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Available Options— a grouped listing of the columns that can be added. The timescale can be condensed to fit the entire schedule on one screen; alternately, the timescale can be expanded to zoom in on a particular set of activities. A small magnifying glass will appear in place of the mouse arrow. It is useful to use unique and descriptive names in the layouts, to differentiate this newly created layout from others. To this point, however, the layouts that have been created do not have any organization, grouping and sorting, and contain all the activities in the schedule, since there are no filters applied.
Organizing and filtering the schedule can provide useful views of a project which can help successfully evaluate the quality of the schedule and the status of progress to date. Organization Grouping Activities Grouping activities pulls together activities that share some common aspect, in an effort to present activities in format that is more useful to the audience. P6 allows the activities to be organized in a variety of ways, but the most common groupings are made by WBS code or by activity code.
In the layout, P6 displays a p colored title band to distinguish each group. Typically unchecked for activity codes, but useful for WBS organization.
Again, this is useful for WBS organization. All activities with the same code values for these are pulled together under one grouping band, and the bands are named and colored to indicate the group. In addition to the added grouping bands, the Gantt Chart now has additional summary-level bars which represent the duration of all the activities within a given band.
For example, the Phase 1 bar shows the overall duration of all the Phase 1 activities in the schedule. This bar does not represent work by itself; it merely summarizes the duration of activities with this code.
Additionally, when a new activity is added to a specific band of activities, P6 automatically applies the value of that group to the new activity. This is a useful feature which can speed the coding of new activities. Also, activities can be cut, copied, pasted, and dragged from one group to another.
In a similar way, P6 automatically modifies the values for the moved or pasted activities. In addition to grouping by WBS and activity codes, some other useful data items to group by include total float and early finish date.
The total float grouping pulls together activities with the same value of total float, and often reveals near-critical paths. Grouping by early finish date can show field personnel activities which are all scheduled to finish in an upcoming period. Almost any data item can be sorted on; however, sorting by start and finish dates, or by total float, are some of the more common sorts.
Click Sort to open the Sort dialog box. The current data item which is being used to sort this schedule is the Activity ID field. This can also be seen in the Activity Table. Conversely, if the column is not displayed, or if multiple levels of sorting are in effect, then no arrow will appear.
Therefore, the most reliable means of determining the sorting order is to open the Sort dialog box. The most common and useful sorting order for a typical schedule layout is to sort activities first by Start, then Finish, and then by Total Float. Sorting the schedule in this way in ascending order will give the layout the typical left-to-right look for the bars in the Gantt Chart.
The schedule will now be sorted by these data items. These data items can be altered as necessary to create layouts which are most useful for a given project. Filters A filter is a set of selection criteria that determines which activities P6 displays in the layout. By default, layouts display all of the activities in a project. Filters can be created and then applied to focus on specific areas of a project. They allow the creation of customized layouts by limiting the number of activities displayed.
Pre-defined filters are provided in P6, as well as the ability to create user-defined filters. Filters are divided into the following groupings: Default Filters—available to all users, and cannot be deleted or modified.
There are 13 default filters, including the Longest Path filter. Global Filters—available to all users, but can be deleted and modified. They are created by users, and then made available globally. User Defined Filters—available to current users for all the projects to which they have access. They are created by users, but the users have limited access to them.
Furthermore, one or more filters may be applied to a layout at a time, and multiple criteria for selection may be used within a single filter. To add or change filters: On the Activities Toolbar, click on the Filter button to open the Filters window.
The default filters do not account for every situation and need while using a schedule to monitor and control a project. P6 allows for the creation of new, customized filters. For the example, set the Parameters field to All of the Following.
Now, the filter conditions can be set. Scroll down to select the desired data item and click on it. For the example, select Phase. For the example, select equals. In the example, the code values for the Phase activity code will appear in a Select Phase window. For the example, highlight Phase 2.
Chapter 5: Developing and Formatting Schedules In the newly filtered layout, only the Phase 2 activities are shown. The filtered activities still exist in the database, they are just hidden from view. This saves the layout using the existing name and overwrites the previous layout.
The filter is now applied to the layout, and will be reapplied every time the layout is reopened. Printing Schedules Any P6 layout can be printed using a color or black-and-white printer or plotter, as well as using a PDF-generation software package.
The output is customizable and can include any or all of the layout elements created on the screen. Additionally, header and footer data can be configured to add descriptive information and pictures. The Print Preview window shows the current view of what the schedule will look like if printed, Figure The print settings must be edited in order to make the final printout fit within one page width and show the Gantt Chart.
The Page Setup and Print Setup features are used to customize the print view. Select a Printer or Plotter P6 will allow printing or plotting to any installed printer or plotter. The printers installed on the computer will automatically show in the list of available printers.
