Schedule Updating and Project Control - Construction Project Scheduling and Control - page 184

Data and Information
Some people like to reduce the role of scheduling to just crunching numbers and
producing colorful bar charts. In some simple, straightforward cases, the numbers
may be sufficient. For example, suppose that an activity is scheduled to take 6 days.
When updating, you observe that 3 days of work have elapsed and the activity is
50% complete. Not much explanation is needed. However, other cases are not as
straightforward. For example, suppose that an activity is scheduled to take 8 days;
6 days have elapsed, but it is only 25% complete. Maybe an unforeseen condition
occurred, maybe the work quantity was increased or underestimated, maybe the crew
productivity decreased for some reason, or maybe another factor was involved. This
observation must be recorded for project control and to prevent skewed estimates
for future projects. Likewise, in some construction jobs, work may not be continu-
ous. For instance, suppose that an activity with only 3 days' duration shows an actual
start date that is 20 days ago, yet the activity is not complete. Even though computer
programs have provisions for such a work interruption, most schedulers and project
managers do not show it on the schedule as an interruption. It is important and nec-
essary to explain the numbers, especially when a situation occurs that is not normal or
average. Most software programs allow the addition of activity notes for this purpose.
Oracle Primavera P6 allows the user to add notes for activities and also to add several
“notebooks” for the project.
Tip Box 7.7
As a scheduler, you are supposed to provide project team members and other partic-
ipants with more than just computer output (data). You need to explain the data and
provide information!
PROJECT CONTROL
Measuring Work Progress
Probably the single most important step in schedule updating is measuring work
progress, because it has an impact not only on the schedule's status but also on
progress payments to the contractor and subcontractors. Measuring work progress
involves mainly calculating or estimating the percent complete for each activity. It
may also include estimating the percent complete for the entire project. This subject
is broad. In this chapter, it is covered only briefly.
Methods for Determining Percent Complete for Individual Activities
As discussed in Chapter 4 (in the “Steps Required to Schedule a Project” section),
the project manager or superintendent can more easily objectively assign a percent
complete to a small, simple activity than to a large, complex activity. Several methods
for measuring work progress are suggested. There are no correct and incorrect
methods; there are only more or less suitable methods for the specific type of activity