Time

Management
Scheduling

Lecture 4
 Project Scheduling

Scheduling “is the determination of the

timing and sequence of operations in the
project and their assembly to give the overall
completion time”.

• Scheduling adds a time dimension to the

planning process.
• Scheduling = Planning + Time
Dr. Ahmad Abbas El-Banna
 Project Scheduling Input

• The inputs to network scheduling of any

project are:
1. Network whether AOA or AON
2. Estimate of each individual activity
duration.
B
3

A C E
3 4 5

D
6
Dr. Ahmad Abbas El-Banna
 Critical Path Method (CPM)

The CPM is a systematic scheduling

method, which involves 4 main steps:
[[

1. A forward pass to determine activities early-

start times. (early-start times of activities)
2. A backward pass to determine activities late-
finish times. (late-finish times of activities)
3. Float calculations
4. Identify critical activities
 Forward Pass
▪ The forward pass proceeds from the left-
most activity in the network and moves to
the right.
▪ Calculates ES and EF for each activity
➢ Early-start times (ES)
➢ Earliest time an activity can start without
violating precedence relations
➢ Early-finish times (EF)
➢ Earliest time an activity can finish without
violating precedence relations
 Forward Pass

• Early Dates:
• ES = Largest EF of preceding activities
• EF = ES + Duration

Predecessor Successor
1 1

Activity
Predecessor Successor
2 1

Dr. Ahmad Abbas El-Banna

 Forward Pass
(+), The greatest
1 2 3

3 3 6
Project
B Duration
3
6
0 3 3 3 7 9 14
A C 7 E
3 4 9 5

3 9 ES EF
D
3 Name
6 D
Dr. Ahmad Abbas El-Banna
 Forward Pass

ES = Early Start
EF = Early Finish
D = Duration of activity

• All successor activities can start only after

the latest predecessor is finished.
• ES time for activity equals the latest finish
time of all predecessors.

Dr. Ahmad Abbas El-Banna

 Backward Pass

• The backward pass is defined as the

process of navigation through a network
from finish to start for calculating the late
dates for all activities.
• The backward pass determines the late-
finish (LF) times of activities by proceeding
backward from the last activity to the first.
This pass along with the forward pass, helps
identifying the critical path and the float of
all activities. Dr. Ahmad Abbas El-Banna
 Backward Pass
➢ Late-start times (LS)
➢ Latest time an activity can start without
delaying the completion of the project
➢ Late-finish times (LF)
➢ Latest time an activity can finish without

delaying the completion of the project

Late Dates:
LF = smallest LS of succeeding activities
LS = LF – Duration
 Backward Pass
(-), The Smallest
3 2 1

9 Project
B Duration
6 3 9
6
14
A 5
C 9
E
0 3 3 5 4 9 9 5 14
3

ES EF
D 9 Name
3 6 9 LS D LF
 Backward Pass

LS = Late Start
LF = Late Finish
LS = LF – D.

• All predecessor activities can finish only

before the earliest successor is started.
• LF time for activity equals the earliest LS
time of all successors.

Dr. Ahmad Abbas El-Banna

 Forward/Backward Pass

3 6
Project
B Duration
6 3 9

0 3 3 7 9 14
A C E
0 3 3 5 4 9 9 5 14

3 9
ES EF
D
Name
3 6 9 LS D LF
Dr. Ahmad Abbas El-Banna
 Total Float

Main types of Float are Total Float (TF) and Free

Float (FF).

• Total Float (Slack) determine the flexibility

of an activity to be delayed.

• Total Float is defined as the maximum

amount of time an activity can be delayed
from its early start without delaying the
entire project
Dr. Ahmad Abbas El-Banna
 Total Float
• Total float values of activities are very
useful for practical scheduling of the
activities and in responding to the many
changes that occur on site.

• Total Float = Total Slack = LS – ES = LF –

EF
2 2 8
B
4 6 10
Dr. Ahmad Abbas El-Banna
 Total Float

ES EF=ES+d Total Float

Activity is early
d

ES LS=LF-d LF
Activity is late d

Total time available for the activity = LF - ES

Total Float = Total Slack = LS – ES = LF – EF

 Free Float

• Free float is defined as the maximum

amount of time an activity can be delayed
without delaying the early start of the
succeeding activities.

