Construction Management - CIVL 445

Dr. Essam Zaneldin

Project Scheduling
CPM Technique

Dept. of Civil & Environmental Engineering

United Arab Emirates University
Objectives
 Perform the critical path method (CPM)
analysis for the AOA and AON networks
 Calculate the early and late times of
activities
 Determine the total project duration
 Identify the critical path(s) in the project
 Determine activities’ floats
 Determine activities’ lag times
 Project Scheduling
The Critical Path Method (CPM):

 Developed in 1957

 Uses deterministic durations (fixed times) for activities

 Calculates early and late times of activities

 Calculates activities’ floats Total Float

Free Float
 Determines the duration of the project Independent Float
Interfering Float
 Used with AOA networks

 Can be used with AON networks and, in this case, will be

referred to as the ‘Precedence Diagram Method (PDM)
 Project Scheduling
The CPM Technique:
Activities’ Times:

 Each activity has a definite beginning and a definite end

 The beginning and end of activities are represented by

nodes at the tail and head of the activity arrow. These

nodes are identified by i and j numbers.

Activity
i j

An Activity: is a unique unit of a project which can be

described within prescribed limits of time
 Project Scheduling
The CPM Technique: Activities’ Times:
Each activity in the project’s network has four time values associated with it:

Beginning A
Node End Node i k
Activity B C
i j
j
⚫ Early start date (ES): the earliest point in time that any activity bursting
from its beginning node can start

⚫ Early finish date (EF) = the early start (ES) of the activity + the duration (D)

⚫ Late finish date (LF): the latest point in time that any activity which merge
at the activity’s ending node can finish

⚫ Late start date (LS) = the late finish (LF) of the activity - the duration (D)

The ES & LF times are the most important times for an activity
 Project Scheduling
The CPM Technique: Activity Times:
ES LF
Activity i-j
i j

⚫ ES: The earliest point in time that any activity bursting

from its beginning node can start
then EF = ES + D

⚫ LF: The latest point in time that any activity which merge

at the activity’s ending node can finish

then LS = LF - D
Project Scheduling
The CPM Technique:
The Four Activities’ Times:
Activity
i j
ESi-j EF
EFi-ji-j

Activity i-j
EFi-j = ESi-j + Di-j

Duration (Di-j )
LFi-j
LSi-j
Activity i-j
LSi-j = LFi-j - Di-j
Duration (Di-j )

Time available for the activity

= LF- ES
 Project Scheduling
The CPM Technique:
The CPM is a systematic scheduling method for AOA
networks. The CPM involves four main steps:
▪ A forward pass to determine activities early-start times
▪ A backward pass to determine activities late-finish times
▪ Float calculations
▪ Identifying critical activities

Forward Pass ES LF Backward Pass

Activity i-j
i j
Project Scheduling
The CPM Technique:
B (3) 15
A (3) C (4) E (5)
5 10 25 30
Forward Pass Computations: D (6)

 Used to determine ES times of activities 20

 The forward pass proceeds from the left-most node in the

network and moves to the right

 Example 1: Perform the CPM forward pass computations:

⚫ First add two boxes for each node, as shown in the figure above

⚫ All activities bursting from a node can start only after the latest
predecessor is finished

⚫ In the forward pass, to calculate the ES time for an activity, always

look at the heads of arrows coming into the start node of the activity

⚫ Set the activity ES time as the latest finish time of all predecessors
 Project Scheduling
The CPM Technique:
Forward Pass Computations:

Forward Pass
3+3=6
6 6 + 0 = 6 or
EF = ES +D 3 + 4 = 7 or Max.
Project Start = 0 9 + 5 = 14
0+3=3 15 9+0=9
0
B (3) 9
3 14
A (3) C (4) E (5)
5 10 25 30
D (6)

ES LF 20 9
Activity i-j 3+6=9
i j
Project Scheduling
The CPM Technique:
Backward Pass Computations:
 Used to determine LF times of activities by proceeding
backward from the end point to the starting node of the AOA
network

