Building an Office Tower: How Project Planning and Scheduling Can Improve Efficiency
Without well-conceived project planning and scheduling, large scale construction projects – like office towers – are more likely to fail, if not constantly plagued with delays and risks.
A result of this can be an increase in costs, misunderstandings among the parties involved, and even litigation.
The reality is that construction delays and risks are part of any project (regardless of size). The rational approach is to use a detailed project management planning and scheduling plan to create a more efficient and fluid transition between tasks and have each stakeholder on the same page from start to completion of your project.
This article will discuss the importance of having a project management planning and scheduling system and how it can drastically improve your office tower project’s overall efficiency and success.
Why is Construction Project Planning and Scheduling important?
Project management planning and scheduling are the processes of determining and implementing procedures, processes, and policies that are highly relevant to completing a project’s goals.
A highly experienced planning and scheduling firm can quickly pinpoint and minimise risks associated with your project, allocate needed equipment, labour, and materials required and effectively communicate all of this to each party involved to increase workflow efficiency.
Planning and scheduling industry leaders are masters in using construction project management software to analyse and forecast construction time, scope, cost and quality.
They can provide you with a highly detailed workflow chart and calendar schedule which specifies every task for your project baseline based on the collected data.
Then, each member of your project team can easily monitor all of the happenings on the project on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. To achieve the highest output and efficiency, you must tweak these elements to your satisfaction.
The bottom line is, you need to keep in mind that though we casually lump project planning and scheduling together, both are entirely different systems – each with its own parameters and methodologies.
So with that in mind, here’s a more in-depth description of each system.
What is Construction Project Planning?
The primary purpose of project planning and project management software is to pinpoint critical parts of a construction project and segregate them into an actionable and realistic system.
In layman’s terms, it is a development plan for the entire construction project.
While each construction project does indeed have some sort of planning before it starts, high profile projects like office towers need a more specialised planning system that tackles every aspect of its construction process down to the tiniest detail.
Below are the baseline goals of a typical construction project plan:
Since a project plan functions as a benchmark from where the project completion timeline and project cost estimate are derived, it needs to be comprehensive.
A professional project planner is also an expert in using modern technologies, like project management software, as well as have the project management skills to assess labour and material cost and schedule construction tasks in a method that makes sense, cost-efficient and without sacrificing work quality.
Consequences of not having a Project Plan
Objectively speaking, it is pretty tricky to predict the exact consequences of a project that does not have a project plan.
Generally speaking, these are the most common issues that a construction project might encounter without adequate, professional project planning.
These are some of the project performance issues of not including a project plan during the planning process.
Fluctuating budget/project costs
Not having a comprehensive project plan means that there is no way to develop a fixed budget for the project accurately.
Keep in mind that a well-thought project plan details all the resources and labour required to complete a project. For example, the exact number of workers needed to complete a task, how many of those workers need to be specialist tradespeople, and how long will it take them to complete a task.
A project plan will detail what specific equipment and materials are needed to complete a task on the resource side of things.
Without a project plan, all the things we just mentioned will fall under “guesstimates”, forcing your budget to fluctuate depending on the needs of a given task.
Fluctuating project schedules
A construction project without a detailed project plan will inevitably suffer from fluctuations in its schedule. Ultimately, this translates to a higher level of project risk, which results in a delay in completion.
Once this happens, you as project owner will worry about the additional operational cost and deal with the potential of misunderstandings between you and team members, contractors, and vendors.
These misunderstandings can sometimes even escalate to legal battles that will cost you more money and further delays to what is already a behind schedule construction project.
Without a comprehensive construction plan, project managers won’t be in a position to identify the essential tasks, efficiently sequence said tasks, and develop a realistic completion date for each.
And since delays are a given during construction, much more for office tower projects, managers won’t be able to include needed buffers into a project’s timeframe as well – again increasing the chances of not hitting completion targets.
What is Construction Project Scheduling?
The goal of having a construction project schedule is to have it represent and describe how a contractor plans to create the work scope of a project.
