Chapter 8 ppt.ppt

Chapter 8Project Monitoring and Control

It’s important to have a schedule, but it’s more important to use it

Chapter 8Project Monitoring and Control

It’s important to have a schedule, but it’s more important to use it

Construction Planning and Scheduling, Fourth EditionConstruction Planning and Scheduling, Fourth EditionBy Jimmie W HinzeBy Jimmie W Hinze

© 2012, 2008, 2004, 1998 Pearson Higher Education, Inc © 2012, 2008, 2004, 1998 Pearson Higher Education, Inc Pearson Prentice Hall - Upper Saddle River, NJ and Columbus, OHPearson Prentice Hall - Upper Saddle River, NJ and Columbus, OH

Construction Planning and Scheduling, Fourth EditionConstruction Planning and Scheduling, Fourth EditionBy Jimmie W. HinzeBy Jimmie W. Hinze


Planning for the unplanned





Project Control

• Project control can be reduced to two basic components:– Monitoring and control





Construction Time

• Construction progress is generally measured in terms of days– Working days and calendar days

• Working days schedules are easier to preparethan those based on calendar days

• Some activities are better measured in calendar days—working days may not be meaningful

• There are shortcomings to each, some of which are common to both





Start Date





Construction Time

• It is important to be able to convert a working-day schedule to a calendar-day schedule– And vice-versa

• One issue not often clearly resolved concernsthe definition of float

• Are the total float and free float measured in terms of working days or calendar days?– It is essential that it be defined in terms that match the

time convention in the definition of activity durations





Effective Scheduling

• To be an effective project control tool, the schedule have the following attributes:– It must be an accurate reflection of the way the job

is actually constructed– It must be sufficiently flexible to accommodate

changes and to also predict their impact– It must allow for corrections as necessary to keep the

schedule current or up to date

• Control consists essentially of monitoring progress and updating the schedule as needed





Effective Scheduling

• Communications should constantly be two-way in nature:– Information about the schedule communicated to field

personnel must in a form clearly understood– Field personnel should recognize that the information

they generate is important





Monitoring Project Status

• The first step to using a schedule is to monitor progress in relation to the schedule

• Scheduled items must be organized in a rational manner—as in work breakdown structures (WBS)






Many firms elect to develop their own unique numbering system for their projects

A carefully crafted numbering system thatdescribes the work activities on a project can

be useful for isolating desired work items





Monitoring consists of receiving or maintaining accurate reports of events

that have taken place on the projectand specific work items accomplished

Essentially a means by which feedback is obtained on the progress on the project







• Monitoring can be accomplished through direct observation—field visits to the site

• Appropriate as the sole monitoring mechanism where there is a short span of control or a shallow hierarchy

• As firms get larger and projects get more complex, it becomes necessary to formalize the method of capturing information

• One common method uses photography– Sequential pictures taken at regular intervals





Project Monitoring






• Check-off lists may prove to be effective— field personnel indicate the status of various work items– “Started”– “Finished”– “In-progress”






• Feedback about job progress may also be obtained directly on bar charts sent out to the field– Limited value on large projects

• On very complex projects with thousands of activities, it is best to print out a network– Broken down by subgroups—such as designated

areas on the project or specified crafts






• It is common to include procurement activitieson project schedules—especially where major purchases are involved– Long-lead items warrant particular attention

• A general contractor is well advised to include the right to be involved in monitoring subcontractor purchases





Safety is a topic that must underlie every activity included in a schedule—clearly

not a subject to be included onlyas an afterthought

Every activity should be considered in terms of related or specific safety needs






Safety Considerations





Difficulties in Assessing Progress

• Field project status reports should be provided with the same level of detail as used in developing the original schedule

• It might be simpler—and more accurate—to break certain activities into two or three basic activities

• The primary issue is to attempt to define activities that have durations with approximately the same order of magnitude as the monitoring period





Updating the Schedule

• The schedule is an effective management tool only as long as it bears a reasonable resemblance to the actual project

• When discrepancies are noted, adjustments must be made to the network — known as updating

• Feedback is important—and should come from competent field personnel





Overall, updating is required wheneverthe schedule no longer reflects the actual

operations taking place on the project

Updating is not needed if all duration/cost estimates are accurate and sequencing of the

activities is exactly as originally scheduled

Updating the Schedule





Controlling the Project

• The driving force for keeping a project “on schedule” is money

• If an activity started on or before its late start date (and/or finished by its late finish date), the project itself will not be delayed

• Activities started after their late start (or finished after late finish) will cause a delay in the project






• Contractors must determine whether it is to their benefit to recover from delays – Who is responsible for the delay?– Is it economically advantageous to recover lost days?

The issue of delay responsibility is related to whether the contractor is awarded, or is liable for, costs and additional time to complete the project






• The categories of responsibilities are as follows:– Owner (or agent) responsible: Contractor granted

time extension & additional costs—where warranted– Contractor/subcontractor responsible: Contractor

will not be granted time or costs—may have to pay damages/penalties

– Neither party responsible: Contractor will receive additional time to complete the project—but no costs will be granted and no damages/penalties assessed

– Both parties responsible: Contractor will receive additional time to complete the project—but no costs will be granted and no damages/penalties assessed





A recovery schedule is one developed subsequent to an update on the schedule, with the purpose of recovering lost timein a project schedule while minimizing

the cost of the project

Recovery Schedules





Recovery Schedules

• What is the difference between a recovery schedule and an updated schedule?– The updated schedule reflects the reality of the current

status of the project– No changes are made to logic or durations pertaining

to the activities that are yet to be completed– The recovery schedule reflects changes in the

uncompleted portion of the schedule





Recovery Schedules

• When is a recovery schedule needed?– When the scheduled completion date is extended

beyond the planned project completion date– When certain activities with positive float quickly lose

a large portion of the float• Might become critical or generate multiple critical paths

– The owner of the project might also direct an acceleration to deliver the project at an earlier date





Recovery Schedules

• Who initiates the recovery schedule?– The contractor who controls the schedule makes a

determination about the need for a recovery schedule– The owner may also request a recovery schedule to

have the contractor demonstrate how a completiondate will be met





The source of the motivation for the preparation of a recovery schedulecan have serious legal implications

Recovery Schedules





Recovery Schedules

• Contract documents may require a time impact analysis when an update schedule indicates completion date or interim milestone slippage

• The contractor, under common law principles, has a duty to mitigate delays to the schedule even if other parties are responsible for causing the delays





As-Built Schedules

• What is the purpose of as-built schedules?– The most widely recognized use is in the area of

claims, especially delay claims– Use of an as-built schedule of the entire duration of a

project may show variations from the original schedule were significant

– As-builts might be prepared to develop a clear historical record of a project





As-Built Schedules

Sample Network for an As-Built

Schedule

Sample Bar Chart for an As-Built

Schedule





As-built schedules are not prepared onmost projects, and circumstances

warranting their use vary considerably

A scheduler’s particular needs and creativity will determine the nature of as-builts to be

developed on specific projects

As-Built Schedules

CHAPTER ENDCHAPTER END

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Chapter 8 ppt.ppt