 The LF times are put in the right side boxes adjacent to the
nodes
 To determine the (LF) times of activities, we look at the
successors (tail arrows) going out of the node and use the
smallest late-start (LS) value, and then use this value as the

LF time of predecessors
 Project Scheduling
The CPM Technique:
Backward Pass Computations:

Backward Pass
9-0=9

9 - 3 = 6 or 6 9
9 - 4 = 5 or Min. LS = LF -D
3-3=0
9-6=3 15 14 - 5 = 9
0 0
B (3) 9 9
3 3 14 14
A (3) C (4) E (5)
5 10 25 30
D (6)
ES LF
20 9 9 Project Duration
Activity i-j
i j 9-0=9
Duration (Di-j )
 Project Scheduling
The CPM Technique:
Float Calculations:
Total Float (TF): “is the time span in which the completion of an
activity may occur and not delay the finish of the project”
TF = LS – ES
ESi-j EFi-j LSi-j LFi-j
TF = LF – EF
TF = LF – ES - D Total Float (TF)
Activity i-j

Duration (Di-j ) Activity i-j

Total Float (TF) Duration (Di-j )

Time available for the activity

M
 Project Scheduling
The CPM Technique:
Float Calculations:
Total Float (TF):
Activities with TF = 0 are called “Critical Activities”
Activity D ES EF LS LF TF Critical? ES LF
A Activity i-j
B
i j
Duration (Di-j )
C
D
6 9
E
15
0 0
B (3) 9 9
3 3 14 14
A (3) C (4) E (5)
5 10 25 30
D (6)

20 9 9
 Project Scheduling
The CPM Technique:
Float Calculations:
Total Float (TF):
Activities with TF = 0 are called “Critical Activities”
Activity D ES EF LS LF TF Critical? ES LF
A 3 0 3 0 3 0 Yes Activity i-j
B 3 3 6 6 9 3 No
i j
Duration (Di-j )
C 4 3 7 5 9 2 No
D 6 3 9 3 9 0 Yes
6 9
E 5 9 14 9 14 0 Yes
15
0 0
B (3) 9 9
3 3 14 14
A (3) C (4) E (5)
5 10 25 30
D (6)

20 9 9
 Project Scheduling
The CPM Technique:
Float Calculations: Free Float (FF)
To calculate the FF for any activity, we need to calculate the lag
times between this activity and all its immediate predecessors
Lag Time between two activities x & y (LTx-y): “is the time span
between the early finish of the activity (x) and the early start of the
succeeding activity (y)”, assuming that Activity y follows Activity x.

LTx-y = ESy – EFx where, EFx = ESx + Dx

ESx ESy
Activity x Activity y
i j k
Project Scheduling
The CPM Technique:
Float Calculations:
Free Float (FF):
Lag Time between two activities x & y (LTx-y): LTx-y = ESy – EFx

Example: Find the lag times

Between activity A and all successors.
Assume all times in days ESA = 1 EFA = 6
LagA-B = ? A (5)
B (3)
LagA-C = ?
LagA-D = ? ESC = 7
C (6)

ESD = 8
D (4)
Project Scheduling
The CPM Technique:
Float Calculations:
Free Float (FF):
Lag Time between two activities x & y (LTx-y): LTx-y = ESy – EFx

Example: Find the lag times

Between activity A and all successors.
Assume all times in days ESA = 1 EFA = 6
LagA-B = ESB – EFA = 6 - 6 = 0 day A (5)
B (3)
LagA-C = ESC – EFA = 7 - 6 = 1 day
LagA-D = ESD – EFA = 8 - 6 = 2 days ESC = 7
C (6)

ESD = 8
D (4)
 Project Scheduling
The CPM Technique:
Float Calculations: Free Float (FF):

Another Example: What is the free float for activity 2-14?