Said “work scope” pertains to how long the project will take, what work activities are required, and how to sequence them efficiently.
A construction schedule can be a graphic (including charts or a CPM – Critical Path Method – schedule, which we will talk about later) or written (detailed description) representation. It should include predictions based on the contract.
Hiring a professional project scheduling firm means that you are leveraging a group of individuals who understand construction methods entirely – along with mastery of scheduling software like Asta Powerproject, Microsoft Project or Primavera.
Also, your project scheduler will work closely with your project manager (and other vital individuals) to make sure that the processes they picked get implemented correctly and efficiently.
A project scheduling plan can be used to:
What is Critical Path Method (CPM) Scheduling?
Critical Path Method is the most common of all scheduling techniques in construction. The approach entails depicting a construction plan referred to as a “network”. A network includes logical relationships and activities used to ascertain the sequence of the entire construction project.
The wide use of a CPM on construction projects stems from the fact that the system allows a professional project scheduler to model the project’s contractual and physical constraints or limitations.
In the case of building an office tower, a project scheduler can use the CPM system to identify the contractual and physical constraints, including environmental restrictions or work done during the given period.
It also allows the project scheduler to advise teams, or a team member, to prioritise specific uncompleted tasks based on the activity’s total value. It’s also great for re-assign resources where it is most efficient.
Plus, it also used to:
The CPM system is more comprehensive compared to a bar chart. And is the go-to system for seasoned construction project scheduling firms like RPMS.
How do Project Planning and Scheduling increase efficiency?
If done by a professional, a project planning and scheduling system, along with the effective use of project management software, can lower construction cost, boost the entire workforce’s productivity, allocate resources more efficiently, and help improve the quality of work.
Regardless of industry and scale, going with a “just wing it” approach often ends up short of expectation.
And for high profile construction projects like office towers, this could potentially translate to higher costs, countless delays, and arguments that could end up in court.
As the project owner, you don’t want any of that. And from a business standpoint, that’s just bad business practice.
Here are some examples of how project planning and scheduling can help increase efficiency.
It can be used as a benchmark to measure success
As mentioned before, a construction project has a lot of moving parts. And for your project to progress smoothly, all of those parts must move as one efficient unit. The problem, though, is that all those parts have multiple smaller pieces associated with them.
Put them all together, and a project without a planning and scheduling system can easily get overwhelmed. And once this happens, risks increase, delays happen, and construction cost goes up.
Having a planning and scheduling system in place effectively breaks down larger projects into more manageable ones with realistic timelines – making it easier to monitor how successful its trajectory is.
Consequently, managers can pinpoint potential risks and swiftly implement solutions before they materialise into delays.
Without this benchmarking that a planning and scheduling system provides, a task can easily deviate in scope and mess up the completion timeline – and cost – of your construction project.
It establishes a timeframe and sequence for the entire project
Construction projects have multiple phases on top of one another. And these need to be completed in a specific order to ensure project efficiency.
If just one of these steps or phases is not sequenced correctly, the whole project could come crashing down – figuratively speaking.
Having a planning and scheduling system keeps things coordinated and in order.
It maximises the use of resources, labour and time
It is not enough, especially for projects as big as office towers, to schedule things based on rationality.
Regardless of if this is not your first office tower project, there are just way too many moving parts to rely on experience or gut feel.
High profile construction projects need to have a systematic system that factors in even the most minor project task.
For example, without a planning and scheduling system, how would you know if you’re allocating way too many workers on a task or not?
Through a detailed planning and scheduling system, the allocation of resources is mapped out and scheduled so that senior project members can allocate resources more effectively.
Therefore, increasing the probability of project milestones being met while not diverting resources from other projects is exceptionally beneficial.
It allows the development of contingencies
We have always said that construction delays are inevitable. Even with the high standards we have set at RPMS, we still sometimes find ourselves mitigating construction risks and resolving uncertainties.
