Schedule Compression and Time-Cost Trade-Off - Construction Project Scheduling and Control - page 238

In the latter case, the contractor must discuss such acceleration with the owner to
make sure that the owner knows and approves such action. This may sound trivial or
unnecessary, as finishing early is generally perceived as a positive achievement. Gen-
erally, this is true, but not always. Some problems may arise from an uncoordinated
early finish, such as the following:
1. The owner may have a cash-flow problem : Even when the contractor is not ask-
ing for extra money, acceleration will result in front-end loading of charges.
The owner may receive higher than expected pay requests because more work
is being done per pay period than originally planned. If the owner was not
consulted on this matter and did not formally approve such acceleration, this
may cause a delay in payment to the contractor.
2. The owner may not be ready to take over the facility : The project may be a hotel,
an office building, a factory, an oil refinery, or other facility. Owners always
plan for operating the facility when the project is completed and turned over to
them by the contractor. Such planning includes, but is not limited to, staffing
and budgeting. If the contractor surprises the owner by finishing the project
2 or 3 months early, the owner may not have the staff and/or budget to run
the facility. In addition, such early operation may not go well with the strate-
gic plans for the organization. This may also create a problem with when the
warranty on the project and major equipment in it starts.
For the preceding reasons, it is highly recommended that, if the contractor is
planning a project schedule acceleration for his or her own reasons, the contractor
should consult with the owner and get the owner's written consent.
Tip Box 8.4
Project acceleration must be coordinated among all parties: owner, general contrac-
tors, and subcontractors.
Optimum Project Scheduling
Traditional CPM scheduling mainly aims at completing the project in the shortest nor-
mal manner, which is identified and defined by the critical path. In certain cases, this
schedule is accelerated, as discussed earlier, because of time constraints or to minimize
costs and/or maximize profit. The project's starting point is usually defined by the
contract, based on the owner's objective and requirements. Amazingly, this starting
point is rarely calculated scientifically (along with activities' durations) to produce an
optimum plan (including and focusing on the schedule) in order to meet the owner's
objectives of cost, time, and scope/quality.
Project Scheduling and Prevailing Economic Conditions
Construction projects are subject to a myriad of uncertainties, such as availability and
price fluctuations in labor, materials, and equipment; weather; availability of funds;