Course Syllabus CON E 401: Construction Planning & Scheduling Fall 2014
Course Syllabus CON E 401: Construction Planning & Scheduling Fall 2014
Course Syllabus CON E 401: Construction Planning & Scheduling Fall 2014
1. COURSE INFORMATION
2. INSTRUCTOR
Instructor: Professor Mitropoulos Phone: (619) 594-0137
Office: ED 100D Email: [email protected]
Office Hours: T 1-3, W 9-11.
3. CATALOG DESCRIPTION
Fundamentals of scheduling logic including critical path method, deterministic and probabilistic
scheduling, and impact of constraints. Development of construction plan and representation in
schedule format using common computer applications used in industry.
4. PRE-REQUISITE COURSES
For Construction Engineering majors: CIV E 160 & CON E 320
For Civil Engineering majors: CIV E 160 & CIV E 321
PROOF OF COMPLETION OF PREREQUISITES IS REQUIRED.
5. COURSE GOALS
The principal objective of the course is to develop the students’ ability to apply the scheduling
principles and techniques to successfully manage construction projects.
Outcome 9: Apply relevant techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools to solve a
simple problem
Describe construction projects and processes using bar charts, network diagrams, PERT
diagrams and linear schedules.
Define activity relationships to meet specific objectives and process requirements.
Update the schedule to evaluate schedule staus and identify corrective actions needed.
Identify activity adjustments to shorten the project schedule at the lowest cost.
Apply the Earned Value method to evaluate project cost and schedule status.
Use Primavera P6 to develop, monitor and update project schedules.
Outcome 12: Explain key concepts and problem-solving processes used in management
team.
Define the concepts of critical path, and activity floats.
Identify sources of uncertainties and risks that can affect the time and cost of construction
projects and strategies to account for them and address them.
Compare and contrast the appropriateness of scheduling tools for varying construction
operations.
Describe the parameters affecting project planning.
Explain the concepts of direct and indirect costs.
Describe Lean construction principles and techniques that are important for increasing the
reliability of work plans.
Outcome 13: Explain key concepts and problem-solving processes used in business,
public policy and public administration.
Describe the contractual concept and terms related to schedule (e.g., substantial
completion, liquidated damages, etc.)
Identify sources and impact of changes and interruptions on the schedule.
Outcome 14: Explain the role of a leader, leadership principles, and attitudes conducive to
effective practice of civil engineering
Describe the role of project participants in schedule development, monitoring, and
resolving schedule problems.
Evaluate the ethical dimensions of cost and schedule reporting.
7. TEXTBOOK
Mubarak, Saleh, Construction Project Scheduling and Control, Second edition, John Wiley &
Sons.
8. ELECTRONIC RESOURCES
I will make extensive use of BlackBoard as a means of communicating with you, posting class
notes and assignments. Your grades for homework, tests, and projects will be posted on
blackboard.
9. CALENDAR
http://arweb.sdsu.edu/es/registrar/14-15-calendar.pdf
First day of classes: Aug 25, 2013
Last day of classes: Dec 10, 2011
Final Exam: Mon Dec 15, 2013 3:30 – 5:30 PM.
A tentative schedule of topics is included in the Syllabus. The exact dates will be determined
depending on class progress and guest speakers availability. The instructor reserves the right
to adjust the schedule during the semester and will post revised schedules on the course
website as appropriate.
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show how you solved the problem. Make sure your name on the cover page is typed or
printed clearly. Late homework will not be accepted.
3. Computer labs: The lab portion of the course will teach Primavera P6 software. Selected
Mondays will be allocated to lab. The labs will take place at the computer lab at Engineering
221. Each student is expected to participate in all lab topics. The software tutorials are
videotaped, so you can repeat them on your own time. It is essential to be at the lab on time,
to avoid disrupting the lab. Make sure you have the password that you need to log in at the
lab computers. If you don’t have one, contact the tech support staff across E 221.
4. Lab assignments. To develop the computer scheduling skills needed, the students will
complete four assignments using P6. For your lab assignments you can use the computer
labs at PS231, and (if no space available) E 220 and E 301. I will provide you a passcode to
access the lab at PS231.
Late assignments will not be accepted. To receive credit for your work, your work must be
well organized and readable. All writing requirements must be completed using a word
processor, spell and grammar checked and well written with a logical flow of thought. Each
Primavera assignment must be organized in one report, with a cover page (indicating course,
semester, assignment title, student name and date), and each part must have appropriate
titles. The report must be well organized, appropriately titled, and easily readable.
5. Planning and scheduling case study (group project). Students will work in groups of
three. This will be a study of the planning and scheduling process on a real project. Each
student team will identify A CURRENT PROJECT IN THE SAN DIEGO AREA, AND WILL
PERSONALLY COLLECT FIELD DATA. Reports based on completed projects, projects in
other areas, or projects where you did not personally collect the data, are not acceptable.
The details of the assignment are described at the end of the Syllabus.
