Scheduling Best Practices

Warner Construction Consultants, Inc. 2275 Research Boulevard Suite 100 Rockville, Maryland 20850-3268 301 670-9020 301 670-7977 fax www.warnercon.com

The fifth article in the Scheduling Best Practices series is “Don’t Forget the NonConstruction Activities”. Our colleagues, Marco Ferrante, Managing Consulting in Warner’s Scheduling Group along with John Kimon Yiasemides, Managing Consultant in Warner’s Disputes Resolution Group are both recognized experts in scheduling and scheduling best practices. Marco Ferrante has over 12 years of experience in the Construction and Information Technology field serving Federal and State Government and Commercial industry. He has applied Project Management skills as a Mission Analyst to deliver an integrated Master Schedule for the largest IntelligentTransportation project in the world. Kimon Yiasemides is a recent (May 2005) graduate of the University of Maryland Law School in Baltimore. He is also a 1996 graduate of the University of Florida , School of Building/Construction. Kimon’s work experience includes a 6-year stint in Florida with Centex where he managed a variety of commercial and educational construction projects. Mark Anderson Don’t Forget the Non-Construction Activities by Marco Ferrante, Managing Consultant with contributing editor John Kimon Yiasemides, Managing Consultant When a contractor sets out to create a base-line schedule the initial focus is to schedule the construction activities required to physically build the project; yet, often the source of later-developing schedule problems will stem from a non-construction activity. Overlooked non-construction activities may wreak havoc later on a project schedule because of their very real impact on physical construction activities. Nonconstruction activities, for the purpose of this article, are those activities that do not describe physically putting the work in place. Their importance might be overlooked because the contractor’s focus is often on scheduling the work that matches the schedule of values (or payment schedule), and work that is clearly indicated on the drawings.

Don’t Forget the Non-Construction Activities Page 2 Non-construction activities might not be explicitly linked to the schedule of values because the cost of performing these activities may be included in general conditions and/or overhead costs. Effective management of a project, however, requires integration of all activities that may play a part in performing the duties required by the Contract Documents. This article outlines some non-construction activities that are important to consider in scheduling a construction project and the reasons for their importance. Some major non-construction activities that are important to consider are: • Should Pre-Notice-To-Proceed Items be Scheduled? • Permits • Agency Notification – determining which agencies are required to inspect what aspect of the project and planning their inspections • Subcontractor Buy-Out • Shop Drawings (and their link to procurement activities) • Materials Procurement (general materials and subcontractor procurement) • Testing and Owner Training/Turnover Should Pre-Notice to Proceed (NTP) Items be Scheduled? Some forms of contracting require the contractor to be significantly involved with preNTP activities; Design-Build and Pre-Construction Services contracts are the most common of these contracts. Those contracts usually require either a high integration of design activities or a completely separate pre-construction schedule. Under a more typical Construction Management or General Contracting type of contract there are not as many pre-construction activities to be scheduled. Never the less some of these pre-NTP activities should not be overlooked, especially if they have not been completed at the time of NTP. By putting activities such as “Owner obtains building permit,” or “building 3 drawings completed,” or “final land parcel acquired by Owner” onto the schedule the contractor may track the activities that cross over from the preconstruction time period.

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Don’t Forget the Non-Construction Activities Page 3 Thus, if these activities are delayed the Contractor will already have established how the delay affects his work. He can also then better mitigate the effects of any delay and/or ask for additional time if allowed by contract. This also becomes an important tool in presenting the urgency of obtaining the completion of these items which may be the responsibility of others. Permits Permitting, as mentioned above, may be an activity that begins prior to NTP but finishes after NTP. There are different types of permits required prior to commencing various construction activities. Milestones should be created to represent the issuance of such permits. A zero-day activity milestone may then form a link to the specific work activities awaiting that specific permit’s approval. This helps to prevent a scenario in which the effects of a delayed permit become difficult to explain. Permit types to be aware of and plan for may include the following: grading; EPA wetlands or critical areas (where applicable); storm-water management plans; blasting permits; water use (tap permit); clearing/burning; HAZMAT; inspections (close-out for electrical, plumbing and mechanical), temporary occupancy, and beneficial occupancy. Each of these categories may differ by jurisdiction as to their scope. For example, a grading permit in one jurisdiction may allow activities to proceed prior to the building permit issuance; whereas, in another jurisdiction this same work may not be allowed without a building permit. Along with permitting, subsequent inspections of work-inplace should be included at least as a separate milestone in the schedule, signifying when the next phase of work is ready to begin. For example, a milestone “Closein Inspections Complete Floor 6” signifies that crews can begin hanging drywall. In accelerated schedules with little float, the inspections should be activities representing the duration required for inspection, and coordinated with the respective agencies. Recognition of permits and inspections is an important tool in managing a project; and as importantly, the integration of these milestones into the schedule, appropriately linked to their follow-on activities, will ensure an effective schedule.

