MONTHLY COLUMN:

CONSTRUCTION PROJECT SCHEDULING TODAY: ISSUES & CONTROVERSIES

The Scheduling Practitioner’s Role on the Project Management Team

By Earl Glenwright
Colorado, USA

Editor’s note: This is the third article in a series on construction project scheduling that was introduced in a Guest Editorial by Earl Glenwright in the January edition of PM World Today. Please read that introduction at http://www.pmworldtoday.net/archives/2010/Jan.html, where Earl sets the stage for articles on this important aspect of managing construction projects.

There are various ‘opinions’ held in the construction world as to what the scheduler does, and what their function is on the project’s management team. These misunderstandings have always complicated the coordination between the scheduler, construction manager, the other project controls personnel, and even the Owner and the design-engineers. Here is one explanation of what should be the scheduler’s role and function.

Let’s start with what they are not. They are not the cost engineer. They also DO NOT make the schedule. And they are not the project controls engineer!

Jim Zack, senior vice-president of Fluor Corp, was responding to a scheduler who was lamenting that no one was using the schedules he made. Here is Jim’s reply:

“ The scheduler prepared the schedule -- this is a mortal sin!!
The scheduler is a recorder of and not the creator of schedules.

The scheduler is part of the project management team and as such, he/she should work closely with the team that's going to build the job to help them through the pre-planning process.

Schedulers are not (and never should be) in charge of planning how a job is to be put together -- that's what Project Managers do.

Schedulers are tasked with the responsibility of taking the project manager's and their team’s plan and putting it into a mathematical model (a network) to see if it's workable, achievable, possible, etc.

To read entire paper Click Here

About the Author Earl Glenwright, PSP Author Earl Glenwright, PSP, has a career spanning 40+ years in construction project scheduling. Earl is certified as a Planning and Scheduling Professional [PSP] by the Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering International [AACEi]. He frequently gives presentations at their annual conferences. Earl has both a BS in Civil Engineering and MBA degree and is a Registered Professional Engineer. Earl’s career has included multi-year positions in several countries including Brasil, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan. He currently lives in Colorado and Bulgaria. Prior to 1988 he was employed by the [US] Bureau of Reclamation and the [US] Army Corps of Engineers. After retiring in 1988 he has been a free-lance consultant for both contractor’s construction scheduling and small business Enterprise Project Management. His experience includes large and very large [super-mega] construction projects, very small projects such as construction planning, and scheduling for home construction by his Habitat for Humanity affiliate. Through his extensive scheduling experience he has been recognized as a Subject Matter Expert [SME], a Master Scheduler, and an Expert Advisor. Earl has been active in the Project Management Institute (PMI) for 30+ years. He has presented “Time & Cost” training at PMI’s annual seminar-symposia, and was a member of the initial PMBoK Guide Project Team, the 2000 update team, and the project team that prepared the 3rd edition. Earl has recently presented ‘workshop/seminars’ for Bulgarian project scheduling and controls persons which cover the 3 phases of scheduling: framework preparation/planning, schedule development, and schedule management and control. The workbooks are dual language English and Bulgarian. Earl can be contacted at earl_csss@yahoo.com.