From this dialog box, a printer can be selected, print properties set, and paper size and orientation chosen. All five of these tabs have useful features for customizing a printout. Do not alter the number of pages tall. Options The Options tab also provides key features for customizing the printout. These boxes can be toggled in order to show only the elements that are relevant.
For instance, to only show the Gantt Chart, then un-check all other boxes except for Gantt Chart. The layout would then only be a Gantt chart view, without the Activity Table.
If the All Columns box is checked, the printout will show all the open columns in the layout. However, if it is unchecked, the printout will only show those columns which are visible in the layout. So, if some of the columns are hidden by the split between the Activity Table and the Gantt Chart, the hidden columns will not display.
When the Gantt Chart appears in the printout, it is often expanded beyond the point where it will appear on only one page. The layout has already been set to show the entire timescale on only one page; however, it is also necessary to ensure that the software knows what duration of the timescale to display. This allows the timescale to be made as small or as big as necessary for the current needs. This will open a box with a series of automatic date options; however, if it is necessary to select a specific custom date for the layout, then select Custom Date by clicking on it.
Using the navigation buttons, select a date on the calendar and click select. Headers and Footers Headers and footers are optional ways to add descriptive information to printed layouts.
The content of a header or footer is selected or entered, including items such as the project titles, important dates, Gantt Chart or Activity Network legend, a drawing, or a company logo. Headers and footers can appear at the top and at the bottom, respectively, of the first or last page of a printed layout or on all pages, or on no pages. The settings for headers and footers are defined in the Header and Footer tab of the Page Setup dialogue box. Headers and footers are as wide as the page, but their height g can be defined.
The default height is 0. To alter this height, use the up and down arrow keys next to the height field. Each section can contain a different piece of information. Section 1 is the left side of the paper, Section 2 is the middle, and Section 3 is the right side of the paper. The default setting for the number of sections is three.
The number of sections can be edited by using the up and down arrows or typing a number in the field. Use the text formatting buttons to customize the font, font size, color, and layout of each section.
Create a New Project To create a new project, within which to practice these steps, click on the Projects button on the Directory Bar. Chapter 5: Developing and Formatting Schedules The Create New Project wizard walks through the steps and decisions associated with setting up a new schedule. Click Next. This is a form of finish constraint, and will affect the float calculations within the project.
It is usually left blank. The new schedule will be created in the EPS level chosen. It is time to create the list of activities and the logic links which will form the schedule. Add the activities in tables on page and to the new project, with the designated durations and calendar assignments.
Add the logic to the activities according to the tables on page and Recalculate the schedule and record the completion date. Code the activities according to the tables on page and Create a new layout, based on the default Classic Schedule Layout.
Apply organization to the layout such that it is grouped by the phase code and by the stage code. To be continued in Chapter 6. Activity progress will Schedule Options and be recorded by entering actual start dates if an activity Calculation began and actual finish dates for those activities which Schedule Verification and have been completed.
Remaining duration or percent Revisions complete will also be updated for those activities which Practice are still in progress as of the data date. Finally, once the schedule is calculated and the new predicted completion date is recorded, it may be necessary to revise the plan for executing the remaining work. If this becomes the case, activity durations, relationships, constraints, and calendars will be changed to reflect the new plan, and those changes will be documented in a detailed written narrative which ties the revisions to the schedule to actual revisions to the project execution plan.
For example, to create an update schedule from the approved baseline schedule, then back up the baseline schedule. Create a Schedule for Updating To create a new schedule file, based on the original approved baseline schedule, copy the baseline and give it a new name.
Then open the copied schedule and input the progress of activities as of a given data date. When the menu appears next to the cursor arrow, select Copy.
When the menu appears next to the cursor arrow, select Paste. This will open the Copy Project Options dialog box. Typically, all these boxes will be checked. Click OK. The copied schedule will appear in the selected EPS.
In either case, rename the project with a new project ID. Baseline Management and Targeting Previous editions of Primavera scheduling software target one version of a schedule to another. P6 has changed the targeting process and now uses the P6 baseline process. The P6 baseline is a copy of a project, intended to be a snapshot of a previous version of a project.
P6 allows these P6 baseline schedules to be saved within another schedule, and use that P6 baseline as the basis of comparison. It is important to understand that, after a schedule is saved as a P6 baseline, it disappears from view in the Project window, and it can no longer be independently opened. A schedule can be restored into the Project window; however, for the time that it is a P6 baseline, access to that schedule is not available.
P6 allows an unlimited number of P6 baselines to be saved per project, though only four one project baseline and three user baselines can be displayed in the Gantt Chart at one time. Should multiple P6 baselines be required to be displayed, assign three other schedules as the User Baselines Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary. If the P6 baseline is no longer wanted, the schedule can be removed and restored back to being an individual schedule.
