Scheduling as Part of the Project Management Effort - Construction Project Scheduling and Control - page 268

INTRODUCTION
Construction project management comprises several components that are often inter-
related. Typically, one person (the project manager, or PM for short) is responsible
for running and managing the overall operations. Under the PM is the project man-
agement team, which may consist of a large number of professionals (assistant PM,
project superintendent, project engineer, scheduler, estimator, quality manager, safety
manager, procurement manager, document control manager, contract administrator,
accountant, clerk, secretary, etc.) for large projects. Small projects typically have a
smaller team, and some of the team members may have more than one role and/or
may be working on multiple projects.
The management team typically includes field and office personnel. It may include
teammembers who are dedicated exclusively to a particular project and others who are
assigned to the project part time (they work on other projects as well) or serve on the
project for only a temporary period. For example, a project scheduler may be dedicated
to one large project even if he or she works in the main office. For smaller projects,
the scheduler may distribute his or her time among assignments for the different
projects.
Managing projects requires several skills. We must distinguish between managerial
skills and technical skills. In some cases, a person who is top notch in his or her techni-
cal field may fail completely as a manager. Managerial skills are essential for a PM. An
interesting statement is found in Commentary on AIA Document A201-2007 (The
American Institute of Architects, 2007, p. 14, http://www.aia.org/aiaucmp/groups
/aia/documents/pdf/aias076835.pdf): “A superintendent cannot build a project
alone, but an incompetent superintendent can single-handedly ruin one.” This
statement applies even more so to the PM. It is outside the scope of this topic
to discuss the characteristics of a good project manager. With regard to technical
expertise, construction is a diverse industry; within each type are many specialties,
such as demolition, excavation, concrete, masonry, carpentry, structural steel, finishes,
electrical, HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning), plumbing, and many
others. Within each specialty might be numerous subspecialties. Rarely, if ever, a
person is an expert in all fields. A typical PM may be an expert in one or a few
fields, but the PM must be familiar with all of them in order to manage the project
competently. 1 Each technical area is usually headed by a foreman, who must be an
expert in that particular field.
Scheduling is one of the important pieces of the “project pie.” It is a technical
field that is concerned with time calculation and management. Scheduling interrelates
with other components of the overall project management. In this chapter, we briefly
discuss some of these interrelationships.
1 The PM's expertise is generally described as “an inch deep, a mile wide.”