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For: March, 2003

Schedule Updating & Record Keeping Best Practices
Submitted by: Thomas D. Fertitta

Introduction & Purpose of a Schedule Update

Even a "perfect" baseline schedule becomes outdated unless it is accurately updated on a periodic basis. The project's size, complexity and timing dictate the schedule update frequency. Most project schedules are updated monthly, but it is not uncommon to update a schedule weekly or even daily. Some of the most significant purposes to update a project schedule are to:

  Record construction progress,
  Provide a plan for work to be completed,
  Provide a forecast for completion of contract milestones and completion dates,
  Comply with contract requirements,
  Provide progress status for the project team,
  Prepare applications for payment.
  Updating A Schedule

The following parameters are typically included as part of a schedule update:

  Actual construction activity start and finish dates - if an activity incurs a period without progress, it is appropriate to create a new activity to account for the gap. Be sure to accurately reflect this change in each of the activity's resources and costs. 
  Actual procurement start and finish dates - this includes engineering drawing submittals and approvals and receipt of delivered equipment/materials.
  Logic revisions - any revised sequences should be added to the schedule.
  Added or changed work - this may include change order work and RFI submittals that affect the work.
  Activity duration projections - it is acceptable for an activity's remaining duration to be longer than the activity's original duration in cases where lower productivity is encountered.
  Percent complete for costs vs. construction progress - If the schedule is cost loaded, consider disconnecting the tie between remaining duration and percent complete so that payment progress does not skew construction progress.
  Current events that affect construction progress - examples include adverse weather impacts, strikes, and differing site conditions.
  Review and verification of current update - following the update process, the schedule should be tested for reasonableness. The new critical path should reflect actual conditions on the project. Use last month's "Topic of the Month" as a guide.
  Prepare a narrative discussion of progress to-date and forecasted work for the next period.
  Store period performance - some scheduling software packages allow the user to store the performance (percent complete, resource usage, etc.) for all updated periods. This feature is useful to identify trends and actual progress.
  Special care should be taken for substantial completion of an activity where release of retainage could affect the recorded progress of the activity.
  Good schedule practices do not include recalculating the schedule network with the "progress over-ride" feature offered by many schedule software packages. Progress over-ride allows the statused progress of an activity to "over-ride" relationships with successor activities. It should be noted that a review of the logic should be considered to reflect any out-of-sequence work to prevent potentially inaccurate forecasted finish dates.
  Rename and save a copy of the schedule to storage media for later recall.

Maintaining accurate project records through a project control system is an important aspect of updating a schedule. Update information can come from recording progress data while walking the job-site, collecting field reports from subcontractors and/or field staff, and through other "turnaround documents" that can be provided at the start of each update period.

As-built Record of the Project

It may be necessary in claim situations to develop a daily specific as-built schedule to justify or defend time extensions and/or delay damages. In a forensic analysis, project records are required to identify the multiple starts and stops of affected activities. The project's daily log is one of the most important source documents used to develop a daily specific as-built schedule. Each daily log should record the following information: weather, manpower by number and craft, specific work performed, delays/issues encountered, RFIs submitted, change order work performed, rework performed, and work stoppages.

The field staff, ideally, should prepare the daily logs on a daily basis so that important items are not overlooked or forgotten. The logs should list all activities in progress, describing the activities in more detail than simple entries such as "electrical rough-in". Information for each activity should include the subcontractor/contractor performing the work, the specific project area, and a detailed description of the work item. Although daily work activity records can also be kept using the activity identification numbers from the existing schedule activities, this is not required. A quality as-built schedule can be generated from the daily logs, and the resulting product is typically more detailed than the baseline schedule. The as-built activity data can be maintained in an electronic database, and can even be collected using handheld devices during the daily job-site walkthrough. Photographs are also a helpful way of documenting job progress, but to be useful, should be labeled with the date of the photo and specific description of the subject.

Conclusion

Schedule updates serve as both a forward looking, or proactive tool, and a historical, or forensic purpose. Proper updating techniques and record-keeping can help bring the project in successfully or substantiate lost/recovered time and excess costs.

About the Author: Thomas D. Fertitta is the Member-Manager of TDF, LLC, a construction consulting services company specializing in CPM scheduling. They are located in Herndon, Virginia.