The schedule previously saved as a P6 baseline will be restored, and can now be opened independently from the Projects window. The Update The project schedule needs to be updated to reflect the current status of each activity, and by extension of the project as a whole.
The updated schedule must also reflect the current plan to complete the remaining work. The process of keeping the schedule updated is continuous. The monitoring process should occur at least weekly, if not daily, on a project. This is not to suggest that the schedule must be recalculated on a daily basis, but rather that the schedule should be referred to regularly in order to continuously guide the construction activities.
By frequently comparing the schedule to the actual progress, and keeping track of which activities have started or finished, the scheduler is ensuring that the as-built record of the project is accurately represented. As the time approaches for a formal submission of the schedule, the scheduler will need to finalize data collection, to ensure that all activities are properly updated as of the data date. Actual data collection for the creation of a schedule update typically begins a few days prior to the data date.
Once the project is underway, activity progress information will be collected to determine the status of the activities for updating the schedule. One of the best ways to status the schedule is simply by touring the project site and discussing the project with field personnel. Once the progress and as-built information has been gathered and status of the activities has been determined, the schedule will be updated to determine the status of the schedule. Updating Activities As discussed previously, create a copy of the baseline or current project schedule and rename it for the new update, prior to updating any activities.
This is to ensure that each and every update has a unique schedule file associated with it. While it is possible to enter status information into the Activities Tab in the Bottom Layout, it is helpful to have a P6 layout established for entering the status data. If such a layout is created, then the user can enter status information in the Activity Table.
Some find this to be a faster method of inputting the data. In order to create an update layout, create a new layout, as described in Chapter 5. This should be based on work-in-place relative to the total amount of work planned for the activity. Remaining duration will be the amount of time required to complete the activity as determined from the status date. Schedule Options and Calculation The process of schedule calculation is covered in Chapter 5; however, an important scheduling option related to calculation is whether the schedule is being calculated using retained logic, or progress override.
This setting only affects a schedule if some activities are progressing out-of-sequence. By definition: Progress Override—treats an activity with out-of-sequence progress as though it had no predecessors and can progress without delay. Retained Logic—requires that an out-of-sequence predecessor be complete before remaining duration of the successor can finish.
Out-of-Sequence Activity The retained logic setting means that if an activity starts out of sequence, the remaining duration of that activity will not be allowed to continue until after all of its predecessors have finished.
Retained Logic On the other hand, the progress override setting will ignore logic relationships and allow an activity with progress to continue even if its predecessors have not finished. If activities are progressing out of sequence, it is an indicator that work is not being performed according to the current plan, and that the plan should therefore be revised.
If there is significant out-of-sequence progress, it is a sign that the schedule logic needs to be corrected. Once this setting is verified, set the data date and calculate the schedule. Make changes to the outdated logical relationships or planned dates as necessary to reflect the current plan for completing the remaining work.
In the event that the calculated completion date for the schedule is beyond the contract completion date, it might be necessary to revise the plan for construction. Logic or durations should not be revised absent actual changes to the execution plan. Doing so separates the schedule from the execution plan, and makes it no longer representative of the plan going forward. If changes to logic and durations become necessary, the changes should be implemented on a copy of the updated schedule just created.
In this way, there is a record of the progress only schedule, before any changes, as separate from the final schedule with logic and duration revisions incorporated. Finally, any changes made to the schedule must be thoroughly and completely documented in the written narrative.
Therefore, as any changes to the intended means and methods are implemented in the schedule, it is important that the scheduler document those changes. Using the status information provided below, it is your job to create an updated schedule and print out a copy of the updated schedule which displays status information and which compares the activity bars to the baseline schedule, HIGHBL. Create a file for updating. Recalculate the schedule, using Retained Logic, with a new data date of June 3, Record the new completion date for Activity In your update layout, edit the bar options so that the layout shows the primary baseline bars, as well as the current schedule bars.
Print the layout so that all activities are shown on the timescale. Complete the on-line review questions. This part gives the tools needed to answer the above questions, and create the sort of detailed reviews necessary to communicate the results of the reviews to the contractor clearly and succinctly.
Chapter 7 covers how to review baseline schedules, while Chapter 8 covers how to review update schedules. The contractor must be compelled to submit Review Process the baselines schedule as early as possible, but always General Requirements within the contract time limits, so that the schedule of Compliance and Integrity record can be established and used to plan and manage the Technical Compliance Feasibility construction.
