CIVE 7220 - CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT

Fall 2018
Computerized Scheduling Assignment

Please work on groups of two on this project. No extra credit is given for individual teams.

In this assignment the objective is to develop a computerized precedence network for a project
consisting of the construction of 5 miles of 8" diameter pipeline. The project is a classic example
of operations where repetition plays an important role. Major activities have been identified as
locate and clear, excavate, string pipe, lay pipe, test, and backfill. The contractor wants to
proceed with most of these basic tasks concurrently.
Please note that while there are instructions in this assignment that helps the student in using MS
Project software, you are not limited to any project management software program. As an
example, some students may choose to use Primavera for doing this assignment.

Construction Activity Sequence

The construction process will start by locating and clearing work. Excavation, together with pipe
stringing, would then start and pipe laying would proceed after that. Pressure testing of the pipe
is done after pipe laying; backfilling operation follows testing.

PHASE 0 – Due Tuesday, November 6, 2018

Schedule
The contractor has prepared a master schedule for the project as given in Figure 1. The owner
requires a detailed precedence network for the job. Suppose that the contractor has divided the
project into five one-mile sections. For example, "Excavation Mile 2" cannot start until
"Excavation Mile 1" is finished, and so on. Develop a precedence diagram depicting the project
using this operational procedure. For example, a typical activity may be "Excavate Mile 2", or
"Lay Pipe Mile 4", etc. You will have 30 activities in the network.
Submit a neatly drawn network on one sheet of paper on Tuesday, November 6, 2018. Note
that you are not working with computer at this point.

PHASE I - Due Friday, November 30, 2018

1. Precedence Diagram
Develop a precedence diagram of the whole pipe laying operation. Use the data in Table 1 for
activity durations. Assume a 5-day work week. Use Monday March 4, 2019 for the project start
date and define Memorial Day (05/27/2019), Independence Day (07/04/2019), and Labor Day
(09/02/2019), as nonworking days.

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The contractor has subcontracted the stringing and testing operations and will perform clearing,
excavating, pipe laying, and backfilling with his own forces. Stringing is done by SurveyBoston
Corp. and testing is performed by GeotechMass Inc.

1.1. Prepare a Network Diagram for the whole project fitted in one sheet of paper.
1.2. Prepare a schedule report with activities sorted according to the descending TF and then
earliest ES.
1.3. Prepare a barchart (Gantt Chart) for the project with ES and EF dates appearing on the
left and right hand side of bars sorted by Task IDs. In the table include just Task ID and
Name.
1.4. Prepare a schedule report where activities are arranged by responsibility. So each group
should be identified by the subcontractor's name or the general contractor. Use
GENERAL to identify activities performed by the general contractor. This means that
you have to tell the software who is responsible for each activity (SurveyBoston Corp.,
GeotechMass Inc., or GENERAL).
1.5. Generate a schedule report containing only backfilling activities and sorted according to
earliest LS.
1.6. Generate a Gantt chart containing only subcontractors' activities (i.e. string and test).

2. Resource Loading
The objective is to load the diagram developed in the step above with manpower and equipment
requirements. Consider labor and equipment use for activities excavate, lay pipe, and backfill.
Use productivity data provided in the following tables to estimate manpower and equipment
requirements for these activities. Use Fig. (2) to estimate the volume of excavation and backfill.
Load each relevant activity with equipment and labor requirements. Use crew configurations that
result in activity durations close to durations given in Table 1. Use uniform crew configurations.

Resources Used: Assume that the excavation is performed by a 0.5 cy loader/backhoe. The pipe
is laid at the bottom of the trench and tested. It is an 8", mechanical joint construction. The pipe
is backfilled and the trench is completely filled in 8" layers. Each layer is compacted by 3 passes
of an 11"x13" rammer tamper.

2.1. Include work quantity and crew size calculations. Note that these calculations are done
outside the software.
The following outputs should come from the software.
2.2. Develop histogram and cumulative resource graphs for laborer and crane.

3. Resource Allocation under Constraints

Consider the resource loaded network developed in this assignment. Assume that the maximum
number of laborers is 8 per day. Allocate this resource to network activities. Assume that
interrupting tasks by creating splits in the remaining work on tasks or assignments is not allowed.
After allocating resources, calculate the new project finish time. Write a paragraph and describe

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the reasons for any schedule delay. You should be specific. For example, you should mention
which activities' delay caused total network delay and why? Generate any report or graph that
you think is necessary to support your reasoning.
3.1. In addition to any reports that you deem necessary, submit a schedule report of the
whole network with activities sorted according to their criticality.

