National University of Sciences and Technology
Home | Back
CE-881 Construction Planning, Scheduling and Control
Campus MCE
Programs PG
Session Fall Semester 2016
Course Title Construction Planning, Scheduling and Control
Course Code CE-881
Credit Hours 3-0
Pre-Requisutes UG level courses of construction management, civil engineering, construction science, architecture, and engineering.
Course Objectives Aims to give knowledge of both theory and practical application on construction project scheduling to students, project managers, project engineers, owners, engineers and of course construction schedulers.
Detail Content
  • Principles of Project Management. Project management process. Selecting the project manager. Selling the project plan. Staffing the project. Project decision analysis. Conducting project meetings. Group decision making. Project leadership. Personal management. Quality management. Integrated systems approach.
  • Project Planning. Project planning objectives. Components of a plan. Motivating the personnel. Project feasibility study. Project proposals. Budget planning. Project breakdown structures. Legal considerations in project planning. Information flow for project planning.
  • Project Organization. Organizational breakdown structure. Selecting an organization structure. Formal and informal structures. Functional organization. Product organization. Matrix organization structure. Mixed organization structure. New organization structures. Project transfer. Organizing multinational projects.
  • Project Scheduling. What is a schedule? Why schedule construction? Construction Activities. Activity duration. Gantt charts. What is network scheduling? Why use network scheduling? What types of network schedules are used? How are network schedules used? PERT network analysis.
  • Schedule Planning. How do we start? How do we select activities? What duration units should we use? What determines the activity duration? Should there be a limit on activity duration? How can we account for weather and contingencies? How do we define the network logic?
  • CPM Diagram. What types of CPM diagrams are used? How do we draw an arrow diagram? How do we draw a node diagram?
  • CPM Calculations. What is float? How do we do arrow diagram calculations? What is a critical path? Negative total float. How do we determine event times? How do we do node diagram calculations?
  • Schedule Control. What is a time-phased diagram? What is a target schedule? Why should we update the network schedule? What information is needed to update? When should we update?
  • Least-Cost Scheduling. What is a least-cost schedule? How do direct costs vary with time? How do overhead costs vary with time? What is schedule compression?
  • Resource Leveling. What is resource leveling? Why should we level the work force? What assumptions should we make? How can we use trial and error to level the work force?
  • Project Control. Elements of project control. Control steps. Schedule control. Performance control. Cost control. Statistical project control. Project control through rescheduling. Control through termination.
  • Project Close Out. System testing and start-up. Final inspection. Guarantees and warranties. Record and as-built drawings. Check list of duties. Disposition of project files. Owner feed back.
  • Environmental Impact Analysis. Procedures for environmental impact assessment.
  • Technology Transfer. Management of technology transfer.
  • Project Risk Management. Project risk analysis. Risk preference. Identifying sources of risk. Risk adjusted project performance measures.
  • Scheduling by Probabilistic Models. Project Evaluation & Review Technique (PERT). Probability distribution, What assumptions must be made? What errors must be accepted? Computing PERT durations. How do we do pert network calculations?
  • Simulation. How can we overlap activities? How can we overcome PERT limitation?
  • Uses for Network Schedules. How can we use CPM in claims? How can we use CPM in cost control? How can we use CPM in cash-flow analysis? How can we use CPM to determine progress payments? How can we use CPM in trend analysis? How can we use CPM in sensitivity analysis?
  • Microcomputer Applications. What types of computers are used? How do we get access to a computer? What can a computer do in network scheduling? Selecting project management software. Expert systems and project management. Developing the Project Schedule. Understanding the Project (Specifications, Contract, and Construction Drawings). Conceptual Approach, Discussion with the Project Estimator, the Project Manager, Subcontractors, Owner and the Engineer. Physical Creation of the Schedule. Use of Computer Software MS - PROJECT, etc. in Project Planning and Scheduling.
Text/Ref Books
  • Barrie and Paulson. (1992). Professional Construction Management: Including C.M, Design-Construct, and General Contracting. McGraw-Hill, Inc.
  • Harris, F. and McCaffer, R (2001) Modern Construction Management. 5th Edition, Blackwell Publishing Company, London, UK.
  • Oberlender, D. Garold. (1993). Project Management for Engineering and Construction. McGraw-Hill.
  • PMI. (2000). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge. Project Management Institute, USA.
  • Kerzner, Harold (2000). Project Management: A System Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
  • Fellows, R. Langford, D. Newcombe, R. and Urry, S. (2002). Construction Management in Practice. Blackwell Science Ltd.
  • Levy, M. Sidney. (2000). Project Management in Construction. McGraw-Hill.
  • Schexnayder, C. J. and Mayo, R. E. (2003). Construction Management Fundamentals. McGraw-Hill.
  • Griffith, A. and Watson, P. (2004). Construction Management: Principles and Practice. Palgrave Macmillan, New York.
Time Schedule Fall 2015
Faculty/Resource Person Maj Sohail Anwar Malik MSc Engineering Management