Chapter 05 - Decision Time: Schedule

The maintenance crew installs the plumbing in the new Deli area and connects it to the existing supply lines. However, your plumbing subcontractor later discovers the main service must be relocated and all connected plumbing replaced. This means Jose's crew wasted 10 days plus materials. This is an example of understanding task precedence and dependencies to determine the potential early start date. The extra plumbing work has created a three-week schedule delay. Jose asks if you can recover the time and offers to pay for more resources. You are ready to begin construction in the new annex, so you meet with your team to confirm that everyone agrees with the task sequence for this next phase. Here is a portion of the network diagram showing activities that could be done in parallel if resources are available. Where do you assign more workers to speed up the project?

You assign more carpenters to Activities 4.1 and 4.5 (Pharmacy Walls and Floors). Jose and your team are confused since this path has fewer tasks compared to the Deli constructio

You are anxious to put Jose's maintenance crew to work. They have plumbing and general construction skills, so you assign them to activity 1.1 (Demolish walls in the expansion space). They finish quickly and ask to start on some plumbing work, since they have experience and equipment. What do you have Jose's crew do next?

You put the crew to work on activity 1.2 (Updating Walls and Ceilings) in the annex, while you wait for your plumbing contractor. The crew reluctantly agrees but they work slowly, and this will take longer than estimated.

The plumber and electrician complete tasks 3.2 through 3.6 in 10 days, shaving 10 days off the plan. However, the parallel Pharmacy department construction still has 15 days to go, so you did not speed up the overall schedule. To compress the schedule, you must apply additional resources to tasks on the critical path. You are ready to start remodeling the old Deli and Pharmacy space into the new Beer and Wine department. This will include a new self-service dispensing system that allows customers to sample products using their shopper loyalty cards. Jose will make this innovative feature a centerpiece in his grand re-opening celebration.Your electrician and plumber express concern about activity 6.5 (Install Self-Service Dispensing System). Neither has done this before, and the vendor documentation shows complicated wiring and plumbing. You planned 5 days based on information from the vendor, who said many customers complete it in just three days. The electrician is threatening to delay start of work until you can justify the estimate. The start date is getting close, so what do you do?

You spend three days working with the vendor to get more information then recalculate the schedule to give task 6.5 more time - even though it could extend the project end date.