Without our experience in creating planning and scheduling systems, we would have found ourselves in a far worse situation.
Having a planning and scheduling system allows you to prepare for any eventuality. Regardless of whether a contractor cannot deliver resources on time, a worker strike, or weather-related issues, you can always go back to your planning and scheduling plan and implement a solution to the problem.
Contingencies are your plan B, C, D, E, etc. It can be as simple as having backup equipment in case something breaks down or having another vendor on your contact list if the one you’re currently using starts to become a liability.
A planning and scheduling system allows you to have ready contingencies and address construction issues quickly before it escalates.
It can improve turnaround time
In the construction industry, a faster project completion means a lower cost for the project owner.
Yes, we agree that completion speed takes a back seat to quality, but that’s a topic for another article. For this topic, though, having a planning and scheduling system allows you and your team to orchestrate your project’s workflow carefully.
Think of a planning and scheduling system as a navigation app that tells you what road to take to avoid getting caught in traffic.
We mean that having a planning and scheduling system ensures that every hour (even if it’s downtime) is planned for and works to hasten the completion of a project.
It places everyone on the same page
From the project manager to the person mixing cement, each member of your team needs to be on the same page. Only in this way can things run smoothly and efficiently.
A planning and scheduling system provides a template that everyone abides to.
How many bags of cement do we need to have on-site by next week? How many workers do we need working on this specific task? How much money do we need to purchase stocks and pay wages? When are we expected to complete the project?
An organised and thorough planning and scheduling process can provide answers to all of these questions.
It allows project managers to delegate tasks more efficiently, while workers are able to know what they should be doing today and what they need to do tomorrow.
A planning and scheduling system allows everyone to function as one, which undoubtedly improves overall efficiency and productivity.
Are all construction project planners and schedulers equal in skillset?
Technically, the skillsets between a project planner and scheduler overlap. But each has specific skill sets and characteristics that are unique to their roles as well.
To fully understand the difference in skillset between the two, you need to understand the exact scope of their work and how they contribute to the project’s overall success.
Schedulers
A project scheduler’s role changes as the construction project move forward from conceptualisation to the “work in progress” stage.
These are:
Specific skill sets associated with the successful execution of the three stages above entails:
Planners
A project planner requires him/her to take on a leadership role that can point project managers in the right direction.
A good project planner should be able to:
We at RPMS have a team of professional project management planners and schedulers that have worked on countless high profile projects within our years of operation.
We are experts in using construction project management software to provide our clients with highly detailed and comprehensive planning and scheduling systems that:
If you have an upcoming office tower or any high profile construction projects in the pipeline, send us an email and ask how we can help streamline the efficiency of your construction project.
Building an Office Tower: How Project Planning and Scheduling Can Improve Efficiency
Without well-conceived project planning and scheduling, large scale construction projects – like office towers – are more likely to fail, if not constantly plagued with delays and risks.
A result of this can be an increase in costs, misunderstandings among the parties involved, and even litigation.
The reality is that construction delays and risks are part of any project (regardless of size). The rational approach is to use a detailed project management planning and scheduling plan to create a more efficient and fluid transition between tasks and have each stakeholder on the same page from start to completion of your project.
This article will discuss the importance of having a project management planning and scheduling system and how it can drastically improve your office tower project’s overall efficiency and success.
Why is Construction Project Planning and Scheduling important?
Project management planning and scheduling are the processes of determining and implementing procedures, processes, and policies that are highly relevant to completing a project’s goals.
A highly experienced planning and scheduling firm can quickly pinpoint and minimise risks associated with your project, allocate needed equipment, labour, and materials required and effectively communicate all of this to each party involved to increase workflow efficiency.
Planning and scheduling industry leaders are masters in using construction project management software to analyse and forecast construction time, scope, cost and quality.
They can provide you with a highly detailed workflow chart and calendar schedule which specifies every task for your project baseline based on the collected data.
Then, each member of your project team can easily monitor all of the happenings on the project on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. To achieve the highest output and efficiency, you must tweak these elements to your satisfaction.