ESA = 1 EFA = 6
A (5)
13 15
B (3)

0 0 18

ESC = 7
12 13

22
5
ESD = 8
D (4)
 Project Scheduling
The CPM Technique:
Float Calculations:
Free Float (FF): “is the time span in which the completion of an
activity may occur and not delay the finish of the project nor delay the
start of any following activity”
FFi-j = min (ESj-k , ESj-l, , ESj-m , ………) - EFi-j OR FF = min. lag time
FF is always ≤ TF

15
Activity D ES EF LS LF TF FF B (3)
A 3 0 3 0 3 0 A (3) C (4) E (5)
B 3 3 6 6 9 3 5 10 25 30
C 4 3 7 5 9 2 D (6)
D 6 3 9 3 9 0
E 5 9 14 9 14 0 20
 Project Scheduling
The CPM Technique:
Float Calculations:
Free Float (FF): “is the time span in which the completion of an
activity may occur and not delay the finish of the project nor delay the
start of any following activity”
FFi-j = min (ESj-k , ESj-l, , ESj-m , ………) - EFi-j OR FF = min. lag time
FF is always ≤ TF

15
Activity D ES EF LS LF TF FF B (3)
A 3 0 3 0 3 0 0 A (3) C (4) E (5)
B 3 3 6 6 9 3 3 5 10 25 30
C 4 3 7 5 9 2 2 D (6)
D 6 3 9 3 9 0 0
E 5 9 14 9 14 0 --- 20
 Project Scheduling
The CPM Technique:
Identification of Critical Path(s):
1. All activities on this path are critical (their TF = 0)
2. There can be more than one critical path in the project
3. The critical path is a continuous path
4. The critical path is the longest path in the project (has
the max. duration)

15
Activity D ES EF LS LF TF FF B (3)
A 3 0 3 0 3 0 0 A (3) C (4) E (5)
B 3 3 6 6 9 3 3
5 10 25 30
C 4 3 7 5 9 2 2 D (6)
D 6 3 9 3 9 0 0
Critical Path 20
E 5 9 14 9 14 0 ---
Project Scheduling
The CPM Technique:
Example 2:
For the small project data shown in the table below:
a. Draw the AOA network of the project
b. Perform the forward pass and backward pass calculations
c. Calculate the ES, EF, LS, LF, TF, and FF times for all activities
d. What is the effect of delaying activity D by three days?

Activity Duration IPAs

A 2 ----
B 6 A
C 3 A
D 1 B
E 6 B
F 3 C, D
G 2 E, F
Project Scheduling
The CPM Technique:
Example 3:
For the AOA network of a small project shown below:
a. Perform the forward pass and backward pass calculations
b. Calculate the ES, EF, LS, LF, TF, and FF times for all activities
c. Show the critical path(s) on the network.

A (5) C (7) H (9)

5 10 20 35
K (3)
D (9) M (12)
G (8)
B (8) E (6) L (11)
15 25 40

F (12)
30 N (20)
Project Scheduling
The CPM Technique: Example 4:
Modeling a Chemical Lab
Project Scheduling
The CPM Technique:
Example 4: Modeling a Chemical Lab

a. Perform the forward pass and backward pass

calculations
b. Calculate the ES, EF, LS, LF, TF, and FF times
for all activities
c. Show the critical path(s) on the network.
d. What is the effect of delaying activity 2-14 by 4
days on the whole project and on immediate
successors (i.e., on activities 16-18 and 14-22)?
Project Scheduling
The CPM Technique: Example 4:
Project Scheduling
The CPM Technique: Example 4:

Critical Path
Project Scheduling
The CPM Technique: Example 4:

0
 Project Scheduling
The CPM Technique:

Solution of part d of Example 4:

The effect of delaying activity 2-14 by 4 days on the whole
project and on immediate successors (i.e., on activities 16-18
and 14-22):
- Total float of activity 2-14 = 13 – 0 – 10 = 3 days, then the
whole project will be delayed by 4 – 3 = 1 day
- Lag time between activity 2-14 & 16-18 = 13 – (0+10) = 3
days (this activity will be delayed by 4 – 3 = 1 day)
- - Lag time between activity 2-14 & 14-22 = 12 – (0+10) =
2 days (this activity will be delayed by 4 – 2 = 2 days)
Construction Management - CIVL 445
Dr. Essam Zaneldin

