Critical Path Method

CEL5403
Introduction

 Developed by Du Pont and Spery Rand Corporation in

1957.
 For application in industrial situations like construction,
manufacturing, maintenance etc.
 Wide acceptance in construction industry.
 Repetitive type of Projects.
Process of CPM application

1. Describe
2. Determine
3. Predict
4. Analyze
5. Replan
6. Allocate
7. Develop
CPM Networks
Activity Time Estimate

 After finalizing the network, the next step is to estimate the time
required for the completion of each activity of the network.
 Two approaches maybe used for the assessment of duration of activity
completion. : (a) probabilistic approach (b) deterministic approach
 CPM utilize deterministic approach and no uncertainties are taken
into consideration.
 Estimated time, represented by “t” is directly used for network
analysis.
Earliest Event Time

 Earliest time at which an event can occur.

 This Term is analogues to the earliest expected time used in PERT
Example
Latest Allowable Occurrence Time
Combined Computation for TE and TL
Start and Finish Times of Activities
Float

 The term float is associated with activity times.

 It is analogous to the term slack which was associated with the event
times.
 Just as the slack denotes the flexibility range within which an event
can occur, float denotes the range within which an activity start time
or its finish time may fluctuate without affecting the completion of
the project.
Type of Floats

 Total Float
 Free Float
 Independent Float
 Interfering Float
Total Float
Free Float
Independent Float
Interfering Float
Summary of Float