The bottom line is, you need to keep in mind that though we casually lump project planning and scheduling together, both are entirely different systems – each with its own parameters and methodologies.
So with that in mind, here’s a more in-depth description of each system.
What is Construction Project Planning?
The primary purpose of project planning and project management software is to pinpoint critical parts of a construction project and segregate them into an actionable and realistic system.
In layman’s terms, it is a development plan for the entire construction project.
While each construction project does indeed have some sort of planning before it starts, high profile projects like office towers need a more specialised planning system that tackles every aspect of its construction process down to the tiniest detail.
Below are the baseline goals of a typical construction project plan:
Since a project plan functions as a benchmark from where the project completion timeline and project cost estimate are derived, it needs to be comprehensive.
A professional project planner is also an expert in using modern technologies, like project management software, as well as have the project management skills to assess labour and material cost and schedule construction tasks in a method that makes sense, cost-efficient and without sacrificing work quality.
Consequences of not having a Project Plan
Objectively speaking, it is pretty tricky to predict the exact consequences of a project that does not have a project plan.
Generally speaking, these are the most common issues that a construction project might encounter without adequate, professional project planning.
These are some of the project performance issues of not including a project plan during the planning process.
Fluctuating budget/project costs
Not having a comprehensive project plan means that there is no way to develop a fixed budget for the project accurately.
Keep in mind that a well-thought project plan details all the resources and labour required to complete a project. For example, the exact number of workers needed to complete a task, how many of those workers need to be specialist tradespeople, and how long will it take them to complete a task.
A project plan will detail what specific equipment and materials are needed to complete a task on the resource side of things.
Without a project plan, all the things we just mentioned will fall under “guesstimates”, forcing your budget to fluctuate depending on the needs of a given task.
Fluctuating project schedules
A construction project without a detailed project plan will inevitably suffer from fluctuations in its schedule. Ultimately, this translates to a higher level of project risk, which results in a delay in completion.
Once this happens, you as project owner will worry about the additional operational cost and deal with the potential of misunderstandings between you and team members, contractors, and vendors.
These misunderstandings can sometimes even escalate to legal battles that will cost you more money and further delays to what is already a behind schedule construction project.
Without a comprehensive construction plan, project managers won’t be in a position to identify the essential tasks, efficiently sequence said tasks, and develop a realistic completion date for each.
And since delays are a given during construction, much more for office tower projects, managers won’t be able to include needed buffers into a project’s timeframe as well – again increasing the chances of not hitting completion targets.
What is Construction Project Scheduling?
The goal of having a construction project schedule is to have it represent and describe how a contractor plans to create the work scope of a project.
Said “work scope” pertains to how long the project will take, what work activities are required, and how to sequence them efficiently.
A construction schedule can be a graphic (including charts or a CPM – Critical Path Method – schedule, which we will talk about later) or written (detailed description) representation. It should include predictions based on the contract.
Hiring a professional project scheduling firm means that you are leveraging a group of individuals who understand construction methods entirely – along with mastery of scheduling software like Asta Powerproject, Microsoft Project or Primavera.
Also, your project scheduler will work closely with your project manager (and other vital individuals) to make sure that the processes they picked get implemented correctly and efficiently.
A project scheduling plan can be used to:
What is Critical Path Method (CPM) Scheduling?
Critical Path Method is the most common of all scheduling techniques in construction. The approach entails depicting a construction plan referred to as a “network”. A network includes logical relationships and activities used to ascertain the sequence of the entire construction project.
The wide use of a CPM on construction projects stems from the fact that the system allows a professional project scheduler to model the project’s contractual and physical constraints or limitations.
In the case of building an office tower, a project scheduler can use the CPM system to identify the contractual and physical constraints, including environmental restrictions or work done during the given period.
It also allows the project scheduler to advise teams, or a team member, to prioritise specific uncompleted tasks based on the activity’s total value. It’s also great for re-assign resources where it is most efficient.
