Scheduling for Home Builders with Microsoft Project

By David Marchman and Tulio Sulbaran

Your company's ability to complete a high quality home on time and within budget is your most important asset. Don't let scheduling problems destroy it. Master project scheduling and you'll lower overhead and boost profits. Create efficient schedules to monitor and control construction progress using Microsoft Project 2010. You'll produce more projects with the same management staff and fewer headaches in the field and the back office. This book will help you schedule your next project with confidence and ease.Learn how to: record and communicate progress control financial, human, and physical resources record expenditures and analyze cost details manage cash flow and tasks create a baseline schedule and updatesDon't let sloppy scheduling eat up the time and money you need to build your business and move on to your next profitable project.You must have Microsoft Project 2010 installed on your computer to access the practice files. There are two versions of Microsoft Project - standard and professional. The standard version costs less because it is designed for a single user, whereas the professional version is designed to be used on a server and accessed by multiple users.*Sample schedules are available online. Web address provided in the book.A formalized scheduling procedure is one of the most powerful tools a builder can use. Scheduling with Microsoft Project illustrates best practices for keeping your projects on time and on budget. - John Barrows, CGB, GMB, CGP, President, J. Barrows Inc., Wainscott, NYYour company's ability to complete a high quality home on time and within budget is your most important asset. Don't let scheduling problems destroy it. Master project scheduling and you'll lower overhead and boost profits. Create efficient schedules to monitor and control construction progress using Microsoft Project 2010. You'll produce more projects with the same management staff and fewer headaches in the field and the back office. This book will help you schedule your next project with confidence and ease.Learn how to: record and communicate progress control financial, human, and physical resources record expenditures and analyze cost details manage cash flow and tasks create a baseline schedule and updatesDon't let sloppy scheduling eat up the time and money you need to build your business and move on to your next profitable project.You must have Microsoft Project 2010 installed on your computer to access the practice files. There are two versions of Microsoft Project - standard and professional. The standard version costs less because it is designed for a single user, whereas the professional version is designed to be used on a server and accessed by multiple users.*Sample schedules are available online. Web address provided in the book.A formalized scheduling procedure is one of the most powerful tools a builder can use. Scheduling with Microsoft Project illustrates best practices for keeping your projects on time and on budget. - John Barrows, CGB, GMB, CGP, President, J. Barrows Inc., Wainscott, NY

• Language: English
• Publisher: BuilderBooks
• Release date: Jan 1, 2012
• ISBN: 9780867186826

Book preview

conferences.

Introduction

All home building projects require coordinating project plans and specifications, construction materials, craftspeople, construction equipment, and trade contractors to build the home. How you utilize these resources determines whether your project will run efficiently or end up in disarray. By developing a schedule at the beginning of the project, you can better plan and organize the tasks necessary to complete it. An organized schedule is a home builder’s best tool for controlling project parameters and costs.

Microsoft® Project

Microsoft® Project allows you to define tasks and view the interrelationships between them to develop a home construction project schedule. You can also use the software to control and manage resources and costs. The software allows you to view the schedule according to various criteria, a particularly handy feature. For example, sorting the schedule by task responsibility will show the trade contractor or other individual(s) responsible for completing a task.

Microsoft® Project is flexible and easy to use. Even if trade contractors you work with don’t have the latest technology for sharing information, the software allows you to print hard copies of schedules to share. Sharing is important. You must be able to disseminate information and receive feedback about the schedule for it to be effective. If you can’t clearly communicate your schedule to other people it affects, the schedule is useless.

Microsoft® Project Ribbon

The new version of Microsoft® Project replaced traditional menus and toolbars with a ribbon. This ribbon layout was designed to allow users to access common functions with fewer clicks. You can collapse and expand the ribbon to accommodate different screen resolutions. We recommend using the highest possible resolution when working in the practice files provided online (http://www.nahb.org/scheduling3e) to see the screen as described in the text. Figures I.1 and I.2 show the same Microsoft® Project file using screen resolutions, respectively, of 1600 × 1200, pictured in this book, and 1024 × 768. Notice that in figure I.2 (lower screen resolution) some screen option labels are truncated.

Figure I.1 View at 1600 × 1200

Figure I.2 View at 1024 × 768

Using the Practice Files

The sample schedules at http://www.nahb.org/scheduling3e allow you to practice the skills taught in each chapter. You must have Microsoft® Project 2010 installed on your computer to access the practice files. There are two versions of Microsoft® Project—standard and professional. The standard version costs less because it is designed for a single user, whereas the professional version is designed to be loaded on a network server so multiple users can access it. The practice exercises in this book were created using Microsoft® Project Professional 2010. You can download a 60-day trial version of the standard software online at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/ee404758.aspx.

Get practice schedules online at http://www.nahb.org/scheduling3e

Microsoft® Project is a registered trademark of Microsoft® Corporation. Screen images shown in this book are reprinted with permission of Microsoft®.

1

Introduction to Scheduling

Project planning is a multistep process that begins well before you actually sit down at the computer to draft a schedule. With technology, construction codes, and financing evolving, home building projects are ever more complex and costly. You must continuously manage your time and resources, including specialized labor, materials, and construction equipment, through project completion. Planning and pacing construction allow you to use resources efficiently, meet contractual deadlines, and ensure a quality product. This chapter will help you understand the fundamentals of an effective home building schedule. You will learn about the following Microsoft® Project elements:

Tasks

Phases

Milestones

Gantt charts and reports

Rough logic diagram

Schedule

Benefits of Scheduling

The greatest marketing and sales collateral you have is your company’s ability to complete a high-quality home on time and within budget. Moreover, the sooner you can complete a home, the faster you can move on to the next project. Delays are costly. They consume time, increase the amount of interest you’ll pay on construction loans, and constrain your ability to get, or move on to, the next potentially profitable project.

Proper scheduling will prevent your wasting time and money on a project. By saving time, you can increase volume and profitability. An efficient construction company can produce more projects per year with the same management staff, which lowers overhead. Time is