Planning and Scheduling Procedures

The purpose of Management Planning Process procedures is to define the requirements for the planning and scheduling activity on projects. The objective is to develop plans and schedules, and then monitor, analyze, report, and forecast performance in such a manner that projects are delivered on or ahead of schedule.

This objective of planning and scheduling procedures will be achieved if :

• Planners/schedulers fully understand the scope of the project and are proactive both in interpreting the client’s requirements and producing project schedules.
• The project team effectively ‘buys in’ and owns the project schedule.
• Planning and scheduling information and documentation is produced which can be effectively utilized by project team members.
• The schedule is proactively analyzed & reviewed to identify any potential restraints to progress. Any restraints identified are being reviewed with all appropriate project team members, including the project manager.
• Any specific project requirements should be identified and included in the Project Quality Plan.
• The objectives of the global/regional/industry/quality systems are met.
• The planning manager is responsible for allocating planning resources, planning departmental budgetary control, and maintenance of quality procedures.

A. PLANNING DEFINITIONS

1. Planning: The breakdown of work into its component events, and the
   sequencing, resourcing, and strategy of those events.
2. Scheduling: Detailed assignment of logic, duration & start/finish dates to
   project activities, within the overall plan.
3. Schedule/ Programme: Pictorial or tabular representation of the time-phased events or activities required to execute the project. May be based on a critical path network (CPN).
4. Critical Path Network (CPN): A representation of activities and/or events with their inter-relationships and dependencies.
5. Milestone: An event selected for its importance in the project and/or
   activity/deliverable.
6. Precedence Network: A network diagram in which the nodes symbolize the project
7. Productivity/Efficiency: Ratio of hours earned versus hours expended.

8. Performance Measurement Baselines:The original project quality, HSE, budget & contract duration objectives set by management at commencement.
9. PBS Project Breakdown Structures: Defines a hierarchical structure by which the work is to be done – can include structures for work, cost, contract, organization, risk, resources, etc.

B. PROGRESS MEASUREMENT

The planner/scheduler is responsible for ensuring that the various progress measurements
used throughout the project is a fair representation of the actual project progress. As a
minimum, the following should be provided:

1. Studies/Engineering/Design: Actual % complete vs. scheduled % complete, work-hours expended vs. budget work-hours, productivity, forecast work hours at completion.
2. Procurement: Schedule of planned, actual, and forecast order and delivery dates, a summary of inquiry PO packages issued.
3. Contracts: Schedule of tender compilation and issue, tendering period, tender return, tender evaluation, award, and completion dates for each construction contract package.
4. Construction: Actual % complete vs. scheduled % complete.

C. RESOURCE PLANNING

The planner/scheduler is also responsible for providing information to assist with the
management of resources required to execute the work. These tasks include but are not
limited to:

At the earliest possible stage, using the best available data, by assessing the scope of
services and material quantities to provide management with an overall resource
overview of the project.

From the project approved budgets, assess the quantities of major resources required,
issue discipline resource manpower requirements to the project manager and lead discipline
engineers and determine if the supply may be a limiting factor.

Where limitations occur, you should pro-actively identify resolution by

1. Coordinating and re-sequencing activities.
2. Provide sufficient warning so that resources can be obtained.
3. Recommend other actions such as work sharing, sub-contracting, etc.

Provide an updated forecast of discipline manpower requirements and other facilities.

INTERACTIVE PLANNING

At various stages in each project, interactive planning sessions may be held with the client
and the project team (including, where relevant, sub-contractors, vendors, and construction
contractors) to obtain buy-in to the agreed schedule by all parties.

This is designed to facilitate the production of an integrated project schedule that highlights the key constraints, and major issues which impact successful execution.

Alignment with key execution strategies is essential. The main tool is a time-phased wall-mounted bar chart which should be readily accessible to all parties involved in the project and can form the basis of the detailed schedules as well as recording key risks, assumptions, and opportunities.

TYPES OF SCHEDULE

The planner/scheduler must produce documents that help coordinate, inform, and optimize the schedule of a project.

This can only be achieved if such documents are well thought out, agreed with the project manager and discipline leads, and issued in a timely fashion.

Each project should be examined and, along with the project manager, a determination made as to which types of schedules will be appropriate. The schedules to be utilized shall be stated in the project procedures.