Project Scheduling
PDM Technique

Dept. of Civil & Environmental Engineering

United Arab Emirates University
Objectives
 Use the precedence diagram method (PDM)
on the AON network to calculate the early
times that an activity can start and the late
times that an activity can finish
 Determine the total project duration
 Identify the critical path(s) in the project
 Determine activities’ floats
 Represent the schedule using bar charts
(Gantt charts)
 Project Scheduling
The PDM Technique:
Activities’ Times:

As in the CPM, each activity in the project’s network has four time values
associated with it (as shown below):

ES EF
Name (Duration)
LS LF

⚫ Early start date (ES): The earliest point in time that this activity can start

⚫ Early finish date (EF): = The early start (ES) of the activity + the duration (D)

⚫ Late finish date (LF): The latest point in time that this activity can finish

⚫ Late start date (LS): = The late finish (LF) of the activity - the duration (D)
Project Scheduling
The PDM Technique:
The Four Activities’ Times:

ESi-j EF
EFi-ji-j

Activity i-j
EFi-j = ESi-j + Di-j

Duration (Di-j )
LFi-j
LSi-j
Activity i-j
LSi-j = LFi-j - Di-j
Duration (Di-j )
ES EF
Name (Duration)
Time available for the activity
LS LF
= LF- ES
Project Scheduling
The PDM Technique:
 It is the scheduling method used for AON networks.

 It basically follows the CPM method

 Follows the four steps of the CPM:

⚫ Perform forward pass to determine activities’ early-start times

⚫ Perform backward pass to determine activities’ late-finish times

⚫ Calculate activities’ floats

⚫ Identify critical activities and determine the duration of the

project
Project Scheduling
The PDM Technique:
Forward Pass Computations:
 Used to determine ES times of activities

 The forward pass proceeds from the first activitiy(ies) in the

network and moves to the right

 Example 1: Perform the PDM computations for the following

small project:
B (3)

A (3) C (4) E (5)

D (6)
AON Network
 Project Scheduling
The PDM Technique:
Forward Pass Computations:

Forward Pass

3 6
B (3)

ES EF
+ =
0 3 3 7 9 14
Name (Duration)
A (3) C (4) E (5)

3 9
D (6)
Project Scheduling
The PDM Technique:
Backward Pass Computations:
Used to determine LF times
of activities by proceeding
backward from the last Backward Pass
activity(ies) in the network
and moves to the left 3 6
B (3)
6 9

ES EF 0 3 3 7 9 14

Name (Duration) A (3) C (4) E (5)

= - 0 3 5 9 9 14
LS LF
3 9
D (6)
3 9 Project Duration
 3 6
B (3)
Project 6 9

Scheduling 0 3 3 7 9 14

The PDM A (3) C (4) E (5)

0 3 5 9 9 14
Technique
3 9
Float Calculations:
D (6)
Total Float (TF) and Free Float (FF):
3 9
TF = LS – ES = LF – EF = LF – ES – D
FFi-j = min (ESj-k , ESj-l, , ESj-m , ………) - EFi-j OR FF = min. lag time
FF is always ≤ TF

ESi-j EFi-j LSi-j LFi-j

Total Float (TF)

Activity i-j Activity D ES EF LS LF TF FF
A 0 0
Duration (Di-j ) Activity i-j B 3 3
C 2 2
Total Float (TF) Duration (Di-j ) D 0 0
E 0 ---
Time available for the activity
 3 6
B (3)
Project 6 9

Scheduling 0 3 3 7 9 14

The PDM A (3) C (4) E (5)

0 3 5 9 9 14
Technique
3 9
Float Calculations:
D (6)
Total Float (TF) and Free Float (FF):
3 9
TF = LS – ES = LF – EF = LF – ES – D
FFi-j = min (ESj-k , ESj-l, , ESj-m , ………) - EFi-j OR FF = min. lag time
FF is always ≤ TF

ESi-j EFi-j LSi-j LFi-j

Total Float (TF)

Activity i-j Activity D ES EF LS LF TF FF
A 3 0 3 0 3 0 0
Duration (Di-j ) Activity i-j B 3 3 6 6 9 3 3
C 4 3 7 5 9 2 2
Total Float (TF) Duration (Di-j ) D 6 3 9 3 9 0 0
E 5 9 14 9 14 0 ---
Time available for the activity
Project Scheduling
The PDM Technique:
Example 2:
For the small project data shown in the table below:
a. Draw the AON network of the project
b. Perform the forward pass and backward pass calculations
c. Calculate the ES, EF, LS, LF, TF, and FF times for all activities
d. What is the effect of delaying activity D by three days?