PHASE II - Due Friday, November 30, 2018

In this phase you will be working with the pipe laying project already entered into the MS
Project. First you have to remove the labor constraint requirement implemented in PHASE I, Part
3. You can do this by removing the “Resource Availability” from “Resource Information”
dialogue box. Then reschedule the network to get the same results that you had before entering
the resource limitation. This is your baseline schedule.

4. Project Cost Loading

Here you want to assign cost values to network activities. The process is similar to resource
loading. Consider the cost of activities related to excavate, lay pipe, and backfill only. The cost
of labor and equipment for these activities is available from the crew data provided with the
project. Use the costs including overhead and profit.
Procedure: In order to enter cost data go to the “Resource Sheet” view, double click on each
resource. Using “Resource Information” window, enter daily rates for each resource (labor and
equipment) under the “Costs” tab. Under General Tab, in the “Code” field you may want to
specify a code for the resource, such as a cost center code. Suggestions include using the CSI
codes to identify cost accounts related to excavate, backfill, or pipe laying.
Prepare the following reports:
4.1. Develop a cost loading graph (Cash Flow) containing both histogram and cumulative
curves.
4.2. Develop a textual report that gives planned expenditures on a weekly basis for the
duration of project.
Please note that you are only considering three types of activities for this part of the assignment
(i.e., backfill, excavate, and lay pipe).

5. Project Schedule Control and Updating

You have been given the following progress report at the end of March 22, 2019. You know that
contractor SurveyBoston Corp. who was in charge of stringing activity has had a slow start and
you are concerned it might impact the project finish time. Use the data provided below to update
the schedule and compare the revised schedule with the original schedule (Baseline).

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 Activity Actual Start Date Actual Finish Date
Locate & clear, mile 1 3/5 3/5
Locate & clear, mile 2 3/7 3/13
Locate & clear, mile 3 3/14 3/14
Locate & clear, mile 4 3/15 3/19
Locate & clear, mile 5 3/20 3/20
Excavate, mile 1 3/13 3/ 18
Excavate, mile 2 3/20 90% complete
String pipe, mile 1 3/13 3/15
String pipe, mile 2 3/20 3/21
Lay pipe, mile 1 3/22 30% complete

Procedure: In order to perform an update for the network, first set up a baseline for the original
network. You can do this by choosing "Project" tab, then clicking on "Set Baseline". Change the
“Status date” to Mar 22, 2019. Then update each activity by entering actual dates and percent
completions using “Tracking: Table” under “View” tab. You now have a revised schedule.
Prepare the following reports:
5.1. Prepare a report of the revised schedule in comparison with Baseline schedule by
choosing/creating proper table. Remember to include Baseline Start/Finish, Actual
Start/Finish, ES, and EF.
5.2. Prepare a barchart (Gantt Chart) sorted by Task IDs of the revised schedule as compared
with Baseline schedule. Make sure ES and EF dates are showing for Tracking Gantt
bars.
You can do this using “Gantt Chart” view and changing the kind of information that you
want to display in the Gantt Chart. To specify the kind of information, right click on the
time-scaled section, select “Gantt Chart wizard”, then choose “Baseline”.
5.3. Briefly explain the reasons that caused delay in project completion date.

Please note:

The project should be organized in a professional way. Separate the reports according to the
breakdown such as Phase I, 1.1, 1.2, etc. You should have a Cover Page and a Table of Contents
with page numbers. As producing reports with sequential page numbering in MSP may be time
consuming, you can remove the page number and then add it by hand. Make sure all your
reports have proper title. All the required discussions should be typed. You will be graded
according to the quality of your presentation!

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 TABLE 1 - Activity Durations
Activity Duration in days per mile
Locate and clear 1
String pipe 2
Excavation 5
Lay pipe 8
Testing 1
Backfill 3

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 CIVE 7220 – Computer Project Grade Sheet
Fall 2018

Name(s): ____________________________________

Area Weight Grade

Format: Breakdown of report according to
subsections, proper titles and format for computer 10
printouts
Completeness of reports and conformance to the
30
required specifications

Analysis of crew requirements, project delay causes

15
and effect of resource allocation of project finish time

Presentation and neatness 5

Total 60

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