Upon receipt of instructions to proceed with the project, and before the first issue of the
agreed on project schedule, the project will be controlled with an advanced 30-day or 60-day project initiation action list/start-up schedule to ensure that early activities are identified and acted upon to protect the overall schedule.

The following types of schedules have been categorized for convenience:

LEVEL 1 – MAJOR MILESTONE SCHEDULES

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Purpose: generally used to summarise the overall project performance for project management and client information purposes.

Typical applications: proposals at the planning stages of a major project, small studies,
engineering projects with a low level of complexity, few activities, and short duration, as a monthly summary of Level II and III schedules.

The contents of the schedule shall identify contract milestones, significant engineering, procurement, construction, and operations milestones, and other significant milestones and/or constraints. Normally restricted to one bar per discipline.

LEVEL II – INTERMEDIATE MILESTONE SCHEDULES

Purpose: to inform groups of major constraints, due dates, manning levels,
progress achievement, etc., and the critical path.

Typical applications: major proposals and studies, engineering projects with a medium
level of complexity, small construction projects, and contract payment milestones.

The contents of the schedule will be a further breakdown of Level 1 reflecting major activities for each phase i.e. engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning.

The manpower histogram will indicate each phase of manning requirement.

Progress ‘S’ Curve for each phase will indicate the schedule % complete and actual % complete.

LEVEL III – DETAILED WORK SCHEDULES

Purpose: to inform all disciplines as to the status and progress of individual work packages, and critical path issues.

Typical Applications: on all complex engineering-only projects and all EPC projects. Also on smaller projects where elements of the schedule are extremely critical and, hence, need to be managed at this level.

• The contents of the schedule are detailed into controllable and identifiable work activities which can be “rolled up” to Level II. The schedule should identify key issue activities for deliverable types. The schedule will normally be generated from a precedence logic network with a critical path identified.
• Layout/Format ‘S’ Curves will be generated (per discipline) to monitor scheduled vs. actual progress. On the other hand, manpower histograms will be produced to identify individual discipline manning requirements.
• Summary WBS Report document will be produced to provide an overview of the project status. It will contain the original work-hour budget, unapproved change notices, approved change notices, the current budget, work hours expended, % achieved, productivity achieved, productivity to go, forecast work hours to complete, and forecast work hours at completion.
• Display summary information on the project notice board.

Typical Analysis: The schedule should be analyzed for the top 5 critical paths and the current critical activities highlighted to the team. The logic and durations within these critical paths should be continually addressed to ensure schedule robustness.
Forecast man hours/productivity and resourcing levels should be analyzed for consistency.

Trend analysis: on key parameters e.g. material deliveries to site, pipe work productivity, schedule float usage, etc.

Timing/Frequency: updated continuously, to be issued weekly by the 5th working day
after the close-out date.

LEVEL IV – SCHEDULING STUDIES/LOOK-AHEAD ETC

Purpose: to finitely manage aspects of the master schedule and to keep the discipline leads and field personnel informed of upcoming tasks.

Typical Application: Any project that has special scheduling needs to be defined by the
project controls manager in the project procedures. Every construction project involves direct control of the labor.

Contents: scheduling of individual deliverables, drawings, data sheets, specifications, line lists, requisitions, purchase orders, materials, process systems, RoS / forecast on-site delivery dates, etc. within the Level III activities, etc. that may be necessary to properly manage the project. This activity should be done by the individual disciplines.

Layout/Format: As per the project needs. Two-week look-ahead for field activities.
Display summary information on project notice boards.

Timing/Frequency As required: Two-week look-ahead is rolling every week and issued at least two working days before the first week and should be reviewed at the progress meeting as to their viability.

AUDITS / RECORDS

It is expected that as part of the quality system to maintain ISO accreditation, the project will be audited against this procedure on an annual basis. Non-conformances raised will be closed out by the project planner & planning manager. The planning manager may require specific audits more frequently.

The project’s detailed schedule is a quality record. Baseline data, schedule updates, key
changes to scope and methodology should all be recorded and kept within the filing and
document record system for subsequent contract requirements, post-project close out &
reporting. The project close-out procedure requires an analysis of the key project
parameters for subsequent use on further projects and cost & schedule database upkeep of
metrics & benchmark data.

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