Planning and programming

Successful execution and construction of any building project is a complex process involving the interface and coordination of very many elements as well as individual parties and organisations. As such it is inconceivable that project objectives in terms of quality, time and cost will be achieved without some appropriate forethought.

The aims of planning and programming are diverse and are allied to and include the following project objectives:

• control of time and costs;
• health and safety;
• identification of risk;
• quality;
• identification of project status in respect of time;
• early identification of potential project problems and shortfalls; and
• identification and consideration of necessary corrective actions.

Who plans?

It is important that all parties, including the employer, design team, contractor and subcontractors give some consideration to the planning and timing of the various elements of the project.

The usefulness of any project programme is dependent on input from the relevant parties. A programme produced in isolation will be of limited benefit. There must be input from and 'ownership' by the appropriate parties to make this effective. This is not to say that programmes should be produced by 'committee' and it is equally important that the programme is finalised by the relevant project team in accordance with an agreed strategy.

The individuals directly involved with the production of programmes and associated project controls are generally referred to as planners, planning engineers, programmers or schedulers. Within smaller organisations or on simple projects the planning may be undertaken directly by the project manager or construction manager, sometimes with limited input from a planner.

Planning and programming is now recognised as a construction discipline, unfortunately apart from short courses no formal 'planning' qualification is available. The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) issued 'Managing the Risk of Delayed Completion in the 21st Century' which includes recommendations regarding the consideration of education, training and accreditation for practitioner planning engineers.

Planning and certainty

Before considering programmes and the various planning techniques it is important to give some consideration to the basic philosophy of planning.

Any planned programme lacks certainty. For example a contractor's master programme prepared at the beginning of the project will lack certainty for a number of reasons; feedback has not been obtained from specialist subcontractors, risk allowances need inclusion for such issues as weather and labour availability, elements of contractor's design have yet to be developed, provisional sums are not fully detailed. Further to this once works commence the programme may not be followed due to issues of delay and the simple fact that better ways are found of sequencing and executing the works than those initially anticipated.

The extent of this uncertainty will vary dependent on a number of factors including the overall timescale. It is easier to plan works with a little more certainty over a short period of say 2 weeks than it is to anticipate the timing of the works in say 12 months time.

To a certain extent the introduction and the wide availability of the personal computer and planning software and the extensive use of the technique known as critical path analysis has probably in some areas created a false impression of programme certainty. This is not generally the case.

Notwithstanding the above, the need to plan with certainty is limited. For example, at the start of a 2 year new build project there is no need to predict with certainty when the ceramic wall tiling is due to commence. The main planning at this time will be concentrated over a much shorter timescale and may involve detailed planning of the demolitions, earthworks and foundations to enable the key milestone of the start of structural steelwork to be achieved. In effect overall master programmes tend to illustrate the overall project strategy with the more tactical planning being undertaken over shorter periods and often in respect of key project milestones.

A programme will therefore not necessarily be 'correct' or 'incorrect' and the philosophy behind planning and programming can probably be best described as: 'Not being a search for precision and certainty but the consideration and evaluation of possibilities.'

Programme and the contract

Contractor's master programmes are often referred to as the 'Contract Programme', however the contractual significance of the programme will be dependent on the contract conditions and in some cases may be the subject of legal interpretation.

The NEC contract is very prescriptive in terms of the nature of the programme to be provided, the updating of the programme with the progress achieved and the use of the programme for the evaluation and quantification of delay.

In contrast the JCT form of contract is much less prescriptive with the submission of a master programme being an option. The ICE requires the submission of a programme often referred to as the clause 14 programme and GC/Works/1 requires a programme under clause 33.

In some cases the requirement for a programme and its format, as well as associated documentation and reporting may be included as a contract amendment and therefore it is good practice for a contractor to review any such contract requirements prior to producing an initial project programme.