Schedules

Updated 6/23/21

During preconstruction we will often be asked to produce preliminary schedules. Here are some important instructions to keep in mind when producing these schedules.

• Always highlight the critical path. (Most scheduling software packages have a function to do this automatically.)

• Avoid unnecessary detail/granularity—many schedules are rendered useless by overly detailed sequences that are impossible to follow for anyone but the author of the schedule.

• Be clear as to whether you are using calendar days or working days for your durations. Too many schedules are unclear (or wrong) on this point. For our purposes, when schedules are at a very preliminary stage, it is usually preferable to use calendar days. (Most programs default to working days.)

• Always base your durations on hard data from actual projects. A lot of misinformation about typical schedules is circulated around the office and a lot of project schedules are needlessly “feather bedded”. Make sure your schedules are grounded in facts. Hard data on actual milestones can be found in the Schedule Analysis document (see more on this later in the manual).

• Be clear as to your audience, i.e. whether your schedule is intended to represent our internal expectation of the job duration or is intended for consumption by the client or their financing institutions. (In the latter case, we will often add grace periods and some “fat”.)

• Be clear as to whether your schedule is intended to include typical weather delays or is supposed to represent ideal durations (where weather delays would constitute a necessary schedule adjustment).

• Show the following milestones at a minimum:

  • Foundation Completion/Superstructure Start

  • Superstructure Topping Out

  • Hoist Start

  • Elevator Start

  • Elevator Completion

  • Hoist Removal

  • Lobby Completion

  • Sidewalk

  • 1st TCO (if applicable)

  • Final TCO (if application)

Here is an excerpt from a sample preconstruction schedule: