Construction Technology

&
Project Management
 Syllabus
• UNIT-I
Construction Planning: Construction projects- types and features, phases of a project,
agencies involved and their methods of execution, Construction project planning- Stages of
project planning: pre-tender planning, pre-construction planning, role of client and contractor,
work break-down structure, Techniques of planning- Bar charts, Gantt Charts. Networks: basic
terminology, types of precedence relationships, preparation of CPM networks: activity on link
and activity on node representation, computation of float values, critical paths.
• UNIT-II
Construction Costs and Construction methods: Classification of costs, time-cost trade-off in
construction projects, compression and decompression. Types of foundations and construction
methods, Common building construction methods, Modular construction methods for
repetitive works; Precast concrete construction methods; Basics of Slip forming for tall
structures; Basic construction methods for steel structures; Basics of construction methods for
Bridges; Introduction to current LEED for New Construction rating system.
• UNIT-III
• Construction Equipment: Conventional construction methods Vs Mechanized methods and
advantages; Equipment for Earthmoving, Dewatering; Concrete mixing, transporting and placing;
Cranes, Hoists and other equipment for lifting; Equipment for transportation of materials. Planning
and organizing construction site and resources- Documentation at site; Manpower: planning,
organizing, staffing, motivation; Materials: concepts of planning, procurement and inventory
control.
• UNIT-IV
Project Monitoring and Control: Supervision, record keeping, periodic progress reports, and
periodical progress meetings. Updating of plans: purpose, frequency and methods of
updating, Common causes of time and cost overruns and corrective measures. Basics of
Modern Project management systems such as Lean Construction; Use of Building Information
Modeling (BIM) in project management; Quality control: concept of quality, use of manuals
and checklists for quality control, Safety, Health and Environment on project sites: accidents;
their causes, effects and preventive measures.
• UNIT-V
Contracts Management: Types of Contracts, Parties to a Contract; Contract Formation,
Common contract clauses: Notice to proceed, rights and duties of various parties, notices to
be given, Contract duration and price. Performance parameters; Delays, penalties and
liquidated damages; Suspension and Termination. Conventional and Alternative Dispute
Resolution methods, Legal Aspects in Contract Management.
Course Outcomes
At the end of the course the students will be able to
• Able to plan, control and monitor construction projects with respect
to time.
• Understanding how structures are built and projects are developed.
• Apply the techniques about how to optimize construction projects.
• Understanding of how construction projects are administered
concerning contract structures.
• Gain knowledge of various contract types and dispute resolution
methods.
Introduction to CTPM
• Construction Technology and project management (CTPM)
involves the application of technical and scientific knowledge to
infrastructure construction projects.
• Construction Technology and project management blends
engineering (which focuses on design) with construction
management, which is concerned with overseeing the actual
construction.
• Construction Technology and project management is a
professional service that provides a project’s owner(s) with
effective management of the project’s schedule, cost, quality,
safety, scope, and function.
• What is the difference between Civil engineering and
Construction Technology and project management ?
• Construction Technology and project management is one of the
branches of civil engineering but regardless of this, they have
their difference.
• The major difference is that civil engineering deals with the
design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and
naturally built environment.
• While Construction Technology and project management deals
with project management techniques to oversee the planning,
design, and construction of a project, from its beginning to its
end.
 UNIT I
Construction Planning
 CONTENTS
• Construction projects- types and features
• Phases of a project and agencies involved and their methods of execution
• Construction project planning- stages of project planning: pre-tender
planning, pre-construction planning
• Role of client and contractor
• Work break-down structure, activity lists, estimating durations, sequence
of activities
• Techniques of planning- bar charts, gantt charts
• Networks: basic terminology, types of precedence relationships
• Preparation of CPM networks: activity on link and activity on node
representation, computation of float values, critical paths.
Construction Project
 Complex, and time-consuming.
 A project normally consist of several phases (e.g. initial planning to
project completion)
 Involves financial organization, government agencies, engineers,
architects, lawyers, insurance companies, contractor and supplier.
 There are major classification of construction that includes: housing,
nonresidential building, heavy construction, highway, utility and
industrial.
 Construction project is unique – no two jobs are exactly the same
Unique features of a construction project
One time activity-must be performed correctly the first time every
time
Complexity-it is multidisciplinary because it involves a set of
interrelated tasks to be done by specialists.
High cost and time for execution
High risk of failure
Difficulty in defining Quality standards
Uniqueness of people relationship
Feedback mechanism
Lack of experience of client or owner
Untrained workforce
Phases of Construction Project :