Plus, it also used to:
The CPM system is more comprehensive compared to a bar chart. And is the go-to system for seasoned construction project scheduling firms like RPMS.
How do Project Planning and Scheduling increase efficiency?
If done by a professional, a project planning and scheduling system, along with the effective use of project management software, can lower construction cost, boost the entire workforce’s productivity, allocate resources more efficiently, and help improve the quality of work.
Regardless of industry and scale, going with a “just wing it” approach often ends up short of expectation.
And for high profile construction projects like office towers, this could potentially translate to higher costs, countless delays, and arguments that could end up in court.
As the project owner, you don’t want any of that. And from a business standpoint, that’s just bad business practice.
Here are some examples of how project planning and scheduling can help increase efficiency.
It can be used as a benchmark to measure success
As mentioned before, a construction project has a lot of moving parts. And for your project to progress smoothly, all of those parts must move as one efficient unit. The problem, though, is that all those parts have multiple smaller pieces associated with them.
Put them all together, and a project without a planning and scheduling system can easily get overwhelmed. And once this happens, risks increase, delays happen, and construction cost goes up.
Having a planning and scheduling system in place effectively breaks down larger projects into more manageable ones with realistic timelines – making it easier to monitor how successful its trajectory is.
Consequently, managers can pinpoint potential risks and swiftly implement solutions before they materialise into delays.
Without this benchmarking that a planning and scheduling system provides, a task can easily deviate in scope and mess up the completion timeline – and cost – of your construction project.
It establishes a timeframe and sequence for the entire project
Construction projects have multiple phases on top of one another. And these need to be completed in a specific order to ensure project efficiency.
If just one of these steps or phases is not sequenced correctly, the whole project could come crashing down – figuratively speaking.
Having a planning and scheduling system keeps things coordinated and in order.
It maximises the use of resources, labour and time
It is not enough, especially for projects as big as office towers, to schedule things based on rationality.
Regardless of if this is not your first office tower project, there are just way too many moving parts to rely on experience or gut feel.
High profile construction projects need to have a systematic system that factors in even the most minor project task.
For example, without a planning and scheduling system, how would you know if you’re allocating way too many workers on a task or not?
Through a detailed planning and scheduling system, the allocation of resources is mapped out and scheduled so that senior project members can allocate resources more effectively.
Therefore, increasing the probability of project milestones being met while not diverting resources from other projects is exceptionally beneficial.
It allows the development of contingencies
We have always said that construction delays are inevitable. Even with the high standards we have set at RPMS, we still sometimes find ourselves mitigating construction risks and resolving uncertainties.
Without our experience in creating planning and scheduling systems, we would have found ourselves in a far worse situation.
Having a planning and scheduling system allows you to prepare for any eventuality. Regardless of whether a contractor cannot deliver resources on time, a worker strike, or weather-related issues, you can always go back to your planning and scheduling plan and implement a solution to the problem.
Contingencies are your plan B, C, D, E, etc. It can be as simple as having backup equipment in case something breaks down or having another vendor on your contact list if the one you’re currently using starts to become a liability.
A planning and scheduling system allows you to have ready contingencies and address construction issues quickly before it escalates.
It can improve turnaround time
In the construction industry, a faster project completion means a lower cost for the project owner.
Yes, we agree that completion speed takes a back seat to quality, but that’s a topic for another article. For this topic, though, having a planning and scheduling system allows you and your team to orchestrate your project’s workflow carefully.
Think of a planning and scheduling system as a navigation app that tells you what road to take to avoid getting caught in traffic.
We mean that having a planning and scheduling system ensures that every hour (even if it’s downtime) is planned for and works to hasten the completion of a project.
It places everyone on the same page
From the project manager to the person mixing cement, each member of your team needs to be on the same page. Only in this way can things run smoothly and efficiently.
A planning and scheduling system provides a template that everyone abides to.
