Construction Scheduling

The date that a built facility is ready for intended use is called __________.

Substantial completion

The critical path of a schedule is composed of the following elements (select all that apply)

*Activities with Total Float = 0 * Those tasks which reflect the longest path to complete a project Response Feedback: Critical path is the longest path in the project schedule network, and it consists of activities with a total float of 0.

An activity's normal duration and crash duration are 10 days and 5 days respectively. And its normal cost and crash cost are $2,000 and $3,500 respectively. The cost slope for this activity is $________/day.

300

When a critical activity duration is compressed, it will never change the critical path of the project.

False

A critical activity is an activity with zero free float.

False Response Feedback: Critical activity is an activity with zero TOTAL float, not FREE float. Some non-critical activities can have zero free float but non-zero total float.

A typical construction scheduler is expected to work independently in determining activities involved in a project and their duration estimates.

False Response Feedback: In fact, a construction scheduler must collaborate with the construction team (e.g. experience superintendent, PM, material supplier ...) to define exact activities involved in a project, their sequence, and the duration needed. This will helps to create reliable schedule, and improve buy-in from the field personnel.

A steel subcontractor intends to mobilize and start their work as late as possible due to the shortage of field storage space. Which of the following information answer the contractor's question about its intended start and completion time?

LS and LF

What are the basic principles for managing projects?

Plan/ Schedule, Execute, Monitor and control

A crew laid 1,200 bricks in six hours. Assume a regular 8 hour per day. The daily output (bricks/day) of the crew will fall in which of the following range?

between 1500 and 1800

A welding crew consists of 1 welder, 1 helper, and 1 welding machine. This crew has an output of 20 DI/day schedule 80. Calculate the estimated duration for welding 70 carbon steel joints of 10" diameter schedule 80 using this crew

35 days Response Feedback: 70 x 10 = 700, then 700/20 = 35 days

Which of the following are considered SCHEDULING effort? Select all that apply.

*Sequence activities *Determine task duration Response Feedback: Scheduling is the determination of the timing and sequence of operations in the project and their assembly to give the overall completion time, including determine task duration, sequence task, and develop a schedule (e.g. in bar chart)

A project has a limited supply of electricians, a maximum of 12 electricians are available on any given day. The work schedule is a regular 5 day workweek, 8 hrs per day. Therefore, the "Max. man-hours/day" for the electrician resource is _________.

96

A pipe-fitting work requires a crew of 4 workers for 4 days. The work schedule is a regular 5-day workweek, 8 hrs per day. What is the budgeted units (i.e. Man-hours) for this activity in P6?

128

What is not an input during the "define to do list" process?

Activity list Response Feedback: The activity list is the main output of the "define to do list" process, together with supporting details, and WBS updates. All the other options are inputs to the "define to do list" process.

Which of the following contract documents describes primarily the rights and obligations of project parties in a construction project?

Agreement forms & conditions Response Feedback: Forms and conditions describes the rights & obligations of the parties. Drawing is a portray of the structure to be built. Bidding documents describes the project scope, bidding requirements and procedure. Specification describes the qualities of materials & workmanship.

Which of the following information is/are typically required when determining the duration of a construction activity (e.g. excavation)?

All of the above Response Feedback: Productivity rate and work quantity are both needed to calculate activity duration

Characteristically, a project is

All of the above Response Feedback: A project by definition is a temporary undertaking to create a unique product, service, or result. "Temporary" means the project has a definite beginning and end. Its duration is specific and finite. "Unique" is an important characteristic of project deliverables. The presence of repetitive elements does not alter the fundamental uniqueness of project works. "Progressive elaboration" means to develop by steps and to continue incrementally progressive elaboration, then, is a step-by-step process where ideas are developed and incrementally expounded on and detailed.

While the T&C's (Terms and conditions) are agreed by the legal department, the owner can issue a ________ to the contractor in order to start the project.

Any of the above Response Feedback: : NTP (Notice to Proceed) or LOA (Letter of Award) are documents issued to the contractor by the owner to allow starts the project, and don't wait until the final contract is signed off.

Which type of CPM calculations determines the activity late start and late finish time?

CPM backward calculation

Your Company won a contract that includes the installation of a centrifugal compressor driven by a 30,000 HP electric motor. Your company never has installed a compressor of this characteristic before, and you don't have any historical data to estimate how long it will take to install the compressor. What will you do? Pick the best option below:

Call the fabricator of the compressor for guidance Response Feedback: Call the fabricator of the compressor for guidance falls into the expert judgment category of tools and techniques for activity duration estimating. Durations are often difficult to estimate because of the number of factors that can influence them (e.g., resources level, productivity, complexity). Expert judgment guided by historical information should be used whenever possible. Estimating duration without any historical information has certain level of risk

The key technique that contributed to the success of the "C. C. Myers" project discussed in our lecture is ________.

