📘 Chapter 1 Summary – Introduction

(From “Construction Project Scheduling and Control” by Saleh Mubarak, 4th

Edition, 2019)
Pages Covered: 1–14

🔑 Key Concepts Covered:

 What is a project?
 Difference between planning and scheduling
 Project control fundamentals
 Importance of scheduling (contractor vs. owner perspective)
 Role of the scheduler
 The tripod of a good scheduling system

🧱 1. What is a Project?
 Defined by PMI as a temporary endeavor with a unique product or
result.
 Must have a clear start, finish, and deliverable.
 Differs from programs and portfolios:
o Project = One-off unique outcome.

o Program = A group of related projects.

o Portfolio = Group of independent projects/programs for strategic

goals.
📌 Example: “Saving $50,000 in 5 years” = a project; “saving money” = not a
project.

2. Planning vs. Scheduling

 Planning = Thinking, defining scope, estimating, feasibility studies, etc.
 Scheduling = Determining when activities will happen and in what order.
 Planning = strategic; Scheduling = tactical.
📌 Analogy: Planning a road trip = destinations, budget, people. Scheduling =
exact route and dates.

📊 3. What Is Project Control?

  Control = comparing actuals vs. baseline (time, cost, scope) and making
corrections.
 Important to measure variance regularly and act before small issues grow.

4. Why Schedule Construction Projects?

Contractor’s Perspective:
 Ensures finish by deadline (avoid penalties)
 Coordinates trades and suppliers
 Plans resource usage and cash flow
 Evaluates impact of change orders and delays
 Serves as proof in delay claims
Owner’s Perspective:
 Confirms feasibility of deadlines
 Predicts cash flow needs
 Verifies contractor progress and delay claims
 Helps in approving/reviewing change orders
📌 Schedulers often use CPM (Critical Path Method) to plan timelines,
dependencies, and float.

👨‍💻 5. The Scheduler: Role and Skills

 Needs 3 areas of expertise:
1. Scheduling software (Primavera, MS Project)
2. CPM theory and scheduling principles
3. Field/domain knowledge (e.g., commercial, residential construction)
🚨 Warning: Knowing software alone ≠ qualified scheduler.

🪜 6. The Tripod of Scheduling Success

For a system to work well, it must have:
1. Human Factor – Trained scheduler
2. Technology – Reliable software/hardware
3. Management Support – Belief in and use of the schedule for decisions
📌 Weakness in any one leg = system failure.
📘 Chapter 2 Summary – Bar (Gantt) Charts
(From “Construction Project Scheduling and Control” by Saleh Mubarak, 4th
Edition, 2019)
Pages Covered: 15–22

🔑 Key Topics:
 Definition and origin of bar charts
 Variations of bar charts
 Advantages and limitations
 Summary vs. detailed bar charts
 Practical usage in construction

1. What is a Bar (Gantt) Chart?

 A bar chart is a time-scaled graphical representation of project activities.
 Activities are listed on the vertical axis, and time is shown on the
horizontal axis.
 Each activity is represented by a horizontal bar indicating its start,
duration, and end.
📜 Origin: Developed by Henry L. Gantt in 1917. That’s why they’re also called
Gantt Charts.

🧰 2. Types and Customization

 Bars may show:
o Only duration (basic form)

o Budget or resource loading

o Percent complete

o Comparisons between planned vs. actual progress

 Modern software (like Primavera P6 or MS Project) enables:

o “Necked” bars for interrupted tasks

o Curves (e.g., S-curves) for budget, manpower, or progress tracking

✅ 3. Advantages of Bar Charts

1. Simplicity – Easy to understand and create.
 2. Time-scaled – Length of the bar reflects actual duration.
3. Visual clarity – Especially useful for non-technical audiences (e.g.,
clients, executives).
4. Roll-up/Roll-down flexibility:
o Activities can be summarized by phase, floor, or trade.

o Example: Show thousands of activities as 30–40 summary bars for a

high-rise.
📌 Despite newer tools, bar charts have evolved into reporting tools, not just
scheduling tools.

⚠️4. Disadvantages of Bar Charts

1. Lack of logic – They don’t show relationships between activities (e.g.,
dependencies or sequencing).
2. Can get cluttered – In large projects, showing too many activities makes
charts hard to read.
3. No critical path insight – Cannot determine float or identify critical
activities unless integrated with CPM.
4. Hard to analyze delays – Cannot prove cause-effect of delays like logic
networks can.

🪄 5. When to Use Bar Charts

 Best used for:
o Short-term planning (e.g., 2-week lookahead)

o Client-facing reports

o High-level summaries for executives

 To preserve clarity:
o Use filters or grouping

o Only show relevant periods or trades

o Avoid overloading with too much data

🧩 6. Summary Activities & Roll-ups

 A summary bar is made of multiple lower-level activities.
 You can “expand” or “drill down” into them to view detailed tasks.
 Very useful for:
 o Executive reporting

o Planning by discipline (civil, electrical, etc.)