Dr. Ahmad Abbas El-Banna

 Free Float

• Free Float (FF) = Min ES (of succeeding

activities – EF (of activity).
10 15
E
10 7 17
2 2 8
B
4 6 10
12 17
F
12 5 17
Dr. Ahmad Abbas El-Banna
 Float Calculation

3 3 3 6
Project
B Duration
6 3 9

0 0 0 3 3 2 2 7 9 0 0 14
A C E
0 3 3 5 4 9 9 5 14

3 0 0 9
ES TF FF EF
Critical D
Activity Name
3 6 9 LS D LF
Dr. Ahmad Abbas El-Banna
 Identifying Critical Activities

• Activities with zero total floats means that

they have to be constructed right at their
schedule times, without delays.
• These activities (TF=0) are considered to be
critical.
• They deserve the special attention of the
project management because any delay in
critical activities causes a delay in the project
duration.
Dr. Ahmad Abbas El-Banna
 The Critical Path

• The critical path is the path with zero float.

• The longest path is the path with zero float if
no imposed finish date is used.
• Critical path activities form a continuous
path of the critical activities that spans from
the beginning to the end of the network.

Dr. Ahmad Abbas El-Banna

 The Critical Path

• In every network, at least one critical path

must exist.
• It is possible that more than one critical
path are formed, the length (duration) of
these critical paths is the same.
• Multiple critical paths may share some
activities.
• A path cannot be partially critical, the entire
path must be either critical or noncritical.
Dr. Ahmad Abbas El-Banna
 Lags & Leads

• Lag is a mandatory waiting period between

the completion (or start) of an activity and
the start (or completion) of its successor, and
a lead is a negative lag.
• They are shown as numbers above the lines
of arrows (relations).

Dr. Ahmad Abbas El-Banna

Lags & Leads (FS-relation)

+
0 3 17 19
14 Lag
Pour Concrete Remove Form
11 3 14 28 2 30
–

+
0 21 -10 11 46
Excavation Lay Pipe Lead
14 21 35 25 35 60
–
Dr. Ahmad Abbas El-Banna
Lags & Leads (SS-relation)

0 3 0 5
Bore Pile Inject Bentonite Zero Lag
5 3 8 5 5 10

12
+
0 21 12 47
Excavation Lay Pipe Lag
13 21 34 25 35 60
–
Lead not recommended for use
Dr. Ahmad Abbas El-Banna
Lags & Leads (FF-relation)

0 3 1 3
Install Cable Tension Cable Zero Lag
7 3 10 8 2 10

+ 15
0 15 10 30
Form work Steel Rebar Lag
30 15 45 40 20 60
–
Lead not recommended for use
Dr. Ahmad Abbas El-Banna
 Multiple Activity Relation

0 5 0 10 5
Excavation
5 17
5 10 15 3 15
5 15
7 5 17 5 5 0 17
Pipe Laying
8
10 12 22 9 24
11 23 10 25
10 22 10 5 0 25
4 Backfill
15 15 30

Dr. Ahmad Abbas El-Banna

 Schedule Presentation

• After CPM calculations are made, it is

important to present their results in a
format that is clear and understandable to
all the parties involved in the project.
• The simplest form is Bar Chart or Gantt
Chart.
• Early Gantt chart is drawn using ES times
of activities, while the late Gantt chart is
drawn using the LF times.
Dr. Ahmad Abbas El-Banna
 Draw Early and Late Bar Chart

3 3 3 6
B
6 3 9

0 0 0 3 3 2 2 7 9 0 0 14
A C E
0 3 3 5 4 9 9 5 14

3 0 0 9
ES TF FF EF
D
Name
3 6 9 LS D LF
 Early Bar Chart

Activity 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 days

A
TF = 3

B
TF = 2
C

Dr. Ahmad Abbas El-Banna

 Late Bar Chart

Activity 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 days

TF = 0
B
TF = 0
C

Dr. Ahmad Abbas El-Banna

 Why do we need Scheduling?