When Caltrans receives an electronic schedule file from a contractor, it will come in the form of an XER file. An XER file is simply a condensed file which includes all the relevant schedule information. In order to view the schedule, however, the schedule must be imported. The import wizard can be used to bring XER files into the P6 database. Using this wizard restores the condensed XER data into a viewable schedule.
This will open the Import dialog box, within which to select the type of file being imported. The project will now be restored in the EPS level that was selected. This is a great advantage to Caltrans, in that it provides a great communication tool between the two parties. However, since there are numerous global settings covered in Chapter 4 which can affect the import process, it is important to verify the quality of the import.
To verify that the import was performed correctly; compare the start dates, finish dates, and float values of the printed schedule to those in the imported schedule. The contractor must hold a preconstruction scheduling conference with the resident X X X engineer and their project manager, within 15 days of contract approval.
The contractor shall submit an alphanumeric coding structure to be utilized for the schedule. The baseline schedule is due within 20 days of contract approval.
Errors or omissions on schedules shall not relieve the contractor from finishing all work within the time limit specified for completion of the work. The contractor may show an early completion time on a schedule provided that the requirements of the contract are met.
Early completion time shall be considered a resource for the exclusive use of the contractor. The contractor may also submit for approval a value engineering change proposal in conformance with the provisions in Section See Table The baseline schedule is due within 20 working days of contract approval.
The resident engineer has 20 days to review the baseline schedule, after all supporting data has been submitted. Schedules that are rejected by the resident engineer shall be corrected by the contractor and resubmitted within seven days. The three-step process provides a systematic means of ensuring compliance with the requirements of Section 8 of the Standard Specifications, as well as with good scheduling practices. Schedule should clearly show the logic links between activities.
X X X Schedule should clearly show all controlling activities. X X X Schedule should clearly show the critical path. X X X Schedule must use critical path methodology.
Transmittal Letter X 2. Work completed during the period. Not applicable for the baseline. Must identify unusual conditions or restrictions regarding labor, equipment, or material; including multiple shifts, 6-day work weeks, specified overtime, or work at X times other than regular days or hours. Description of the critical path. Changes to the critical path and schedule completion dates since the last schedule X Not applicable submittal.
Not applicable 6. Description of problem areas. Current and anticipated delays, including: X 7. Cause of Delay X 7. Impact of delay on other activities, milestones, and completion dates X 7. Corrective action and schedule adjustments to correct the delay X 8. Pending items and status of: X 8. Permits X 8. Change orders X 8. Time adjustments X 8. Noncompliance notices X 9. Reasons for an early or late schedule completion date in comparison to the Contract X completion date Contractor must submit an data storage device engineer-approved with an electronic copy of the schedule.
Step 2: Confirm that the electronic schedule file conforms to the Standard Specifications and with good scheduling practice. For instance, upon importing the electronic schedule file, it is beneficial to recalculate the schedule and ensure that there are no logic loops in the schedule, which would render the calculations erroneous.
Additionally, it is helpful to check to ensure that the basic contractual requirements, such as contract duration, have been met. Step 3: Conduct a review of the feasibility of construction, to include reasonableness of durations, correct scheduling of contractually-mandated phasing, and conformance with maintenance of traffic schemes. This is a more detailed step that relies heavily on the construction knowledge of the reviewer.
Combining the three steps conformation of completeness, technical compliance, and feasibility review process into one, results in a lengthily list of requirements to work through. For a simple schedule, the list can be daunting. Therefore, the tables of the three steps, contained in this chapter, have been combined and edited to provide a check list applicable to the specific Level 1, 2, or 3 of the schedule being review.
See Appendix B. Compliance and Integrity Be familiar with what the contractor is required to submit for review. If the contractor has failed to submit everything required by contract, return the submittal to the contractor. Given that it is essential to get an approved baseline schedule in place, and that it is not possible to perform a detailed and thorough review without every part of the submittal, inform the contractor of the incomplete submittal as quickly as possible.
Review Table If the contractor has submitted all the required reports, printouts, and so forth, proceed to reviewing the schedule for technical compliance. Schedule Calculation Rules Retained Logic is the recommended setting.
Activities have clear and legible descriptions. X X X Check for open-end activities. Run Claim Digger, document changes.
In the baseline schedule, the data date is most commonly equal to the contract approval date. This generates the Schedule Log, which will be used later to evaluate the quality of the schedule. Specifically, ensure that there are no logic loops or other errors which would interfere with the CPM calculations. Logic loops occur when a series of activities is linked back Figure Logic Loops into itself. In Figure , clearly, the relationship between the finish of Activity C and the start of Activity A is in error.
This is a critical logical error that corrupts the schedule calculation. If there are loops in the schedule, it must be returned to the contractor for correction. The Schedule Log is a text file that can be automatically generated by P6, and which provides insight into some of the important aspects of the schedule. To open the Schedule Log, click on the Schedule button again, and open the Schedule window.
