Defining

 Work  Tasks  
A  very  important  step  in  the  Planning  Process  is  to  
Define  the  various  work  tasks  
 
These  work  tasks  (Ac;vi;es)  represent  the  necessary  
framework  to  permit  scheduling  of  construc;on  ac;vi;es,  
along  with  es;ma;ng  the  resources  required  by  the  
individual  work  tasks,  and  any  necessary  precedence  or  
required  sequence  among  the  tasks.    
The  scheduling  problem  is  to  determine  an  appropriate  set  
of  ac;vity  start  ;me,  resource  alloca;ons  and  comple;on  
;mes  that  will  result  in  comple;on  of  the  project  in  a  
;mely  and  efficient  fashion.  
 Defining  Work  Tasks  
An  ac5vity  is  any  subdivision  of  project  tasks  
 
The  ;me  required  to  perform  an  ac;vity  is  called  
the  dura5on  of  the  ac;vity.    
 
The  beginning  and  the  end  of  ac;vi;es  are  signposts  
or  milestones,  indica;ng  the  progress  of  the  project  
 Detailed  task  breakdown  
For  example,  the  problem  of  placing  concrete  on  site  
would  have  sub-­‐ac;vi;es  associated  with  placing  forms,  
installing  reinforcing  steel,  pouring  concrete,  finishing  
the  concrete,  removing  forms  and  others.    
 
Even  more  specifically,  sub-­‐tasks  such  as  removal  and  
cleaning  of  forms  aIer  concrete  placement  can  be  
defined.    
 
Even  further,  the  sub-­‐task  "clean  concrete  forms"  could  
be  subdivided  into  the  various  opera;ons  
 
 Detailed  task  breakdown  
A  hierarchical  approach  to  work  task  defini;on  
decomposes  the  work  ac;vity  into  component  parts  in  
the  form  of  a  tree.    
 
Higher  levels  in  the  tree  represent  decision  nodes  or  
summary  ac;vi;es,  while  branches  in  the  tree  lead  to  
smaller  components  and  work  ac;vi;es.    
 
A  variety  of  constraints  among  the  various  nodes  may  
be  defined  or  imposed,  including  precedence  
rela;onships  among  different  tasks.    
 Detailed  task  breakdown  
It  is  useful  to  define  separate  work  tasks  for:  
 
-­‐those  ac;vi;es  which  involve  different  resources,  or  
-­‐those  ac;vi;es  which  do  not  require  con;nuous  
performance.  
 
For  example,  the  ac5vity  "prepare  and  check  shop  
drawings"  should  be  divided  into  a  task  for  prepara5on  
and  a  task  for  checking  since  different  individuals  are  
involved  in  the  two  tasks  and  there  may  be  a  5me  lag  
between  prepara5on  and  checking.  
 Task  Defini5on  for  a  Road  Building  Project  
As  an  example  of  construc;on  planning,  suppose  that  we  
wish  to  develop  a  plan  for  a  road  construc;on  project  
including  two  culverts.    
 
Ini;ally,  we  divide  
project  ac;vi;es  into  
three  categories:    
 
Structures,  Roadway,  
and  General.    
 
This  division  is  based  
on  the  major  types  of  
design  elements  to  
be  constructed.  
 Defining  Precedence  Rela5onships  among  
Ac5vi5es  
Once  work  ac;vi;es  have  been  defined,  the  rela;onships  
among  the  ac;vi;es  can  be  specified.    
 
Precedence  rela;ons  between  ac;vi;es  signify  that  the  
ac;vi;es  must  take  place  in  a  par;cular  sequence.  
 
Numerous  natural  sequences  exist  for  construc;on  
ac;vi;es  due  to  requirements  for  structural  integrity,  
regula;ons,  and  other  technical  requirements.    
 
For  example,  design  drawings  cannot  be  checked  before  
they  are  drawn.    
 Defining  Precedence  Rela5onships  among  
Ac5vi5es  
Diagramma;cally,  precedence  rela;onships  can  be  
illustrated  by  a  network  or  graph  in  which  the  ac;vi;es  
are  represented  by  arrows.    
The  arrows  are  called  branches  or  links  in  the  ac3vity  
network,  while  the  circles  marking  the  beginning  or  end  of  
each  arrow  are  called  nodes  or  events.    
 
In  this  figure,  links  represent  par;cular  ac;vi;es,  while  the  
nodes  represent  milestone  events.  
 
 Defining  Precedence  Rela5onships  among  
Ac5vi5es  
More  complicated  precedence  rela;onships  can  also  be  
specified.  For  example,  one  ac;vity  might  not  be  able  to  
start  for  several  days  aIer  the  comple;on  of  another  
ac;vity.    
 
As  a  common  example,  concrete  might  have  to  cure  (or  
set)  for  several  days  before  formwork  is  removed.  This  
restric;on  on  the  removal  of  forms  ac;vity  is  called  
a  lag  between  the  comple;on  of  one  ac;vity  (i.e.,  pouring  
concrete  in  this  case)  and  the  start  of  another  ac;vity  (i.e.,  
removing  formwork  in  this  case).    
 
