SCHEDULING CONTINGENCIES
Scheduling controversies often arise in the construction process, not only from disagreement over poor planning in the primary stages but also from operations among construction methods or sequences of activities and the project team and activity subcontractors in the secondary production stages. Often these disputes occur where a project is constructed under multiple prime contracts such as those commonly experienced in fast-tracking, in phased construction, or in a professional construction management contract. The absence of any contractual relationship between the individual prime contractors and the architect has been the main cause of numerous court litigations.
A cursory routine approval of contractor-prepared schedules can be the most costly mistake an owner can make. In the absence of a thorough review by an experienced CPM project scheduler, contractually required schedules can become the primary source of documentation from successful contractor claims. The contractor can simply provide as evidence in court its prebid, preconstruction, and progress schedules and then compares them with the as- built or adjusted schedules. The comparison can be very graphic, especially to those who have not had the training, as you have, to know how CPM works and how it can be subverted. If the owner approved the contractor’s schedule, the owner can be left in an extremely weak legal position. This kind of comparison, to laypeople, is simple and straightforward. It appears to be the truth, pure, and simple and will have a significant impact on a panel of arbitrators or a jury.
But as we’ve already learned, the truth is rarely pure and never simple. CPM network schedules reflect those who produce them. Project schedulers who understand the nomenclature and advantageous uses of CPM also realize how it can be abused. The only thing between the owner and bank- ruptcy in scenarios like this are adequate records and a bulletproof CPM project schedule. So the professional project scheduler knows about the fol- lowing scheduling contingencies and how to plan for them in the best interests of the client.
OUTSIDE DELAYS
Referring to the software program, you will find that the field daily reports have columns for weather delays. An inclement weather system passing through your area that turns out to be a toad floater will also delay outside activities, such as excavation, grading, paving, and placement of concrete. These are considered constraints of practical limitations and must be factored as such in the CPM schedule. The reasons are twofold. First, time cushions must be installed within total float, to provide allowances in practical production parameters. And second, AIA Doc A201, Section 4.3.8.2 (which is the section dealing with claims), requires the contractor to document‘‘by data substantiating that weather conditions were abnormal for the period of time and could not be reasonably anticipated’’ before the contractor can receive a time extension for weather conditions. Section 4.3.8.2 further requires that the contractor document that the weather conditions‘‘had an adverse effect on the scheduled construction.’’
The overall precedence concerning CPM schedule delay is found in AIA Doc A201, Section 8.3.1, which states
If the Contractor is delayed at any time in the progress of the Work by any act or neglect of the Owner or the Architect, of an employee of either, or of a separate contractor employed by the Owner, or by changes ordered in the work, or by labor disputes, fire, unusual delay in deliveries, unavoidable casualties, or any causes beyond the Contractor’s control, or by delay authorized by the Owner pending arbitration, or by other causes which the Architect determines may justify delay, then the Contract Time shall be extended by Change Order for such reasonable time as the Architect may determine.
This section delineates the parameters of acceptable and enforceable delay claims submitted by the contractor. These requirements can make it difficult for a contractor who does not keep detailed weather records to claim a time extension for adverse weather conditions. They reflect a belief by the AIA that weather generally is a risk assumed by the contractor and that
only in extraordinary circumstances should weather be the basis for a time extension. The legal documents used by the courts to determine judgments in weather-related claims are a Daily Inspection Report (DIR) and a Quality Assurance Report (QAR). If the contractor or owner is unaware of these documents, then certainly you, the professional project scheduler, should be. And you should implement them on your client’s behalf to protect your schedule.
Another reason for not granting a time extension is the single contract system’s primary objective of centralizing administration and responsibility in the prime contractor. Only if subcontractor-caused delay is specifically included should it excuse the prime contractor. This needs to be stated within the contract specifications to protect your client from the schedule’s default through circumstances beyond your control. The independent contractor rule, though subject to many exceptions, relieves the employer of an inde- pendent contractor for the losses wrongfully caused by the latter.
As noted previously, prime contractors assert that subcontractors are independent contractors because the subcontractor is usually an independent business entity and can control the details of how that activity is performed. Even so, the independent contractor rule does not relieve the employer of an independent contractor when the independent contractor has been hired to perform a contract obligation and, under that employer’s direction, the party suffering the loss caused by the independent contractor is the party to whom the contract obligation was owed.
Another portion of contract law affects the CPM project schedule, and that is AIA Doc A201, Sections 4.3.3 and 4.3.8.1, which cover time extensions in construction contracts. These usually provide a mechanism under which the contractor will receive a time extension if the project is delayed by the owner or by designated events such as those described in the contract specifications. Increasingly, contractors make large claims for delay damages. As a result, it is becoming even more common for clauses in public works contracts to attempt to make the contractor assume the risk of owner-caused delay. Public entities are limited by appropriations and bond issues, so they must contract in advance for the full cost of the project. To do this, many public entities use the disclaimer system for unforeseen subsurface conditions. Similarly, they wish to avoid facing claims at the end of the project, based on allegations that they have delayed completion or required the contractor to perform its work out of sequence.
