Frequently Asked Questions

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What is CPM Scheduling? CPM is an anacronym for Critical Path Method. Therefore, CPM Scheduling is a method of scheduling. By nature, the word method implies a systematic process or procedure for attaining an objective, in this case a schedule. The concept breaks down a project into manageable parts or activities and organizes these parts through a work breakdown structure. Once broken down, the activities are assigned quantifiable data and assigned relationships to each other forming a network. Through forward and backward pass calculations, the longest path of events through the network is identified (Critical Path), and a schedule is produced. Controlling the network paths controls the duration of the project, and assists in management thereof.

How does CPM Scheduling benefit my project?
• Provides a roadmap to keep the project on time
• Improved Project Control (Proactive vs. Reactive)
• Early Design Problem Recognition
• Forces Accountability
• Improved Communication
• Builds Trust between all parties.
• Monitors Resource & Cost Control
• Early Delay/Problem Detection and Mitigation
• Forces and invested interest in the project
• Increases Profit

When should scheduling begin? CPM Scheduling should begin as soon as a project becomes a viable goal for the owner. Scheduling is not limited to just the contractors, and has proven extremely beneficial in the design and award processes. Scheduling this early presents realistic expectations, identifies pitfalls, and eliminates the construction squeeze. This maximizes the efficiency of the construction cost curve and saves the owner capital.

How much should I budget for Scheduling? This question is dependent upon the nature of the project, but it should be understood that an effective schedule actually saves the project costs above and beyond the expense of a schedule program. Our website calculator can assist in estimating the cost of an effective schedule. Although there are exceptions, in general terms, owners should plan on .0045% of the project budget towards schedule development and maintenance. Any schedule programs that cost significantly less are usually presented by those fly-by-nights who subscribe to mediocrity and present ineffective schedules for the purpose of satisfying the contract documents.

Am I obligated to schedule? The answer is most likely yes! The general conditions of the AIA contract between owner and contractor actually requires scheduling and coordination. This is usually found in Paragraph 7.

Should submittals be included in the Schedule? Without a doubt the answer is yes. Submittals very often impact the planned construction of the project, and sometimes drive the entire process. A take-off of the submittals located in the project specification should be done as soon as the contractor is awarded the project or scheduling begins. Each specification section includes submittals and each of these should be included in the schedule as separate activities. Furthermore, each submittal should have a related activity for receipt of the submittal from the responsible party, submittal and approval, and release of the material in question for procurement. In so doing, the CPM schedule serves as a submittal log, but does not eliminate the need for a spreadsheet submittal log.

How often should the schedule be updated? As a general rule, the schedule should be updated every two weeks with exceptions for planned periods of project inactivity. Many specifications require monthly updating, but there are inherent flaws with this. Monthly updating often times does not provide proper notification of issues, and is reactive. Since so much can change in a month, bi-weekly updating offers a better means of proactive project control. The cost trade-off between monthly and bi-weekly updating is not linear and more value is realized through bi-weekly updating.

What information is needed for an update? Absent cost and resource loading, there are three key ingredients to schedule updating. Actual Start, Actual Finish, and Remaining Duration. This information needs to be provided by the responsible parties, for each activity to be statused during the update period. The art of effective scheduling involves logic revisions and this can be considered the wooden spoon of the recipe. How effective the scheduler is in capturing the actual conditions of the project through logic revisions determines the accuracy of the update.

What is a Time-scaled Logic Diagram? The Time-scaled Logic Diagram is a graphical representation of the network spread over time. It not only shows the activities spread over time, but shows the interdependencies between the activities. This is probably the single most useful tool to a project, but unfortunately is being overlooked by the program developers. At Scheduling Systems, we still subscribe to the art of the Time-scaled Logic Diagram.

What should be done in case of delay? It is not so much what should be done, but how prepared am I when the delay comes...and it will. How one manages the issue determines how much impact is caused and if the project will overrun both its time and cost budgets. Almost 100% of the time a project is in trouble because of poor design, unrealistic expectations, a contract set-up to fail, and lack of an effective schedule. All of the risk is greatly mitigated with the development of a meaningful baseline schedule and persistent and regular updating. If the nature of the delay is critical, the first step is to perform a schedule update the day of the incident. In this manner a before picture is documented and can be compared to the post delay update. This windows approach allows for an apples to apples comparison and a delay fragnet/analysis can be produced. In all cases, superior documentation through schedule, daily reports, pictures, and meeting minutes is a must.