Construction Project Management &

Planning
Part – I:

• Planning-Process: Planning aims at formulation of a time-based plan of action

for coordinating various activities and resources to achieve specified objective.
Planning is the process of developing the project plan.
Planning in its broader perspective, involves advanced thinking as to what is to be
done, what are the activities, how it is to be done, when it is to be done, where it
is to be done, what is needed to do it, who is to do it and how to ensure that it is
done. All of this is canalized to generate and evaluate options for evolving an
action plan aimed at achieving the specified goals.

Project Planning Techniques:

STAGES PLANNING PROCCESS TECHNIQUES/METHODS
Time Planning Breaking down project Work Breakdown
work.
Developing time network Network analysis, Gantt chart, Line of
plans. Balanced technique
Scheduling work Time limited scheduling, Resources
limited scheduling
Planning Forecasting resource Forecasting
Resources requirements
Planning manpower Manpower scheduling
requirements
Planning materials Materials scheduling
requirement
Planning Equipment Equipment selection and scheduling
procurement
Budgeting costs Cost planning and budgeting
Designing organisational Organisation design
structure
Allocating tasks and Resource allocation
resources
Planning Formulating monitoring Resource productivity control
Implementation methodology Time control
Contribution control
Budgetary control

Planning:
Time Planning:
• Project Work Breakdown: This means breaking down the scope of
project work into its constituent sub projects, tasks, work packages and activities.
• Modelling and analysing networks: This include developing logic diagrams or
sub-networks to develop a time planning model and analysing it to determine the
project completion time.
• Scheduling Work Programme: This involves putting plan on calendar basis and
using the scheduled programme to forecast inputs and outputs.
Resource Planning:
• Forecasting Input and Output: Input and Output forecasting aids in
conceptualizing the project. It indicates the Quantum of resources required for
executing a project and the output expected.
• Planning Construction Work Force: It primarily focuses on determining the size of
the project work force, its structuring into functional groups and workers’ teams
and scheduling the manpower recruitment/ induction to match the task
requirements.
• Planning Construction Materials: It involves identifying the materials required,
estimating quantities, defining specifications, forecasting requirements, locating
sources for procurements, getting material samples approved, designing materials
inventory and developing the procurement plan to ensure a smooth flow of
materials till the connected construction works are completed at the project site.
• Planning Construction Equipment: It aims at identifying the construction tasks to
be undertaken by mechanical equipment, assessing the equipments required,
exploring the equipment procurement options and finally participating in the
decision making for the selective equipment.
• Planning Construction Standard Costs: It aims at the integration of planning
judgement, costing techniques and accounting disciplines for the development of
standard costs, financial forecasts, project budget and cost control measures.
• Planning Construction Budget: The purpose of such planning is to assign financial
targets and resources to reach functional group so as to establish some basis for
controlling their performance and to make participants plan with cost
consciousness instead of purposeless routine working.
Project Control/ Implementation Process:
• Project control Methodology: This acts on a common language of understanding.
It defines the performance parameters to be controlled and outlines the
performance accounting and monitoring processes.
• Controlling Resource Productivity: This aims at ensuring efficient utilization of
the inputs of men, materials and equipments by identifying cause of their wastage
as well as affecting improvements to minimize it.
• Controlling Costs: It aims at restraining of expenditure within the predefined
limits. It involves the processing of reports received from various responsibilities
centres relating to the cost incurred.
• Controlling Time: It involves the monitoring of time status by updating the project
networks and time schedules, reviewing duration of balance activities, computing
deviation and evaluating the implications of deviation project time objectives by
time analysing the project network.

Part – II (Project CPM/ PERT Network Analysis):

The term project network analysis is a generic term covering all the networking
techniques used for planning, scheduling and controlling of projects. The two commonly
used techniques are:
• Critical Part Method (CPM): An experienced planner can develop the CPM sub
networks of a sub project or a task, working straight from its work breakdown
structure or task matrix.
• Programme Evaluation and Review Techniques (PERT):Its an event oriented
technique. It lays stress on measuring the uncertainty in activity times by using
three times duration estimation method.
Part – III (Project Management):
The project manager aims to achieve its missions by:

Managing Time and progress

Cost and cash flow
Quality and performance
Organization behaviour

With Organization resources

Planning resources
Organizing resources
By Scheduling resources
Directing resources
Monitoring resources
Controlling resources

Quality constraints
Within Time constraints
Cost constraints
Environment constraints