Scheduling Specifications:

What possible items should your specifications address?

The CPM schedule is the mutually-agreed construction plan which demonstrates to the owner that the contractor has thought through all elements of the construction process, has conformed to the requirements of the contract, and can execute (and in updates, is executing) the activities within the contractual time frames. It is also a tool for communication, re-evaluation, recovery and adjudication of disputes. To assure the CPM schedule is providing maximum benefit to all parties, owners should consider to what degree they wish to specify how the contractor will handle the CPM schedule. A checklist for what the owner might include in the CPM Scheduling Specification is as follows:

1. Initial submittal of the as-planned CPM schedule

   1. Consider a mobilization payment contingent upon submission of the initial as-planned CPM schedule

   2. On longer projects consider requiring an initial 90-day CPM schedule, then by the end of those 90 days require submittal of the CPM schedule for the full project

2. Format

   1. Specify a "CPM Schedule" and not just a bar chart

3. Software

   1. Some owners specify the brand and version of software to be used

   2. Public owners should check with counsel regarding permissibility of a "proprietary" specification

4. Hardware

   1. Some owners specify the computer hardware to be used

   2. Some owners specify that the hardware/software will be onsite

   3.  

5. Coding structure and activity group scheme

   1. WBS ("work breakdown structure") coding structure

      1. E.g. "identify each activity by the following coding structure"

         1. Submittals

         2. Procurement and fabrication

         3. Delivery

         4. Construction and installation

         5. Testing

         6. Change orders

         7. Delays

   2. Some owners may want to be able to see the schedule output organized by

      1. Area, building, etc.

      2. Phase

      3. General type of activity, such as:

         1. Site work

         2. Underground

         3. Structure

         4. Finish trades

6. Minimum/Maximum number of activities

   1. Intended to influence the level of detail in the contractor’s planning

   2. Avoid unrealistically large, unwieldy schedules with thousands of activities

7. Minimum/Maximum durations of activities

   1. E.g. "not more than 20% of the activities will be shorter than two weeks or longer than three weeks"

   2. Exclude submittal, fabrication and delivery

   3. May include prohibitions against sequestering of float, e.g. by artificially extending activity durations

8. Logic issues - Some owners include specifications restricting the likelihood of "games"

   1. E.g. prohibitions against redundant logic

   2. E.g. prohibitions against preferential logic (clever sequences of activities, not in the most logical manner, but in a manner to create the maximum possible opportunity for owner interference)

9. Constraints

   1. Does the contract include certain phases or construction sequences which must be adhered to in order to avoid disrupting the owner’s ongoing operations?

      1. Such constraints must be pre-identified by owner/designer and clearly listed in bidding documents

      2. Mandate that these constraints must appear in the Initial As-planned CPM schedule

   2. Milestone dates

      1. Interfaces with multiple primes

      2. E.g. "the headworks portion of the project must be operational no later than 7/1/2004"

10. Submittals to be included

    1. Each submittal to be shown as two activities

       1. Contractor’s submission of the submittal

       2. Owner/Designer’s review of the submittal

          1. Per requirements of the general or special conditions

          2. Usually 14, 21 or 30 days (specify "calendar days" or "working days")

       3. All tied logically to the activities they impact

          1. Often the next activity is "fabrication"

11. Owner-furnished items to be included

    1. E.g. "Deliveries of owner furnished equipment or materials shall be shown on the schedule with the dates set forth in the contract documents or provide by the Construction Manager"

    2. Assures proper coordination and a realistic schedule

12. Start-up and testing activities

    1. Require that contractual start-up and testing activities and realistic durations be included in the CPM schedule

13. Updating frequency

    1. At least monthly

    2. Should the update be tied to payment?

       1. Starving the contractor may result in collateral damage harmful to the owner and subcontractors

       2. Consider targeted LD’s sufficient to permit the owner to hire an outside consultant to perform the scheduling functions being abandoned by the contractor

