost, Crash Time and Normal Time.

Crash Data Table

Calculating Slopes of individual activities
Slopes which show the crash cost per unit duration (days, weeks etc) for individual activities
are calculated as:
Slope = (CC-NC)/(NT-CT)
Hence for individual activities this crash cost per unit duration comes out to be as below
(Refer the table above for details);
SA = $100/day
SB = $200/day
SC = $600/day
SD = $60/day
SE = $120/day
SF = $300/day
Normal Cost of the Project
Normal cost of the project is the sum of normal costs of all the individual activities. In the
given example the normal cost comes out to be $48,300.
Normal Duration of the Project
Normal duration of the project is the sum of the durations of all the individual activities on
critical path. The normal duration of the given project under normal conditions is 140 days.
Solution
Step 1
The only critical activity with the least crash cost per day is D. So we will crash it first.
Before crashing make sure that:
Firstly the activity should not be crashed more than the allowed crash time limit. Secondly
the activity should be crashed by duration such that it does not make the over all project
duration lesser than any other path. It might create other critical paths but the activity should
itself always remain on the critical path.
Crashing D by 10 days results as shown below;

Crashing D by 10 days

Overall project duration is now reduced to 130 days and there are two critical paths now
(BFE & BCDE).
Total Project Cost is now Normal Cost $48,300 plus crash cost of D for 10 days (60 * 10 =
$600) thus making a total of $48,900
Step 2
The next activity to be crashed would be the activity E, since it has the least crash-cost per
day (slope) i.e. $120 of any of the activities on the two critical path. Activity E can be crashed
by a total of 10 days. Crashing the activity E by 10 days will cost an additional (12010)
$1200.

Crashing E by 10 Days
The total cost is now $(48,900+1200) = $50,100
Total duration is 120 days
There three critical paths in total i.e. (A, BCDE, BFE)
Step 3 -This step involves crashing on multiple critical paths
This step involves a more thorough analysis of the available crashing options and selecting
the most feasible one. To achieve an overall reduction in the project duration, multiple
activities must be crashed. The following options are available:
Option 1: Crash A & B each by 5 days having total crash cost of $300/day
Option 2: Crash A, C & F each by 10 days having crash cost of $1000/day
The feasible one is obviously option 1 hence A&B are crashed by 5 days each costing
( 5300) = $1500
Total project cost is now = $50,100 + $1500 = $51,600
Total project duration = 115 days
Critical paths are still the same three.

Crashing Multiple Critical Paths

Final Step in crashing
The final step in this example is to crash the schedule by 5 more days. For this step the
available options are very limited. As we go futher with crashing the crash cost per day
increases. The only available crashing options are A, C and F all by 5 days because all other
activities have met their maximum crashing limits and they can not be crashed any more.
The total crashing cost for 5 days of A, C and F is calculated to be 5 x 1000 = $5,000
The total cost of the project to completed in 110 days comes out to be = $56,600
And the final network diagram appears to be as follows:

Final Step in Crashing

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