1. To predict project completion.

2. To predict when specific activities start &
end.
3. To arrange for procurement of materials &
equipments
4. To prevent conflicts between crews or sub-
contractors.

Dr. Ahmad Abbas El-Banna

 Why do we need Scheduling?

5. To determine & control resource requirement.

6. To plan cash flow.
7. To evaluate effects of changes on project
completion.

Dr. Ahmad Abbas El-Banna

 Example 1
No. Act Dur IPA Lag
1 A 2 ___
2 B 5 A 2
3 C 6 A
4 D 6 B
5 E 7 B 3
6 F 4 B, C
7 G 5 C
8 H 10 D, E, F 0, 0, 2
9 I 8 E, F, G
10 J 7 D
11 K 1 H, J, I 0, 0, 1
 Example 1

D J
6 7

B
3 E
5 7
H
2 2 10

A F K
2 4 1 1

I
8
C G
6 5
 Example 1 Solution
9 4 0 15 15 7 7 22
D J
13 6 19 22 7 29

4 0 0 9 12 0 0 19
B 3 E
4 5 9 12 7 19 19 0 0 29
H
2 2 19 10 29
0 0 0 2 9 4 4 13 29 0 0 30
A F K
0 2 2 13 4 17 29 1 30
1
19 1 1 27
I
2 5 0 8 8 7 6 13 20 8 28
C G
7 6 13 15 5 20

ES TF FF EF

Activity (i)

LS Duration LF
Critical Path: A-B-E-H-K
 Example 2

3
C H
4 9

A -1 8
10

I
2 D E 12
28 14

Start
0

B F G
12 10 20

Dr. Ahmad Abbas El-Banna

 Example 2 Solution
3 0 0 7 30 5 5 39
3
C H
3 4 7 35 9 44
0 0 0 10
A -1 8
0 10 10
44 0 0 56
2 0 0 30 24 0 0 38 I
2 D E 44 12 56
2 28 30 24 14 38
0 00 0
Start
0 0 0

0 0 0 12 12 2 2 22 24 0 0 44
B F G
0 12 12 14 10 24 24 20 44

ES TF FF EF

Activity (i)
Critical Path 1: A-C-D-E-I
LS Duration LF Critical Path 2: B-D-E-G-I
 Example 3
For the given precedence diagram, complete the forward and
backward pass calculations. Assume the project starts at T=0, and no
splitting on activities is allowed. Also assume that the project latest
allowable completion time (project duration) is scheduled for 30
working days.
D F
Test & debug SF 12 Decument
program program
FS 0 (D=6) (D=12)
A B
Develop SS 3 Write comp.
system spec. FF 4 program
(D=8) (D=12)
SS 6 C E
Collect FS 0 Run
system data program
(D=4) (D=6)
 Example 3 Solution

TF= 3 TF= 3
FF = 0 FF = 0

TF= 3
15 21 15 27
TF= 3 SF 12 TF= 3
FF = 0 D F
FF = 0 FF = 0
FS 0
0 8 3 15 1 6 24 18 12 30 27 27
A SS 3 B 8 END
FF 4
3 8 11 6 12 18 9 13 21 27 30 0 30
SS 6 C E
FS 0
14 4 18 24 6 30
TF= 5 TF= 3
FF = 2 FF = 0
TF=
FF =
ES EF

Activity (i)

LS Duration LF
 Example 3 Solution
Computing Slack Time (Float Time)

Activity ES EF LS LF TF Critical

A 0 8 3 11 3 Yes
B 3 15 6 18 3 Yes
C 9 13 14 18 5 No
D 15 21 15 21 3 Yes
E 21 27 24 30 3 Yes
F 15 27 18 30 3 Yes

❑ Critical path is the path with the least total float = The longest
path through the network.

Critical Path 1: A-B-D-E, Critical Path 2: A-B-D-F

Critical Activities: A, B, D, E, and F
Example (4)

42
Example (4)

43