25/11/2023
Construction
Management
Time Management
(Scheduling)
Prepared by
Dr. Shady Dokhan
Project Scheduling
Scheduling “is the determination of the
timing and sequence of operations in the
project and their assembly to give the overall
completion time”.
• Scheduling adds a time dimension to the planning
process.
Scheduling = Planning + Time
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Project Scheduling Input
• The inputs to network scheduling of any project are:
1. Network whether AOA or AON
2. Estimate of each individual activity duration.
B
3
A C E
3 4 5
D
6
Estimating Activity Duration
Quantity
Duration =
Production Rate x f
• Duration: duration estimate for an activity as units
of time.
• Quantity: number of units required to finish the
activity
• f: productivity factor that adjusts the duration
estimate to account for many environmental
aspects under which the activities resources have to
perform the work.
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Estimating Activity Duration
• Aspects that affect activity duration:
– Local weather condition
– Learning curve
– Crew absenteeism
– Economic level
– Space congestion
– Design changes and rework
– Uncertainty
Activity Duration Example
• Question:
– Activity quantity = 1500 M3
– Production Rate of crew = 175 M3/day
– f = 0.88
• Duration = ???
• Solution:
– Duration = 1500/(175*0.88) = 10 days
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Critical Path Method (CPM)
The CPM is a systematic scheduling method,
which involves 4 main steps:
1. A forward pass to determine activities early-
start times. (early-start times of activities)
2. A backward pass to determine activities late-
finish times. (late-finish times of activities)
3. Float calculations
4. Identify critical activities
Critical Path Method (CPM)
Start Finish
Early
Late
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Critical Path Method (CPM)
Start Finish
Early
Late
Forward Pass
§ The forward pass proceeds from the left-most
activity in the network and moves to the right.
§ Calculates ES and EF for each activity
Ø Early-start times (ES)
Ø Earliest time an activity can start without
violating precedence relations
Ø Early-finish times (EF)
Ø Earliest time an activity can finish without
violating precedence relations
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Forward Pass
• Early Dates:
• ES = Largest EF of preceding activities
• EF = ES + Duration
Predecessor Successor
1 1
Activity
Predecessor Successor
2 1
Forward Pass
(+), The greatest
1 2 3
3 3 6
Project
B
Duration
3
6
0 3 3 3 7 9 14
A C 7 E
3 4 5
9
3 9
ES EF
D
3 Name
6
D
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Forward Pass
ES = Early Start
EF = Early Finish
D = Duration of activity
• All successor activities can start only after the
latest predecessor is finished.
• ES time for activity equals the latest finish time of
all predecessors.
Backward Pass
• The backward pass is defined as the process of
navigation through a network from finish to start
for calculating the late dates for all activities.
• The backward pass determines the late-finish (LF)
times of activities by proceeding backward from
the last activity to the first.
1. This pass along with the forward pass, helps
identifying the critical path and the float of all
activities.
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Backward Pass
Ø Late-start times (LS)
Ø Latest time an activity can start without
delaying the completion of the project
Ø Late-finish times (LF)
Ø Latest time an activity can finish without
delaying the completion of the project
Late Dates:
LF = smallest LS of succeeding activities
LS = LF – Duration
Backward Pass
(-), The Smallest
3 2 1
9 Project
B
Duration
6 3 9
6 14
A C E
5 9
0 3 3 5 4 9 9 5 14
3
ES EF
D 9 Name
3 6 9
LS D LF
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Backward Pass
LS = Late Start
LF = Late Finish
LS = LF – D.
• All predecessor activities can finish only before
the earliest successor is started.
• LF time for activity equals the earliest LS time of
all successors.
Forward/Backward Pass
3 6
Project
B
Duration
6 3 9
0 3 3 7 9 14
A C E
0 3 3 5 4 9 9 5 14
3 9
ES EF
D
Name
3 6 9
LS D LF
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Total Float
Main types of Float are Total Float (TF) and Free
Float (FF).
• Total Float (Slack) determine the flexibility of an
activity to be delayed.
• Total Float is defined as the maximum amount of
time an activity can be delayed from its early start
without delaying the entire project
Total Float
• Total float values of activities are very useful for
practical scheduling of the activities and in
responding to the many changes that occur on
site.
• Total Float = Total Slack = LS – ES = LF – EF
2 2 8
B
4 6 10
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Total Float
ES EF=ES+d Total Float
Activity is early
d
ES LS=LF-d LF
Activity is late d
Total time available for the activity = LF - ES
Total Float = Total Slack = LS – ES = LF – EF
Free Float
• Free float is defined as the maximum amount of time
an activity can be delayed without delaying the early
start of the succeeding activities.
• Free Float (FF) = Min ES (of succeeding activities –
EF (of activity).
10 15
E
10 7 17
2 2 8
B
4 6 10
12 17
F
12 5 17
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Float Calculation
3 3 3 6
Project
B
Duration
6 3 9
0 0 0 3 3 2 2 7 9 0 0 14
A C E
0 3 3 5 4 9 9 5 14
3 0 0 9
ES TF FF EF
Critical D
Activity Name
3 6 9
LS D LF
Identifying Critical Activities
• Activities with zero total floats means that they
have to be constructed right at their schedule times,
without delays.