How many bags of cement do we need to have on-site by next week? How many workers do we need working on this specific task? How much money do we need to purchase stocks and pay wages? When are we expected to complete the project?
An organised and thorough planning and scheduling process can provide answers to all of these questions.
It allows project managers to delegate tasks more efficiently, while workers are able to know what they should be doing today and what they need to do tomorrow.
A planning and scheduling system allows everyone to function as one, which undoubtedly improves overall efficiency and productivity.
Are all construction project planners and schedulers equal in skillset?
Technically, the skillsets between a project planner and scheduler overlap. But each has specific skill sets and characteristics that are unique to their roles as well.
To fully understand the difference in skillset between the two, you need to understand the exact scope of their work and how they contribute to the project’s overall success.
Schedulers
A project scheduler’s role changes as the construction project move forward from conceptualisation to the “work in progress” stage.
These are:
Specific skill sets associated with the successful execution of the three stages above entails:
Planners
A project planner requires him/her to take on a leadership role that can point project managers in the right direction.
A good project planner should be able to:
We at RPMS have a team of professional project management planners and schedulers that have worked on countless high profile projects within our years of operation.
We are experts in using construction project management software to provide our clients with highly detailed and comprehensive planning and scheduling systems that:
If you have an upcoming office tower or any high profile construction projects in the pipeline, send us an email and ask how we can help streamline the efficiency of your construction project.
Building an Office Tower: How Project Planning and Scheduling Can Improve Efficiency
Without well-conceived project planning and scheduling, large scale construction projects – like office towers – are more likely to fail, if not constantly plagued with delays and risks.
A result of this can be an increase in costs, misunderstandings among the parties involved, and even litigation.
The reality is that construction delays and risks are part of any project (regardless of size). The rational approach is to use a detailed project management planning and scheduling plan to create a more efficient and fluid transition between tasks and have each stakeholder on the same page from start to completion of your project.
This article will discuss the importance of having a project management planning and scheduling system and how it can drastically improve your office tower project’s overall efficiency and success.
Why is Construction Project Planning and Scheduling important?
Project management planning and scheduling are the processes of determining and implementing procedures, processes, and policies that are highly relevant to completing a project’s goals.
A highly experienced planning and scheduling firm can quickly pinpoint and minimise risks associated with your project, allocate needed equipment, labour, and materials required and effectively communicate all of this to each party involved to increase workflow efficiency.
Planning and scheduling industry leaders are masters in using construction project management software to analyse and forecast construction time, scope, cost and quality.
They can provide you with a highly detailed workflow chart and calendar schedule which specifies every task for your project baseline based on the collected data.
Then, each member of your project team can easily monitor all of the happenings on the project on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. To achieve the highest output and efficiency, you must tweak these elements to your satisfaction.
The bottom line is, you need to keep in mind that though we casually lump project planning and scheduling together, both are entirely different systems – each with its own parameters and methodologies.
So with that in mind, here’s a more in-depth description of each system.
What is Construction Project Planning?
The primary purpose of project planning and project management software is to pinpoint critical parts of a construction project and segregate them into an actionable and realistic system.
In layman’s terms, it is a development plan for the entire construction project.
While each construction project does indeed have some sort of planning before it starts, high profile projects like office towers need a more specialised planning system that tackles every aspect of its construction process down to the tiniest detail.
Below are the baseline goals of a typical construction project plan:
Since a project plan functions as a benchmark from where the project completion timeline and project cost estimate are derived, it needs to be comprehensive.
A professional project planner is also an expert in using modern technologies, like project management software, as well as have the project management skills to assess labour and material cost and schedule construction tasks in a method that makes sense, cost-efficient and without sacrificing work quality.
Consequences of not having a Project Plan
Objectively speaking, it is pretty tricky to predict the exact consequences of a project that does not have a project plan.
Generally speaking, these are the most common issues that a construction project might encounter without adequate, professional project planning.
These are some of the project performance issues of not including a project plan during the planning process.
