Application of Linear Techniques to Project Plan and Scheduling for Highway Construction

Successful Project Management Scheduling outcomes: A Theoretical Comparative Analysis of networking techniques between Event, Chain with other traditional methodologies

In this week’s discussion board, we learned about several project management tools and how they are used to facilitate the successful implementation of IT related projects. Additionally, we learned what happens when IT projects fall behind schedule, the reasons for the delays and if these reasons will hinder complex software implementations in the future.

Table of Contents Section I. II. III. Executive Summary Introduction Project Organization Organization Chart Project Responsibilities Staffing Plans IV. Management Process Management Objectives Priorities Monitoring/Controlling Mechanisms V. Technical Process Plan Computing System Project Plan Modification Process Computer Usage Policies Construction Guideline Support Project Acceptance Process Lessons Learned Documentation VI. Work Packages, Dependencies, Schedules & Budgets Work Packages Dependencies

This situation has two deviations that could make the project changes rather complicated. The first is that the project's scope is being altered by over ten percent. This will change many of the activity durations as well as the material planning requirements needed to supply the raw materials used in constructing the road. Under the original scope and schedule, there would need to be a little over a mile of road constructed each week. However, under the new scenario there would be a mile and a half needed to be finished each week on average to be able to complete a successful project. Furthermore, if the decision to expand the road was made after the project had already begun then these figures would be even higher. Therefore another challenge will be how to crash the schedule to support the additions to the scope while maintaining quality at the same time.

The life of people during the Depression, was very hard, and just reading these passages, it seemed terrible. In the story Digging In, it talked about this family, that had to give up everything, they only let their electric bill get up to about $1 a month! That is my family in just one day. People had to be very...cheap. They did not spend a lot of money, and they reused almost everything they could.

Resource constraints would include money/budget constraints, specialized equipment, large material requirements, and personnel constraints revolving around contractors, and highly-skilled construction crew. A bridge is subject to many potential risks related to environment, technology and physical construction. All put the project in jeopardy of overextending its budget which can make monetary budgets and necessary reserves a central resource constraint. Due to the specialized equipment and personnel required, scheduling these resources to arrive at appropriate times is important. Equipment rentals and labor can be expensive, so it is important to schedule these resources so that they arrive just in time for use, however this can be difficult to accurately predict. It is also unlikely that the same personnel will be required throughout the project. One construction team may be needed for pouring foundations, while another is hired to pave the driving surface. Again, identifying, sequencing and scheduling these resources is vital to the project’s on time completion.

A work breakdown structure (WBS) will develop for this project and the WBS is based on the project charter, scope statement, and other relevant information. Gantt chart and network diagram also will be well prepared for this project. While preceding the planning stage, the resource usage cash flow report will showing the hours each person is assigned to work on each task each week. Furthermore, the probability/ impact matrix and list of prioritized risks for the project will be included in the project

Funding for construction was hard to obtain when roads were just starting to be improved. According to Arnesen, “Congress even passed a Federal-Aid Highway Act in 1944, but it didn’t provide any money to fund construction” (3). This made building roads that were of decent quality much more difficult. So when “the President’s recently announced budget” protected operations that included safety, it opened up many opportunities for the U.S. Department of Transportation (Chao

Construction projects are always unique and risks raise from a number of the different sources. Construction projects are inherently complex and dynamic, and involving multiple feedback processes. A lot of participants – individuals and organizations are actively involved in the construction project, and they interests may be positively or negatively affected as a result of the project execution or project completion. Different participants with different experience and skills usually have different expectations and interests. This naturally creates problems and confusion for even the most experienced project managers and contractors.

Over the past few years, the construction industry has been changing dramatically. One of the most important stages in the construction management and business management is the planning phase. They share similar two main levels of planning which are the strategic and operational planning. However, business management planning to decide in advance what should be done, and how to do it, when you do and you are done. On the other hand, Construction management strategic planning is to deal with selection on a high level of overall objective of the project, including the scope, procurement methods, schedules and financing options but the planning of operations, including the

While projects can be similar in some instances, no two projects are ever the same. For this reason, management of projects requires the application of tools and techniques to meet the goals of the temporary endeavor. Project managers apply these tools and techniques to determine what is required for project delivery such as the list of activities to completed, the time required to complete the activities, resources needed and the various risks associated with the deliverable and efforts. A multitude of tools and techniques are employed by the project manager based on the need of the effort to organize, identify and communicate the various aspects of the project. While in contrast, the repetitive nature of operations activities

“A systematic approach to meeting the strategic need for the management and maintenance of highway infrastructure assets through long term planning and optimal allocation of resources in order to manage risk and meet the performance

Construction activities are often exposed to various weather conditions, and often construction productivity is dependent on these weather conditions. Weather conditions are local, seasonal, and sometimes unusual. Inclement weather conditions often result in project disruptions, delays, and disputes between the project parties.

In almost every business, project management is critically important. The critical path method (CPM) will provide a timeline for the project manager for when tasks should be completed. In addition, providing a deadline and the negative effects it will have on the following successors if not completed on time. These many task are interdepended. Therefore, the CPM provides the start and finishes times of the tasks, and identifies the few tasks on the critical path that the project manager should observe to determine which task needs the most attention. Already discovering and incorporating the details the task or assignments may require, CPM calculates all task times, which can be measured in hours, days, weeks, and months. For any unintended manually input errors, a warning message will be provided. Including an automatic successor generator, task numbering comment, and data validation, makes it easier on the project manager.

Throughout everyday life, American’s suffer a number of frustrations and delays; from waiting in a doctor’s office to standing in line at the grocery store. Historically, traffic congestion is a common annoyance throughout the United State and with the increase in population, overtime has gotten much worse. In 2000, the average American driver endured 27 hours of traffic delays each week, more than tripling the average of 7 hours spent in traffic delays in 1980 (Arnott). The need for solutions and plans to construct highways and efficiencies has been a debate since the highway construction began in the late 1920’s (Garber). Throughout history, engineers and politicians have evolved the plans and solutions to help alleviate highway congestion throughout America.