1. Pre-project Phase
2. Project phase
3. Post project Phase
Pre-Project Phase
Project phase
Post Project Phase
5 Phases of Project Management
• Managing a project is no easy feat, no matter what the scale and scope are.
• From planning the minutia to handling the ever-changing demands of clients to
shipping the deliverables on time, there’s a lot that can go wrong.
• When you divide the project into manageable stages, each with its own goals and
deliverables, it’s easier to control the project and the quality of the output.
• According to the PMBOK Guide (Project Management Body of Knowledge) by the
Project Management Institute (PMI), a project management life cycle consists of 5
distinct phases including initiation, planning, execution, monitoring, and closure
that combine to turn a project idea into a working product.
Phase 1: Project initiation
• The project initiation phase is the first stage of turning an
abstract idea into a meaningful goal. In this stage, you need to
develop a business case and define the project on a broad level.
In order to do that, you have to determine the need for the
project and create a project charter.
• The project charter is an important document consisting of
details like the project constraints, goals, appointment of the
project manager, budget, expected timeline, etc.
• Once you have the project goals and project scope, identify key project
stakeholders–the people who are to be involved in the project.
• Create a stakeholder register with the roles, designation,
communication requirements, and influence.
• While a clear goal of the project is established in this phase, a project
charter does not contain any technical details that happen in the
planning stage.
• Consider the example of an automobile manufacturer assigned to
develop an electric vehicle. The selection of the design, capacity, and
battery power of the vehicle will not be a part of the initiation phase. The
only certainty would be that an electric vehicle will be developed within
the given timeframe and budget.
Phase 2: Project planning
• The project planning stage requires complete diligence as it lays out
the project’s roadmap. Unless you are using a modern project
management methodology like agile project management, the
second phase of project management is expected to take almost half
of the entire project’s timespan.
• In this phase, the primary tasks are identifying technical
requirements, developing a detailed project schedule, creating a
communication plan, and setting up goals/deliverables.
• There are several methods of setting up the project’s goals but
S.M.A.R.T. and C.L.E.A.R. are the most popular.
S.M.A.R.T Goals:
• The ‘SMART’ criteria ensure that the goals you set for your project are
critically analyzed. It is an established method that reduces risk and
allows managers to make clearly defined and achievable goals.
• The acronym SMART stands for
C.L.E.A.R. Goals:
• The ‘CLEAR’ method of setting up goals is designed to cater to the
dynamic nature of a modern workplace. Today’s fast-paced
businesses require flexibility and immediate results and CLEAR can
help you with that.
• The acronym for CLEAR stands for
• During the planning stage, the scope of the project is defined. There
is a possibility of changing the scope of the project demands it but
the project manager must approve the change. Project managers also
develop a work breakdown structure (WBS), which clearly visualizes
the entire project in different sections for the team management.
• A detailed project timeline with each deliverable is another important
element of the planning stage. Using that timeline, project managers
can develop a communication plan and a schedule of communication
with the relevant stakeholders.
• Risk mitigation is another important aspect of project management
that is a part of the planning stage. The project manager is
responsible for extrapolating past data to identify potential risks and
develop a strategy to minimize them.
• An important element that professionals often overlook is an
effective change management plan. As a project manager, you must
be ready to incorporate a few changes in the project to avoid
bottlenecks and project delays.
• In the absence of a working change management plan, scope creep
happens and causes huge problems for the project team in the later
stages of the project. So, it’s best to reduce the possibility of
unforeseen changes as much as possible.
Phase 3: Project execution
• The project execution stage is where your team does the actual work.
As a project manager, your job is to establish efficient workflows and
carefully monitor the progress of your team.
• Another responsibility of the project manager during this phase is to
consistently maintain effective collaboration between project
stakeholders. This ensures that everyone stays on the same page and
the project runs smoothly without any issues.
• You can take help from collaboration software available in the market.
They’ll not only make your life easier but also improves efficiency and
increase the productivity of your team.
Phase 4: Project monitoring and controlling
• In the project management process, the third and fourth phases are
not sequential in nature. The project monitoring and controlling
phase run simultaneously with project execution, thereby ensures
that objectives and project deliverables are met.
• As a project manager, you can make sure that no one deviates from
the original plan by establishing Critical Success Factors (CSF) and Key
Performance Indicators (KPI).
• During the monitoring phase of project management, the manager is
also responsible for quantitatively tracking the effort and cost during
the process. This tracking not only ensures that the project remains
within the budget but also is important for future projects.
Phase 5: Project closing
• This is the final phase of the project management process. The project