Defining  Precedence  Rela5onships  among  
Ac5vi5es  
Mistakes  should  be  avoided  in  specifying  predecessor  
rela;onships  for  construc;on  plans:    
a  circle  of  ac;vity  precedence  will  result  in  an  impossible  
plan.  For  example,  if  ac;vity  A  precedes  ac;vity  B,  
ac;vity  B  precedes  ac;vity  C,  and  ac;vity  C  precedes  
ac;vity  A,  then  the  project  can  never  be  started  or  
completed!  

Impossible  Work  Plan  

 Defining  Precedence  Rela5onships  among  
Ac5vi5es  
ForgeYng  a  necessary  precedence  rela;onship  can  be  
more  insidious.  For  example,  suppose  that  installa;on  of  
dry  wall  should  be  done  prior  to  floor  finishing.  Ignoring  
this  precedence  rela;onship  may  result  in  both  ac;vi;es  
being  scheduled  at  the  same  ;me.  Correc;ons  on  the  spot  
may  result  in  increased  costs  or  problems  of  quality  in  the  
completed  project.    
 Defining  Precedence  Rela5onships  among  
Ac5vi5es  
Unfortunately,  there  are  few  ways  in  which  precedence  
omissions  can  be  found  other  than  with  checks  by  
knowledgeable  managers  or  by  comparison  to  comparable  
projects.  One  other  possible  but  li\le  used  mechanism  for  
checking  precedences  is  to  conduct  a  physical  or  computer  
based  simula;on  of  the  construc;on  process  and  observe  
any  problems.  
 Defining  Precedence  Rela5onships  among  
Ac5vi5es  
Finally,  it  is  important  to  realize  that  different  types  of  
precedence  rela;onships  can  be  defined  and  that  each  has  
different  implica;ons  for  the  schedule  of  ac;vi;es:  
 
Some  ac;vi;es  have  a  necessary  technical  or  physical  
rela;onship  that  cannot  be  superseded.  For  example,  
concrete  pours  cannot  proceed  before  formwork  and  
reinforcement  are  in  place.  
Some  ac;vi;es  have  a  necessary  precedence  rela;onship  
over  a  con;nuous  space  rather  than  as  discrete  work  task  
rela;onships.  For  example,  formwork  may  be  placed  in  the  
first  part  of  an  excava;on  trench  even  as  the  excava;on  
equipment  con;nues  to  work  further  along  in  the  trench.    
 Defining  Precedence  Rela5onships  among  
Ac5vi5es  
Formwork  placement  cannot  proceed  further  than  the  
excava;on,  but  the  two  ac;vi;es  can  be  started  and  
stopped  independently  within  this  constraint.  
Some  "precedence  rela;onships"  are  not  technically  
necessary  but  are  imposed  due  to  implicit  decisions  within  
the  construc;on  plan.  For  example,  two  ac;vi;es  may  
require  the  same  piece  of  equipment  so  a  precedence  
rela;onship  might  be  defined  between  the  two  to  insure  
that  they  are  not  scheduled  for  the  same  ;me  period.    
 Precedence  Defini5on  for    
Site  Prepara5on  and    Founda5on  Work  
A  site  prepara;on  and  concrete  slab  founda;on  construc;on  
project  consists  of  9  different  ac;vi;es:  
A.  Site  clearing  (of  brush  and  minor  debris),  
B.  Removal  of  trees,  
C.  General  excava;on,  
D.  Grading  general  area,  
E.  Excava;on  for  u;lity  trenches,  
F.  Placing  formwork  and  reinforcement  for  concrete,  
G.  Installing  sewer  lines,  
H.  Installing  other  u;li;es,  
I.  Pouring  concrete.  
 Precedence  Defini5on  for    
Site  Prepara5on  and    Founda5on  Work  
Ac;vi;es  A  (site  clearing)  and  B  (tree  removal)  do  not  
have  preceding  ac;vi;es  since  they  depend  on  none  
of  the  other  ac;vi;es.    
We  assume  that  ac;vi;es  C  (general  excava;on)  and  
D  (general  grading)  are  preceded  by  ac;vity  A  (site  
clearing).  It  might  also  be  the  case  that  the  planner  
wished  to  delay  any  excava;on  un;l  trees  were  
removed,  so  that  B  (tree  removal)  would  be  a  
precedent  ac;vity  to  C  (general  excava;on)  and  D  
(general  grading).  
 Precedence  Defini5on  for    
Site  Prepara5on  and    Founda5on  Work  
Ac;vi;es  E  (trench  excava;on)  and  F  (concrete  
prepara;on)  cannot  begin  un;l  the  comple;on  of  
general  excava;on  and  tree  removal,  since  they  
involve  subsequent  excava;on  and  trench  
prepara;on.  Ac;vi;es  G  (install  lines)  and  H  (install  
u;li;es)  represent  installa;on  in  the  u;lity  trenches  
and  cannot  be  a\empted  un;l  the  trenches  are  
prepared,  so  that  ac;vity  E  (trench  excava;on)  is  a  
preceding  ac;vity.  We  also  assume  that  the  u;li;es  
should  not  be  installed  un;l  grading  is  completed  to  
avoid  equipment  conflicts,  so  ac;vity  D  (general  
grading)  is  also  preceding  ac;vi;es  G  (install  sewers)  
and  H  (install  u;li;es).    
 Precedence  Defini5on  for    
Site  Prepara5on  and    Founda5on  Work  
Finally,  ac;vity  I  (pour  concrete)  cannot  begin  un;l  the  
sewer  line  is  installed  and  formwork  and  
reinforcement  are  ready,  so  ac;vi;es  F  and  G  are  
preceding.  Other  u;li;es  may  be  routed  over  the  slab  
founda;on,  so  ac;vity  H  (install  u;li;es)  is  not  
necessarily  a  preceding  ac;vity  for  ac;vity  I  (pour  
concrete).  
 Precedence  Defini5on  for    
Site  Prepara5on  and    Founda5on  Work  
Precedence Relations for a Nine-Activity Project Example  
Activity   Description   Predecessors
A Site clearing -----
B Removal of trees -----
C General excavation A
D Grading general area A
E Excavation for utility
trenches B,C
F Placing formwork and
reinforcement for
concrete B,C
G Installing sewer lines D,E
H Installing utilities D,E
I   Pouring concrete F,G  
 Precedence  Defini5on  for    
Site  Prepara5on  and    Founda5on  Work  
One  network  representa;on  of  these  nine  ac;vi;es  is  
shown  in  the  next  slide,  in  which  the  ac;vi;es  appear  as  
branches  or  links  between  nodes.    
The  nodes  represent  milestones  of  possible  beginning  and  
star;ng  ;mes.    
This  representa;on  is  called  an  ac3vity-­‐on  branch  diagram.    
 
