1、 Chen 1Chen TianningInstructor: Daniel MorganConstruction Project Planning21 May 2011Mid-term1. How is planning different from scheduling? What steps would you take in project planning to ensure that projects are completed satisfactorily and on time?Answer: Planning is to determine “what” activity w
2、ill be done, “who” will be working, “where” will be working at, and “how” to perform while scheduling is to determine “when” a task will be performed. Planning provides the direction of constructing a project while scheduling gives a specific time frame.1. Use Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) to defin
3、e activities without a lot of useless detail.2. Considering constraints, such as physical constraints, resource constraints, safety constraints and so forth, to order activities.3. Use precedence diagrams to draw a network diagram.4. Assign durations to activities with the consideration of labor cos
4、t, the use of historical data, or personal experience. Its possible for larger owners to develop automated algorithms.5. Assign resources and costs6. Calculate early and late start/finish times including float values7. Identify the critical path8. Schedule activity start/finish times2. Detail the us
5、e and importance of schedules in your daily life and for a construction project.Answer: In daily life, schedules made by the persons vision and ability. It could be made for everyday, every quarter, every year or even a whole life. Anyway, any phase of life. It partly shows who you are, how successf
6、ul you will be. It indicates which kind of life you will have. That is the importance of schedules in daily life I am thinking of. In the past, I was very competitive. I set a goal (usually the rank in the grade/class) for a semester, separated the semester into 4 sessions. Every session had a progr
7、essively forward goal. And then I separated every session into weeks, separated every week into days. I did pretty well in rising the rank. But as I aged, I found my vision was too narrow. I was only a good student, was only good at studying. I saw different aspects of society, different types of a
8、person could be, which disturbed me, confused me. I still chose to get further education, but to see the world, to find what I deeply want. Chen 2Get accepted2012/7GPA(No time worrying)Activity ATOEFL and GREKeep up with instructors processPrepare for TOEFL2011/7-2011/8/21Activity BRecommendation/Ex
9、perienceActivity DInternship2011/7YesPrepare for GRE2011/9-2012/6Activity CNoPrepare again2011/9-2012/12Work with professors2011/9-2012/1Prepare for GRE2012/1-2012/6Activity CInternship/Community Experience2012/2Work with professors2012/3-2012/6YesUS/GermanyNoGermanyActivity A, B/C, D are discrete a
10、ctivities, they can be addressed on their own time without limits from others. But there are dependencies between activity B and C. If B could not be finished on time, it will cut Cs time down to 6 months, and then will have a negative influence on the final result. The schedule will have a great im
11、pact on my early 20s education career, somewhat impact on my entire life.Chen 3For a construction project, as the bar chart shows in the textbook, figure 1.8, page 7, that is the use of schedules. It helps every party to know what they will do, when they will start/finish, and in turns what they are
12、 responsible for. It is easy for management to see the overall status of the project and interrelationships among activities. This can help construction progress under control and be finished on time.3. Detail specific project monitoring and control techniques. How are durations established for each
13、 activity?Answer: Monitoring techniques: 1. Photography. Taking pictures sequentially at regular intervals to record progress and provide documentation of work done. Using time-lapse and digital photography could be more accurate. 2. Checkoff lists. It shows the status of each work item during a spe
14、cified time interval.3. Bar charts. Similar to checkoff lists. 4. Telephone/Letter/Visit. Obtain some information directly for some long-lead items.Control techniques: Find out who responsible for the delay and considerate economically advantages of recover lost days. Owner responsible: more money a
15、nd timeContractor responsible: may pay penaltiesNeither party responsible: more timeBoth parties responsible: more timeNo matter whose responsibility is, only if it is economically advantageous to recover lost days, subsequent activities will need to be rescheduled. On the other hand, if it is not,
16、the construction progress should not recover from the delay.Durations: Normally, a significant activity needs to be analyzed in detail while a small tasks duration can be determined with a limited evaluation. Step1. Estimate the quantity take-offStep2. Select production rates. It could be achieved f
17、rom the budget. Production rateCost rate Labor cost Budgeted cost QuantityAlso, it could be achieved from reference guides (historical data) directly.Chen 4Step3. Calculate forming time. Forming time = production rate * quantityStep4. Consider float value. Use Table 4.3 (textbook page 52-53) The dur
18、ation depends on what percentage confidence is used. Step5. Add transition time among activities.4. Set up an activity list to build a freeway overpass and show a bar chart diagram reflecting the sequence.Answer: The activity list: MobilizationStock materialsCleaning and grubbingDig footings, rebar
19、and concreteForm slab, rebar and concreteErect piersGrading and alignmentLandscape Final inspection and cleanupChen 55. Discuss contract provisions that you would deem important from an owners perspective that would keep contractors progressing forward on their project.Answer:Time of completionTime
20、is the essence of schedule. This provision states the beginning date and the completion time is permitted. It motivates contractor to implement the schedule everyday.Damages for late completionThis provision reminds the contractor if the activity is late for complete, he has to pay the owner. If the
21、 payment is considerable, the contractor will definitely keep forwarding on his project. Avoidable delaysThis provision informs what kind of delays they will be responsible for. Let contractors know that no excuse for negligent, indolent and limitless spending. Requirements for project coordination
22、and CooperationMake different parties works well together. Unavoidable delays and Extension of timeThese provisions show that the owner understands some delays are unavoidable and contractors could get extension of time. Constructors do not need to be over worried. They can progress forward on the new schedule.Substantial completionThis provision shows the owner approve of the contractors work done, gives them inspiration to keep forwarding.