closure stage indicates the end of the project after the final delivery. There
are times when external talent is hired specifically for the project on
contract. Terminating these contracts and completing the necessary
paperwork is also the responsibility of the project manager.
• Most teams hold a reflection meeting after the completion of the project in
order to contemplate on their successes and failures during the project.
This is an effective method to ensure continuous improvement within the
company to enhance the overall productivity of the team in the future.
• The final task of this phase is to review the entire project complete a
detailed report that covers every aspect. All of the necessary data is stored
in a secure place that can be accessed by project managers of that
organization.
Role and Responsibility of Contractor
• The roles and responsibilities of contractors may be slightly different
from a project to another, but a general roles and responsibilities of
contractors are nearly the same which are presented below:
• Project Planning Responsibilities
• Project Management
• Project Monitoring
• Legal and Regulatory Responsibilities
• Health and Safety Responsibilities
1. Project Planning Responsibilities
• Plan important project development and implementation in advance.
• Determination and estimation of various issues in the project such as
needed materials, equipment.
• Anticipation of any potential modification in the project.
• Making sure that health and safety specifications are followed.
• Practicing excellent communication between all parties involved in
the construction such as client and subcontractors.
• Determine legal and regulatory requirements.
2. Project Management
• Manage the budget for the completion of construction activities.
• Main contractor is responsible to find and hire right subcontractors
and individuals to complete the job.
• Main contractor with cooperation of subcontractors need to manage
equipment, materials, and other services required for smooth flow of
the project.
• Manage generated waste
• Submit bills based on terms of contract documents.
3. Project Monitoring
• Monitor project in terms of time schedule, safety, work quality, and
other project-related details as specified in the project contract.
• Review, modify, and update the project programme dependent on
latest changes and feedback.
• Practice economic construction techniques
• Monitoring safety related issues.
4. Legal and Regulatory Responsibilities
• Contractor is responsible for building permits application
• Ensure that the project is in compliance with required legal and
regulatory issues
• Making sure the project is in compliance with all the necessary legal
and regulatory issues.
5. Health and Safety Responsibilities
• Guarantee viable safety policy to ensure health and safety in the
workplace. This may involve risk management strategies, emergency
response system, and other preventive means for construction site
safety.
• Make sure that all individual at construction site utilize safety
equipment.
• Provide safety awareness to workers.
Duties of Client - Checklist
The main duties of the client on all construction projects are to:
• Ensure that suitable management arrangements are made for the
project
• Select & appoint a competent and resourced Principal Designer.
• Select & appoint a competent and resourced Principal contractor.
• Notify the relevant enforcing authority of certain projects (notifiable).
• Ensure sufficient time and resources are allowed for all stages of the
project.
• Provide the pre-construction information (PCI) to the designers and
contractors.
• Verify the sufficiency of the construction phase plan (CPP) prior to
construction commencement.
• Verify that suitable welfare facilities are in place prior to construction
commencement.
• Contractor training - Ensure the necessary information, instruction and
training is received and appropriate supervision is provided to comply with
the regulations.
• Ensure co-operation and co-ordination between the client's employees and
client contractors with the project contractors where the client's work
activities overlap the construction work and to enable others to perform
their duties.
• Subsequent to receipt of the health and safety file from the Principal
Designer, maintain the information up to date and provide access to any
person who needs to see it for health and safety purposes.
What Is Work Breakdown Structure in Project
Management?
• Work breakdown structure (WBS) in project management is a method
for completing a complex, multi-step project. It's a way to divide and
conquer large projects to get things done faster and more efficiently.
• The goal of a WBS is to make a large project more manageable.
Breaking it down into smaller chunks means work can be done
simultaneously by different team members, leading to better team
productivity and easier project management.
• In Wrike, you can build a WBS by creating folders and subfolders and
can go further to divide individual tasks into subtasks.
How to create a work breakdown structure
• Before you create a work breakdown structure, it's essential to first assess
the project scope by talking to all stakeholders and key team members
involved.
• As the project manager, you want to ensure that all critical input and
deliverables are gathered and transparently prioritized. You may use Gantt
charts, flow charts, spreadsheets, or lists to show the hierarchical outline
of importance and connectivity between the tasks needed to complete the
project.
• After outlining the deliverables and tasks in order of completion, you can
then assign each task to a project team member. Ensure no team member
carries the majority of the project's weight by spreading duties and
responsibilities across the team.
Characteristics of a work breakdown structure
• The Project Management Institute (PMI) defines WBS as "a