Crashing

When compressing a schedule, what activities should be considered FIRST for compression?

Critical activities with least cost slope

What is the last date you recorded progress?

Data Date or ...

During a project meeting, the project manager mentioned that the welding inspection activity is a non-critical activity in the CPM schedule. What does the project manager mean? Choose the best answer.

Delay of the welding inspection activity may not necessarily delay the whole project Response Feedback: Non-critical is only referred to time consideration. A critical activity means it is critical in terms of time. Likewise, non-critical activity means the activity is not critical in terms of time schedule, i.e. its delay may not immediately delay the entire project. It is nothing to do with its other activity attributes (such as important of cost, quality, safety ...).

The NORMAL duration for an excavation activity is 48 days, which mean the activity cannot be compressed to less than 48 days.

Delay or interrupt non-critical activities

When resolving resource over-allocation issue, the leveling effort should FIRST try to _____.

Delay or interrupt non-critical activities

What are the Reasons for Delay and Cost Overrun?

Differing site condition:Actual site conditions differ from those mentioned in the contract documents. Unusually adverse weather: Unusual weather condition for the location/time period. Force Majeure or Act of God: e.g. Earthquakes, hurricanes, wars, labor strikes Low productivity Increasing resource cost/accidents Change orders: Owner's scope change & Design errors or omissions etc.

In all construction contracts, "day" means work day instead of calendar day.

False Response Feedback: The meaning of "day" in a contract depends on the definition in the agreement and conditions (e.g. the article on Time). It may means "working day or "calendar day" depending on the contract language. "Calendar day" appears to be a popular choice since it reduces confusion among parties who may have different work schedules or "working day" definition.

What of the following information is not included within the project specifications?

Final project completion date Response Feedback: The final project completion date is stated in the contract, not within the project specifications.

Which of the following concepts addresses the question "how much (e.g. number of days) can an activity be delayed without affecting the EARLY start of its successors"?

Free float Response Feedback: Free float is defined as "the number of time units that allow an activity to be delayed without delay the Early Start (ES) of its successors."

Select the correct sequence of the project phases:

Identify, evaluate, define, execute and operate. Response Feedback: The project phases start with the identification of an opportunity or idea, followed by the evaluation of this opportunity to determine the economical viability of the different alternatives, then defining the selected alternative, to finally execute the project and operate.

Which of the following statement is correct in regards to the RSMeans table row "0300" below? (missing table)

In one 8-hr day, the crew (C14A) can produce 15.62 cubic yard of concrete work for this type of beams: 3500psi, 5kip/lf, 10' span.

What is the best schedule level to control the day-to-day work activities during construction?

Level 4/5 schedule Response Feedback: Level 4/5 schedules have sufficient level of detail to manage the day-to-day activities during construction. Level 1 is for executives/presentations, Level 2 for PM/CM, and Level 3 for discipline leads/supervisors.

What is the Continuous project control process?

Monitoring work progress Comparing it with the baseline schedule/budget Finding schedule/budget deviations Taking corrective actions to achieve schedule/budget goals

Which of the following activities is the best example of a MILESTONE in a construction schedule?

Pour first structural concrete Response Feedback: Milestone represents a significant event, which is typically achieved at a point of time. Milestone typically has duration of "0." Pour first structural concrete is an important accomplishment in every project and is a good example of milestone. In comparison, roofing, steel erection, site clearing are ongoing construction activities.

What are the Methods to determine % Complete?

Time/cost consumed Subjective judgment Percent complete=units completed/total units. Incremental Milestone (i.e. Rule of Credit)

Which of the following concepts addresses the question "how much (e.g. number of days) can an activity be delayed without affecting the LATE start of its successors"?

Total float Response Feedback: Total Float can be defined in two ways: (1) The maximum amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the entire project, OR (2) The maximum amount of time an activity can be delayed without delaying the Late Start (LS) of successors.

A project schedule network has at least one critical path, and it can potentially have more than one critical path.

True

A uniform-shaped resource usage profile is generally preferred over a profile with many ups and downs.

True

When crashing a schedule, the schedule should be compressed one day at a time.

True

\When a non-critical activity is delayed beyond its total float, this noncritical activity will become a critical activity, and this delay will delay the entire project.

True

Total float is shared by activities on the same path.

True Response Feedback: Total float is shared by activities on the same path. If one such activity is delayed and consumed some floats, other activities on the same path will lost these float days from their total float.