Proper Scheduling

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Some of you who call yourself schedulers, don’t take this personally, as you are giving others precisely what they expect of you. This expectation is often limited to Gantt Lines on a page. While this traditional method may be the easiest way for most of the “Owners” to get a quick overview of your performance, it often fails to capture the complexity and nuances of modern projects, leading to less-than-optimal outcomes.

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Project controls involve accounting for every red cent spent on a project, the Program. For too long, too many have accepted less-than-professional work. ?

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So, let's get into the matter I’ve skirted around. A competent scheduler utilizes the complete functionality of their scheduling software. Years ago, the “old-fashioned” superintendent ran around the job site, fussing at everyone and saying that they should have finished yesterday. This type of management has gone by the wayside since we entered a new age where many activities/inactivities have legal consequences. A P.C.E. Project Control Engineer who knows all the work on a construction worksite is the latest project traffic cop.

When scheduling is performed correctly by fully competent persons, the " old-fashioned " superintendent is replaced with generated reports.

P6 has been capable of generating these reports for years.

Microsoft Project Professional has entered this market with its superb functionality, and in several cases has surpassed P6. No scheduling software has the brain of an experienced scheduler. However, the benefits of using advanced software like Microsoft Project Professional are significant. It allows for more accurate scheduling, better resource management, and improved project control. Even with modern AI, the principle of GIGO, Garbage In Garbage Out, still applies. The duration and calendar setting are the schedulers’ input, but the software can greatly enhance the output.

As a Professional Planner/Scheduler #00011 of the Guild of Project Controls, Planning Planet, and writing the S.O.P.s Standard Operating Procedures for the Guilds’ 12 modules, including Risk Analysis and Schedule Forensic Analysis.

When there is an understanding of Schedule Forensic Analysis, a comprehension of all parties involved comes into play. The owner for whom the work is performed bases many financial decisions upon the timelines submitted; this includes their customers awaiting product and proceeding with their regular business. If the customer sues the producer, it is likely the ramifications will roll downhill due to incorrect timelines and/or costs.

It's crucial for Southwest Louisiana to recognize the necessity of a C.O.E. Center of Excellence in Project Controls. This center would play a pivotal role in educating everyone on the importance of scheduling from the early stages of product design.

Why do I now favor MS.P.P. Microsoft Project Professional over P6?

1. One of the reasons I now favor MS.P.P. Microsoft Project Professional over P6 is its impressive capabilities. For instance, it allows a note to be opened for each of the 400,000 Tasks and 700,000 Resources per schedule. We can open a Word or Excel file in each of these notes, with each Word file having 5,000 Pages of text available, and 18 pages per workbook in each Excel file.

2. Hyperlinks, per Word File is 58 lines per page x 5,000= 290,000

3. Hyperlinks, per Excel File is 18 x 36,000 ea. page= 648,000

4. Hyperlinks: As a special note, immediate access to the documents becomes standard once we begin creating hyperlinks. As Guild Fellows, we are also database experts.

5. Databases: Databases are critical for a project/program leader. Since 2013, Microsoft access has been limited to the RAM. ?

6. Numbers are critical in every schedule:

6.1.? Task times, whether ship building, project Design, building a plant, or manufacturing facility.

6.2.? As an expert who knows the task times for 99% of construction activities, and a Time/motion specialist, I am writing the “Handbook of Construction Assemblies” to transfer what’s in my head onto paper due to a lifetime of experience, and includes writing/reading, and prompted me to construct my PhD dissertation in the Science of Project Controls. I gave up the word estimate as it implies indefinite information and now label it as budgeting; especially with my knowledge of schedule Risk Analysis, and my prior work on a Budget Quality Committee, dealing with exact numbers.

6.3.? ?My “Resource Optimization Procedure” wherein the different crafts’ timelines are calculated through the project/program, prior to scheduling, so a required number of Craftspersons is determined to eliminate the excessive project timeline.

6.4.? As stated above, I can capture every red cent of a project/Program with a one-trillion dollar limitation per schedule. However, with a consolidated schedule, I can capture 998 Trillion Dollars of detail; this is why I keep a 4 Terabyte Crucial Drive plugged into my computer. ?????????

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