6. Midterm and Final Exam. The final exam will be comprehensive.
During the midterm and the final, students are allowed to use ONLY ONE 8-1/2 x11
SHEET WITH THEIR OWN HANDWRITTEN NOTES. Printed or photocopied material of
any kind is not allowed (printed notes, class handouts, completed homework, ppts copies,
etc.).
Sharing calculators, notes or other items is not permitted during tests.
A student giving or receiving unauthorized help or using unauthorized material will receive
zero on the exam.
7. Assignment Changes: The instructor reserves the right to change the listed assignments. If
the course assignments change, a revised syllabus will be posted on Blackboard.
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12. WEIGHTING OF ASSIGNMENTS
Your final grade will be based upon your performance on the following requirements:
Item % of Grade
Homework assignments 15%
Midterm 20%
4 Primavera lab assignments 20%
Planning & scheduling case study 15%
Final Exam 30%
Total 100%
The University maintains the highest standard for academic honesty and trusts that each student
will perform ethically and professionally when preparing required work for this course. Each
assignment must represent the student's collective original work, even for work designated as
group work. Although the university encourages collaboration between students in the sharing of
ideas and experiences, individual work needs to represent the student's original thought and be
distinguishably different from other students work. While discussions between students are
encouraged, cheating will not be tolerated. Any student found cheating on an exam, a quiz, or
assignment may be given a failing grade for the course and flagrant violations can result in
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additional consequences. You are cheating if you represent someone else's work as your own or
if someone else represents your work as theirs. All graded work (exams, homework assignments,
as well as any written exercises or quizzes) in this class must represent your own individual work
only. Students may discuss the conceptual aspects of an assignment, but students must turn in
their own, independently developed solutions. Grading will include comparing the structure and
content of your solution with that of other students.
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17. TENTATIVE CLASS SCHEDULE
The dates are tentative depending on class needs and guest speaker availability.
Additional lab may be added if needed.
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CONE 401 PLANNING AND SCHEDULING
Planning & Scheduling Case Study
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Deliverable: By the due date, each group must email the instructor the group composition. Teams
who miss this milestone will lose 5 points from the total report grade.
2. Identify project. Due date: Oct 15
Each group will identify a project to study. The project must be in the San Diego area and in the
construction phase. Construction projects can be of any type (residential, commercial, institutional,
industrial, highways, etc.) and scope (new, renovations, expansions, etc.). If it is a large project, you
can focus your case study on the current phase of the project (e.g. foundations, structural system,
etc.).
EACH GROUP SHOULD ANALYZE A DIFFERENT PROJECT OR (IN THE CASE OF LARGE
PROJECTS), A DIFFERENT PHASE (FOUNDATIONS, STRUCTURE, INTERIOR, ETC.) OF THE SAME
PROJECT
Deliverable: By the due date, each group must email the instructor with information of the project you
will analyze (project name, owner and GC, location, start and planned finish date, current project
phase). Teams who miss the milestone will lose 5 points from the total report grade.
3. Complete data collection ( Interviews with project personnel). Due date: Nov 12
All students from each team are required to participate in the interviews with the project personnel.
Make sure that during you site visit you have all the required PPE (boots, vest, hardhats, eye
protection).
Deliverable: By the due date, each group must email the instructor information on data collection: the
date(s) of your field visits, the students who participated in the field visit, the project personnel you
interviewed, and their contact information. Teams who miss this milestone will lose 5 points from the
total report grade.
4. Prepare and submit report and ppt slides. Report due date: Dec 8.
Late reports will not be accepted.
Each team will submit a HIGH QUALITY report of 2,500 – 3,000 words (5-6 pages single space,
Times New Roman 11 or 12) NOT including attachments, photos, cover pages, etc.
Each team will submit a printout of the ppt slides with 6 slides on each page.
5. Make class presentation. Dec 8
ALL teams must be ready to present on Dec 8.
Teams will make 5-6 minute class presentation.
Your project grade will be evaluated based on the following criteria and weights:
1. Content: The report addressed all the guiding questions in a thoughtful manner, had
good observations, and identified all the important issues in sufficient depth and detail.
2. Appearance and organization: Professional appearance, contents well organized, table
of contents and page numbers, report sections well organized, easy to find the topics
discussed, attachments well organized. Project description with photos and maps as
needed, all figures and tables are captioned, add to the text, and are referenced in the
text.
3. Language: Clear writing, correct spelling and grammar
4. Presentation: All team members participated, presentation is well organized and to the
point, good visual aids, not reading the slides, looked at the audience.
Criterion Weight
Content 50%
Appearance & Organization 20%
Language 10%
Presentation 20%
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Each criterion will be graded on a score 1-5 using the Report Assessment Rubric.
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INDIVIDUAL GRADE ON GROUP PROJECT
Your individual grade from the group project depends on 2 things:
1- Your project grade described above.
2- Your individual contribution to the project. This will be calculated as follows:
AS PART OF THE PROJECT REPORT, EACH TEAM MEMBER NEEDS TO PROVIDE THEIR
POINT DISTRIBUTION. Use the Team Contribution Table (see example below) to summarize
the team members’ distribution. If a team member has not provided their distribution, leave their
line blank.
In the example below, student A had greater contribution to the project.
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