deliverable-oriented hierarchical decomposition of the work to be
executed by the project team to accomplish the project objectives
and create the required deliverables."
• Each WBS level represents a new and increasingly detailed definition
of work needed to complete the project.
• PMI's definition adds that a WBS structure must be constructed in a
way that each new level in the hierarchy includes all the work needed
to complete its parent task. This means that every parent task
element must have more than one child task within it to consider the
parent task element complete.
Work breakdown structure examples
• Your work breakdown structure for each project can be different.
• As a project manager, you may have to experiment to see which WBS
works best for you and your team. The goal is to show the hierarchy
of your projects and make progress clear to everyone involved —
whether they are a team member or an external stakeholder.
• Here are some work breakdown structure examples. You can use any
of these to outline your WBS.
• WBS spreadsheet: You can structure your WBS efficiently in a
spreadsheet, noting the different phases, tasks, or deliverables in the
columns and rows.
• WBS flowchart: You can structure your WBS in a diagrammatic
workflow. Most WBS examples and templates you may find are
flowcharts.
• WBS list: You can structure your WBS as a simple list of tasks or
deliverables and subtasks. This is the most straightforward approach
to make a WBS.
• Work breakdown structure Gantt chart. You can structure your WBS
as a Gantt chart that represents both a spreadsheet and a timeline.
With a Gantt chart-structured WBS, you can link task dependencies
and show project milestones.
Work breakdown structure examples
What is the difference between WBS and a
work breakdown schedule?
• Various detailed project documents support the WBS. Amongst them
are a risk management plan, quality plan, procurement plan,
communications plan, staffing plan, and a work breakdown schedule
plan.
• The work breakdown schedule includes the start and completion
dates for all tasks, activities, and deliverables defined in the WBS.
What does “Defining Activities of a Project”
mean?
• In Project Management, ‘activities’ characterize the measure of work
that changes over a plan for appropriate outcomes. Activities in a
project are the method to identify and document the activities that
are accessible to produce the project deliverables.
Estimating Activity Durations: Definition,
Methods, Practical Uses
• The purpose of estimating activity durations is to determine the amount of
time it takes to complete an activity. Estimate activity durations is a process
of the Project Schedule Management knowledge area according to PMI’s
Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK)
• This process requires several input parameters, which include, in particular,
the scope of work and the list and characteristics of planned activities as
well as the resources that are deployed to perform the work.
• The PMBOK lists the following as as techniques to determine duration
estimates
• expert judgment,
• analogous estimating,
• parametric estimating,
• bottom-up estimating, and
• three-point estimation
Expert Judgement
• Expert judgment means that an estimator or a group of estimators
determine the expected duration of an activity based on their
experience and expertise in the respective area.
• The accuracy of these types of estimates can vary greatly. It depends
on the characteristics of the work and the experience of the
estimators.
• Expert judgment can also be applied to supplement one of the other
types of estimates, e.g. in cases where historical data are only
applicable for portions of the work.
Analogous Estimating
• Analogous estimating is an estimation technique is also referred to as top-down
estimating.
• It involves leveraging the estimators’ experience or historical data from previous
projects by adopting observed cost, duration or resource needs to a current
project or portions of a project. Analogous estimating does not require data
manipulation or statistical adjustments.
• This technique is useful if you need to produce estimates without having plenty
of information available.
• This may be the case during project selection or initiation phases, when
overseeing a bunch of projects at the portfolio-level, or in the early stages of a
project. Estimations can relate to a whole project or parts of a project, such as
work packages or activities.
• The PMI project management framework lists analogous estimating under the
techniques of the processes estimate costs, estimate activity durations and
estimate activity resources
Parametric Estimating
• The Parametric estimating technique makes use of historical data and
statistical approaches to predict the durations of planned activities.
• This can be one of the most accurate methods if the data availability,
quality and statistical correlations are strong. However, it may require
some efforts and resources to perform the estimation.
Three-Point-Estimating
• As the name suggests, this technique requires determining three
different duration estimates:
• an optimistic,
• a pessimistic, and
• a ‘most likely’ estimate.
• It can be used as a range estimate or further processed, e.g. by
calculating a final estimate using a triangular or Pert distribution.
Bottom-Up Estimating
• As duration estimations relate to activities, the bottom-up estimation
technique is implicitly the main approach for activity durations. Activities
are typically the most granular planning components of a project. However,
even activities can be further broken up, e.g. into steps or procedures, to
increase the accuracy of an estimate.
• The technique suggests that those who are responsible for the execution of
work are also estimating the duration of that work.
• For the estimation of project cost, the granular estimates are rolled up to
