Technical University of Middle Euphrates Engineering Management and Construction

Faculty of Technical Engineering in Najaf Equipment

Department of Building and Construction Lecture 3: Weeks 5 & 6, CPM
Techniques Lecturer: Dr. Mohammed Ali Ahmed

Critical path method (CPM): Calculation of activity durations, float

time, calculation of critical path, advantages and disadvantages and
examples
Introduction
Scheduling is defined as “the process of converting the project plan into a
schedule for operating of the project from the moment of starting the project
through all consecutive activities and overlapping events and main stations till
reaching the moment of completion of the project and calculate the time required
to implement the project from the start to the moment of completion”.
There are commonly used methods of scheduling a project, including:
1- Bar Chart (Gantt Chart);
2- Network diagram;
a- Critical Path Method (CPM);
b- Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT);
3- Balance Line Method (BLM): out of the scope of these lectures.

Analysis of Network Diagram

It is a method that relies on unifying the sequence of construction activities on
which the project depends, and thus determining a critical path through the network
plan, and every activity that is on the critical path has zero flexibility in its
implementation. There are two methods for analysing network diagrams:
1. Critical Path method (CPM);
2. Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT).
Critical Path Method
The Critical Path Method (CPM) is defined as “the sequence of project network
elements with the longest overall duration, determining the shortest time to
complete the project”. It is an important tool for effective project management
commonly used with all forms of projects, including construction, software
development, research projects, product development, engineering, and plant
maintenance, among others.

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Fundamental Definitions
1- Critical Path (CP) is defined as “the longest estimated sequence of
interdependent activities that should be accomplished on time to ensure
completion of the project on due-date”. The critical path activities are
performed under the “predecessor-successor” relationship, so that any next
activity cannot be started until its predecessor is complete.
2- Event: It represents the completion of the activity or its beginning, and does
not require time. It is represented in the network diagram (using the arrows
and circles method) by a number usually placed inside a circle shape. Every
network diagram drawn using the circles and arrows method must begin
with one event and end with one event.
3- Arrow: Each arrow in the network diagram represents an activity in the
project. The arrow links two events. The number of the first event at its
beginning must be smaller than the number of the second event at its end.
The same two successive events cannot be linked by two arrows, but rather
by one arrow, and it does not cross the length of the arrow. About anything
in the chart, and the arrow can be straight, curved, or curved, and the straight
one is dominant.
4- Early Start (E.S.): It is the expected early time for the start of the activity
and equal to zero for the project start activity.
5- Early finish (E.F.): It is the early expected time for the activity be finished.
It can be calculated by using this formula:
EF= ES + D; D: the duration of executing the activity
6- Late start (L.S.): It is the expected late start time of the activity without
increasing the duration of entire project. It can be calculated by using this
formula:
LS= LF - D
7- Late finish (L.F.): It is the expected late time for the activity to end without
increasing the duration of entire project. It can be calculated by using this
formula:
LF = LS of successor activity
8- Total float (T.F.): It is the largest amount of time that can be added to the
time of a specific activity without delaying the project completion period, or
it is the amount of time available to delay the implementation of a specific
activity. It can be calculated by using this formula:
T F (A) = LS(A) – ES(A) = LF(A) – EF(A)
9- Free float (F.F.): It is the largest time that can be added to the duration of a
particular activity without delaying the early start of the subsequent activity
or the early Finish of the activity itself. It can be calculated by using this
formula:
F.F = E.S – E.F

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 Figure 1: Notation for activity on arrow network

The Network Diagrams

¨ The Network diagram graphically portrays major activities of the project and
their relationships.
¨ There are basically two methods to draw such networks: Activity-on-Arrow
(AOA) diagram and Activity-on-Node (AON) diagram.
¨ The Precedence Diagram Method (PDM) is a special form of AON diagram.
¨ Both of AOA diagram and PDM are used to analyse the network diagrams with
Critical Path Method (CPM).
¨ The AOA method is commonly called only CPM.
¨ The AON is commonly called only PDM or rectangles method.
Network Diagrams with CPM
• Each activity is represented by an arrow has associated description and
expected duration.
• Each activity must start and terminate at an event represented by a circle.
• Events are numbered for identification purposes and event numbers are also
utilized to identify activities on the diagram (Figure 3-2).
• Number of event j should be greater than number of event i. Two activities
should not start and end with the same events.
• Crossing of arrows should be avoided.
• Arrows should not point backward (looping should be avoided) and each
diagram should start with an event and end with an event (dangling should be
avoided).
Dummy activity: It is a type of activity in the network which neither requires any
time nor any resources, but is merely a device to identify a dependence among
activities. Thus, dummy activity is a connecting link for control purposes or for
maintaining a uniqueness of activity by preventing two arrows to have the same
beginning and end events.
Dummy activity is commonly used in three cases:
1- Case one:
Activity Predecessor
A -
B -
C A, B

