Planning and Scheduling Time it Right Key drivers for Success Presentation by Mr Alan Bolger FIEAust to the Australian Cost Engineering Society, Victorian Branch 22 April 2013
Alan Bolger: Background Over 25 years of diverse experience in Planning and Project Controls Industries Mining Infrastructure Road, Rail, Water Telecoms Defence Process Petrochem, Cement, Paper, Steel Project Types Shutdowns Design & Construct BOOT Alliances EPC
Projects AUSTRALIAN COST ENGINEERING SOCIETY
Introduction Overview Planning and scheduling a project from design through procurement and construction to commissioning. Looking at approaches for: Planning Scheduling Communication Control, forecasting, and reporting
Feasibility EOI Tender Delivery Closeout AUSTRALIAN COST ENGINEERING SOCIETY Introduction Overview Focus on planning and scheduling at a project level by a Prime Contractor. Will not cover the scheduling fundamentals, rather will focus on lessons learnt at the school of hard knocks.
Project Delivery Produce the Plan Schedule the Plan Communicate the Schedule Control the Schedule Forecast Completion Reporting In the context of tendering or delivery by a Prime Contractor
Produce the Plan What is the Scope? Work Breakdown Structure - Must cover complete scope What are the Obligations? Contract - operational constraints, environmental seasons, political preferences What are desired Outcomes? Legacy - skill and capability development, positioning for future work, push competitor out of market Ensure you understand what is the Project
Scope - WBS ANZAC Ship Project Ships 01-10 Engineering Ship 01 Ship 02 Design Ensure your manageable chunks are how you intend to deliver
Scope - Phases Design Procure Construct Commission Tailor your WBS to suit all Phases
WBS Development WBS is fundamental to Project Controls Should be the common structure from which majority of project information is derived. Common WBS requires compromise but benefits of common core structure are significant. Needed for Schedule Control, and Cost Control. Requires more than just dissecting scope into each phase
Plan Delivery Strategies Procurement and construction contract strategies Scope of packages Subcontract or Selfperform Identify prospective contractors and capability Type of contract - Need to match available information at tender stage Construction Methodologies Critical labour or equipment resources Staging in brownfield environments Key dependencies on Others Capture the Strategy and ensure you have addressed all Stakeholders
Schedule the Plan Start at beginning Dissect scope into activities Link activities through phases Determine duration for each activity Schedule the network of activities Forecast end date Ensure you have covered all dependencies
Schedule the Plan Start at the end What are we obliged to Deliver? All preceding activities must lead to delivering against an obligation We have now essentially a forward and backward scheduling pass Ensure you have answered the exam question
Schedule the Plan - Tools Critical Path Networking - Most common although other methods Scheduling tools - Myriad of tools such as MSProject or Primavera P6 Design Package Schedule Procurement Schedule Construction Coordination and Control Commissioning Schedules Non CPM tools - such as Time-Chainage Diagrams (For linear works such as Burnley Tunnel and rail work) and Mass-Haul Diagrams for earthwork cut to fill (such as Peninsular Link) Right tool for the job Effective solution, not an elegant system solution
Communicate the Schedule Robust programme is half the job Key drivers vs entire scope Not just a summary barchart Get it out of the black box
Communicate the Schedule Having a robust programme that accurately forecasts completion dates is no use if people cannot understand it. Software tools make it easy to go down to very detailed activities, but this can mean not seeing the wood from the trees. Revisit the strategy, and what are the key drivers. Ensure they are clearly visible. Identify critical activities and critical resources. Augment barcharts with time-scaled logic diagrams Invest time and effort in effective communication with various stakeholders Get it out of the black box
Control the Schedule Effective Planning and Project Control - Tailor your controls what works for design probably will not work for construction. Ensure there is accountability for meeting schedule. Effective, tools, processes, people - requires processes for statusing, tools for control such as short term look aheads, and training people in the processes. Project Programme provides integration Network of dependent activities facilitates integration. Coordination vs Reporting (Nett Schedule Duration vs Gross Schedule Duration - Gross Duration for reporting needs to include contingencies) Tailor your Controls to desired outcomes
Forecast Completion How are we performing against Plan? Compare against baselines. Do we extrapolate past performance to forecast the future? Formal Earned Value Measurement systems may utilise schedule performance indicators (earned value/planned value) to extrapolate to future performance Countdown - Many projects ditch the Plan at a logical point and focus on what is left to be done. Always ensure your Controls are still effective
Reporting Against baselines Management level reporting Milestone focus and overall progress, key performance drivers, issues and actions Project level Earned value per cent complete, interface milestones, critical paths, key performance drivers Detailed level Sequence changes, resource requirements, achievement of near-term milestones. No surprises consistency is the key
Summary Identify the Plan Schedule the Plan Communicate the Schedule Control against the Schedule Forecast completion Report progress & likely completion Go beyond the books grab a Mentor