determine the total cost estimate of the entire project. However, doing this
for the project schedule is more complex. It actually requires some
scheduling techniques to account for activities’ interdependencies and the
options to have activities running in parallel.
Introduction to network Analysis
• A Project such as setting up of a new milk plant, research and
development in an organization, development of a new milk product,
marketing of a product etc. is a combination of interrelated activities
(tasks) which must be executed in a certain order before the entire
task can be completed.
• The activities are interrelated in a logical sequence in such a way that
same activities can not start until some others are completed. An
activity in a project usually viewed as job requiring resources for its
completion.
• The objectives of project management can be described in terms of a
successful project which has been finished on time, within the budgeted
cost and to technical specifications and to the satisfaction level of end
users. Normally for any project, one may be interested in answering
questions such as
• i) What will be the expected time of project completion?
• ii) What is the effect of delay of any activity on the overall completion of
project?
• iii) How to reduce the time to perform certain activities in case of
availability of additional funds?
• iv) What is the probability of completion of project in time?
• The OR techniques used for planning, scheduling and controlling large and complex
projects are often referred to as network analysis.
• A network is a graphical representation consisting of certain configuration of
arrows and nodes for showing the logical sequence of various tasks to be
performed to achieve the project objectives.
• Around five decades ago the planning tool was Gantt bar chart which specifies
start and finish time for each activity on a horizontal time scale. The disadvantage
is that there is no interdependency among the many activities which control the
progress of the project.
• Now-a-days we use a technical tool for planning, scheduling and controlling stages
of the projects known as Critical Path Method (CPM) and Project Evaluation &
Review Technique (PERT).
• The techniques of PERT and CPM prove extremely valuable in assisting the mangers
in handling such projects and thus discharging their project management
responsibilities both at planning and controlling stages of the projects.
• Commonly used project management techniques are:
• a) Critical Path Method (CPM) and
• b) Project Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)
 Methodology in CPM/PERT Technique
• Planning
• It is started by splitting the total project into small projects. The smaller
projects are further divided into different activities and are analyzed by a
department or section. The relationship of each activity with respect to other
activities are defined and established.
• Scheduling
• The objective of scheduling is to give the earliest and the latest allowable
start and finish time of each activity as well as its relationship with other
activities in the project. The schedule must pinpoint the critical path i.e. time
activities which require special attention if the project is to be completed in
time.
• Allocation of resources
• Allocation of resources is performed to achieve the desired objective.
Resource is a physical variable such as labour, finance, space, equipment
etc. which will impose a limitation for completion of a project.
• Controlling
• The final phase in the project management is controlling. After making
the network plan and identification of the Critical path, the project is
controlled by checking progress against the schedule, assigning and
scheduling manpower and equipment and analyzing the effects of delays.
This is done by progress report from time to time and updating the
network continuously. Arrow diagram and time charts are used for
making periodic progress reports.
• Basic Terminology used in Network Analysis
• Network analysis is the general name given to certain specific
techniques which can be used for the planning, management and
control of projects. A fundamental method in both PERT and CPM is
the use of network systems as a means of graphically depicting the
current problems or proposed projects in network diagram. A
network diagram is the first thing to sketch an arrow diagram which
shows inter-dependencies and the precedence relationship among
activities of the project. Before illustrating the network
representation of a project, let us define some basic definitions:
• Activity
• Any individual operation, which utilizes resources and has a beginning and an end is
called an activity. An arrow is used to depict an activity with its head indicating the
direction of progress in the project. It is of four types:
• a) Predecessor activity: activity that must be completed immediately prior to the start
of another activity.
• b) Successor activity: activity which cannot be started until one or more of other
activities are completed but immediately succeed them are called successor activity.
• c) Concurrent: Activity which can be accomplished concurrently is known as concurrent
activity. An activity can be predecessor or successor to an event or it may be concurrent
with the one or more of the other activities.
• d) Dummy activity: An activity which does not consume any kind of resources but
merely depicts the technological dependence is called a dummy activity. Dummy activity
is inserted in a network to classify the activity pattern in the following situations:
• i) To make activities with common starting and finishing points distinguishable.
• ii) To identify and maintain the proper precedence relationship between activities
those are not connected by events.
•
Event
The beginning and end points of an activity are called events or nodes or
connector. This is usually represented by circle in a network.