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 C
2 4
A

1
B

2- Case Two:

Activity Predecessor
A -
B A
C A, B

3
B

A C
1 2 4 5

3- Case Three:
Activity Predecessor
A -
B -
C -
D A
E A, B
F B, C
G C
H D, E, F, G

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Advantages and disadvantages of CPM
There are various benefits and drawbacks of CPM showing below:

A. Advantages
The benefits of CPM are summarised as follows:
1) It improves decision making within the project team.
2) It is a visual technique which enables to show activities, activity dependencies
and durations in the same diagram.
3) It enables the project team to make time optimizations.
4) It enables to manage and organize large and complex projects.
5) It enables to calculate The Earliest Start/Finish and The Latest Start/Finish dates
in order to manage activities and procurement tasks.
6) It helps to determine which activities can be delayed without delaying the
project.
7) Schedule compression methods such as fast-tracking and crashing rely on the
critical path method.

B. Disadvantages
The disadvantages of CPM can be identified as follows:
1. it is hard to manage activities in large and complex projects without software
tools.
2. It does not consider resource allocations.
3. Activity durations should be determined correctly otherwise, the critical path
of the project will be wrong.
4. It will be hard to determine the critical path if there are many other similar
duration paths in the project.

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Example (3-1): For the construction project with the activities presented in the table
below:

1- Draw the network diagram (use CPM).

2- Determine the critical path and total completion duration for the
project.
Calculate ES, EF, LS, LF and TF.

Activity Predecessor Duration

A - 5
B A 4
C A 5
D B 6
E C 3
F D, E 4

Sol:

4
5 B D
6

A
F

5 3
C E
5

ES Activity EF
LS Duration LF

E.S.= ES of the predecessor + D= Zero for the First Activity

EF= ES + D
LS= LF - D
LF = LS of successor activity
T F (A) = LS(A) – ES(A) = LF(A) – EF(A)

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 Activity Predecessor Duration Early Early Late Late Total
Start Finish Start Finish Float
(ES) (EF) (LS) (LF) (TF)
A - 5 0 5 0 5 0
B A 4 5 9 5 9 0
C - 5 5 10 7 12 2
D B 6 9 15 9 15 0
E C 3 10 13 12 15 2
F D, E 4 15 19 15 19 0

Critical Path= AÞBÞDÞF

Example (3-2): For the construction project with the activities presented in the table
below:
1- Draw the network diagram (use CPM).
2- Determine the critical path and total completion duration for the
project.
3- Calculate ES, EF, LS, LF and TF.

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 Activity Description Predecessor Duration (unit time)

1-2 Drill well - 4

1-3 Deliver material - 2

1-4 Excavate - 5

1-5 Power line - 3

2-5 Pump house 1-2 3

3-6 Assemble tank 1-3 4

4-5 Dummy 1-4 0

4-6 Foundation 1-4 4

4-7 Install pipe 1-4 6

5-7 Install pump 2-5, 1-5, 4-5 2

6-7 Erect tower and 3-6, 4-6 6

Tank

EET= Earliest Event Time (Early Start)

LET= Late Event Time (Late Finish)

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Example (3-3): A construction project consisting of nine activities with the durations
tabulated in the table below:

1- Draw the network diagram (use CPM).

2- Determine the critical path and total completion duration for the project.

3- Calculate ES, EF, LS, LF, TF and FF.

Duration Predecess
Activity
(Week) or
A 4 -
B 3 A
C 2 -
D 5 -
E 2 D
F 1 E
G 3 B, D
H 3 A, C
I 2 B, H

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Sol:

Critical path = A-B-G

Total completion duration for the project = 10 weeks
Activity Duration ES EF LS LF TF FF
(day)

A 4 0 4 0 4 0 0

B 3 4 7 4 7 0 0

C 2 0 2 3 5 3 2

D 5 0 5 2 7 2 0

E 2 5 7 7 9 2 0

F 1 7 8 9 10 2 2

G 3 7 10 7 10 0 0

H 3 4 7 5 8 1 0

I 2 7 9 8 10 1 1

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H.W. (3-1): A construction project consisting of the activities with the durations
tabulated in the table below:

1- Draw the network diagram (use CPM).

2- Determine the critical path and total completion duration for the project.

3- Calculate ES, EF, LS, and LF.

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Example (3-4): A construction project consisting of ten activities with the durations
tabulated in the table below:

1- Draw the network diagram (use CPM).

2- Determine the critical path and total completion duration for the project.

3- Calculate ES, EF, LS, LF, TF and FF.

Duration
Activity Predecessor
(Week)
A 5 -
B 4 -
C 8 A
D 8 B
E 8 B
F 5 B
G 8 C, D
H 22 E, I
I 2 F
J 12 F

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Sol:

Duration
Activity ES EF LS LF TF
(Week)
A 5
B 4
C 8
D 8
E 8
F 5
G 8
H 22
I 2
J 12

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