Programming and Planning Flashcards
How would you develop the tender programme?
- Client requirements and key dates
- Experience from similar projects
- Pressure tested by the market
- Structure by RIBA Stages
What is the purpose of a programme?
- Ensure effective sequencing of the works
- Administrative tool for monitoring progress of the works
- Legally binding if listed as a contract documents
- Assessing extensions of time
- Assisting with resolution of disputes
- Determines cash flow and resources
What are key considerations when developing a programme?
- Understand client/project objectives
- Constraints
- Estimated durations for tasks
- Sequence
- Resources required
- The market and lead times
- Avoiding long durations on a single task
What are the elements of a programme review?
- Assess compliance with the scope and tender documents
- Review progress against baseline
- Client reporting
- Assess programme stability
- Assess time risk allowance
- Assess float
- Ensure cost and resource are aligned
- Account for holidays (Christmas etc - other jurisdictions)
What is time risk allowance?
- Time allocated for likely delays such as crane downtime, adverse weather, plant repairs etc
What are SMART principles?
- Specific
- Measurable
- Agreed
- Realistic
- Time
What is float?
- The amount of time a task can be delayed without impacting subsequent tasks or the project’s overall completion.
What is free float?
- The amount of time a task can be delayed without impacting a subsequent task.
What is total float?
- The amount of time that a task can be delayed without impacting the overall project completion date.
What is terminal float?
- The difference between the planned completion date and the contract completion date
- Typically 10% of the overall project duration
What is a programme baseline?
- The starting point of the programme. Once established, it is used to measure progress and performance.
What is the critical path?
- The sequence of activities determining the minimum time needed for project completion. Any delay to an activity on the critical path will result in a delay to the completion date of the overall project. It is the long string of interrelated tasks.
What are the benefits of critical path analysis?
- Prioritising tasks
- Anticipate and avoid bottlenecks
- Identify float
What are bottlenecks?
- A stage in a project where a task limits or completely prevents progress with subsequent tasks
What is a forward pass?
- Activities start at the earliest possible point to achieve the planned completion date
What is a backward pass?
- Activities start at the latest possible date to achieve the planned completion date
What is acceleration?
- refers to increasing the originally planned or current rate of progress of the works so as to complete the project earlier than would otherwise be the case.
- If the Employer wishes to investigate the possibility of achieving practical completion before the Completion Date, the Contract Administrator shall invite proposals from the Contractor in that regard
- If a contractor receives an invitation to make proposals, it must either provide an ‘Acceleration Quotation’ or explain why it would be impracticable to achieve an early completion of the works
- The ‘Acceleration Quotation’ must identify the amount of time that can be saved and the amount of the adjustment to the ‘Contract Sum’ that the contractor would require. The quotation must include direct costs, consequential loss and expense and an allowance for the cost of preparing the quotation.
What are ways which acceleration could applied to your projects?
- Increased labour
- Extended working hours
- Increased plant and machinery – e.g mobile cranes
- Revised design for buildability
- New materials with shorter lead times
What are the drawbacks of acceleration?
- Law of diminishing returns
- Reduced quality
- Increased costs
- Possible deviations from the clients aspirations
What is a programme dropline?
The most recognised method of progress reporting. This is a line drawn down the programme on a chosen report date indicating tasks that either are ahead or behind schedule.
What is a concurrent delay?
Concurrent delay is used to denote a period of project overrun which is caused by two or more effective causes of delay which are of approximately equal effect. However, if the programme is managed properly, this is very unlikely.
What is project crashing?
Project crashing is compressing your project’s schedule to finish it earlier than your initial target.
What is a programme hammock?
takes two or more tasks in a programme and shows the actual start of the earliest and the actual completion of the latest. The hammock bar will move as the actual programme tasks move.
What is the difference between programming and planning?
A programme refers to a defined sequence of tasks and timescales that are required to complete a project. Planning refers to reviewing and organising the wider tasks required to deliver a project, such as teams, resources and wider objectives. This would be captured in a PEP for example.