Fluctuating budget/project costs
Not having a comprehensive project plan means that there is no way to develop a fixed budget for the project accurately.
Keep in mind that a well-thought project plan details all the resources and labour required to complete a project. For example, the exact number of workers needed to complete a task, how many of those workers need to be specialist tradespeople, and how long will it take them to complete a task.
A project plan will detail what specific equipment and materials are needed to complete a task on the resource side of things.
Without a project plan, all the things we just mentioned will fall under “guesstimates”, forcing your budget to fluctuate depending on the needs of a given task.
Fluctuating project schedules
A construction project without a detailed project plan will inevitably suffer from fluctuations in its schedule. Ultimately, this translates to a higher level of project risk, which results in a delay in completion.
Once this happens, you as project owner will worry about the additional operational cost and deal with the potential of misunderstandings between you and team members, contractors, and vendors.
These misunderstandings can sometimes even escalate to legal battles that will cost you more money and further delays to what is already a behind schedule construction project.
Without a comprehensive construction plan, project managers won’t be in a position to identify the essential tasks, efficiently sequence said tasks, and develop a realistic completion date for each.
And since delays are a given during construction, much more for office tower projects, managers won’t be able to include needed buffers into a project’s timeframe as well – again increasing the chances of not hitting completion targets.
What is Construction Project Scheduling?
The goal of having a construction project schedule is to have it represent and describe how a contractor plans to create the work scope of a project.
Said “work scope” pertains to how long the project will take, what work activities are required, and how to sequence them efficiently.
A construction schedule can be a graphic (including charts or a CPM – Critical Path Method – schedule, which we will talk about later) or written (detailed description) representation. It should include predictions based on the contract.
Hiring a professional project scheduling firm means that you are leveraging a group of individuals who understand construction methods entirely – along with mastery of scheduling software like Asta Powerproject, Microsoft Project or Primavera.
Also, your project scheduler will work closely with your project manager (and other vital individuals) to make sure that the processes they picked get implemented correctly and efficiently.
A project scheduling plan can be used to:
What is Critical Path Method (CPM) Scheduling?
Critical Path Method is the most common of all scheduling techniques in construction. The approach entails depicting a construction plan referred to as a “network”. A network includes logical relationships and activities used to ascertain the sequence of the entire construction project.
The wide use of a CPM on construction projects stems from the fact that the system allows a professional project scheduler to model the project’s contractual and physical constraints or limitations.
In the case of building an office tower, a project scheduler can use the CPM system to identify the contractual and physical constraints, including environmental restrictions or work done during the given period.
It also allows the project scheduler to advise teams, or a team member, to prioritise specific uncompleted tasks based on the activity’s total value. It’s also great for re-assign resources where it is most efficient.
Plus, it also used to:
The CPM system is more comprehensive compared to a bar chart. And is the go-to system for seasoned construction project scheduling firms like RPMS.
How do Project Planning and Scheduling increase efficiency?
If done by a professional, a project planning and scheduling system, along with the effective use of project management software, can lower construction cost, boost the entire workforce’s productivity, allocate resources more efficiently, and help improve the quality of work.
Regardless of industry and scale, going with a “just wing it” approach often ends up short of expectation.
And for high profile construction projects like office towers, this could potentially translate to higher costs, countless delays, and arguments that could end up in court.
As the project owner, you don’t want any of that. And from a business standpoint, that’s just bad business practice.
Here are some examples of how project planning and scheduling can help increase efficiency.
It can be used as a benchmark to measure success
As mentioned before, a construction project has a lot of moving parts. And for your project to progress smoothly, all of those parts must move as one efficient unit. The problem, though, is that all those parts have multiple smaller pieces associated with them.
Put them all together, and a project without a planning and scheduling system can easily get overwhelmed. And once this happens, risks increase, delays happen, and construction cost goes up.
Having a planning and scheduling system in place effectively breaks down larger projects into more manageable ones with realistic timelines – making it easier to monitor how successful its trajectory is.