Activity Duration IPAs

A 2 ----
B 6 A
C 3 A
D 1 B
E 6 B
F 3 C, D
G 2 E, F
Project Scheduling
The PDM Technique:
Example 3:
For the AON network of a small shown below:
a. Perform the forward pass and backward pass PDM calculations
b. Calculate the ES, EF, LS, LF, TF, and FF times for all activities
c. Show the critical path(s) on the network.
I (2)

B (4) D (1) G (1)

J (7) L (2)

A (1) C (1) E (2) H (1)

K (4)

F (2)
Project Scheduling
Schedule Presentation: Bar Chart
 A Gantt chart (also called a bar chart) was developed
by Henry Gantt in 1910
 After the CPM and PDM calculations are made, it is
important to present the results in a clear and
understandable format
 The simplest form that has been used for decades is the
bar chart or Gantt chart
 A Gantt chart is plotted using early or late activity times
 The early Gantt chart is drawn using the ES times of
activities
 The late Gantt chart is drawn using the LS times of
activities
Project Scheduling
Schedule Presentation: Bar Chart
Example 4: Draw an early bar chart for the
3 6
small project shown below
B (3)
6 9

0 3 3 7 9 14
A (3) C (4) E (5)
0 3 5 9 9 14

3 9
D (6)
3 9
 Project Scheduling
Schedule Presentation: Bar Chart
Example 4: Draw an early bar chart for the
small project shown below 3 6
B (3)
B (3) 6 9

0 3 3 7 9 14
A (3) C (4) E (5) A (3) C (4) E (5)
0 3 5 9 9 14

D (6) 3 9
D (6)
Task
Name 3 9
A
B
C

D
E
Project Scheduling
Schedule Presentation: Bar Chart
Example 5: Draw a late bar chart for the
3 6
small project shown below
B (3)
6 9

0 3 3 7 9 14
A (3) C (4) E (5)
0 3 5 9 9 14

3 9
D (6)
3 9
 Project Scheduling
Schedule Presentation: Bar Chart
Example 5: Draw a late bar chart for the
small project shown below 3 6
B (3)
B (3) 6 9

0 3 3 7 9 14
A (3) C (4) E (5) C (4)
A (3) E (5)
0 3 5 9 9 14

D (6)
3 9
D (6)
Task
Name 3 9
A
B
C

D
E
Project Scheduling

Schedule Presentation: Bar Chart

Weaknesses of Bar Charts:

▪ Displaying a large number of dependencies may
result in a cluttered or unreadable chart.
▪ Do not show interdependencies of activities
▪ Do not show the project’s progress
▪ Do not consider uncertainties
 Project Scheduling
Activities Relationships:
Lag time = 1 day
There are 4 types of relationships between
an activity and its successor: 0 3 4 8

A (3) FS = 1 B (4)
1. Finish-to-Start relationship (FS) 0 3 4 8

Placing Concrete Formwork Removal

0 3 4 8

2. Start-to-Start relationship (SS) A (3) B (4)

0 3 4 8
Excavation Foundation Formwork
SS = 4

0 3 4 8
3. Finish-to-Finish relationship (FF) A (3) B (4)

0 3 4 8
Substantial Completion Final Project Handover
FF = 5

0 3 4 8

4. Start-to-Finish relationship (SF) A (3) B (4)

0 3 4 8
Commissioning Substantial Completion
SF = 8
 Project Scheduling
Activities Relationships:
Example: if SS = 2 between two activities then you need to check:

ES forward ES

LS backward LS

Hard Constraints to be respected:

1. Take the maximum of the predecessors’ EF times as the ES time
of a successor
2. Take the minimum of the successors’ LS times as the LF time of
a predecessor
 Project Scheduling
Activities Relationships:
Example 6: Perform PDM calculations for the small AON network
shown below. Pay specific attention to the different relationships and
the lag times shown on them.