The Schedule Log contains a wide variety of settings checks, statistics, and warnings. All settings, should be reviewed, however; see Table for a list of some of the more important pieces of information to be review.
Most projects will not be resource leveled. Ignore relationships to and from other projects—shows whether the software took into account logic relationships between the active project and any other projects. This relates to the ability of P6 to have logic links between multiple projects. Given that Caltrans will typically only analyze one project at a time and that intra-project links are unlikely, it is best to ignore these relationships.
Make open-ended activities critical—shows whether the software is set to show activities without successor relationships as critical. This will return either a yes or a no; however, the Standard Specifications require that each activity have at least one predecessor and at least one successor. Therefore, this check is not relevant to the review of schedules for Caltrans projects. If a schedule is submitted with missing successors, that schedule should be returned to the contractor for corrections.
Use Expected Finish Dates—determines whether P6 is accounting for expected finish dates. This check will return a yes or no. The use of expected finish dates is discouraged, because they tend to override the schedule calculations similar to using constraints. If a contractor is using expected finish dates, the contractor should instead be encouraged to revise logic and durations so that the schedule naturally shows the desired finish dates.
Schedule automatically when a change affects dates—in its review of schedules, Caltrans will not want to change the schedule, and will also not want to recalculate the schedule automatically.
This setting should be No. Level resources during scheduling—resource leveling is not typically used in Caltrans projects. If a particular contractor wishes to resource level a project, that fact should be discussed with Caltrans beforehand, and the settings in the software may need to be adjusted.
Recalculate assignment costs after scheduling—relates to cost loaded schedules. When scheduling progressed activities use—refers to whether the schedule is being calculated using retained logic or progress override.
The default setting should be Retained Logic, particularly in the baseline schedule. If a contractor is using Progress Override for calculations, it is a sign that the contractor needs to change the logic to reflect the actual execution plan. Calculate start-to-start lag from—should be Early Start.
Define critical activities as—refers to whether the software is calculating critical activities as longest path, or as a function of a certain value of total float. Caltrans required setting is Longest Path. The default setting is Finish Float, which indicates that total float is calculated by finding the difference between the late finish date and the early finish date.
While in most cases, these two numbers will be the same, activities that are constrained by logic to their start as well as to their finish may show different float values. Calculate float based on finish date of—relates to the ability to have multiple projects linked together. The setting should be Each Project, which indicates that float is only being calculated as a function of the active project alone. Calendar for scheduling Relationship Lag—P6 has multiple settings for calculating lag duration.
The default setting is Predecessor Activity Calendar. Confirm with the contractor that the schedule was originally created with this setting. Calculate multiple float paths—is an advanced analysis function for tracing multiple logical paths to specified activities. Statistics Projects—statistic shows how many projects were scheduled using P6. This relates to the ability of P6 to have more than one project open at a time, and also to the fact that P6 allows for logic links between projects.
Given that Caltrans will typically only analyze one project at a time and that intra-project links are unlikely, this statistic should be equal to 1. Depending on the size of the project, this number should be under ; however, the final number of activities should be determined based on the complexity of the job and the level of detail necessary to plan and manage the work. Not Started—in the baseline schedule, the number of unstarted activities should equal the total number of activities; in update schedules, this shows the number of future activities.
In Progress—in the baseline schedule, there should be no activities in progress; in update schedules, this shows the number of in-progress activities. Completed—in the baseline schedule, there should be no completed activities; in update schedules, this shows the number of completed activities. Relationships—statistic provides the total number of relationships in the schedule. Activities with Constraint—provides a count of the total number of activities with constraints. The use of constraints is discouraged, since they tend to override the logic relationships in the schedule, so any constrained activities should be carefully reviewed.
Warnings Activities without predecessors—shows the number of activities that lack predecessors. This should be no more than one. Activities without successors—shows the number of activities that lack successors. Out-of-sequence activities—shows the number of activities that have started before their predecessor activity has finished.
This number should be zero in the baseline schedule, since there should be no progress. There should never be any actual dates after the data date. There should be no actual dates in the baseline schedule; The update schedule should only contain progress through the data date.
Milestone Activities with invalid relationships—a check on the legitimacy of logic relationships to milestone activities. This should be equal to zero. Finish milestone and predecessors have different calendars—warning tells whether finish milestones and their predecessors have different calendars. For instance, if a predecessor task activity is operating on a six-day work week calendar and finishes on a Saturday, but its successor finish milestone is on a five-day work week where Saturday and Sunday are non-work days, the finish milestone will not be scheduled until the following Monday.
