Review of Detailed Schedules in Building Construction

Abstract

Detailed schedules are essential in the development of project baselines; they are needed for tracking and progress reporting, as well as for the administration of construction disputes. Thus, it is necessary to ensure the fitness for purpose of these schedules. Presented in this paper is a structured method to assist owners or their agents in reviewing and evaluating detailed schedules submitted by contractors. The method is developed making use of related knowledge extracted from the literature and augmented by expert opinions gathered from an online questionnaire survey and structured interviews. A composite index is introduced to evaluate the overall level of schedules’ fitness for purpose, taking into account the level of importance of each evaluation criterion. The method was implemented in a software application to facilitate its use. Schedules of three actual and one hypothetical projects are analyzed to demonstrate the essential features of the developed method and to highlight its capabilities. In addition, an empirical method is developed to review job logic, making use of in-depth analysis of the data collected from the schedules of three building construction projects.