Project Planning and Scheduling in Construction Project Management (2024)

One of the most important aspects of scheduling in construction project management is making sure that projects are finished on schedule and within budget. Planning, coordinating, and carrying out activities with great care are all necessary for effective scheduling, which aids in resource management, downtime reduction, and delay minimization.

Construction project managers can anticipate problems, deploy resources effectively, and keep a consistent workflow by using strong scheduling procedures. This leads to excellent project outcomes by increasing productivity and improving communication between team members and stakeholders.

What does Scheduling in Construction Project Management Mean?

The process by which a construction company plots out precisely what will happen during a project, what resources are needed, when important activities will take place, which staff will be involved, and everything else relevant to the project is known as construction planning and scheduling. This is the crucial procedure that lays the foundation for a building project; if not enough effort is put into it, unanticipated challenges would probably cause the project to fail.

Making a comprehensive timetable that specifies when particular tasks and activities will be carried out over the course of the project is necessary for scheduling in construction project management. Project managers assign resources, create task dependencies, and set milestones with the aid of scheduling with construction management software.

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Why are Planning and Scheduling Crucial in Construction?

Three main factors make scheduling in construction project management essential:

1. Preventing Budget Overruns

A construction manager is usually troubled by budget overruns since they result in disgruntled clients and declining profit margins. You can accurately predict costs and prepare your budget if you put in enough work beforehand to plan the job. You’ll also recognize areas where money can be saved.

2. Avoiding Delays

The enemy of any building project is delays. Thankfully, the majority can be avoided, but only with careful preparation in advance. You can prevent overpromising and underdelivering to a client and set reasonable timelines by putting a lot of effort into scheduling in construction project management.

3. Identifying Hidden Risks

Every building project has some level of risk. This might be dangers to the well-being of your team, possible issues with permits, or a subcontractor that failed to show up when you needed them to.

Carefully scheduling in construction project management every externality that might have an impact on the project will enable a construction manager to recognize these possible risks and take proactive steps to prevent them or, in the case that they do arise, to develop a strategy for mitigation.

The Construction Life Cycle’s Five Phases

Building projects are intricate. Scheduling in construction project management can be strengthened by dividing a construction project into significant checkpoints. The building life cycle consists of approximately five phases, though occasionally there may be as few as four or as many as seven.

1. Project Beginning: First, the project is specified and given a scope. When the client presents their idea to you, you assess its feasibility and associated costs. At this stage, you will assemble an excellent team and begin compiling a resource list.
2. Planning a Project: You’ll create a more thorough strategy that addresses every aspect of the task. You’ll also develop a budget and schedule. In this stage, you will delve into the project’s specifics and possibly run across any underlying issues.
3. Building Construction: The plan will be carried out by your team, and hopefully everything will happen on time. If you are unable to be present in person, you can track your employees’ whereabouts and duties in real time by using an app.
4. Post-Construction: You and the client will conduct a review once the project is finished. It’s probable that you’ll run across problems or reworks at this point. Fewer reworks result from better scheduling in construction project management.
5. Closed out Business: In this last stage, you ensure that all the paperwork is completed and any loose ends are secured. Now that the project is finished, you can go on to the next one.

You may greatly simplify the scheduling in construction project management process by segmenting your project into three stages.

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The Most Often Used Techniques for Construction Planning and Scheduling

You have a wide range of options for organizing and scheduling your building job. You probably know as a project manager that these may be as basic as they can be extremely complex.

1. Precedence Diagramming Method (PDM)

Similar to CPM, the Precedence Diagramming Method is a network-based scheduling method. But PDM is more adaptable than CPM, and it works with any kind of project. Since its development in the 1970s, PDM has grown to be one of the most widely used scheduling techniques.

2. Critical Path Method (CPM)

In the construction business, one of the most widely used scheduling in construction project management techniques is the Critical Path Method. CPM is a network-based scheduling method that starts by determining a project’s critical path. The longest set of tasks that must be accomplished in order for the project to be completed on schedule is known as the critical path.

4. Program Evaluation Review Technique (PERT)

PERT, like CPM and PDM, is a network-based scheduling method. PERT was created in the 1950s for the Polaris missile program of the US Navy. Large projects are the ideal fit for PERT scheduling, which is a more sophisticated method.

3. Gantt Charts

Because of its popularity in the construction industry, Gantt charts are a kind of bar chart that illustrates the links between tasks. Although they may be used for any size project, Gantt charts are particularly helpful for larger projects. To create a Gantt chart, you must be familiar with a project management suite.

Conclusion

The timely and successful completion of construction projects depends on effective scheduling in construction project management. Construction managers may assure efficient resource allocation, eliminate delays, and increase overall productivity by utilizing tried-and-true scheduling approaches and technologies. Additionally, organized timetables improve stakeholder and team communication and coordination, creating a cooperative atmosphere that is essential to project success.

Using advanced scheduling in construction project management techniques will be crucial to managing complicated projects and satisfying customer expectations as the construction industry develops. Construction professionals may preserve their competitive advantage in the market and improve project outcomes by giving scheduling top priority.

Resources:

WorkYard | Fool | HubStaff | LetsBuild | ProjectManager

For all the pictures: Freepik