Scheduling -- Construction Bootcamp (Part 7)

This course will give you a solid understanding of what a schedule is: a vital plan to execute construction projects based on time, duration, and the sequencing of activities. The course introduces the most commonly used method, the Critical Path Method (CPM), and demonstrates how schedules are used not only to manage time, but also crucial resources like workforce, money, equipment, and specialty contractors.

The course will guide you through the various stages of construction scheduling, from creating a high-level conceptual schedule and detailed bid schedule to developing and updating the comprehensive contract schedule used throughout the project. You will learn the specific roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders, including how the owner sets project deadlines and how the general contractor creates, manages, and distributes schedules. Furthermore, you will understand how different team members, such as the project manager and superintendent, utilize schedules for planning and prioritizing work, monitoring crew performance, and coordinating critical site activities and deliveries.

Mastering schedule management is crucial for coordinating teams, managing client expectations, and ensuring accountability. This course empowers you to identify and manage the critical path, which is the longest sequence of activities that must finish on time to meet the project's completion date. You will learn tangible strategies to improve schedules, such as overlapping activities with negative lag or resequencing tasks to accelerate completion. The course covers the importance of regular schedule updates (weekly and monthly) and the simple four-step process of authoring, publishing, gathering feedback, and continually updating schedules. You will walk away with the ability to effectively plan, manage, and optimize construction timelines, ultimately maximizing profit and productivity while minimizing risk.