UNIT-1 1, What is planning? Planning aims at formulation of a time based plan of action for coordinating various activities and resources to achieve specified objectives. Planning is the process of developing the project plan. The plan outlines how the project is to be directed to achieve the assigned goals. It specifies a predetermined and committed future course of action, based on discussions and decisions made on the current knowledge and estimation of future trends. 2. What is construction planning The construction planning process is stimulated through a study of project “documents. These documents include but are not limited to the available technical and commercial studies and investigations, designs and drawings, estimation of quantities, construction method statements, project planning data, contract documents, site conditions, market survey, local resources, project environment and the client’s organization. The planning process takes in to account, the strengths and weakness of the organizations. 3. What are the objectives of planning? = Proper design of each element of the project = Proper selection of equipment and machinery in big projects, the use of large capacity plants are found economical = Procurement of materials well in advance = Proper arrangement of repair of equipment and machinery = Employment of trained and experienced staff on the project = To provide incentive for good workers= To arrange constant flow of funds for the completion of project «To provide proper safety measures and ventilation, proper arrangement of light and water. What are the types of project plans? Planning the entire project from its inception to completion requires a vast coverage, varied skills and different types of plans. The nature of plans encountered in a typical construction project are indicated below Types of project plans Development stage nature of plan Inception stage project feasibility plan Engineering stage project preliminary plan Implementation stage project construction plan Define work tasks? Work tasks represent the necessary frame work to permit scheduling of construction activities, along with estimating the resources required by the individual work tasks and a necessary precedence or required sequence among the tasks. The terms work tasks or activities are often used interchangeably in Construction plans to refer to specific defined items of work,¢. Establishing standards for planning and controlling men. materials, equipment, costs and income of each work package i the work Forecasting input resources, production costs and the value o| done . jeving targets assigned to 2. Forecasting the project budget allocations for achieving targets assig each organizational unit h. Designing a control system for the organization i, Developing the resources, time and cost control methodology 8. What is the purpose of coding? a. To identify the data connected with each work package, as work packages from the database for managing various project functions. b. To aid in the organization of data from the very detailed to the very broad levels c. To enable the processing, sorting, and extraction of information required at various levels of management and functional units. d. To computerize the data processing system 9. How many categories available in codification? In construction projects, the codes used can be broadly divided in to two categories i. project interfacing codes or simply referred as project codes and department specialized codes, Project interface codes: These are the common codes used for developing an inter department database. Ex: a project code for the foundation of a building. Departmental specified codes: These codes are developed by the departmental heads for their use. Ex: to indicate the location of materials in site ware houses 10. Define the types of labeling approach? a. alphabet codesb. numerical codes ¢. alphanumeric codes Alphabet codes: Alphabet letters A to Z, single or combined, can be used to represent a code. An alphabet in a single character space can represent 26 variations as compared to numerals 0 to 9, which can depict maximum of 10 variations Numerical codes: It is the most important form of coding in numerical codes, each character can be represented by a numerical varying from 0 to 9 Alpha numerical codes: It is the combination of alphabets and numerals to develop a each code. 11. Defining precedence relationship among activities? Precedence relations between activities signify that the activities must take place in a particular sequence. Numerous natural sequences exist for construction activities due to requirements for structural integrity, regulations and other technical requirements. For example Excavate Place formwork Place reinforcement pour concrete Trench O—O—O——90-——916 MARK QUESTIONS 1. What is Construction Planning? Explain the basic concepts in the development of Construction plans. Construction planning is a fundamental and challenging activity in the management ané execution of construction projects. It involves the choice of technology. the definition oF work tasks, the estimation of the required resources and durations for individual tasks. and the identification of any interactions among the different work tasks. A gue construction plan is the basis for developing the budget and the schedule Developing the construction plan is a critical task in the management of cons even if the plan is not written or otherwise formally recorded. In addition to which organizations to include in a project. For example, the extent to which sub- contractors will be used on a project is often determined during construction planning A planner begins with a result (ie. a facility design) and must synthesize the steps required to yield this result. Essential aspects of construction planning include the generation of required activities, analysis of the implications of these activities, and choice among the various alternative means of performing activities. In contrast w 2 detective discovering a single train of events, however, construction planners also face the normative problem of choosing the best among numerous alternative plans. A Planner must imagine the final facility as described in the plans and specifications.In developing a construction plan, it is common to adopt a primary emphasis on either Cost control or on schedule control. Some projects are primarily divided into expense categories with associated costs. In these cases, construction planning is cost or expense oniented, Within the categories of expenditure, a distinction is made between costs incurred directly in the performance of an activity and indirectly for the accomplishment of the project. For example, borrowing expenses for project financing and overhead items are commonly treated as indirect costs. For other projects, scheduling of work activities over time is critical and is emphasized in the planning process. In this case, the planner insures that the proper precedences among activities are maintained and that efficient scheduling of the available resources prevails. Traditional scheduling procedures emphasize the maintenance of task precedences (resulting in critical path scheduling procedures) or efficient use of resources over time (resulting in job shop scheduling procedures). Finally, most complex projects require consideration of both cost and scheduling over time, so that planning, monitoring and record keeping must consider both dimensions. In these cases, the integration of schedule and budget information is a major concern. Construction Planning Cost Schedule Oriented Oriented ate Resource Direct Indirect ceaiiea Oriented Costs Costs Path. (Job Schop Problem) | | Schedule) Alternative Emphases in Construction PlanningConstruction planning is not an activity which is restricted to the period after the award oft contract for construction. It should be an essential activity during the facility design. Also, if problems arise during construction, re-planning is required. 2. Explain briefly Choice of Construction Technology and Construction method Choice of ‘onstruction Technology and Construction method As in the development of appropriate alternatives for facility design, choices of appropriate technology and methods for construction are often ill-structured yet critical ingredients in the success of the project. For example, a decision whether to pump or to \ansport concrete in buckets will directly affect the cost and duration of tasks involved in building construction. A decision between these two alternatives should consider the relative costs, reliabilities, and availability of equipment for the two transport methods. Unfortunately, the exact implications of different methods depend upon numerous considerations for which information may be sketchy during the planning phase, such as the experience and expertise of workers or the particular underground condition at a site. In selecting among alternative methods and technologies, it may be necessary to formulate a number of construction plans based on alternative methods or assumptions. Once the full plan is available, then the cost, time and reliability impacts of the alternative approaches can be reviewed. This examination of several alternatives is often made explicit in bidding competitions in which several alternative designs may be proposed or value engineering for alternative construction methods may be permitted. In this case, potential constructors may wish to prepare plans for each alternative design using the suggested construction method as well as to prepare plans for alternative construction methods which would be proposed as part of the value engineering process, In forming a construction plan, a useful approach is to simulate the construction process either in the imagination of the planner or with a formal computer based simulation ‘echnique, By observing the result, comparisons among different plans or problems with the existing plan can be identified. For example, a decision to use a particular piece of equipment for an operation immediately leads to the question of whether or not there is