Importance of Planning, Scheduling and Construction Management

Introduction:

Planning, Scheduling and Management form the basis for any construction activity. Though discussion here is about construction, the same principles hold good for any organisation.

Planning is the decision-making process about What, Where, Who and How (WWWH) to start a project. What: An individual or a group of enterprising people plan to start a project. They form a group of high level managers. They identify goals, frame the objective and identify opportunities. The planning done by them may be called as strategic planning. Where: The strategic planners decide the lime and the place of starting the organisation. Who: The strategic planners identify the middle level managers and operational level planners to carry out the task. The middle level management deals with financial management and coordinates with operational planners and strategic planners. How: The operational planners have to work at minute details of the work assigned, find the requirement of machinery and work force and plan day to day activities. They should be ready with alternative plans, if uncertainity creeps in at any stage.

Importance of planning:
Although events can never be predicted exactly, planning is important. Factors beyond control may interfare and upset plans, but no work can be achieved successfully without planning. Advantages of planning are:

(i) It minimises  uncertainities. Certain uncertainities like availability of work force, equipment, raw materials etc., due to strikes and natural calamities may upset plans. However with short term alternate plans, many adverse effects of these uncertainties can be minimised. Without a plan, many uncertainties will creep into project work and hamper the other wings of work force. Hence a planning is a must.

(ii) It exercises good control. With proper planning there is optimum use of materials and man power, which result is cost reduction in construction industry. There will be good control on every wing of the construction activity. Cashflow for the activity is streamlined avoiding unnecessary holding of the funds or hampering of the work due to cash shortage. Hence planning is necessary for exercising good control on the construction work.

(iii) Planning focusses on objectives. A construction industry may have an objective of specializing itself in irrigation projects, road projects, building construction, producing precost products etc. It has equipment and expertise in achieving particular objectively. Planning helps the managers of all department to work for achieving the objective, periodically revise the plan in the interest of achieving the objective.

(iv) Planning leads to success. Occasionally unforeseen factors may affect success to some extent but planning puts the organisation definitely on the path to success. If the work is carried out as per the plan without any hinderance, an organisation can make good profit and become competent for obtaining more works.

Scheduling:

A construction work may be proposed to be started on a particular day and completed within the specified period. The entire project is to be subdivided into a number of events. For example, the construction of a building may be divided into the following stages:

1. Mobilising
2. Laying Foundation
3. Building Super Structure
4. Finishing

Laying of foundation may be subdivided into the following events:

(i) Digging
(ii) Laying bed concrete
(iii) Building stone masonry courses
(iv) Providing coping concrete
(v) Pointing joints and
(vi) Filling the trenches.