14. Updating methodology

    1. Some owners may want to specify that the schedule update information be collected by one or more of the following:

       1. General contractor daily reports

       2. Subcontractor daily reports

       3. Inspectors’ daily reports or special activity update reports

       4. Special monthly report of the general contractor’s project manager

       5. The scheduler’s onsite inspection of work in place

       6. Progress reports presented in weekly scheduling meetings which include major subcontractors

    2. Specify what reports must be included in schedule updates, including

       1. Narrative of all changes made in the schedule and the reasons for those changes

       2. Electronic copy of the updated CPM schedule file

          1. Note: the owner can then run "Digger" or other software to compare changes made from the previous electronic file

    3. Consider requiring a monthly scheduling update meeting including general contractor, major subcontractors (e.g. those whose contracts comprise 5% or more of the project budget, or as defined in the contract), owner, construction manager, lead designer. Such joint meetings:

       1. Enhance communication between the parties

       2. Help avoid surprises

       3. Utilizes the subcontractors as "tripwires" to detect games being played with the schedule

    4. Require that all approved change orders be incorporated into the CPM schedule as separate activities, linked logically to the activities which are predecessors and successors

       1. If approval of change orders is a very time-consuming, bureaucratic process, consider modifying the requirement that the change order be "approved", so that each update realistically reflects changes which are occurring

15. Updating format

    1. E.g. types of reports

    2. E.g. electronic vs. printed or both

16. Scheduler’s qualifications

    1. Minimum training and experience on projects of this type

    2. On very large projects: Should you require a full-time scheduler onsite?

    3. Some owners utilize a "recorder of the schedule" – an owner-controlled scheduler

       1. Contractor creates the initial as-planned CPM schedule

       2. Upon approval, baseline is transferred to owner-controlled computer & scheduler

       3. Contractor submits continuing updates which are reviewed by the owner’s representative

17. Loading

    1. Cost loading

    2. Manpower loading

    3. Equipment loading, where equipment is crucial to the pace of the work

18. Definitions – the following should be defined in the scheduling specs or elsewhere in the contract documents

    1. Float

       1. E.g. "The contractor’s construction schedule shall begin with the date of issuance of Notice to Proceed and conclude with the date of final completion of the project. Float is a jointly owned, expiring project resource available to both parties as needed to meet contract milestones and the project completion date."

    2. Substantial completion

       1. Generally substantial completion occurs when the project could be utilized by the owner – but prior to completion of punch work and/or warranty work

       2. If substantial completion is defined as "beneficial occupancy" or "upon owner’s acceptance" this could lead to unfair, potentially capricious actions by the owner

       3. Do start-up and testing need to occur before substantial completion?

19. Special conditions or general conditions provisions

    1. Limited form of "No Damages for Delay"

       1. E.g. "Pursuant to the contract’s float sharing requirements, no time extensions will be granted nor delay damages paid until a delay occurs which impacts the project’s critical path, consumes all available float or contingency time available and extends the work beyond the contract completion date."

    2. Early completion - Define in advance the consequences of the contractor’s submission of an early completion CPM schedule

       1. E.g. "In the event of the contractor’s submission of a CPM schedule which shows project completion more than 30 days prior to the contractual completion date of _________________, at the owner’s sole option, either (a) the contractual completion date shall be redefined to be equal to the contractor’s projected completion date shown in the CPM schedule or (b) the difference in days between the contractor’s projected completion date and the contractual completion date shall become the duration of a new activity described as "Project Float" which shall be the immediate predecessor to the final completion milestone in the contractor’s CPM schedule."

20. Involvement of subcontractors in the scheduling process

    1. E.g. insert a contract requirement that major subs participate in and sign off on baseline and updates

    2. E.g. require that major subcontractors attend a weekly (or bi-monthly) scheduling meeting with general contractor and owner and possibly the designer

21. Procedures for justification of time extension analyses

    1. May include requirement that contractor submit fragnet analysis of each delay for which a time extension is requested

       1. May require that contractor demonstrate that mitigation of delays is not possible by other means, such as acceleration, stacking of trades, etc.

22. Remedies for non-compliance

    1. Owners are encouraged to find remedies which do not cause collateral damage to subcontractors, suppliers and owners, e.g. instead of withholding all payments until compliance is achieved, consider imposing targeted LDs which free up funds for the owner to outsource the scheduling activity (also see above, #12.b.)

23. How to represent delays in the CPM schedule

    1. Weather delays

       1. When and how to input them

       2. Use of suspend-resume

       3. Include language requiring the contractor to "anticipate normal inclement weather delays" (e.g. 10-year average number of rain days in each month)

    2. Other excusable delays

    3. Useful in developing recovery schedules

    4. Discuss at weekly scheduling meetings between owner-contractor-major subcontractors-designer