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Construction Management - Lecture 5

The document discusses network schedule calculations for project management. It covers calculating early and late start/finish times using forward and backward passes through the network. Total float and free float are defined as measures of schedule flexibility. The critical path is identified as the longest duration path establishing the minimum project duration. An example network schedule is presented and key terms are defined.

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hamza abu alshaar
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50 views23 pages

Construction Management - Lecture 5

The document discusses network schedule calculations for project management. It covers calculating early and late start/finish times using forward and backward passes through the network. Total float and free float are defined as measures of schedule flexibility. The critical path is identified as the longest duration path establishing the minimum project duration. An example network schedule is presented and key terms are defined.

Uploaded by

hamza abu alshaar
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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NETWORK SCHEDULE

CALCULATIONS
TIME UNITS
Any time unit can be used in performing network
schedule calculations. The only requirement is that
the duration of all activities in the network is
expressed in the same time unit.
FORWARD PASS
 Purpose
The purpose of performing a forward pass on a network
schedule is to calculate the earliest time each activity
in the network can start and finish and the minimum
overall duration of the project.

 Starting Point
The starting point for performing a forward pass is the
first activity in the network. In classical schedule
calculations, the early start (ES) time is always time
zero, which is the point from which all time on the
project is measured.
ES0 = 0
 Early Finish (EF)
The earliest an activity can finish is the early start of
that activity plus that activity’s duration. Therefore, the
early finish of an activity “n” in the network can be
calculated as follows:
EFn = (ESn + Dn)

 Early Start (ES) ( activity with single predecessor)


When an activity has a single predecessor, the early
start of the successor activity is equal to the early finish
of its predecessor activity.
 Early Start (ES) ( activity with multiple predecessors)
The early start of any activity in a network can be determined
as the latest or maximum early finish time of all that activity’s
direct predecessors.
In general, the early start for any activity in the network can be
expressed as the maximum early finish time of that activity’s set
of direct predecessors:
ESn = Max{ EFn-1, EFn-2, …}
Where: ESn = Activity early start being calculated
EFn-k = Activity “n” predecessor early finish

 Project Duration
The minimum overall project duration is based on the activities,
durations, and logic incorporated into the network. Adding,
deleting, or changing the network activities, durations, or logic
could alter the overall project duration
BACKWARD PASS
 Purpose
The purpose of performing a backward pass on a
network is to calculate the latest time that each
activity in the network can start and finish and
still maintain the minimum overall duration of the
project as calculated by the forward pass.
 Starting Point
The starting point in performing a backward pass on
an activity network is the last activity in the network.
The minimum overall project duration was
determined by the early finish of the last network
activity. Therefore, the latest that the last activity in
a network can finish and still maintain the minimum
overall project duration calculated in the forward pass
is the early finish time of that activity.
In classical schedule calculations, the backward pass
always starts with the late finish time of the last
activity being set equal to its early finish time.

LF last activity in the network = EF last activity in the network


 Late Start (LS)
The latest any activity in the network can start and
not delay the minimum overall duration of the
project is that activity’s late finish minus its
assigned duration. Therefore, the late start of any
activity in the network can be calculated as follow:
LSn = ( LFn – Dn)

 Late Finish (LF) ( activity with single successor)


When an activity has only one successor activity,
the late finish of that activity is equal to the late
start of its lone successor activity.
 Late Finish (LF) ( activity with multiple successors)
The late finish of any activity in a network can be
determined as the earliest or minimum late start time
of all of that activity’s direct successors.
In general, the late finish times for any activity in the
network can be expressed as the minimum late start
time of that activity’s set of direct successors:
LFn = Min{ LSn+1, LSn+2, …}
Where: LFn = Activity late finish being calculated
LSn+k = Activity “n” successor
 Completing the Backward Pass
The late start and finish dates for any activity in the
network can only be calculated after the late starts and
finishes have been calculated for all of that activity’s
direct successors.
Therefore, the late start and finish must be calculated
for all activities in the network before the first activity
in the network late start and finish can be calculated.
TOTAL FLOAT
Total float is a measure of leeway in starting and
completing an activity.
Total float is commonly used in managing
construction projects as a means of identifying
critical activities and critical activity path through
the network.

Total float represents the total mount of time along


a given network path that the actual start and
finish of activities along that path can deviate from
the planned early start and finish times without
affecting the minimum overall project duration.
TOTAL FLOAT
The total float of each activity in the network can
be calculated by either of the following two
methods:

Method Number Calculation


1 TFn = LSn - ESn
2 TFn = LFn - EFn

Both methods yield exactly the same result for all


activities in a network.
TOTAL FLOAT
Total float is calculated and reported individually
for each activity in a network. However, total float
is an attribute of a network path and not
associated with any one specific activity along that
path. Deviation from planned early start and finish
for any activity along a network path reduces the
available total float for all activities along that
path. Use of the entire total float along a network
path by one or more activities eliminates the total
float for all activities on that path.
FREE FLOAT
Free float is also referred to as activity float
because, unlike total float, free float is the property
of an activity and not of the network path.
Free float defines the amount of time that an
activity’s start can be delayed without affecting the
early start date of any successor activity in the
network.
Free float is rarely, if ever, used in planning and
managing construction projects.
FFn = Min { ESn+1- EFn, ESn+2 – EFn, ….}
CRITICAL PATH
 The critical path of a project is the longest path
through the network that establishes the
minimum overall project duration.
 The critical path is composed of a continuous
chain of activities through the network schedule
with zero total float.
 All activities on the critical path must start and
finish at their planned times or the project will
not completed on the calculated early/late finish
of the last activity in the network.
CRITICAL PATH
 Failure of a critical path activity to start or finish
at the planned early and late finish times will
result in the overall project duration being
extended.

 For the classical schedule calculations, it is both


necessary and sufficient for an activity to be on
the critical path if the activity’s total float is zero
NETWORK REPORT
A network report summarizes schedule information and
calculations in a tabular format.
Activity Activity Planned Early Early Late Late Total Free
number description duration Start Finish start Finish Float Float
(days) (ES) (EF) (LS) (LF) (TF) (FF)
100 A 2
110 B 5

The information presented in the table minus free float is the


minimum information needed to plan and manage a
construction project using a network schedule.
Additionally, other information such as actual activity start
and finish days, cost, and resource information could also be
included in the network report.
EXAMPLE

A B D
5 10 10

C
15
Activity Duration ES EF LS LF TF FF
A 5 0 5 0 5 0 0
B 10 5 15 10 20 5 5
C 15 5 20 5 20 0 0
D 10 20 30 20 30 0 0
A B1 B2 D
5 5 5 10

C
15
EXAMPLE
A I
35 25

B E
5 10

C F
10 5

G H K
5 20 20

D J
20 15
Activity Duration ES EF LS LF TF FF
A 35 0 35 0 35 0 0
B 5 0 5 20 25 20 0
C 10 0 10 5 15 5 0
D 20 0 20 0 20 0 0
E 10 5 15 25 35 20 20
F 5 10 15 30 35 20 20
G 5 10 15 15 20 5 5
H 20 20 40 20 40 0 0
I 25 35 60 35 60 0 0
J 15 20 35 45 60 25 25
K 20 40 60 40 60 0 0
ES EF
TF
Activity ID

Duration
FF
LS LF

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