Visualizing Skipped and Out-of-Sequence Work

Abstract

Skipped and out-of-sequence work on construction projects is disruptive to work flow and damaging to labor productivity. It is a condition in which the originally planned, and probably most efficient and logical, work sequence is interrupted and changed. Change is a common reason for such circumstances. It may induce or force a contractor to skip work in an effort to progress the work and advance the schedule by continuing work efforts rather than demobilizing until the delay caused by the change is resolved. As a result, the contractor may need to rearrange work sequences to accommodate change or shorten the work schedule, and that may force workers to change means-and-methods or crew mix. That may in turn create productivity loss, increase project costs, reduce profits for contractors, and reduce project value for owners. To recover damages from decreased productivity resulting from out-of-sequence performance, a causal link must be demonstrated between disrupted performance and decreased productivity. Visualization of the disruption helps demonstrate the impact of skips and out-of-sequence work and establish that causal link. This paper presents a way the authors have used to visualize and analyze such out-of-sequence work. This paper is intended for owners, contractors, and other professionals who are interested in construction change and loss of productivity claims.