This creates a potential problem in the network calculations. If this number is not zero, each instance of this should be reviewed so that they are understood. Given that Caltrans will be scheduling one project at a time, this should be equal to one. Given that Caltrans will be scheduling one project at a time, this should be equal to the number of activities in the schedule.
Relationships with other projects—there should be no relationships with other projects. This number should be equal to zero. Data Date—is the date as of which the project was calculated. Typically, in a baseline schedule, this should be equal to the contract approval date.
Earliest Early Start Date—statistic shows the earliest early start date in the project after calculation. Typically this will be equal to the data date. A situation where this would be a different date than the data date is if the start of the first activity was constrained to start after the data date though this is not a typical situation. Latest Early Finish Date—the latest early finish date in the schedule after calculation. This date should typically be equal to the contract completion date in the baseline schedule.
This review is a broad overview of conformance with the time-related aspects of the schedule, and should not extend to review of individual construction activities. That level of detail will be examined in the next section. However, note that one of the primary methods of performing this type of top-down review of the schedule is the creation of a Baseline Review Layout which has been properly grouped, either by WBS or by a properly applied set of Activity Codes.
Feasibility Once basic compliance with the specifications is ensured, the reviewer can begin a more detailed review of the plan for construction Review Table The purpose of the written narrative is to provide a summary of the work, explain the plan for construction, show how the schedule meets the specification and plan contractual requirements, identify potential problems, and identify and summarize the critical path.
If work has progressed due to late submission of baseline schedule even if no progress is shown in the schedule , verify actual Caltrans activity start and finish X X X dates against planned dates in the baseline to see if there are any attempts to position for a claim. Data Date: Check that the data date is appropriate. Milestones Ensure that all contractual milestones are identified: project start date, interim X X X milestones, completion date and other pertinent dates.
The schedule must show the start milestone date as the contract approval date. X X X Ensure that milestones are driven by logic and not constrained to a specific date. X X X Verify scope of work necessary to attain each milestone is included in logic path.
X X X Ensure that the tabular milestone schedule list all required milestones. X X X The baseline schedule shall not extend beyond the number of working days specified X X in the contract. Check for unnecessary or unacceptable constraints.
Can distort the schedule X X network, float and the critical path Check for As Late as Possible Constraints, which push that activity to the last possible time before delaying the succeeding work activity.
This is a way of artificially showing X X specific activities as critical. X X Run a calculation check with no constraints to verify the longest path and the effects of the constraints. List all constraints in a report and comment on the unacceptable constraints. Ensure that there is adequate and reasonable time to complete each work task and X X X other related time-based tasks. At least one predecessor and one successor except for project start and finish X X X milestones. At least 50 but not more than activities unless authorized.
Calendars Ensure all calendars have names. Check weekends, holidays for non-work days. Check that all calendars have same holidays, except for 7 day calendars that are used for curing, settlement and so forth.
Ensure that holidays are set up as repeating holidays, where applicable. Check to ensure that work hours conform to any contractually obligated limitations, such as night work or dual shifts.
Seven work days per week for a prolonged period of time is unrealistic, and results in low efficiency. Resource Loading If the contract completion is less than 85 percent of the working days specified in the special provisions, resource allocations for each activity is required.
Review the time-scaled resource histograms that display labor crafts and equipment classes to be utilized on the Contract. Review the resource loading and compare the predicted production rates with RS Means estimates. Work Activities Review the project's order of work requirements and verify that the schedule meet X X X the requirements. Review the late finish dates and verify the activities can truly finish as late as X X X indicated. Check to see if there are any schedule conflicts due to work by different trades or X X X other related work.
Check to see if the schedule reveals any potential issues that may cause schedule X X X delays such as safety, quality, or other project risk issues. The schedule must show where applicable : Work performed by the contractor, subcontractors and suppliers. Procurement, delivery, installation, and testing of materials, plants, and equipment.
Testing and settlement periods. Utility notification and relocation. Major traffic stage switches. Finishing roadway and final cleanup. Other events and activities that could affect the contract completion. Good scheduling practices: All work activities required for coordination and inspection and to show progress X X X of the work is listed.
All applicable administrative time-based tasks such as key submittals, permits, X X X procurement, and so forth is included. Work to be performed by Caltrans that may impact or be impacted by the project X X X is included with Contract specified time to perform the work. Work to be performed by third parties that may impact or be impacted by the project is included with sufficient time to perform the work. The key dates are X X X reasonable. The schedule reflects a logical sequence of progress relative to availability of X X X resources.
This is a subjective analysis, and must be based on knowledge of the project and a determination of how large or small activities must be to successfully manage the work. Activities should not be longer than the update period 30 calendar days , and should not include an excessive number of pay items.