Here, A is known as the activity.

 Activities During Construction
• Construction Supervision
– Preliminaries: The preliminary works refer to all the activities that are involved in a construction site
before the actual work commences, such as demolition, site clearance, site survey, soil survey, planning,
designing, and cost estimation.
– Demolition: Small structures are demolished to build big structures etc. Demolition: The
word demolition means destruction, breaking down or removal. Demolition of building is the process of
dismantling or destroying of a structure after its life of serviceability by pre-planned and controlled
methods.
– Excavation and foundation: Excavation work is the next important step to build the foundation of your
home. You need to carry out proper surveying of your land to obtain a layout plan on the ground based
on the approved drawing. Mark all pillars, trench excavation lines with respect to the center lines of
walls. Ensure that excavation is done by the Contractor as much as it needed and true to levels,
alignment, shape and size
– Concrete and brickwork
– Finishes: It refers to the final stage of the construction work. "Rough" work
would be something like framing, electrical and piping. "Finish" work refers
to the exterior and interior finishing of buildings and structures to enhance
their service and aesthetic
– M&E works: 'M&E' in construction refers to mechanical and electrical
systems. Building services are the systems installed in buildings to make
them comfortable, functional, efficient and safe and might include: ...
Building control systems. Energy distribution.
– External works
 SCHEDULING
• Many decisions made during the estimating process relate to the schedule
for completing the project.
• In fact, a preliminary schedule is sometimes prepared in the process of
creating an estimate.
• Once the contract is awarded, a more detailed schedule is prepared to
guide the project.
A schedule lists the sequence in which tasks will be completed.
 Managers use the schedule to determine when workers, materials, and
equipment are needed.
Adding information about daily progress to the planned
schedule alerts managers to tasks that are not proceeding as
planned.
Corrective action can be taken to get the project back on
schedule.
 The schedule can also be used to track the expenditure of
money.
Summary charts indicate the amount of money that has been
spent compared to what was planned.
As with daily progress, early identification of money problems
improves the opportunity to solve the problems.
 Types of Schedule
1. Construction Schedule
2. Materials Schedule
3. Equipment Schedule
4. Labour Schedule
5. Time Schedule
6. Financial Schedule
7. Control Schedule Or Reports
8. Summary Of Schedule
Schedules can be presented by using following methods:

