SUCCESSFUL STRATEGIES FOR SCHEDULING PROJECTS TO FINISH ON TIME

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SUCCESSFUL STRATEGIESFOR SCHEDULING PROJECTS TO
FINISH ON TIME

• Presented by
• Christopher J. Payne, PE, CCM
• McDonough Bolyard Peck

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BACKDROP

• Projects are frequently late
• Delays are contentious
• Schedules are contentious
• Not used properly
• Difficult to manage

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WHAT WE ALL KNOW or think we
know

• CPM is the best tool out there
• Highly defined requirements will encourage
  contractor compliance
• Schedules dont build jobs, people do

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So

• How do we use the schedule successfully to
  ensure the project is completed on time?

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AGENDA

• Specifications
• Building the Schedule
• Partnering
• Sub Buy-in
• Cost Loading
• Resource Loading
• Updating the Schedule
• Resolving Problems with the Schedule

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Building the Schedule
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BUILDING THE SCHEDULE

• WHAT WORKS
• Clear Specifications

• UNLESS
• Specifications have too many rules

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BUILDING THE SCHEDULE

• Good
• Activity Code Structure
• Maximum durations
• How time will be extended
• Use for Payment
• Bad
• Minimum activity requirements
• Numbering rules
• Restrictions on relationships
• Onerous reports

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BUILDING THE SCHEDULE

• WHAT WORKS
• Partnering the Schedule

• UNLESS
• People dont partner

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BUILDING THE SCHEDULE

• Good
• Jointly working on schedule
• Making sure subs are present
• Understanding philosophy of how job
• will be built
• Making a complete schedule (all activities)
• Bad
• Dictatorial review comments
• Contractor creating a submittal to fulfill a
  requirement
• Pre-claim posturing
• Mismatched subcontractor input

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CHALLENGE

• How to intelligently involve subs?
• Subs not on board at beginning
• G.C.s practicing mushroom philosophy
• G.C.s running two schedules
• One Solution
• Keep schedule on the table at all meetings
• with subs

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BUILDING THE SCHEDULE

• WHAT WORKS
• Cost-loading the Schedule

• UNLESS
• It becomes an unwieldy mess

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CHALLENGE
BUILDING THE SCHEDULE

• How do you get the Schedule of Values to agree
  with the CPM?
• Build together
• It takes work
• Dont duplicate work

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BUILDING THE SCHEDULE

• WHAT WORKS
• Resource-loading the Schedule

• UNLESS
• The purpose isnt clear

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BUILDING THE SCHEDULE

• Good
• Resource loading to identify manpower needs,
  smooth peaks, corroborate with bid
• Bad
• Hard to get real data
• Is it necessary to update?
• Sub reluctance
• Use as a weapon

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Updating the Schedule
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UPDATING THE SCHEDULE

• WHAT WORKS
• Update at the date of the pay requisition

• UNLESS
• Still waiting for/arguing over baseline
• Schedule is unwieldy/lack of contractor help
• in updating

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STRATEGIES

• Accurate Updates
• Get into a rhythm
• Have a substantive but informal
  review meeting
• Agree on progress first, acknowledge status
• Understand implications and deal with later
• Two-part process

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Resolving Problems with the Schedule
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OBSERVATIONS

• Delay is inevitable.
• Disagreement is inevitable.
• Communication and resolution are not
  inevitable.

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RESOLVING PROBLEMS WITH THE SCHEDULE

• WHAT WORKS
• Time Impact Analysis

• UNLESS
• Process gets behind
• Process is unwieldy
• Disagreement over impacts

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TIME IMPACT ANALYSIS APPROACH

• Develop fragnet of impact
• Run schedule before impact
• Run schedule with impact
• PITFALLS
• Too many changes
• Requires time to develop
• How to address an ongoing change

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TIME IMPACT PITFALLS DISCUSSION

• Can you agree on an impact without agreeing on
  entitlement?
• Forward-looking mindset vs.
  backward-looking
• Typical scenario may take 2-3 months to
  resolvewhat to do about project in the meantime?

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TYPICAL SCENARIO

DELAY
TIA 1
TIA 2
DD
PROJECTION
PLAN
TIME
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TIME IMPACT STRATEGIES

• Acknowledge Delay Quickly
• Do TIAs but pick milestones to cut off
  analysis and assess globally
• Tolerate negative float (for a while)
• Continue to insist on performance
• Allow (but discuss) minor logic changes

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SAMPLE SITUATION

• Two-year project, 40 million
• Baseline schedule submitted 4 weeks after NTP
• Owner comments 7 weeks after NTP
• Resubmit 10 weeks after NTP
• Approval 12 weeks after NTP
• 1st update 14 weeks after NTP, shows project 6
  weeks behind

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SAMPLE SITUATION

• Contractors narrative
• We were delayed by bad weather, late approval of
  drilling plan, late availability of east access.
• We anticipate recovering time by working six-day
  drilling schedule and in later work.

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EXAMPLE

• What should Owner do?
• Schedule unacceptable. All delays are
  contractors. Resubmit with recovery plan.
• Acknowledge receipt of schedule, but do nothing
  else.
• Dialogue, discussion, concession, analysis

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EXAMPLE

• Outcome No. 1
• Contractor disagrees, asserts right to file a
  claim, brings up constructive acceleration
• Schedule is now a claims footballbut is no
  longer useful as a communication tool on the
  project.

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EXAMPLE

• Outcome No. 2
• Contractor submits the next update, now nine
  weeks late. Cites more vague causes of delay
• Claims are brewing
• Job tracking late

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EXAMPLE

• Outcome No. 3
• Grant 5-day EOT for late pile approval.
• Pay limited acceleration cost to overcome delay.
• Cite lack of progress on other paths.
• Job in good shape going forward.

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SUMMARY

• Schedule is a necessary tool too often
  overlooked.
• Cost implications are huge.
• Proper use of tool limits intimidation and
  ignorance.

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SUMMARY

• Schedule should be a communication tool, not a
  communication barrier