If activities can be limited in scope so that they contain no more than three pay items, those activities will be easier to status when update schedules are required. If possible, review activity durations in comparison to established production rates. Even though the activity has a predecessor, the logic used, only constrains the finish of the activity, not its start.
This typically occurs when there is only one predecessor and the logical relationship is set to finish-to-finish. The activity does not have any constraint on completion, other than their start date. This typically occurs when there is only one successor and the logical relationship is set to start-to-start. These may be used to inappropriately consume float in individual activities, or to force particular activities onto the critical path.
Chapter 7: Reviewing Baseline Schedules Practice The contractor has submitted the baseline schedule file for review. Import the schedule file and review the schedule for technical compliance. The data date for the baseline schedule should be August 8, Verify that the data date for the schedule file is correct. Recalculate the schedule file. Review the key statistics in the Schedule Log. Note any anomalies. Update schedules create a legal record of project Compliance and Integrity progress, and therefore should be carefully reviewed to Technical Compliance Claim Digger ensure that the progress has been accurately represented, Feasibility and that the plan for construction continues to be realistic.
X X X The contractor may included changes Adding or deleting activities, changing constraints, changing durations or changing logic on updated schedules that do not alter a critical X X X path or extend the scheduled completion date compared to the current schedule.
The contractor shall provide a written certificate with the final update submittal attesting to the accuracy of the information. The updated schedules must have a data date of the 21st day of the month unless otherwise directed by the resident engineer , and must show changes from any accepted revised schedules. The contractor must allow 15 days for review after the updated schedule and all support data are submitted.
Be knowledgeable of the requirements of the applicable specification, related to the CPM level that is required on the project. The review process is a detailed breakdown of the requirements of each of the three levels of schedule submittals See Chapter 1.
Step 1: Compliance and Integrity Step 2: Technical Compliance Step 3: The third step of the checklist involves confirming the accuracy of the reported progress, reviewing the revisions made to the schedule, and reconfirming the feasibility of the future construction plan. Activities in the update schedule will be in one of three stages as of the data date. The three stages of progress are: Completed Activities—have both an actual start and an actual finish assigned, as of the data date.
It is important to verify that the actual start and actual finish dates are accurately assigned. The percent complete for a completed activity is percent. In-Progress Activities—have an actual start date assigned, as of the data date, but have not completed. It is important to verify that the actual start date has been accurately assigned, and that the percentage complete is a realistic estimate of the status of completion of the activity. Furthermore, it is important to review the remaining duration to determine whether the number of days predicted for completion of the activity is realistic, given the remaining scope of work.
Future Activities—have not started nor finished as of the data date. These activities will generally be in the same condition as they were in the baseline schedule, in terms of relationships and durations, unless the contractor made revisions to future activities. Revisions to the schedule Schedule Maintenance include changes that the contractor may make to durations, relationships, or constraints, based on an evolving understanding of the work to be performed.
These changes should be directly related to changes to intended means and methods, rather than cosmetic changes meant to cover poor progress. The reasons for the revisions should be discussed in detail in the written narrative.
It is essential for the reviewer to fully understand all the revisions made to the schedule, and to link those changes to actual changes in means and methods. Chapter 8: Reviewing Update Schedules Similar to the baseline review checklist Appendix B , the update schedule checklist Appendix C provides a detailed breakdown of the requirements of each of the three levels of schedule submittals Levels 1, 2, and 3.
The checklist provides a systematic means of ensuring compliance with Section 8 of the Standard Specifications, as well as with good scheduling practices.
To do so, refer to the directions for importing schedules in Chapter 7. Compliance and Integrity It is essential to get an approved update schedule in place, and similar to the submission of the baseline schedule, it is important for the reviewer to have all the documents required by the contract, so that the reviewer can do the most efficient and effective job of reviewing the schedule that is possible. The first step is to confirm that the contractor has submitted to Caltrans everything which is required by the specifications.
Additionally, the written narrative should describe the changes to the schedule, and any issues resulting from said change. If the contractor has submitted all the required reports, printouts, and so forth, then the reviewer can proceed to reviewing the schedule for technical compliance. If the contractor has failed to submit anything required by contract, the reviewer should inform the contractor of the incomplete submittal as quickly as possible and return the submittal to the contractor.
For instance, perform checks to ensure that the schedule has been competently developed Review Table , and does not contain any obvious technical errors which would render the schedule unusable. Chapter 8: Reviewing Update Schedules f Confirm the integrity of the schedule. Specifically, ensure that there are no logic loops See Chapter 7 or other errors which would interfere with the CPM calculations.