RECYCLING THE SCHEDULE
The CPM schedule should be recycled weekly. This means to put it to critical analysis and cook it. Float, elapsed-time estimates, summary sorts, and crit-
ical paths and trends analysis forecasting take first priority on the agenda. Critical path activities that met scheduled events need to be analyzed for the characteristics of success that can be incorporated into future project sched- ules. Critical path activities running in negative float need to be straightened out.
A computerized CPM system simplifies recycling the schedule. Besides the traditional weekly and monthly reworking of the schedule, recycling becomes necessary whenever schedule deviations accumulate to the point where some of the intermediate milestones are in jeopardy. Recycling involves revising any target dates that may have slipped beyond repair, perhaps because a significant change in scope has occurred. Exercising some‘‘what- if’’ options allows the project scheduler to make the best revisions.
Having activities with negative float is a sign that the schedule no longer is achievable in its present form. Recycling the schedule should not be confused with the monthly progress evaluation. Recycling is necessary at the end of the quarter if your short-term milestones are not being met. The recycling procedure critically analyzes how to get the project back on track without extending the completion date.
When recycling the schedule, keep juggling and rechecking the resulting logic diagram for the best job logic. Because network project scheduling, especially one in crisis, is in motion and the variables are constantly changing, professional project schedulers are paid handsomely for saving a sinking project. Jumping into the fire to rescue a runaway CPM schedule pays well, but it is much akin to jumping into a mixer-blender and having someone hit the puree button.
But one must start somewhere, and I have found from experience that the best place to start recycling is with the project’s job logic. Remember that the logic diagram is the central command center of the CPM schedule. If the program logic doesn’t wash there, that’s the beginning of the end. Nothing else, from the logic diagram outward in the network, will be running in sync. Fix this crucial component of the schedule first. Then move into the next stage of schedule recycling, which is operations analysis.
The simplest scheduling recycling is concerned with time use. Thus, you might allocate 10 hours each week in project cost tracking and audit trail, and 20 hours to sorts and their communication with appropriate project team members. You might dedicate the last day of the month to end-of-month sorts and the summary reports, and an hour every Monday to preweek schedule management planning.
A more complex scheduling recycling system compartmentalizes by activity function. Calculating the percentage of each activity’s progress toward completion is the responsibility of that activity’s subcontractor, but the summary report of that progress is the scheduler’s responsibility. These more
complex systems tend to be (or become) hierarchical. They simplify delega- tion of each activity’s responsibility and according sorts but de-emphasize total project objectives and are slow to adapt to changes during schedule recycling.
In planning the schedule activities and operations analysis, it is im- portant to reflect the objectives of the owner and the project team. The degree of project team control versus prime contractor and subcontractor empowerment, and the overall project matrix network, will determine in significant part whether you will reach the project’s phases milestones on time. This is a trade-off or averaging tool the project scheduler uses between time-scaled activity events and activity control, to accelerate or constrain the activity.
COST MONITORING
Separate and distinct from the architect’s design costs, the project scheduler must monitor project field service costs during the project. Field costs are a function of the size and classifications of the on-site field labor forces assigned to the project, field office overhead costs, materials and supplies, support services from the home office, vehicle leases and fuel charges, the field office’s share of corporate general and administrative (G&A) costs, outside consul- tants or contract services, and job profit.
By tabulating the monthly accumulations of budget and actual field service costs and then plotting each amount on a time-versus-cost chart, similar in form to the traditional S-curve chart, you can make a visual comparison that clearly not only indicates the status of the contract at any given time, but also shows the project manager or owner any change in trend toward either a savings or a cost overrun. By also plotting a curve representing the amounts invoiced to the owner for such field services, you can provide an additional dimension of usable data to the owner.
To help prepare and maintain the chart, regular inputs are required from the site supervisor, on all field costs and hours of work in each classification at the project site. Arrangements should be made by the project scheduler to ensure that all such field data are received from the project manager on a regular, scheduled basis at the end of each week.
Typically, the monthly pay estimates of the project’s contractors’ work, for progress payments, are submitted by the 25th of the month, and all submittals are in office for payment before the end of the month. Billings from the architect to the owner, however, usually are based on the closing date of the end of the month. Therefore, tabulation of these data should not interfere with the project manager’s review of the contractors’ pay requests.