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Don’t Forget the Non-Construction Activities Page 4 Agency Notification Agency notifications after NTP, as with permits, should also be considered in developing the construction schedule. The agencies that require notifications and approvals should be coordinated so that they do not interfere with construction progress. Notification may consist of the filing of a simple form, but without allowing adequate response time and approval the project schedule may be adversely affected. For example, airport facilities require notification of the FAA of any cranes or high-rise equipment to be used on the project. It can also be important to include Fire Marshal notification, coordinating the appropriate time required for review of life safety and emergency access issues. Subcontractor Buy-Out Any subcontractors that have not been contracted by the time of NTP should be added as a separate milestone activity. The date for this buy-out may be determined by subtracting the time needed for shop drawings and material procurement (and mobilization time if applicable) from the date the subcontractor activities are to begin. This milestone should indicate the start of the activities discussed below. Shop Drawings Construction materials should not be installed without authorization, which is obtained following the shop drawing and/or submittal process. Thus, the scheduling of construction should begin with a good plan for submissions of shop drawings. Critical shop drawing production, with time for the submittal and approval process, should therefore be included in the construction schedule. Time for the submittal process should be scheduled such that re-submission time included for unique or potentially problematic drawings. The duration required for the design team’s initial review and approval of submittals may be outlined in the contract documents. These requirements should be reviewed prior to scheduling these activities.

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Don’t Forget the Non-Construction Activities Page 5 Shop drawings considered critical to the schedule vary by project but generally include long-lead-time items such as electrical switchgear, emergency generators, elevators, structural steel, custom windows and window walls, and pre-cast concrete structures or panels. These items can slow, or even halt, the construction process if not scheduled properly. However, this is not to say that only the critical material’s shop drawing durations should be scheduled. In fact, the contract documents may require with more specificity the detail required in scheduling material procurement or shop drawing activities. If not otherwise required, the other non-critical shop drawings or submittals can be grouped for ease of scheduling, such as; all Division 10 submittals, or all interior finishes submittals. Also, items which are typically not considered critical may become critical on a particular project due to market demand. For example, when certain materials are scarce, procurement of these materials should be closely tracked. Scarcity may make typically non-critical materials critical to the project. In this way, the availability of the material at the appropriate time can be monitored and controlled. Materials Procurement Shop drawing submittal and approval should be linked directly to material fabrication and procurement activities in the schedule. When material buyouts are accomplished (and procurement durations determined through communication with the assigned subcontractor/supplier) these durations are inserted into the schedule. An estimated procurement time should be inserted as more than just a place holder, but rather as an important duration required in order to begin installation. Often estimated production times do not incorporate seasonal production rates. For example, pre-cast forms production may be hampered by seasonal conditions. This may also depend upon the specific supplier’s facilities (indoor versus outdoors). It may also be dependent upon the suppliers schedule for fabrication of a particular or specialty product. For example, a particular steel shape or wire gauge may have to be produced in a specific sequence, waiting its turn among other customer orders.

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Don’t Forget the Non-Construction Activities Page 6 Any custom or unusual components require investigation into the specifics of its fabrication schedule. All of these issues affect the ability to install materials, however by tracking the procurement process and its impact, it is possible to better manage their affects. Testing and Owner Training/Turnover As the end of the job approaches, and the contractor looks for his final payment and to avoid liquidated damages charges by finishing on time, he may be surprised to find that there are still a few activities that remain to be completed even thought the vast majority of work-in-place is complete. By scheduling testing and Owner training or turn-over the contractor can be sure that there are not unexpected delays to the final payment or completion of the project. The testing of mechanical systems, electric generators, elevators, and other specialty equipment can often consume significant, critical path time. Owner training may be difficult to schedule or coordinate, and depending on the contract may or may not be required for substantial completion. Turnover of a phased project may require Owner training or other special scheduling requirements that should be considered, such as production and submission of O&M manuals. In conclusion, remember that the more non-construction items you are able to schedule the less likely you are to overlook the one item that grinds construction to a halt. Effective use of a schedule includes scheduling critical non-construction activities and their ties to the activities they affect.

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