Schedule Updating and Project Control - Construction Project Scheduling and Control - page 156

INTRODUCTION
Project schedules are, without a doubt, a useful tool for managing and controlling
projects. However, this tool can be effective only if it is used properly. Colorful bar
charts can be no more than decoration on the walls of the job trailer. They can also
be a mere fulfillment of a bid or contract requirements. But if bar charts are well
prepared and used seriously, consistently, and intelligently throughout the life cycle of
the project, they can be an effective tool that informs the project management team
of the project status at any point during the life of the project as well as a foundation
for corrective action. The most important use of schedules is for project control :the
scheduler compares actual performance with baseline performance and discerns any
deviation. The project management team then deals with this deviation, analyzes it,
and suggests solutions to bring the schedule back on track, if possible.
Using critical path method (CPM) scheduling as an effective tool requires a seri-
ous commitment from upper management to adopt and use the schedule through-
out the project. There is a difference in attitude between a contractor who uses the
schedule because he or she is convinced that it is an effective and powerful tool for
project management and a contractor who uses the schedule just because the owner
requires it.
THE NEED FOR SCHEDULE UPDATING
Construction projects rarely, if ever, proceed as planned. Thus, expect some deviation
from the baseline schedule. You will need to know where, how much, and why and
then take corrective action whenever and wherever it is needed. Consider the following
example: the army fires a long-range missile at a target that is 1,000 miles away. The
missile has the coordinates of the target, so it flies at a certain accurate angle with a
certain velocity. For various reasons, the missile goes astray by a fraction of a degree,
and perhaps the actual speed differs, for whatever reason, from the planned speed.
Central command tracks and communicates with the missile, reads the actual location,
and compares it with where the missile is supposed to be at that moment. Central
command then makes adjustments to the direction of the missile. This process occurs
continuously to ensure that the missile hits its target accurately. An early uncorrected
error of a few minutes (a minute is 1/60th of a degree) in direction may mean missing
the target by a few hundred feet or even several miles.
PROJECT CONTROL DEFINED
Project control is a continuous process that involves the following functions:
1. Monitoring work progress
2. Comparing it with the baseline schedule and budget (what they were supposed
to be)