What is Project Scheduling Construction?
Project scheduling construction involves an entire range of activities including conceptualization to realization of a project besides all the crucial resources (men, materials, machinery, and money) of management. So ‘managing construction project’ is itself a complicated task which demands knowledge from various fields like engineering, finance, business, law, mediation and many more. The ultimate objective of construction is to complete the project successfully with the consumption of minimal resources and deliver it within the stipulated time.
As the construction industry is mingled with uncertainty and risk, the primary objective is to complete the project within the specified time and estimated budget without compromising the quality. Though various attributes and constraints may be raised with the project from time to time and those constraints must be recognized and eradicated successfully by taking sound decisions at the right time and through delegation of authority. That is why the planning and scheduling of construction project are important complex assignments which involve certain complicated tasks that may specific to the nature of the project.
Definition of Project Scheduling
A project is made up of various tasks that have to be assigned properly to complete it on time. Fundamentally the project scheduling is a mechanism to communicate the prioritized tasks with the members and identified the resources for completion of the project within the stipulated time. There is a number of attributes including cost, design, necessary permits and so on are involved with the project; scheduling helps to assess the impact on the project. At past people used to make project scheduling on printed calendars or shared spreadsheets, now most teams prefer to use online project scheduling tools.
Importance of Scheduling
A properly designed schedule helps in managing materials, labor, and equipment. It also supports the project to complete in the expected time. The certain benefits are as follows –
- Providing reliable details of the project and keep it on the right track.
- Avoid production interruptions and rapid discovery of blockages.
- Root cause analysis as a corrective measure.
- The regularity of documentation.
- Allowing for precise resource distribution.
- Keep the over-all process transparent.
- Reliable forecasting based on current performance.
Basics of Project Scheduling
Effective project scheduling is a challenging task in construction project management and it takes place at the initial stage. The following are the steps of initiating scheduling –
- Define the tasks: It is essential to identify the actual tasks of the project at the beginning. Work breakdown structure and deliverable diagrams can be helpful to organize over-all tasks from beginning to end.
- Estimation of time: To achieve the required result, it is essential to calculate the correct schedule of time for each task.
- Calculation of logical relationship: Identify the logical relationships between the task is important. Often one task cannot be started before another is completed. Now project scheduling software helps to recognize the logical relationship between the tasks. It also indicates if the project is lagging behind the schedule.
- Allocating resources: At the time of scheduling, it is essential to allocate the resources that will be needed to complete the whole task on time.
Construction Scheduling Techniques to Keep the Project Operative
Maintaining an accurate schedule is a slightly difficult task, yet builders and contractors can implement certain techniques in operation which may ensure smooth mobility of the project. Efficient scheduling helps to reduce the risk factor and even it improves communication with increasing the productivity of the project. But which technique will give fruitful result depends on the nature of the project.
Gantt Charts
Using Gantt charts are the simplest and straightforward way to make construction schedules. It is widely accepted in construction sites due to its simplicity and flexibility. It consists of all the list of activities, specifying the date of initiation of the project, duration, and completion date of each activity. Gantt charts are not only implicated for time tracking, but it also helps to trail the other aspects of the project. It is useful to detect the number of resources needed in a particular project. To estimate the work production and required man-hour as well as equipment, the term ‘resource aggregation’ is used in the schedule.
Critical Path Scheduling Method
Critical Path Method (CPM) is more complicated and detailed than a Gantt chart. It arranges all activities specifically that everyone gets a clue which activity will start first. It includes the start date and end date with time. It divides the whole activities into segments and keeps a little gap between two activities for rectifying any error or confronting any unavoidable situation. CPM also helps to calculate the fastest possible time to finish a particular activity related to the project. Different algorithms and computer programs are applied for generating those calculations.
Scheduling Concerned with Resources
Scheduling in favor of resources revolves around the required resources for the project. It is executed with the least amount of resources. So sometimes project delay may occur which leads to higher cost and lower productivity. Resource oriented scheduling is useful in projects where the specific nature of resources are applied.
Line of Balance Scheduling Technique
The Line of Balance Scheduling technique is appropriate for repetitive work. This construction scheduling technique assigns required resources for steps of operation, so the subsequent works are not delayed and the fruitful results can be achieved. The principles of this scheduling process are derived from the planning and execution of the manufacturing process. Manufacturing processes are mostly applied in road construction and other construction work in general. If the conditions are congenial for this type of work, then this technique is very simple and effective.
Q Scheduling Technique
Q Scheduling technique is derived from the Line of balance scheduling technique with little modification. It can be stated as a closer to reality technique, though this new technique has got popularity in the construction firm. It is the only technique that indicates the relationship between the categorizations of doing a job and the cost to be sustained.
In Q scheduling, the letter Q has different meanings. In terms of quantitative context, Q is considered as quantitative scheduling. Quantitative refers to the quantities of various elements of the project. Other hands, Q scheduling is considered as queue scheduling where trade passes through the different segments of the project with no linking between two events in the schedule.
Scheduling is very crucial for smooth mobility and the timely success of the project. It gives a flawless understanding of the status of operations. It produces all the details of workdays to make it effective and productive.
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