Consequently, managers can pinpoint potential risks and swiftly implement solutions before they materialise into delays.
Without this benchmarking that a planning and scheduling system provides, a task can easily deviate in scope and mess up the completion timeline – and cost – of your construction project.
It establishes a timeframe and sequence for the entire project
Construction projects have multiple phases on top of one another. And these need to be completed in a specific order to ensure project efficiency.
If just one of these steps or phases is not sequenced correctly, the whole project could come crashing down – figuratively speaking.
Having a planning and scheduling system keeps things coordinated and in order.
It maximises the use of resources, labour and time
It is not enough, especially for projects as big as office towers, to schedule things based on rationality.
Regardless of if this is not your first office tower project, there are just way too many moving parts to rely on experience or gut feel.
High profile construction projects need to have a systematic system that factors in even the most minor project task.
For example, without a planning and scheduling system, how would you know if you’re allocating way too many workers on a task or not?
Through a detailed planning and scheduling system, the allocation of resources is mapped out and scheduled so that senior project members can allocate resources more effectively.
Therefore, increasing the probability of project milestones being met while not diverting resources from other projects is exceptionally beneficial.
It allows the development of contingencies
We have always said that construction delays are inevitable. Even with the high standards we have set at RPMS, we still sometimes find ourselves mitigating construction risks and resolving uncertainties.
Without our experience in creating planning and scheduling systems, we would have found ourselves in a far worse situation.
Having a planning and scheduling system allows you to prepare for any eventuality. Regardless of whether a contractor cannot deliver resources on time, a worker strike, or weather-related issues, you can always go back to your planning and scheduling plan and implement a solution to the problem.
Contingencies are your plan B, C, D, E, etc. It can be as simple as having backup equipment in case something breaks down or having another vendor on your contact list if the one you’re currently using starts to become a liability.
A planning and scheduling system allows you to have ready contingencies and address construction issues quickly before it escalates.
It can improve turnaround time
In the construction industry, a faster project completion means a lower cost for the project owner.
Yes, we agree that completion speed takes a back seat to quality, but that’s a topic for another article. For this topic, though, having a planning and scheduling system allows you and your team to orchestrate your project’s workflow carefully.
Think of a planning and scheduling system as a navigation app that tells you what road to take to avoid getting caught in traffic.
We mean that having a planning and scheduling system ensures that every hour (even if it’s downtime) is planned for and works to hasten the completion of a project.
It places everyone on the same page
From the project manager to the person mixing cement, each member of your team needs to be on the same page. Only in this way can things run smoothly and efficiently.
A planning and scheduling system provides a template that everyone abides to.
How many bags of cement do we need to have on-site by next week? How many workers do we need working on this specific task? How much money do we need to purchase stocks and pay wages? When are we expected to complete the project?
An organised and thorough planning and scheduling process can provide answers to all of these questions.
It allows project managers to delegate tasks more efficiently, while workers are able to know what they should be doing today and what they need to do tomorrow.
A planning and scheduling system allows everyone to function as one, which undoubtedly improves overall efficiency and productivity.
Are all construction project planners and schedulers equal in skillset?
Technically, the skillsets between a project planner and scheduler overlap. But each has specific skill sets and characteristics that are unique to their roles as well.
To fully understand the difference in skillset between the two, you need to understand the exact scope of their work and how they contribute to the project’s overall success.
Schedulers
A project scheduler’s role changes as the construction project move forward from conceptualisation to the “work in progress” stage.
These are:
Specific skill sets associated with the successful execution of the three stages above entails:
Planners
A project planner requires him/her to take on a leadership role that can point project managers in the right direction.
A good project planner should be able to:
We at RPMS have a team of professional project management planners and schedulers that have worked on countless high profile projects within our years of operation.
We are experts in using construction project management software to provide our clients with highly detailed and comprehensive planning and scheduling systems that:
If you have an upcoming office tower or any high profile construction projects in the pipeline, send us an email and ask how we can help streamline the efficiency of your construction project.
