Use of Advanced Scheduling Techniques

Use of Advanced Scheduling Techniques

Construction project scheduling is a topic that has received extensive research over a number of decades. The previous chapter described the fundamental scheduling techniques widely used and supported by numerous commercial scheduling systems. A variety of special techniques have also been developed to address specific circumstances or problems. With the availability of more powerful computers and software, the use of advanced scheduling techniques is becoming easier and of greater relevance to practice. In this chapter, we survey some of the techniques that can be employed in this regard. These techniques address some important practical problems, such as:

z scheduling in the face of uncertain estimates on activity durations, z integrated planning of scheduling and resource allocation,

z   scheduling in unstructured or poorly formulated circumstances.

A final section in the chapter describes some possible improvements in the project scheduling process. In Chapter 5, we consider issues of computer based implementation of scheduling procedures, particularly in the context of integrating scheduling with other project management procedures.