Carolina Construction Blog

4 Steps to Effective Pull Planning for Construction Projects

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Jun 092013

As mentioned in this recent article on Planning and Managing Complex Construction Projects, the North Carolina construction industry is seeing a renewed interest in interactive planning techniques, especially pull planning. In a pull planning session, the people responsible for supervising the various aspects of the work into a room to answer one simple question

What do we have to do, and when, to meet the project’s completion date?

A simple question but not a simple answer. Pull planning techniques involve using sticky notes to mark essential elements of work, working backwards from the end-date. A large white board is used with a timescale on top. The time scale is usually broken down by weeks (Week 1, Week 2, etc.). It’s effective because it uses key players to define and sequence work tasks needed to get the work done and avoid delays.

In the past two weeks I have attended two pull planning sessions involving Florida theme park construction projects. Both projects were in their final stages and under strict deadlines. Pull planning is very effective in these scheduling scenarios as everyone can agree on the common goal of completing the remaining work so as to finish the project on time. Here are 4 key points I took away from these sessions.

Get the right people there. The pull planning session should be made up of the people who supervise construction on a daily basis – not the crew foremen or the supervisor’s supervisor. You need the people who know the workers, equipment, and materials and know what can and cannot actually be accomplished.
No substitutes. Having a substitute for a key individual definitely hampers the ability to complete the pull planning session. In short, hearing “I’ll have to get back to you on that” over and over just doesn’t cut it.
Promote a global understanding. Everyone needs to thoroughly understand the work. Not just their own scope of work but the scopes of work of other trades. Why? Because on a construction project the various trades are inter-dependent on one another and each individual must know the preceding and succeeding trades to contribute.
Lay down the Conditions of Satisfaction (COS) first. Every attendee must be on board for which COS are required to meet the deadline. The difference between what is 100% required for COS what may not be required is important so that the right resources can be assigned to the right tasks without any wasted effort.

Pull planning is a very effective technique for outlining and meeting scheduling deadlines for construction projects. When handled correctly, pull planning eliminates miscommunications and allows every key player to be integrally involved in the planning process. Try different colored stickies for the various trades so people can quickly and easily visualize where their part of the plan falls within the whole of the project.

Planning and Managing Complex Construction Projects

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May 102013

Construction projects and becoming more and more complex. In the coming years and decades, the construction industry will be faced with the monumental task of repairing and replacing our aging infrastructure as well as constructing the communities and facilities of the future. All of this in the midst of dwindling resources, changing labor demographics and fiscal and environmental restraints.

The successful completion of a construction project is defined as delivering a facility that meets the owner’s specified needs and requirements on time and within budget. To achieve this the construction industry must embrace modern management practices and processes. At the top of the list is a renewed interest in the application of modern planning and scheduling techniques.

It is hard to under estimate the important role that planning and scheduling plays in the successful completion of a construction project.

The successful completion of a construction project is defined as delivering a facility that meets the owner’s specified needs and requirements on time and within budget.

As the projects get more complex it puts tremendous pressure on the management team to properly plan their projects and communicate the plan to all interested parties. We are seeing renewed interest in various interactive planning techniques such as “Pull Planning.” Pull Planning it is a collaborative approach that includes those who are directly responsible for supervising the work on the project. Using sticky-notes, the team participants work from the target milestone completion date backwards, defining and sequencing tasks.

Different technologies are emerging and being adopted, giving contractors more choices than they had just a few years ago. We are also seeing tremendous growth in 4D scheduling, where the schedule is linked to the 3D model to generate an animation of the project. With 4D scheduling, a project manager, owner and contractor are able to see what the project will look like at any stage of development, and they are able to visually compare the planned work versus the actual work that has been completed on the project.

Other techniques such as flowline or linear scheduling techniques allow contractors to better plan for optimal productivity of each trade contractor and crew. The advantage of linear scheduling over traditional CPM methods is that it more easily ensures work locations are available and clear of unnecessary materials and other crews.

Contractors who apply these and other modern planning and scheduling techniques will have a better chance of delivering a successful construction project.

Your Project’s Most Valuable Tool – It’s Schedule

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Apr 232013

Construction Scheduling from a Consultant’s Perspective

At Carolina Consultants, we provide consulting, expert and advisory services in the area of critical path method (CPM) planning and scheduling. Our focus is on providing insight into your project’s most valuable tool – its schedule.

At Carolina Consultants we have seen the value and benefits of a well-developed and properly-maintained project schedule. A project schedule can be an invaluable tool in the management of the most important elements of a construction project.

We have also seen the down side of not properly maintaining a project schedule. Such as having to rely on other project records to prove a claim when the information would have been readily available had the schedule been properly maintained and updated.

The following are some of the major benefits of having a good project schedule:

Managing Construction Risk

The schedule is one of the most important tools for managing risk on a construction project. As things inevitably change on the project, the schedule is the best vehicle for evaluating the impact of changes on other elements of the project. It is also a powerful tool for scenario planning and mitigating the affect of a change. Additionally, the project schedule is by far the best tool for early identification of problems and trends that could jeopardize project success.

Managing and Coordinating the Construction Project

Schedules are often the primary tool used by project managers and superintendents to manage and coordinate the work of the various trade contractors on the project. A well-developed schedule will clearly model and illustrate the team’s plan for executing the project. Additionally, a well-developed and properly-updated schedule can accurately predict the completion date of the project, not only at the beginning but as the project progresses. Project schedules are often used by your subcontractors and suppliers to coordinate their own work and as a production forecasting tool.

Communicating the Construction Plan

The is no better tool for communicating the team’s plan for executing the project than the project schedule. As the plan is adjusted for changes and actual performance, the schedule should be updated and distributed to the various parties – subcontractors, suppliers, vendors, the owner, the architect/engineer, inspectors, etc. It helps keep everyone up to date and on the same page.

As-Built Schedule and Schedule Analysis

A properly-updated and maintained schedule is an invaluable depository of “as-built” information for the project. This information can be used for later review in planning projects in the future, or as an analysis tool for documenting or defending against a claim.

For all of these reasons, it makes sense to invest the time and effort into developing and properly maintaining a project schedule. Whether you need help preparing a baseline project schedule or you would simply like professional feedback on an existing schedule, Carolina Consultants can develop a cost-effective, comprehensive solution to meet your project’s needs. Contact Don W. Carlow, PSP at (407) 603-6165 or don@Carolina-Consultants.com.

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