Note  that  an  ini;al  event  beginning  ac;vity  is  defined  
(Node  0),  while  node  5  represents  the  comple;on  of  all  
ac;vi;es.  
 Precedence  Defini5on  for    
Site  Prepara5on  and    Founda5on  Work  

Ac;vity-­‐on-­‐Branch  Representa;on  of  a  Nine  Ac;vity  Project  

 Precedence  Defini5on  for    
Site  Prepara5on  and    Founda5on  Work  
Alterna;vely,  the  nine  ac;vi;es  could  be  represented  
by  nodes  and  predecessor  rela;onships  by  branches  
or  links.    
 
The  result  is  an  ac3vity-­‐on-­‐node  diagram.    
New  ac;vity  nodes  represen;ng  the  beginning  and  
the  end  of  construc;on  have  been  added  to  mark  
these  important  milestones.  
These  network  representa;ons  of  ac;vi;es  can  be  
very  helpful  in  visualizing  the  various  ac;vi;es  and  
their  rela;onships  for  a  project.    
 Precedence  Defini5on  for    
Site  Prepara5on  and    Founda5on  Work  

Ac;vity-­‐on-­‐Node  Representa;on  of  a  Nine  Ac;vity  Project  

 Precedence  Defini5on  for    
Site  Prepara5on  and    Founda5on  Work  
It  is  also  notable  that  in  previous  cases,  we  listed  only  
the  immediate  predecessor  rela;onships.  Clearly,  
there  are  other  precedence  rela;onships  which  
involve  more  than  one  ac;vity.    
 
For  example,  "installing  sewer  lines"  (ac;vity  G)  
cannot  be  undertaken  before  "site  clearing"  (Ac;vity  
A)  is  complete  since  the  ac;vity  "grading  general  
area"  (Ac;vity  D)  must  precede  ac;vity  G  and  must  
follow  ac;vity  A.    
 
 Precedence  Defini5on  for    
Site  Prepara5on  and    Founda5on  Work  
Last  tables  are  implicit  precedence  lists  since  only  
immediate  predecessors  are  recorded.    
 
An  explicit  predecessor  list  would  include  all  of  the  
preceding  ac;vi;es  for  ac;vity  G.  Next  table  shows  all  
such  predecessor  rela;onships  implied  by  the  project  
plan.  This  table  can  be  produced  by  tracing  all  paths  
through  the  network  back  from  a  par;cular  ac;vity  and  
can  be  performed  algorithmically.    For  example,  
inspec;ng  the  table  reveals  that  each  ac;vity  except  for  
ac;vity  B  depends  upon  the  comple;on  of  ac;vity  A.  
 Precedence  Defini5on  for    
Site  Prepara5on  and    Founda5on  Work  
All Activity Precedence Relationships for a Nine-Activity Project  
Predecessor Direct Successor All Successor All Predecessor
Activity   Activities   Activities   Activities  
A C,D E,F,G,H,I ---
B E,F G,H,I ---
C E,F G,H,I A
D G,H I A
E G,H I A,B,C
F I --- A,B,C
G I --- A,B,C,D,E
H --- --- A,B,C,D,E
I   ---   ---   A,B,C,D,E,F,G