• These activities (TF=min) are considered to be
critical.
• They deserve the special attention of the project
management because any delay in critical activities
causes a delay in the project duration.
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The Critical Path
• The critical path is the path with minimum total
float.
• The longest path is the path with zero float if no
imposed finish date is used.
• Critical path activities form a continuous path of the
critical activities that spans from the beginning to
the end of the network.
The Critical Path
• In every network, at least one critical path must
exist.
• It is possible that more than one critical path are
formed, the length (duration) of these critical
paths is the same.
• Multiple critical paths may share some activities.
• A path cannot be partially critical, the entire path
must be either critical or noncritical.
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Lags & Leads
• Lag is a mandatory waiting period between the
completion (or start) of an activity and the start (or
completion) of its successor, and a lead is a
negative lag.
• They are shown as numbers above the lines of
arrows (relations).
Lags & Leads (FS-relation)
+
0 3 17 19
14 Lag
Pour Concrete Remove Form
11 3 14 28 2 30
–
+
0 21 11 46
-10
Excavation Lay Pipe Lead
14 21 35 25 35 60
–
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Lags & Leads (SS-relation)
0 3 0 5
Bore Pile Inject Bentonite Zero Lag
5 3 8 5 5 10
12
+
0 21 12 47
Excavation Lay Pipe Lag
13 21 34 25 35 60
–
Lead not recommended for use
Lags & Leads (FF-relation)
0 3 1 3
Install Cable Tension Cable Zero Lag
7 3 10 8 2 10
+ 15
0 15 10 30
Form work Steel Rebar Lag
30 15 45 40 20 60
–
Lead not recommended for use
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Multiple Activity Relation
0 5 0 10 5
Excavation
5 17
5 10 15 3 15
5 15
17 5 5 0 17
7 5 8
Pipe Laying
10 12 22 9 24
11 23 10 25
10 22 10 5 0 25
4 Backfill
15 15 30
Schedule Presentation
• After CPM calculations are made, it is important
to present their results in a format that is clear
and understandable to all the parties involved in
the project.
• The simplest form is Bar Chart or Gantt Chart.
• Early Gantt chart is drawn using ES times of
activities, while the late Gantt chart is drawn
using the LF times.
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Draw Early and Late Bar Chart
3 3 3 6
B
6 3 9
0 0 0 3 3 2 2 7 9 0 0 14
A C E
0 3 3 5 4 9 9 5 14
3 0 0 9
ES TF FF EF
D
Name
3 6 9
LS D LF
Early Bar Chart
Activity 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 days
A
TF = 3
B
TF = 2
C
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Late Bar Chart
Activity 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 days
A
TF = 0
B
TF = 0
C
Why do we need Scheduling?
1. To predict project completion.
2. To predict when specific activities start & end.
3. To arrange for procurement of materials &
equipments
4. To prevent conflicts between crews or sub-
contractors.
5. To determine & control resource requirement.
6. To plan cash flow.
7. To evaluate effects of changes on project
completion.
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Example 1
No. Act Dur. IPA Lag
1 A 2 ___
2 B 5 A 2
3 C 6 A
4 D 6 B
5 E 7 B 3
6 F 4 B, C
7 G 5 C
8 H 10 D, E, F 0, 0, 2
9 I 8 E, F, G
10 J 7 D
11 K 1 H, J, I 0, 0, 1
Example 1
D J
6 7
B
3 E
5 7
H
2 2 10
A F K
2 4 1
1
I
8
C G
6 5
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Example 1 Solution
9 4 0 15 15 7 7 22
D J
13 6 19 22 7 29
4 0 0 9 12 0 0 19
B 3 E
4 5 9 12 7 19 19 0 0 29
H
2 2 19 10 29
0 0 0 2 9 4 4 13 29 0 0 30
A F K
0 2 2 13 4 17 29 1 30
1
19 1 1 27
I
2 5 0 8 8 7 6 13 20 8 28
C G
7 6 13 15 5 20
ES TF FF EF
Activity (i)
LS Duration LF
Critical Path: A-B-E-H-K
Example 2
3
C H
4 9
A -1 8
10
I
2 D E 12
28 14
Start
0
B F G
12 10 20
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Example 2 Solution
3 0 0 7 30 5 5 39
3
C H
3 4 7 35 9 44
0 0 0 10
-1
A 8
0 10 10
44 0 0 56
2 0 0 30 24 0 0 38 I
2 D E 44 12 56
2 28 30 24 14 38
0 00 0
Start
0 0 0
0 0 0 12 12 2 2 22 24 0 0 44
B F G
0 12 12 14 10 24 24 20 44
ES TF FF EF
Activity (i)
Critical Path 1: A-C-D-E-I
LS Duration LF Critical Path 2: B-D-E-G-I
Example 3
42
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Example 3 Solution
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Lecture 3
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