• Gantt Chart Or Bar

• Project Network Diagrams
• Activity-on-arrow (AOA) Networks
• Activity-on-node (AON) Networks
• Line of Balance Scheduling Technique
• Q Scheduling
 Gantt Chart Or Bar
• 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 .
• 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.

Duration
Prior
Activity (work-
Activity
weeks)
1 3 None
2 5 1
3 2 2
4 3 1
5 2 4
Advantages
1. Easy to read
2. Good communication tool
3. Easy to update
Disadvantages
1. Does not show interrelationships
2. Cannot evaluate impact of delays
3.Does not provide adequate documentation for
claims
 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
 Activity-on-node (AON) Networks

• Also called precedence diagramming method (PDM)

• Easier to draw for simple projects
• Emphasizes activities
• No dummy activities
 Line of Balance Scheduling Technique
• This construction scheduling process is a planning technique for repetitive
work.
• The essential procedure for this scheduling technique is to allocate the
resources needed for each step or operation, so the following activities are
not delayed, and the result can be obtained.
• The principles employed are taken from the planning and control of
manufacturing processes; a process usually applied in the construction work
and more specific in road construction.
• It is very powerful and easy to use process when the conditions are ideal for
this type of work.
 Q Scheduling
• Q Scheduling is quantitative scheduling, in the context that quantities
to be executed at different locations of the construction project form
the elements of the schedule.
• Q Scheduling in the context that trades pass through the different
segments of the project in a queue sequence.
• No interference between two activities is allowed at the same
location.
• It is derived basically from the Line of balance technique with some
modifications to allow for the non repetitive models that are
characteristic of the majority of construction projects.
Critical Path Method
• CPM is mostly used for construction projects to address the following main
issues:
• How long will the entire project take to complete? CPM formally identifies tasks that
must be completed on time for the whole project to be completed on time
• Which activities determine total project time? It identifies which tasks can be
delayed for a while if resource needs to be reallocated to catch up on missed tasks. It
helps to identify the minimum length of time needed to complete a project.
• Which activity times should be shortened, if possible, or in other words, how many
resources should be allocated to each activity?
• Critical path method is a procedure for using network analysis to
identify those tasks that are on the critical path, i.e., where any delay
in the completion of these tasks will lengthen the project timescale,
unless action is taken. For all tasks off the critical path, a degree of
tolerance is possible (e.g., late start, late completion, early start, etc.).

• NASA used the critical path method (CPM) to help determine an

efficient schedule for the tasks that led to the moon-landing.

• CPM was the result of a joint effort to develop a procedure for

scheduling maintenance shutdowns in chemical-processing plants.
PROGRAMME EVALUATION AND REVIEW
TECHNIQUE (PERT)
• PERT is more commonly used in the manufacturing industry, especially in
the research and development types of programs.

• It is assumed that activities and their interdependence are well-defined,

though it recognizes uncertainty in the time estimate of an activity.

• PERT incorporates uncertainties in activity durations in its analysis,

requiring three durations for each activity, which are the most probable,
the optimistic (shortest) and the pessimistic (longest) duration.
• In practice, a competent person, such as an engineer, is asked to give two
other time estimates—the pessimistic time estimate (tp ) and the
optimistic time estimate (to ), other than what is perceived to be the most
likely estimate (tm ) for (completing) an activity.
• As the names imply, the pessimistic time is the best guess of the maximum
time that may be required to complete the activity, and the optimistic time
refers to the best guess of the minimum time required to complete the
activity.
• Indeed, extremely unlikely events such as a fire or an earthquake may not
be considered in giving these estimates.
• For example, let there be an activity ‘design foundation’, and the optimistic, the most
likely and the pessimistic time estimates for completing this activity be 14 days, 18
days and 28 days, respectively.
• The PERT technique assumes that the three time estimates of an activity are random
variables, and the frequency distribution of duration of an activity takes the shape of
beta distribution.
• The probability that the duration would be less than the optimistic duration (to) is
about 1 per cent, and the probability that the duration would be more than the
pessimistic duration (tp) is also about 1 per cent.
The average or expected time, te , is calculated as a weighted average of the three estimates,
assuming that the optimistic and the pessimistic times are about equally likely to occur, and that the
most probable activity time is four times more likely to occur than the other two. Mathematically,
the average, or expected, time is given by

In order to measure the uncertainty associated with the estimate of duration of an activity, the standard
deviation (St ) and the variance (Vt) are determined, which in PERT are defined as:
Network Logic
Duration of an Activity
• Duration of an activity (i, j) is denoted by D(i, j). The start (node i) and the completion (node j) of this
activity can be considered as events.
• This is the length of time required to carry out an activity (i, j) from the beginning to its end. Depending
upon the activity and the level of detail, the duration may be expressed in days, weeks, or months.
• It should be noted that though the actual duration depends, in principle, on the quantum of work
involved in the activity and the resources deployed, it is not really necessary that the relationship be
exactly linear, as will be discussed subsequently in this chapter.
• Further, it should be borne in mind that a duration cannot be really fixed or given as a final number,
and as such remains only an estimate, based on past experience with productivity, etc.
• Terms such as ‘most likely time’, ‘optimistic time’, ‘pessimistic time’ and ‘expected time’ are also used in
the context of defining the duration of an activity.
Float or slack Time
• An activity need not be started as soon as it can physically be started, without
adversely affecting project completion.
• In other words, activities have some additional time available, which can be used
in different ways as illustrated in a following example.
• As a corollary, it stands to reason that all activities on the critical path have no
float.
• In fact, another way of defining the critical path could be in terms of the floats
available—it can be defined as the set of activities connecting the start and the
end of a project and having zero float.