SCHEDULE OPERATIONS ANALYSIS
Interlinked operations of activities and time-scale systems are the basic struc- tures of your CPM network schedule. They include everything from materials delivery scheduling to the entire scheduling process itself. The operations analysis is unique to each schedule and each project. You should review each element of your schedule in planning but shouldn’t, in the interests of time management, revise or develop a full plan for each activity and interlinked operations in every planning cycle. Look for the critical path activities and interlinked operations that are most in need of attention or offer the greatest opportunity for development of shorter events through fast-tracking. All schedules have the following operating systems:
1. Planning. This is the process that you initially begin when you first start building the project schedule.
2. Organizing. In complex projects, this is reflected in network scheduling diagrams, work flowcharts, and sorts.
3. Controlling. This is the process of creating expectations and evaluating progress effectiveness. This involves the time analyzing of sorts and making appropriate changes in the schedule’s recycling phase.
Another important area of schedule operations analysis is the deter- mination of your network schedule’s capacity and efficiency. To make cost and performance evaluations, it is necessary to know your project schedule’s current performance limits. Capacity study is based on an under- standing of the tasks devoted to the activity. Good project schedulers continuously monitor and improve their capacity assessments. The initial assessment can be done through hypothesis or best‘‘guess-estimate,’’ but it is far more accurate if based on the company’s historical data from similar projects. As an example, consider this simple illustration. For a single sub- contractor providing services for one activity, the elements of capacity de- termination are
1. The number of hours in a desirable work week. . . 40
2. The average number of hours of reporting effort to produce field reports on that activity. . . 0.5
3. The hours per week of administrative time for the scheduler to produce the summary sort for that activity. . . 4
Weekly productive capacity for that activity is 36 hours (40 less ad- ministrative hours) divided by 1.5 (1 hour of computer processing plus 0.5 hour of field reporting). Net capacity= 24 hours per week. This is the basis of the schedule’s capacity and efficiency. The trick to matrix networking productivity improvement is to follow up with the following questions.
Answering yes to any of these questions brings more critical path manage- ment to the project.
1. How can I check the accuracy of my timeframe assumptions? Perhaps a daily time allocation study?
2. Can I improve my matrix network efficiency?
3. Can I reduce my schedule’s administrative hours in controlling? DAILY FIELD REPORTS
Daily field reports are the fundamental documents that record actual job progress, together with all conditions that affect the work. They provide the progress-reporting basis for the actual results of the schedule as compared to projected progress. They begin an organization’s standardization of reporting at the source of causes and effects—the point of production. If actually prepared daily, they are generally considered to be the best sources of job information. This is because they are supposed to be prepared immediately as the information is being generated, with no appreciable time lapses. The inclusions and descriptions are fresh in everyone’s mind. This facilitates complete details of the work. In addition, daily field reports are prepared by those with authority and responsibility for the work. They have an interest in the accuracy of the information and have a significant incentive to maintain the report’s accuracy and completeness. These are the people who actually witnessed the work and are recognized to be the most qualified to describe the reported facts. Because they will be the most detailed, accurate, and complete records of all job site events, the daily field reports will be used to resolve any dispute about what actually happened on the job. They are so valuable because of the wealth of information recorded in summary form. These data include
Work and activity descriptions, separated into physical location and extent
Labor force, broken down by subcontractor, locations, and major activities
Equipment used and stored by the various activity subcontractors Site administrative staff and facilities
Weather conditions and temperatures at key times of each work day Change order work accomplished, with relevant details
Photographs taken during the day
Visitors to the job site along with meetings, discussions, and commit- ments
You will note that the daily field report in the accompanying software is two pages in length. Never use the back of a field report to continue infor-
mation, because it will be overlooked when faxing, during a review, or when photocopying. Because it is impossible to tell in advance what will become the most important information, all categories must be accurately maintained. It is up to the central office project administration, whatever the exact authority structure within your organization, to regularly police the reports. They must be checked often enough to ensure that all required information is being properly recorded.
The requirement that the reports be completed daily cannot be stressed enough. If they’re allowed to be lumped together for completion at the end of the week, the accuracy of the information quickly degenerates. The completeness of the data also is dramatically reduced. When on site, you should visibly refer to the reports often, during conversations, issue research, and so on. Let your field personnel know that the information is depended on and used and that their input is extremely important. Even if you don’t really need to at the moment, come up with an excuse for looking at the reports. The minute that the field personnel begin to get the feeling that no one’s looking at the information, the data will become very thin indeed.
Have the reports printed on two-page carbon or NCR paper. The original is to be sent to the central office, with the copy retained in the field office. Originals should be faxed over at regular daily times, with the original sent or picked up for recordation. Requiring daily deliveries or mailings of field reports further ensures they will be done daily, in a timely manner. The daily field report is typically filled out by the site superintendent and signed by the project manager if that is an on-site position. In the absence of a site superintendent on smaller projects, the responsible project manager on a daily basis must fill out the report. Field reports need to include information listed