Construction Schedule Delays: Chasing Float

The bane of a CPM construction scheduler’s existence are his high maintenance accounts, or those that require extra resources to achieve the same results as a properly coordinated effort. Constrction schedule delays are rampant (over 70% of all projects). When it comes to mega-projects, it seems they are generally considered too big to fail, or rebaseline. Indeed, tracking CPM schedule delays for megaprojects is an exercise in futility. However; it is the mundane everyday projects that seem to be the most familiar bugaboo to construction scheduling consultants.

These are typically new accounts, as former accounts that were ‘losers,’ should not be sought again for future work once you experience the aggravation and cost to service them. These accounts may be contractors who only issue schedules because they are required to, and don’t give them due-diligence in the baseline or updates. This becomes your problem, when their erratic needs begin to become a strain on your resources.

For example, you might generate a baseline for a project, only to continually resequence it according to your client’s whimsies. This is a big red-flag signifying confusion. If big and continual design changes are the norm, the update process may overtake an agreed upon baseline. Before you know it, you are called six months later to create a recovery schedule, which will have to be done forensically, and without the use of updates.

The trick is to be diligent and timely in keeping uncooperative contractors on a short leash. Always be on the alert for one of the Ten Signs below, so that you can do your best to control the schedule before it becomes unmanageable. If the contractor continues to be uncooperative, you may well expect to offer him an hourly rate to forensically resurrect the baseline and updates.

Forensics, which are a relative of claim work is tedious and unpleasant work, and an investment that many contractors are unwilling to make, and many schedulers either can’t make, or may have the luxury of choosing not to. Thus does a schedule and potential delayclaim become abandoned.

Ten Signs of Impending Schedule Abandonment

1. Signals of ignorance, sometimes willful, of sound CPM scheduling methodology and concepts. This includes the designation of high-functioning tasks to low-level personnel.
2. Perpetually changing design criteria and drawing revisions.
3. Frequent changing of management personnel on the design and build teams.
4. Contractual or monetary conflicts between owner and contractor, and/or design team
5. Slow payment processing and project-wide cash-flow issues.
6. Abundant RFIs, sketches, and change orders.
7. Inability to fix baseline, even well into the project.
8. Poor reporting habits, and sloppy back-up.
9. Too frequent requests for ‘what-if,’ or reflection schedules.
10. Unreturned emails and phone calls.

I discuss further, the mechanics of how each of these signs, and others, manifest into a project in my recent post.

Savvy schedulers are the first to recognize the signs of critical path melt-down. This gives them a leg-up on predicting a project’s life-line. Most projects will exhibit one or more of the Ten Signs. The first question you must ask yourself is “how much am I to blame for the mess, and the second: “how many ‘signs’ will you check off before you take decisive action?”

note, the feature photo of the train was taken from the motion picture Lone Ranger. No schedulers were used in the stunt.