Replies

1. 
   CloudHidden | Oct 12, 2006 07:09am | #1

   I'm guessing it'd be the rare and anal builder who'd use it for real on a residential project. In a prior life I was a corporate consultant on the critical path method. To use it properly required a big time commitment and a high level of cooperation among contractors, and that could only be absorbed on very large commercial projects with strong top-down management. Now I don't doubt that it can be down-scaled to a residential project, but it's just as likely that an experienced builder (the kind I'd want building my house) could just as easily manage the job in their head and on a notepad and wouldn't invest the time needed to keep a CPM model properly up to date and accurate.

1. 
   IdahoDon | Oct 12, 2006 08:55am | #2

   MS Project is probably as easy to use as it gets for critical path software and there are some larger builders that are using it, probably to keep some consistancy between construction managers.  20 guys start out with the same basic template for the new McMansion development and simply add the details as they are known. 

   Having said that, the critical path portion of the software is probably not used as much as the gant chart simply because it's pretty obvious to most residential builders what the critical path is.

   I worked for a project managment guru back in college and he would be the first to say that if it's obvious what the critical path is you don't need to spend time getting it on paper. 

   He also wasn't shy about busting the chops of guys who couldn't clearly articulate the critical path because the project was too complex and they hadn't written it down.

   He was hired for the winter olympics and had charts spread over 100' of wall.  Quite something to see the details of how 100s of project critical paths are tracked and combined into an overall plan. 

   I can see how large commercial projects or residential developments could benefit, but for most of us a gant chart is probably as useful as anything.  

   Beer was created so carpenters wouldn't rule the world.

1. 
   CloudHidden | Oct 12, 2006 04:43pm | #3

   As you articulated, Gantt charts and CPM are vastly different. For residential, the charts can make sense, and the scope is small enough that the manager should know what's critical.Back in the 80's, working on synthetic fuel projects, we also had the PERT charts showing the critical path wrapping around conference rooms and covering hundreds of thousands of events. (It's like a fish tale--ask me in 10 years and I'll say there were millions of events!)

2. 
   DanH | Oct 12, 2006 08:15pm | #4

   For small projects (fewer than 50 "events", say) you probably don't need or want software. Just draw it out on a large piece of paper -- a circle for each event, an arrow to each event from each prior event it depends on. Once you have the graph drawn you can go through and set the dates.

   If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. --James Madison
3. 
   ned44 | Oct 12, 2006 09:27pm | #5

   microsoft project is a tool for this purpose, however my experience has been since daily schedules need adjusting daily it easier to use a pencil and paper. if the owner wishes a critical path update for practical purposes MSProject will work just fine. remember that nothing will be exactly right on since the details of daily schedules can become too cumbersome for these programs. as a macro tool it would be fine.

1. 
   DanH | Oct 13, 2006 12:28am | #6

   For a small project the main benefit of doing crit path analysis is simply to gain an understanding of how things will stack up. Once you've done it and played with a few variations you can stick it in a drawer. (But take notes about real times and dependencies and then re-examine the chart at the end to understand where you went wrong.)Big projects (office building, refinery, space shuttle) will want to keep the charts up-to-date, and will probably have at least one person working on them about 50% of his time (the other 50% spent calling folks and bawling them out for not keeping on schedule).

   If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. --James Madison

1. 
   manoman | Oct 13, 2006 07:16am | #7

   Thanks guys. It is as I figured, that residential projects are too small to warrant the time to develop a critical path framework.
   I guess I'm looking at it as a carpentry instructor and how a flow chart of events in the construction of a house would be useful. And I can save a few hours work if one already exists.
   Would a Gant chart exist and be useful? An old one of a project already built would be great.

1. 
   caseyr | Oct 17, 2006 12:29am | #8

   Don't have time to evaluate the results, but a quick Google on "Gantt chart construction" gave me a lot of results. You might try some variation on the theme. Unfortunately, no examples in the few I looked at, but some discussion that might be of use. A couple of the results:http://www.tech.plym.ac.uk/sme/mst324/MST324-07%20planning.htm
   http://www.iit.edu/~aliss/Research.htm

2. 
   peakbagger | Oct 17, 2006 05:51am | #9

   I think Microsoft has a construction plan in project on their website. I know they have templates for construction and other industies.edit: found it ==> http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/TC010184521033.aspxJim

   Edited 10/16/2006 11:00 pm ET by peakbagger

3. 
   Huck | Oct 17, 2006 05:16pm | #10

   While most the replies here address CP software, the concept of mapping out the Critical Path is probably used in 99% of all residential construction.  Meaning the contractor or superintendent has to have a mental picture of which steps come in which order. 

   And I haven't seen a construction job yet where the critical path mapping/planning couldn't have been improved with a little more thought.  A chart would be a great idea - make it a class project to develop one.  Get the students thinking - i.e., should floor coverings come before or after door jambs are installed - why?  Carpet or final paint first?  How about both on the same day?  OK to shingle roof before rough plumbing is complete?  Why not? (roof penetrations)."...never charged nothing for his preaching, and it was worth it, too" - Mark Twain

1. 
   MisterT | Oct 19, 2006 01:19pm | #11

   an ex- boss hired an ex-military/ex-management type (who sat next to him in church)

   Guy was all gung ho about CPM and flow charts and reams of paperwork...

   but he could NOT get us what we needed no matter how much time we gave him...

   plus he was a pathological liar...

   Boss asked what I thot...

   I said I was waiting to be impressed...

   I got double secret probation...

   one month after I quit, boss let him go....

     

    

    

    

    

   #$&%(*$#

   Please excuse our mess....

   Tagline under reconstruction...

   Life is too short. The universe is too big. Be kind to someone. In the end, love is all that matters.

   -Luka