What is Schedule Analysis?

If AACE International’s Recommended Practice applied for Forensic Schedule Analysis (RP 29R-03) actively during project execution to address delays while they are happening. The CPM schedule is simply a time-scaled model of the project execution plan, and it must be kept up-to-date as the project scope and execution conditions develop. Otherwise, it is unlikely that the schedule will be a good model of what is happening in the engineering office or in the field.

Updating the schedule does not mean simply statusing it with actual dates and distributing a bar chart. Almost all CPM schedule updates include refinements to the plan that involve changes to logic, changes to activity durations, and activities that have been added or deleted. It is critical to identify and discuss these changes and quantify their impact to the overall plan. In doing this, the parties will develop an understanding as to whether the changes are appropriate refinements to address real execution conditions or inappropriate manipulation. In fact, clearly identifying the schedule analysis approach to all parties is the best way to minimize manipulation and refocus scheduling efforts on real mitigation to the benefit of all parties.

Despite the sportsmanship, manipulation, and claims analysis that is so often the focus of CPM scheduling in fact most owners simply want their projects executed on-budget and on-schedule without battling the other parties along the way. Similarly, Engineers and Contractors are in business to make money, and there is no better way to minimize risk and protect margins than by completing projects on time and within the authorized budget.

Very good explanation on Schedule analysis. Thanks for sharing this.

I would like firstly to express my deepest appreciation for  Tanveer for his valuable question and professional description and also for Joby for the good excellent observations concerning tracking ,monitoring and controlling the schedule of the construction project..

Secondly I would like also to add few facts on the subject. From the first step the planner will keep a keen eye on the overall result of the progect so as to be delivered successfuly on time within budget and to the specifications and expectations of the owner and all the stakeholders of the project.

The major contemporaneous forensic step is to make good analysis of the project levels and phases inorder to make good work breakdown structure (WBS) for the project with well identified phases by milestones which will act as points for evaluation and reviewing the execution process of the project.so here I can say that the well -defined mile stone will be of exclusive potential importance in the schedule analysis and monitoring.Also a well defined baselines for the project time schedule and the project cost will play major role in mitigation and manipulation of the progect schedule when issues and risks are likely to be expected during the execution process of the project.

The CPM is the good techinque that can be applied for the schedule analysis process inorder to adjust and managing the activites duration and relationships to achieve the requirements .The resources leveling also will be of potential help in managing the schedule analysis process.

This is what I think an important observation that can be added to the subject.

Thank you

Best regards

Eng. Ali Harin

Thanks alot

Thanks Tanveer for such a descriptive note on schedule analysis.

 

I totally agree with what you have said, but I have some questions too. By saying 'Schedule' is that the duration for the project completion? I don't have hands-on experience in Construction industry, but still trying to understand a few things here. 

Do we have shorter or bigger schedules, meaning are we breaking down the project duration into small parts and start tracking it on an iterative manner? or may be having many schedules based on different stages of the development?

 

For example lets consider that   Project Schedule for constructing a multistoreyed apartment =  schedule1 + schedule2 + schedule3 +....+ Schedule n.

It would be easier for us to track at the smaller schedules so that we will identify the defects and also the failure at the earliest.. and also will have a better understanding of how well the entire Project Schedule is shaping up.   When I constructed my house in2010, I asked my building contractor to give me phase by phase estimates. So there were estimates (cost and schedule) for Foundation work, structure work, Concreting of horizontal slabs, electrification, painting, etc etc.... . I was able to track my residence project in a much effective way and there were ocassions where I had to push the builder to accelerate on some of the areas during construction.

 

So in my view Schedule analysis is very much required, at very frequent intervals, and actions are to be planned based on the results. Its upto the project team to do it at a task level / phase level / project level. :-)   Thanks once again Tanveer for a wonderful thought!

 

Best Regards

Thanks

:) Excellently described, many thanks

Project schedule analysis is a needed action to identify facts, anomalies, and issues that can exist due to intentional or unintentional actions.  It can be performed by the contractor or the owner's representative.  Schedule analysis is used to verify compliance with the contract specification, logical sequence between activities, and overall schedule coherence.

Excellent thought by Mr tanveer

Schedule Risk Analysis (SRA) is a simple yet effective technique to connect the risk information of project activities to the baseline schedule, in order to provide sensitivity information of individual project activities to assess the potential impact of uncertainty on the final project duration and cost.   Since estimates about activity time and cost are predictions for the future and human beings often tend to be overly optimistic or, on the contrary, often add some reserve safety to protect themselves against unexpected events, knowledge about the potential impact of these estimation errors on the project objective is a key add-on to the construction of a project’s baseline schedule