SS = 2
B (3)

ES EF
Name (Duration) A (3) C (4) E (5)
LS LF

FF = 2
D (6)
 Project Scheduling
Activities Relationships:
Example 6 Solution:
0+2

2 5 5 or
SS = 2 max. 7 or
ES EF
B (3) (9+2-5)
Name (Duration) 4 7
LS LF
0 3 3 7 7 12
A (3) C (4) E (5)
0 3 3 7 7 12
Critical Path
3 9
4 or FF = 2
D (6)
min. 3 or
(4-2+3) 4 10

12-2
Construction Management - CIVL 445
Dr. Essam Zaneldin

Project Scheduling
Exercises

Dept. of Civil & Environmental Engineering

United Arab Emirates University
Objectives
 Perform the CPM & PDM forward pass and
backward pass calculations for the AOA and
AON networks and calculate the ES, EF, LS,
and LF times for activities
 Determine the total project duration
 Identify the critical path(s) in the project
 Determine activities’ lag times
 Determine activities’ floats (TF & FF)
 Project Scheduling
Exercise 1:
For the small project shown below:
 Perform the PDM calculations to compute the ES, EF, LS, LF, and TF times for each
activity and show the critical path(s) on the figure
 If activity B is delayed by 3 days, what is the effect of this delay on the whole project
and on immediately following activities?
TF = 0
TF = 0
TF = 2 TF = 2 37 42
20 35 If activity B is delayed by
0 9 FS = -2 7 18 J (5)
G (15) 37 42 3 days:
A (9) D (11)
20 20 35 TFB = 8 – 7 = 1 day
2 11 9 FF = 7
(the whole project will be
TF = 1 TF = 0 TF = 5 TF = 5
delayed by 3 -1 = 2 days)
0 7 8 20 20 30 30 37 LagB-D = 7 – 7 = 0 day
B (7) E (12) H (10) K (7)
35 42 (activity D will be delayed
1 8 8 20 25 35
by 3 – 0 = 3 days)
FS = 3
TF = 0 TF = 7 TF = 7 TF = 9 LagB-E = 8 – 7 = 1 day

0 8 5 14 14 25 27 33 (activity E will be delayed

FS = 2
C (8) F (9) I (11) L (6) by 3 – 1 = 2 days)
0 8 12 21 21 32 36 42
SS = 5
 Project Scheduling
Exercise 2:
Draw the early bar chart for the small project shown below:

37 42
20 35
0 9 FS = -2 7 18 J (5)
A (9) D (11)
G (15) 37 42
20 20 35
2 11 9 FF = 7

0 7 8 20 20 30 30 37
B (7) E (12) H (10) K (7)
1 8 8 20 25 35 35 42
FS = 3

0 8 5 14 14 25 27 33
FS = 2
C (8) F (9) I (11) L (6)
0 8 12 21 21 32 36 42
SS = 5
 Project Scheduling
Exercise 3:
The AOA network for a small project is shown below with activities' names shown
on top of arrows and their duration in the bottom:
 Perform the forward pass and backward pass calculations to compute the early
start (ES), early finish (EF), late start (LS), late finish (LF), and total float
(TF) times for each activity. Show the critical path(s) on the figure
 If activity F is delayed by 4 days, what is the effect of this delay on the whole
project and on activities J and K?

5 A 10 D 25 H 55 L
9 8 12 11

B E I 50 M 60
15 30 40
8 11 10 5
J
7
C 20 F 35 45
6 9
K
3
G
6
Project Scheduling
Exercise 4:
For the AOA network of a small shown below:
a. Perform the forward pass and backward pass calculations
b. Calculate the ES, EF, LS, LF, and TF times for all activities
c. Calculate the free floats for activities A, B, and C.
d. Show the critical path(s) on the network.

A (7) C (8) G (6)

5 10 20 35

D (9) H (3) K (11)

B (8) E (6) L (10)

15 25 40

F (10)
30 M (12)
Free float for activity H