CONSTRUCTION

SCHEDULING
 steps to effective time management
• Examine the Contract
• List Major Contractual Obligations
• Divide Project into Major Work Areas
• Building Technology Implies Sequence
• Find Productivity, Duration, Cost
• Calculate Initial Schedule
• Schedule Adjustments
• Resource Evaluation
• Time / Cost Trade-off
• Total Project Cash Flow
• Include All Important Procurement
 bar charts
• The Gantt chart or bar chart used today
was developed in the early 1900’s from a
several different charts used by Mr. Gantt
to communicate between management
and employees about what work was to be
accomplished on a given day
 bar charts
• The bar chart is a two dimensional chart.
• The x-axis of the chart shows the project timeline.
• The y-axis of the chart is a list of specific activities that
must be accomplished to complete the project.
• These activities are typically listed in order of earliest
start on the project.
• The content of the bar chart are bars that show the
planned (and/or actual) start and end times for each
task.
• most bar charts show a pattern of bars that begin in the
upper left of the chart and proceed to bars that complete
the project displayed in the bottom right of the chart.
 bar charts
Durati
Prior
Acti on
Activit
vity (work-
y
weeks)
1 3 None
2 5 1
3 2 2
4 3 1
5 2 4
 Project Network Diagrams
• Network diagrams show the precedence
relationships among activities
• It’s easier to understand these relationships
graphically
• Network diagrams help to understand the flow of
work in a project
• Network diagrams are a useful tool for project
planning and control, as well as for scheduling
• One (perhaps exaggerated) claim is that the
network represents ¾ of the planning process
Two Versions of Network Diagrams
Activity-on-Arrow (AOA) networks
– also called Arrow Diagramming Method
(ADM)
– simpler for projects with many dependencies
– emphasizes events; milestones can be easily
flagged
– sometimes requires dummy activities
Two Versions of Network Diagrams

• Activity-on-Node (AON) networks

– also called Precedence Diagramming Method
(PDM)
– easier to draw for simple projects
– emphasizes activities
– no dummy activities
 Activities vs. Events
• Activity – a chunk of work that is part of the
project; an activity may be broken down into
multiple subactivities
• Event – a significant point in time during the
project, such as a milestone event; an event
could be the time at which an activity is
completed or the time at which related
concurrent activities have all completed
• Dummy Activity – an artificial activity with zero
time duration that only shows a precedence
relationship among activities
 Activity on Arrow (AOA)
• The two elements of Arrow Diagramming are
arrows and nodes. One arrow is created for
each activity to be accomplished.
• The tail of the arrow is the start of the activity.
• The head of the arrow is the end of the activity.
• While there is no requirement to do so, the
length of the arrow is often scaled to be
proportional to the duration of the activity.
 Activity on Arrow (AOA)
• At the tail, or start, and head, or end, of
the activity arrows are nodes.
• Nodes are used to graphically show where
activities end and begin in sequence.
• The starting node for a given activity is
referred to as the activity’s “i-node.”
• The ending node for a given activity is
called the activity’s “j-node.”
 Activity on Arrow (AOA)
• Nodes are used to illustrate when activities
precede or follow other activities.
• Nodes are placed at the start and end of each
activity arrow.
• Since projects are defined by a specific start and
end, there should be a single starting “i-node”
and a single ending “j-node” for each project.
• The set of all activities, starting from the first
activities’ i-node and ending with the last
activities’ j-node is called a “network.”
example one

Activity Predecessors
A None
B A

NODE

ARROW
example two
Activity Predecessors
A None
B A
C A
example three
Activity Predecessors
A None
B None
C A, B
D A, B
Activity-on-Arrow (AOA) Networks
c e
b
g
d f

k
k
k or j

j j

Dashed lines are called dummy activities

Activity Predecessor m r
m _
_
n
r m, n
n s
s n
examples for you to try

Predecessors Predecessors
Activity Activity
Activity Activity
A None A None
B A B None
C A C A
D B, C D A, B
 Install rough
electrical & plumbing
6 8 11
Install
finished
plumbing
Pour
Install
basement Install drywall
floor cooling &
7 heating
Install
drains 10 Install 12
Erect 9 Lay kitchen
frame & roof flooring equipment
Paint
1 Excavate
2 Pour
3 4
& pour foundation
footings Lay
brickwork Finish
carpeting 16
Finish
5 electrical
Finish work
roof

Lay
storm
13 18
Project Network for drains 14 Finish
floors
Install
House Construction roof
drainage
Pour
(AOA network) Finish
walks;
Landscape
grading
15 17
 Project Network Example
Actv. Pred. Actv. Pred.
a -- g c,d
b -- h e
c a i f
d a j e,g
e b k h,i
f b
Draw AOA networks
Activity-on-Arrow (AOA or ADM) Network
(Final Network)

a d g
j

b e h
k

f i
 Project Network Example
A project has the following activities and
precedence relationships:
Actv. Pred. Actv. Pred.
a -- f c,e
b a g b
c a h b,d
d a i b,d
e b j f,g,h
Draw AOA
 Activity on Arrow
(Final Network)

g
b e

a c f j

d h
i