This will open the text file containing the Schedule Log information. This tends to negate the logic of the schedule. Again, it is recommended not to use Expected Finish dates, and instead rely on the estimates of Remaining Duration and the logic of the schedule to show when the predicted finish of an activity will be. This is particularly common if the contractor has constrained the last activity of the schedule to the contract completion date, and the updated schedule is predicting late completion compared to that constraint.
This creates the negative float situation. If this setting is defined to show any activity with float less than zero as critical, it will show more activities on the critical path than are actually on the longest path. The required setting by contract is longest path. Warnings Out-of-sequence activities—an important warning in update schedules, because it indicates whether the contractor is following the logic established in the baseline schedule. Significant examples of out-of-sequence progress include working on two phases concurrently which had originally been planned to occur sequentially.
If the contractor is reporting out-of-sequence progress, then the contractor should revise the logic in the schedule to reflect the actual sequence of construction. Chapter 8: Reviewing Update Schedules Claim Digger Claim Digger compares two schedules to one another, to provide a detailed listing of the changes between two schedules. To compare two schedules: a Select the revised project, which will be the updated schedule, by clicking on the Expand button under Select Revised Project.
Navigate through the EPS structure and select the updated schedule as the revised project. After loading the desired schedule, click OK to return to the Claim Digger window.
Navigate through the EPS structure and select the appropriate schedule as the revised project. There are two classifications of data to compare: project level and activity level. All options are selected by default. Once the data fields have been selected, click OK to return to the main Claim Digger window. The most common option is HTML.
Otherwise, navigate to the location where the file is saved, and open the output file manually. Chapter 8: Reviewing Update Schedules The Claim Digger report in the output file provides detailed information about the changes between the schedules. This can indicate that a contractor is trying to reduce the overall predicted duration of the schedule by crashing the schedule..
This can indicate that a contractor is trying to reduce the overall predicted duration of the schedule by crashing the durations. Changing activity names can change the perception of the scope of work contained by an activity. Without associated changes in duration or resources, it is possible that the newly named activity no longer presents a reasonable duration for execution of the new scope of work.
Representation of delays in an updated schedule is not appropriate until a time-impact-analysis has been submitted and accepted by Caltrans for Level 3. Activities should be driven by the logic of the schedule, not constraints.
The narrative is where the contractor describes the changes to the intended means and methods, and how those changes relate to the revisions to the schedule. If there are any changes in the schedule which are not explicitly described in the written narrative, the contractor must be compelled to explain those changes.
X X X The status of all work yet to be performed as-planned dates shall be shown. X X X Actual start dates, percents complete, and finish dates shall be shown as applicable. X X X Data Date Must be the 21st day of each month or other date established by the resident X X X engineer Milestones Ensure that the schedule continues to meet the contract milestone requirements.
Caltrans-owned Float The contractor shall maintain a log of actions [changes] to the Caltrans-owned float and discuss in the narrative report. The contractor must update any change to the Caltrans-owned float activity in the next update schedule.
Ensure that the schedule continues to meet the phasing requirements. During this review process, be in the habit of tracking some key schedule statistics, covered later in this topic. Reported Progress Review of reported progress involves verifying the accuracy of completed and in-progress activities. The review of reported progress should be conducted as follows: a Perform activity-level examination of construction, using the Update Review layout.
Look at the reported Actual Start and Finish dates for completed and in-progress activities. Confirm with field personnel that these dates are accurate.
If possible, review daily records to determine accuracy. Completed activities should have a percentage complete equal to percent. In progress activities will have percentages complete assigned which should represent the amount of work completed for that activity.
Review whether the Remaining Duration appears to be valid to complete the remaining scope of work particularly considering the reported percentage complete. Also review the Actual Duration, to see how it compares to the Original Duration. If the contractor is not completing activities within the Original Duration, it may indicate that there are problems with productivity or with resources on the project.
For instance, if the contractor consistently takes twice as long to complete the installation of storm drainage, but the original durations of future storm drainage activities are unchanged, question the contractor as to how they will complete the work on time, when history is showing that the original durations may be inaccurate.
This is the monitoring process of project controls. Review the schedule submittal for reasonableness in a manner similar to the process for the Baseline Schedule Review, described in Chapter 7, Feasibility.
Look at completed activities for similar work and determine whether the contractor has been able to meet those durations in the remaining period. Compare the plan to the actual resources observed in the field to determine if adequate resources are on site. Document any problems or resource shortages. Ensure that the contractor has accurately updated procurement activities in the schedule. This column represents the number of workdays based on the calendar that the finish date of that activity has changed from the baseline to the current update.
The cause for slippages in the Finish Variance should be determined, documented, and addressed with the contractor. Critical activities have the lowest float, and activities with negative float indicate the project completion is beyond the contractual date. Learn how to use Oracle Primavera P6 to effectively and effectively handle large and medium-sized projects.
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