🧠 Pro Tip:
💬 “The most important advantage of bar charts is their simplicity. Whatever you
do, don’t lose this advantage.”
📘 Chapter 3 Summary – Basic Networks
(From “Construction Project Scheduling and Control” by Saleh Mubarak, 4th
Edition, 2019)
Pages Covered: 23–44

🔑 Key Topics:
 What is a network?
 Types: Arrow networks (AOA) vs. Node networks (AON)
 Dummy activities and their purpose
 Lags, leads, and drawing tips
 Comparing bar charts and networks

🔄 1. What is a Network?
A network diagram is a graphical, logical, and chronological way to represent
the sequence of project activities. It's the backbone of Critical Path Method
(CPM) scheduling.
Two major types:
 Arrow Networks (AOA): Activities are shown on arrows.
 Node Networks (AON): Activities are shown in boxes (more common
today).

🏹 2. Arrow Networks (Activity on Arrow – AOA)

 Arrows represent activities.
 Nodes (circles) represent events—start or end of activities.
 Each activity is defined by two nodes: from (I) and to (J) → e.g., Activity A
= 10→20.
📌 Used more in the past; still important to understand for historical and
comparative reasons.
🧩 3. Dummy Activities
Sometimes used to:
 Maintain logic (sequence of activities)
 Avoid confusion when two activities have the same start and end nodes
Dummy activity:
 Shown as a dashed arrow.
 Has zero duration.
 Used only to preserve unique identification and logical correctness.
📌 Example: If both B and C go from node 20 to 30, use a dummy to distinguish
them.

🧠 4. Logic Relationships
 Every activity has predecessors and successors.
 A network ensures the right order of tasks is respected.
 Events help define key points like "Notice to Proceed" or "Project
Completion."

🧮 5. Network Examples & Common Cases

 Multiple case studies in this chapter show how to build networks:
o With one or multiple starting activities

o With merging and branching paths

o With dummy activities to clarify dependencies

📌 Practical exercises help strengthen your understanding of how to build and

read these diagrams.

🔗 6. Leads, Lags & Drawing Tips

 Lead: Allows an activity to start before its predecessor finishes.
 Lag: Delay inserted between activities.
 Recommendations:
o Avoid overly complex networks.

o Keep node numbering simple (e.g., increments of 10 or 100).

o Use clear and consistent formatting for easier updates.

🆚 7. Bar Charts vs. Networks

Bar
Feature Networks (CPM)
Charts

❌ No (unless time-scaled
Time-scaled ✅ Yes
logic)

Logical
❌ No ✅ Yes
relationships

Critical path
❌ No ✅ Yes
shown

Complexity
❌ Limited ✅ Better suited
handling

🧠 Pro Tip:
"Use bar charts to communicate with clients. Use network diagrams to control
the project."
📘 Chapter 4 Summary – The Critical Path Method (CPM)
(From “Construction Project Scheduling and Control” by Saleh Mubarak, 4th
Edition, 2019)
Pages Covered: 45–92

🔑 Key Topics:
 What is the Critical Path Method?
 Steps to schedule a project using CPM
 Float types and calculation
 Critical path identification
 Lag, lead, constraints
 Schedule health check and cash flow impact

🧠 1. What is the Critical Path Method (CPM)?

CPM is a scheduling technique used to determine:
 Earliest project completion date
 Critical activities that must stay on track
 Float/slack available for other tasks
✅ The critical path is the longest path through the project with zero total
float.
🪜 2. Main Steps in CPM Scheduling
1. Define activities
2. Sequence activities (build network diagram)
3. Estimate durations
4. Assign start/finish times
o Forward pass: Calculates earliest start (ES) and finish (EF)

o Backward pass: Calculates latest start (LS) and finish (LF)

5. Determine float
6. Identify the critical path
7. Draw Gantt chart or time-scaled diagram
8. Run schedule analysis
📌 Example 4.1 walks through this process with a simple network.

3. Types of Float
 Total Float: Time an activity can be delayed without delaying the project.
 Free Float: Time an activity can be delayed without delaying the next
activity.
 Negative Float: Occurs when schedule constraints force unrealistic
timelines.
 Float Check: Validate if float values make sense (e.g., no float for critical
path).

🧭 4. Identifying the Critical Path

 The path where total float = 0
 Any delay in this path = delay in project
 May not be unique — multiple critical paths can exist
 Can shift when:
o Progress updates are entered

o Constraints or durations are modified

🧮 5. Using CPM with Software

Modern software like Primavera P6 or MS Project automates:
  Forward/backward passes
 Float calculations
 Critical path highlighting
 “What-if” scenario modeling
📌 Ensure you're using correct logic types (Finish-to-Start, Start-to-Start, etc.) and
conventions (start/end of day).

6. Lags, Leads & Constraints in CPM

 Lag: Wait time between activities
 Lead: Allowing overlap between dependent activities
 Avoid unnecessary or complex constraints that distort CPM logic.
 Be cautious using constraint dates—they can override float logic.

❤️7. Schedule Health & Cash Flow

Health check includes:
 Balanced resource allocation
 No negative float (unless intentional)
 No redundant logic or disconnected paths
 Reasonable activity durations
Impact on Cash Flow:
 Early starts may trigger early payments
 Late finishes may impact profitability

🧠 Pro Tip:
“The true power of CPM isn’t in making pretty charts—it’s in understanding what
drives the project.”