Where can I learn about CPM schedules?

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Author Message David Axt, AIA, CCS, CSI Senior Member Username: david_axt Post Number: 1206 Registered: 03-2002 Posted on Wednesday, June 15, 2011 - 08:03 pm:    My boss wants me to review and update the office construction scheduling specification. Where can I learn about CPM scheduling? I took a course in college but that information has been purged from my memory banks. Thanks! David E Lorenzini Senior Member Username: deloren Post Number: 121 Registered: 04-2000 Posted on Wednesday, June 15, 2011 - 09:29 pm:    Check out CPM Tutor at http://www.cpmtutor.com/index.html. It appears to be a free course, very readable. Perhaps not comprehensive, but a good introduction that is easy to comprehend. David Lorenzini, FCSI, CCS Architectural Resources Co. Mark Gilligan SE, Senior Member Username: mark_gilligan Post Number: 393 Registered: 10-2007 Posted on Wednesday, June 15, 2011 - 11:45 pm:    Be clear why you are requiring a schedule. Many contractors have realized that the detailed schedules for work several years in the future are often works of fiction. Less detailed schedules may be more realistic. John Regener, AIA, CCS, CCCA, CSI, SCIP Senior Member Username: john_regener Post Number: 536 Registered: 04-2002 Posted on Friday, June 17, 2011 - 07:07 am:    Construction schedules are critically important. They are not stagnant. They change as the work progresses and as issues come up and are resolved. In the end, the weekly/monthly updates become the history of the project. And with CPM (Critical Path Method) schedules, they serve to validate/dispell claims for delay, which are major causes for additional costs. "Less detailed schedules may be more realistic."?? They are certainly beneficial for obsfuscating reality. Richard Gonser AIA CSI CCCA SCIP LEED Senior Member Username: rich_gonser Post Number: 22 Registered: 11-2008 Posted on Friday, June 17, 2011 - 10:14 am:    I'll agree that construction schedules are important as indicated by from John's perspective. But as a someone who has done a lot lot of field work, I'd have to say they're only as good as the subcontractors who provide the information. In the beginning of a project, I typically refer to it as the "Planetary Alignment Schedule". It's really about giving a tool to the team to determine if the project is falling behind schedule or not. You can get the LAUSD division 1 section for this by doing a Google search "01360 Construction Schedule". It was updated June of last year. LAUSD has a whole department of people just to manage construction schedules. It all depends on how much time you or your client want to spend reviewing them. Then, how much of your clients money to be spent by the contractor to assure the client that the project is on schedule. J. Peter Jordan (Unregistered Guest) Unregistered guest Posted on Friday, June 17, 2011 - 10:38 am:    If the general contractor cannot prepare a simple CPM schedule on Microsoft Projects or Primavera, they should not be allowed on your project. The younger project engineers (most with college degrees) can do one in their sleep. I really doubt that most contractors would be able to do a schedule manually. However, like with most things GIGO (garbage inl garbage out). John Bunzick, CCS, CCCA, LEED AP Senior Member Username: bunzick Post Number: 1325 Registered: 03-2002 Posted on Wednesday, June 29, 2011 - 11:03 am:    I have researched CPM scheduling, used CPM schedules when doing CA, and read about them, too. However, I never felt particularly competent to edit the Division 01 section on scheduling because it's such a specialized subject. Lots of jargon, lots of differing techniques, lots of expectations. Good luck.